Meath Towns And Villages

Athboy  village is the medieval creation of the Plunkett family.  Overlooking the town of Athboy is                   the Hill of Tlachtga or "Hill of Ward", an iron Age ring fort, where the great Celtic feast of                 Samhain (Halloween) is said to have originated.

Bettystown is a thriving village with a fine sandy beach.  The world famous "Tara brooch" was                              discovered on this beach.  Close by the layrtown beach boasts hores racing on the beach!
                   The only strand races held in Europe.

Kells  is a delightful town and home of the Book of Kells one of the most beautiful books in the                   world, now preserved in Trinity College, Dublin.  It is an 8th century manuscript of the Four
          Gospels painted by the monks of the monastery founded in Kells for the followers of the great
          St. Colmcille.  The curving road around the church on the hill follows the outline of the ancient
          monastery.  the highlights of ancient Kells are clustered around the protestant church, with its
          medieval tower and graceful 18th century steeple.  There are three Celtic Crosses in the                      churchyard and a round tower.  Across the road is a small, stone-roofed church, one of the                    oldest monastic buildings in Ireland. the Hill of Lloyd Tower nearby resembles a lighthouse. It            also has a park from where wonderful views can be enjoyed.

Navan  is a busy centre set on high ground where the River Boyne is joined by its tributary the                         Blackwater, close by are the ruins of Athlumney Castle.  Navan's churches, shops and
            handsome town houses are mostly 19th century work.  In the middle of some of the richest                  pasture in Ireland,it was an important market town. in the 1960's Navan became a miming                    town, with the development of Tara Mines.  Europe's greatest source of lead and zinc.

Nobber  was the birthplace of Turlough O'Carolan, composer, poet and the most famous of all Irish
              harpists

Oldcastle  is an idyllic village, five thousand years ago the affluent stone-age community, who lived
                 where Oldcastle now stands, decided to commemorate their dead on the nearby hilltops.
                 Their legacy lives on with Loughcrew Cairns.  Most of them are 'passage graves' built to
                 the same design as the world -famous examples at Newgrange.Oldcastle 's is also home to
                 Loughcrew . The demesne was once the property of Plunkett family and the childhood                        home of its most distinguished member, the 17th century Oliver Plunkett, archbishop,                          martyr and saint.  There can be no doubt that he worshipped in the old church that still                          stands in the gardens.

Rathcairn  is a Gaeltacht area in Meath, where the Irish language is spoken and  the traditional way of                   life is embraced through music and dance.

Slane  is a beautiful manorial village built around a crossroads; the central focus of the village are the
           four fine Georgian Houses facing each other.  The Conynghams, successors of the great                        Norman Lords of Slane, planned Slane.  It was here, from the top of the hill overlooking the                village, that St Patrick lit the paschal flame on Easter eve (in the second half of the fifth                        century, a symbol of the light of Christianity, which was about to sweep away the old pagan
           order. A short distance from the village on the Navan road is Slane Castle, an imposing
           castellated mansion with towers and embattled parapets, built on a beautiful site overlooking
           the river valley.  Built by the Conyngham family, it is the home of Lord Henry, Earl of                          Mountcharles, and has become famous as a concert venue:  the surrounding grounds boasting              a natural amphitheatre of immense size.

Trim  with its magnificent castle by the River Boye is one ot the most spectacular medieval towns in             Ireland.  At The Ford of the Elder tree - as its name in Irish translates - St Patrick  established
          a monastery and left it in the care of his nephew St. Loman.  Great monasteries came to be built
          in the area and the towers and walls of some of them still stand, adding to the beauties of Trim's
          skyline. But the most important event took place in 1172 when Hugh de Lacy began the                       building of the castle.  Declared a dangerous building in 1403, it has remained standing for                 seven hundred years and now, made safe and accessible, it welcomes visitors.  The last sounds
          of battle were heard in 1994 when the castle took its place in the film Braveheart.

For more information on Meath's towns and villages, visit our website

                         www.discoverireland.ie