Rathangan, County Kildare

Rathangan (; ) is a town in the west of County Kildare, Ireland, with a population of 2,374. It is located  from the centre of Dublin, and  from Kildare, at the intersection of the R401, R414, and R419 regional roads. The Slate River and the Grand Canal run through the town.

Rathangan is situated beside the Bog of Allen, and is in close proximity to the lowlands of the Curragh. In recent years, the town has grown significantly to become a big commuter base for people working in Dublin.

History 
The rath or fort of Iomghain, from which the town gets its name, has been dated to between 600 and 700 AD, and is situated to the northwest of the modern town on the Clonbulloge road. The extension of the Grand Canal to Monasterevin and Athy in the late 18th century led to the current layout of the town, due to the building of houses  for the canal engineers which were complemented by grander houses for the local gentry.

Lewis's Topographical Dictionary 1837: RATHANGAN, a market and post-town, and a parish, partly in the barony of EAST OPHALY, but chiefly in that of WEST OPHALY, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 14 ¾ miles (W.) from Naas, and 30 (S. W. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Kildare to Edenderry; containing 2911 inhabitants, of which number, 1165 are in the town, which is entirely in the barony of West Ophaly, and near the Grand Canal, and in 1831 contained 215 houses.

It is a chief station of the constabulary police, and has a market on Monday, and fairs in June, and on 26 Aug. and 12 Nov.. The parish comprises 8872 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the principal seat within its limits is Tottenham Green, that of Geo. Tottenham, Esq.

The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Kildare, being the corps of the prebend of Rathangan in the cathedral of Kildare, and in the patronage of the Duke Dumont of Leinster and the Bishop, of whom the former has the right of presentation for two turns and the latter for one: the tithes amount to £553. 16. 11. The glebe-house was erected in 1810, by aid of a loan of £625 and a gift of £100 from the late board of First Fruits; and there is a glebe comprising 29a. 2r. 26p. The church is a neat edifice with a handsome tower; the whole is in excellent order. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Kildare. The chapel is a spacious building: there is also a meeting-house for the Society of Friends. In a school under the National Board, and one supported by Lord Harberton, about 200 children are educated; and there are three private schools, in which are about 120 children. There is a dispensary in the town, supported in the usual manner.

Bord na Móna's increased activity in the 1940s boosted the population and the number of transient workers, but the closure of the canal systems and the decline of bog based interests of the company led to a decline in the town's fortunes. This in turn led to an increase in emigration by the town's young people.

The upturn of Ireland's economy in the 1990s again led to increased prosperity, and the extension of the M7 through the nearby towns of Kildare and Monasterevin has made Dublin more accessible.

Sports 
The primary sporting activities in Rathangan are Gaelic football (Rathangan GAA), tennis, soccer, and hurling (cricket, rugby, polo, and chess are also played). Rathangan AFC is a soccer club in the town. Ardscoil Rath Iomghain  became Leinster Champions on 5 March 2015. They were crowned all Ireland Champions for the first time in the school's footballing history.

Culture 
For several years the Rathangan Lughnasa festival was held during the August Bank Holiday weekend, to celebrate the arts and crafts, music, literature, history, and sports of the town. Damien Dempsey, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, The Blizzards, The Walls, Jack L, Lemon and John Spillane have all performed in the town as part of the Lughnasa since 2004. In 2009 The Lughnasa Festival played host the biggest concert ever staged in Rathangan when international band The Waterboys headlined the bill which also included Mundy.

Notable people 
Bruce Springsteen; In 2015, US genealogist Megan Smolenyak published an article in Irish America Magazine stating that Springsteen’s great-great-grandmother, Ann Garrity, came from the townland of Mount Prospect. Ms Garrity was 14 years of age when she left Ireland in 1852 for Freehold, New Jersey.
Sean J Conlon, Founder & Owner of Conlon & Co, a real estate merchant bank in Chicago and Host of The Deed: Chicago on CNBC
Brian Dowling; winner of Big Brother in 2001 and Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, ex-presenter of SMTV, and The Mint.
Jedward, twin duo who gained fame on the UK talent show The X Factor.
George Pomeroy Colley, British military strategist and diplomat, Governor of South Africa.
William A. Byrne (William Dara), poet, was from Rathangan and wrote about the place.
Maura Laverty, writer, broadcaster and journalist
Edward Broy, revolutionary, republican, founder of Garda Síochána

See also 
 List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

External links

Rathangan community website
Kildare County Council website for Rathangan

Category:Towns and villages in County Kildare