Johnstown historically known as Freaghillan , is a village in County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is located 2 km north of Naas

Naas

Naas is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. With a population of just over twenty thousand, it is also the largest town in the county. Naas is a major commuter suburb, with many people residing there and working in Dublin...

 just off the N7 at junction 8. It is approximately 25 km from Dublin City Centre, and is a home for commuters working in Dublin and Naas

Naas

Naas is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. With a population of just over twenty thousand, it is also the largest town in the county. Naas is a major commuter suburb, with many people residing there and working in Dublin...

. Most of the housing was built after 1990 and so it has a community website to foster local links.

The main street was a part of the old main road southwest from Dublin towards Cork and Limerick, and the village was a hamlet in 1970. The Johnstown Inn was a busy coaching

Coach (carriage)

A coach was originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, controlled by a coachman and/or one or more postilions. It had doors in the sides, with generally a front and a back seat inside and, for the driver, a small, usually elevated seat in...

 stop until the 19th century, and outside it the Cork mail coach was stopped and burned at the start of the 1798 rebellion. It had a post office that closed in the 1920s, and still has the ruins of the medieval St John's church that became a ruin after 1500. The church is famous for the grave of the earl of Mayo

Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo

Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo KP, GMSI, PC , styled Lord Naas between 1842 and 1867, was a statesman and prominent member of the British Conservative Party from Dublin, Ireland....

, the viceroy who was killed in India in 1872.

The main road eventually bypassed Johnstown in 1964 when the Naas Dual Carriageway was finished. This was enlarged into the 6-lane N7 road from Dublin to Johnstown, after which it reduces to the 4-lane M7 motorway that runs towards Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

.

The main housing estates in the village are:

• Johnstown Manor
• St John's Grove
• Johnstown Gardens
• Furness Manor

Businesses located in the village and environs include:

• Johnstown Garden Centre
• Londis (Group Support Office and warehouse)
• Jordan's Centra
• OC Consulting
• Jack & Jill Foundation
• Johnstown Inn
• Kildare Kitchen
• The Irish Equine Centre
• Palmerstown House golf course

Johnstown should not be confused with Johnstown Bridge

Johnstown Bridge

Johnstown Bridge is a village in County Kildare in Ireland. It is situated just inside the border with County Meath on the R402 regional road. Enfield, County Meath is 2 km north, across the M4 motorway....

 in north Kildare, near the M4 motorway.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland