Edenderry (/ˌiːdənˈdɛri/; Irish: Éadan Doire, meaning 'hill-brow of the oak wood'[3]) is a town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is near the borders with Counties Kildare, Meath and Westmeath. The Grand Canal runs along the south of Edenderry, through the Bog of Allen, and there is a short spur to the town centre.

Edenderry Éadan Doire
Town
Main street Edenderry
Coat of arms
Motto:  Esto Fideles - The Faithful
Edenderry Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53.345°N 7.05116°W / 53.345; -7.05116
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Offaly
Elevation	84 m (276 ft)
Population  (2016)[1]
• Urban	7,359
Time zone	UTC±0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode	R45
Telephone area code	046
Irish Grid Reference	N633328

The R401 road from Kinnegad to the north and the R402 from Enfield to the east meet at the northeastern end of the Main Street. At the Grand Canal they split, with the R402 continuing westwards towards Tullamore and the R401 heads south to Rathangan and Kildare Town.^{[citation needed]}

History

In the 16th century, Edenderry was known as Coolestown, after the family of Cooley or Cowley, who had a castle here. It was defended in 1599 against the Confederates, during the Nine Years' War (Ireland). This subsequently passed by marriage to the Blundell family and was sacked in 1691 by the army of James II.[4]

The Blundells' land passed subsequently to the Marquess of Downshire who reversed the earlier opposition of the Blundell sisters to the establishment of a branch to the Grand Canal to Edenderry and paid for the £692 cost of the project,[5] which was completed in 1802.

By 1716 there was thriving woollen cloth manufacturing, established by Quakers, which employed around 1,000 people.[6] By 1911 the town had grown to 2,204 people. Other industries included the factory of Daniel Alesbury who made a variety of woodwork as well as the first car manufactured in Ireland, the Alesbury, in 1907.

The population of Edenderry almost doubled in the 20 years between the census of 1996 (when it had a population of 3,825 people)[7] and the 2016 census (which recorded a population of 7,359 people).[1]

Education

There are two secondary schools in the town, St. Mary’s Secondary School and Oaklands Community College, as well as five primaries, Gaelscoil Éadan Doire, St. Mary’s Primary School, Scoil Bhríde Primary School, Saint Patrick’s Primary School and Monasteroris National School.[8]

Local organisations

Organisations and businesses operating in the area include the Offaly Express newspaper and Edenderry Chamber of Commerce.[9]

Local sports clubs include Edenderry Rugby Club,[10] Edenderry GAA club,[11] Edenderry Town AFC,[12] and Highfield Golf Club.[13] Derry Rovers AFC

Notable people

• Neil Delamere, comedian[14]
• Frantic Jack, Irish Indie Rock band
• Josef Locke, entertainer[15]
• Malcolm Edward MacArthur (convicted murderer)

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edenderry, County Offaly.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Edenderry.

На других языках

[de] Edenderry

[ru] Идендерри