Abbeyfeale
| Abbeyfeale Mainistir na Féile
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Abbeyfeale Main Street
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 Abbeyfeale
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Limerick |
| Limerick County Council LEA | Newcastle |
| Dáil Éireann Constituency | Kerry North West Limerick |
| EU Parliament | South |
| Elevation | 75 m (246 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • town | 2,508 |
| • Urban | 1,940 |
| • Environs | 568 |
| Irish Grid Reference | R111268 |
Abbeyfeale (/ˈæbifeɪl/; Irish: Mainistir na Féile, meaning "Abbey of the Feale") is a historical market town in County Limerick, Ireland near the boundary with County Kerry. The town is in the south west of Ireland, some 21 km (13 mi) from Newcastle West on the N21 – the main road from Limerick to Tralee.
Contents
Geography
The town is situated on the banks of the River Feale in the foothills of the Mullaghareirk Mountains.
Town
ABBEYFEALE ON FILM The main feature in Abbeyfeale's Square is a statue of Father William Casey. Fr. Casey was the parish priest from 1883 to 1907 and helped the tenant farmers fight against their landlords. The local Gaelic football team is named in his honour (Fr. Caseys GAA Club). Recently the town celebrated the centenary of Fr. Casey's influence by having a Fr. Casey themed St. Patricks Day Parade.
The May Bank Holiday weekend sees the town host the "Fleadh by the Feale" traditional music festival. The 2009 festival was the thirteenth of these annual events. The International Bone Playing Competition is the highlight of the festival and is held on the Bank Holiday Monday evening on the open air stage in the town circle
The town is known for its extensive musical tradition, notably the exponents of traditional music such as Donal Murphy and Eibhlin Healy both living in the town. Others of notoriety include the striker Denis Behan for Cork City and Republic of Ireland U23.
There was a cinema in the town, but this closed in the early 1990s. The remains can be still seen today.
The town previously had an abbey, located in the centre of the town square, but this has since all but disappeared, and the only identifiable remnants are those used in the construction of the Roman Catholic Church in 1847, on the site of the current boys national school on Church street. Church street as it is now know was originally named Chapel street, as can be seen in old period OS maps of the town. The Geraldine Portrinard Castle (or Purt Castle) is situated about 2.5 km northwest of the town, on the northbank of the Feale.
Phil Danaher, Irish Rugby International (28 senior caps) and Gaelic Footballer (Limerick Senior team, Kerry minor team), also grew up in Abbeyfeale. The family of William Webb Ellis, who 'while at school in rugby with a deligthful disregard for the rules picked the ball and ran with it' and whose name is commemorated in the World Cup, also had strong connections with the town.
Michael Lenihan, a Franciscan missionary priest and the current Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Ceiba in Honduras, was born in Abbeyfeale.
Transport
Abbeyfeale railway station opened on 20 December 1880, but was finally closed on 3 November 1975.[2] The Great Southern Trail is a greenway rail trail that follows the route of the former Limerick-Tralee railway line between Abbeyfeale and Rathkeale.[3]
Sports
Abbeyfeale has a good sporting community with the focus on football ( Father Caseys ), soccer ( Abbeyfeale United FC ) and rugby ( Abbyefeale RFC ).
Common surnames in Abbeyfeale
According to Irish Census 1901 & 1911.
Arnadóttir, Collins, O'Connor, Harnett, Lane, O'Donnell, Broderick, O'Connell, Önnudóttir, O'Sullivan, Flynn, Healy, Horgan, Cotter, Fitzgerald, Moloney, Leahy, Colbert, Connell, Dillane, Keane, Lyons, McCarthy, Sheehy, Curtin, Hartnett, Roche, Daly, Donoghue, Doody, McAuliffe, Murphy, Quirke, Scannell, O' Brian, Sullivan, McElligott.
See also
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abbeyfeale. |
- Fr. Caseys GAA Club
- Abbeyfeale United Soccer Club
- Abbeyfeale Online - Official site
- Abbeyfeale Diocese
- Abbeyfeale Rugby Club Website
- Fleadh by the Feale Website
- Abbeyfeale Golfing Society
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