Ennistimon
Encyclopedia
Ennistymon or Ennistimon is a country market town in County Clare
, near the west coast of Ireland
. A popular tourist spot, it has a typical Irish main street, with many traditional pubs. The River Inagh, which has some small rapids known as "the Cascades" runs through the town, behind the main street. A bridge across the river leads to nearby Lahinch
, on the N67
national secondary road
. The town is connected to Ennis
by the N85
(which is actually the main street through the town).
Ennistymon was the birthplace of Kootenay Brown
(by birth John George Brown, 10 October 1839 – 18 July 1916), the Irish-Canadian
polymath
, soldier, trader and conservation
advocate.
formerly passed through the town, connecting it to Ennis and the West Clare coastal towns and villages. Ennistymon railway station opened on 2 July 1887. The railway finally closed on 1 February 1961.
Nowadays the town has a bus service to Ennis and other towns as well as the 337 which departs every morning at 8:45 am and every afternoon at 1:35pm and goes to Ennis, Limerick and onwards to Dublin.
The monument was designed by an artist from Co Kerry and depicts an account found in the Minutes of the Meetings of the Boards of Guardians for Ennistymon Union held in the County Archives. http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/et_minutes/ennistymon_minutes.htm The account centered on a note that was pinned to the torn shirt of a barefoot orphan boy who was left at the workhouse door on the freezing cold morning of February 25, 1848. The note read:
One side of the memorial depicts a child standing before the workhouse door, while across from that is the head of an anguished mother and two hands clenched in frustration or anger above the sorrowful text of the pleading note.
. It will do so again between the 4th and 6 November 2011. The town is memorialized in the song "Ennistymon on the Inagh" by Tadhg Ó hEagráin.
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, near the west coast of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. A popular tourist spot, it has a typical Irish main street, with many traditional pubs. The River Inagh, which has some small rapids known as "the Cascades" runs through the town, behind the main street. A bridge across the river leads to nearby Lahinch
Lahinch
Lahinch or Lehinch is a village on Liscannor Bay, on the northwest coast of County Clare, in northern Munster, Ireland. It lies on the N67 national secondary road....
, on the N67
N67 road (Ireland)
The N67 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It runs from Kilcolgan to Tarbert and passes though Kinvara, Ballyvaughan, Lisdoonvarna, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, Quilty, Doonbeg and Kilkee.-See also:*Roads in Ireland*Motorways in Ireland...
national secondary road
National secondary road
A national secondary road is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network, but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national primary roads. National secondary roads are designated with route numbers higher than those...
. The town is connected to Ennis
Ennis
Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original ....
by the N85
N85 road (Ireland)
The N85 road is a national secondary road in Ireland connecting Ennis and Ennistymon. The route connects to the M18 Ennis bypass and forms part of the Ennis outer ring road as the "N85 Western Relief Road". From Ennis the route continues in a north - west direction and terminates at the junction...
(which is actually the main street through the town).
Ennistymon was the birthplace of Kootenay Brown
Kootenay Brown
John George Brown , better known as "Kootenai" Brown, was an Irish-born Canadian polymath, soldier, trader and conservation advocate....
(by birth John George Brown, 10 October 1839 – 18 July 1916), the Irish-Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
, soldier, trader and conservation
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
advocate.
Name
The town's official name is Ennistimon, although Ennistymon is the spelling most widely used. Historically, it was spelled Inishdymon. This is believed to derive from Inis Diomáin meaning "Diomán's island". However, Míchéal Ó Raghallaigh argues that the name is derived from Inis Tí Méan meaning "island of the middle house" or "river meadow of the middle house".Transport
The West Clare RailwayWest Clare Railway
The West Clare Railway originally operated in County Clare, Ireland between 1887 and 1961, and has partially re-opened. This gauge narrow gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush and Kilkee...
formerly passed through the town, connecting it to Ennis and the West Clare coastal towns and villages. Ennistymon railway station opened on 2 July 1887. The railway finally closed on 1 February 1961.
Memorial
The 'An Gorta Mór' Memorial was erected a mile outside Ennistymon on the road to Lahinch to commemorate the memory of the victims of the great potato crop failures/famine of 1845 to 1850 known as the Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór). It was dedicated on August 20, 1995 – the 150th anniversary of that tragedy. Located across from Ennistymon Hospital, itself built on the grounds of the local workhouse, it was erected by a combined effort of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) Board of Erin and Board of America and the Clare County Council.The monument was designed by an artist from Co Kerry and depicts an account found in the Minutes of the Meetings of the Boards of Guardians for Ennistymon Union held in the County Archives. http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/et_minutes/ennistymon_minutes.htm The account centered on a note that was pinned to the torn shirt of a barefoot orphan boy who was left at the workhouse door on the freezing cold morning of February 25, 1848. The note read:
Gentlemen,
There is a little boy named Michael Rice of Lahinch aged about 4 years. He is an orphan, his father having died last year and his mother has expired on last Wednesday night, who is now about to be buried without a coffin!! Unless ye make some provision for such. The child in question is now at the Workhouse Gate expecting to be admitted, if not it will starve. -- Rob S. Constable'
One side of the memorial depicts a child standing before the workhouse door, while across from that is the head of an anguished mother and two hands clenched in frustration or anger above the sorrowful text of the pleading note.
Parish of Ennistymon
The Parish of Ennistymon has three churches; Ennistymon, Lahinch & Clouna. In recent times the church in Furglan was closed reducing the number of churches from four to three. The church at Ennistymon was built in 1831. The current church in Ennistymon was built in 1954.Education
Ennistymon has two primary schools and three secondary schools. Scoil Mhainichin and Mol an Oige Steiner School make up the primary education. Ennistymon CBS, the Vocational School and Scoil Mhuire provide secondary education.Cultural
In November 2009, Ennistymon played host to the first Irish Discworld Convention, based around the works of author Terry PratchettTerry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
. It will do so again between the 4th and 6 November 2011. The town is memorialized in the song "Ennistymon on the Inagh" by Tadhg Ó hEagráin.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland.
- Market Houses in IrelandMarket Houses in the Republic of IrelandMarket houses are a notable feature of many Irish towns with varying styles of architecture, size and ornamentation making for a most interesting feature of the streetscape. Originally there were three, four or even five bays on the ground floor which were an open arcade. An upper floor was...