Banagher
Banagher ( or ) is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The town had a population of 3,000 at the height of its economic growth in the mid-19th century. According to the 2022 census, its population was 1,907. Banagher was historically an important strategic location on the River Shannon and was one of the few crossing points between the provinces of Leinster and Connacht. It thus became a natural focus for a number of historical buildings, including a 19th-century Martello Tower and a number of castles around the town, which were built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The town used to be the focus of thriving river business and was an important stop on the Dublin to Limerick navigation. It supported a number of industries, including a maltings and distillery, which are now defunct. Tourism has supplanted this to a certain extent with a modern marina providing support for river cruisers and watersports facilities and the town is an angling centre, with particular attraction for pike anglers. Banagher is the centre of the Shannon Callows, grassy meadows which flood in winter and provide living space for waterfowl. Etymology There are more than twenty places in Ireland called Banagher or a version thereof. Banagher can be derived as the anglicised version of the Irish 'Beannchor' or 'Beannchar'. Most Irish placenames relate to topographical features and this is the case with 'Beannchor' - in this sense 'beann' refers to or means a 'peak' or 'top' and is widely used in the names of hills and mountains while 'cor' also appears in numerous placenames and refers to or means a rounded or curved hill, such as Cor Hill, Cormore, Corbeg Corbane and many others. A related interpretation uses the Irish form in its two-word version, understood in English as "the place of the pointed rocks on the Shannon". History It is thought that St. Rynagh (also Reynagh, Rinagh), who founded Banagher and after whom the parish is named, was a sister of St. Finnian of Clonard. According to research, they came from a place near New Ross in County Wexford. It is known that contact was maintained between Rynagh's Wexford home and her foundation at Banagher, and her mother came to live there. It is recorded that Reynagh's mother, Talech, or Talacia, became Abbess of the Banagher convent. The death of St. Finnian is assigned to 563, but there does not seem to be an authoritative statement as to the date of St. Rynagh's death, although according to St. Rynagh's Parish Church in Banagher, St. Rynagh died about 610. The place of her burial is uncertain but it is likely to have been in either Banagher or Kilmacduagh near Gort, the monastery founded by her son, St. Colman. Origins The settlement that grew to become Banagher originated at a ford on the east bank of the River Shannon. The river banks