Leixlip - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Politics

Since 1988 Leixlip has had a nine member Town Council (formerly Leixlip Town Commissioners), headed by a Cathaoirleach (chairperson), which has control over many local matters, although it is limited in that it is not also a planning authority. Leixlip also elects four councillors to the principal local authority, Kildare County Council

Kildare County Council

Kildare County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Kildare in Ireland. The Council is responsible for Housing and Community, Roads and Transportation, Urban planning and Development, Amenity and Culture, and Environment. The council is governed by the Local Government...

, in a combined Local Electoral Area with Maynooth

Maynooth

Maynooth is a town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to a branch of the National University of Ireland, a Papal University and Ireland's main Roman Catholic seminary, St. Patrick's College...

.

In 1990 the town's coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

was presented by minister P Flynn

Padraig Flynn

Pádraig "Pee" Flynn is a former Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála in 1977. He was returned at each subsequent election until 1993...

Bus

Dublin Bus provides an extensive service to Leixlip:

The number 66 goes from Maynooth through Leixlip village into Dublin City Centre (and vice versa).

The number 66A goes from Leixlip Confey through Leixlip village into Dublin City Centre (and vice versa).

The number 66B goes from Leixlip HP through Leixlip village into Dublin City Centre (and vice versa).

The number 66D goes from Easton Rd. via Oaklawn and Castletown then through Leixlip village into Dublin City Centre. It operates on a limited capacity leaving Leixlip in the morning (on weekdays only) at 07:50 and a return bus from Dublin City at 17:05 in the evenings.

The number 66X "Xpresso" provides an express bus service from varying parts of the town directly into Dublin city centre in the mornings, and return in the evenings.

The number 66N "Nitelink" provides a late night service on Friday and Saturday night from Dublin city centre to Leixlip, including Captain's Hill.

Flybus are soon to operate a service directly to Dublin Airport.

Rail

Leixlip is connected to the Irish railway network

Rail transport in Ireland

Rail services in Ireland are provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.Most routes in the Republic radiate from Dublin...

on the Dublin – Sligo

Sligo

Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...

line, with two stations, Leixlip (Louisa Bridge), opened on 1 September 1848, and Leixlip (Confey), opened on 2 July 1990, located at either end of the town. While InterCity

InterCity

InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...

services to Sligo do not serve the town, the Maynooth

Maynooth

Commuter service does, the frequency of the trains peaking in the mornings and evenings. Some of these services continue outbound to Mullingar and Longford. Leixlip has the distinction of being the only town in the Republic of Ireland with two operational train stations.

Air

Weston Airport

Weston Airport or Aerfort Weston in Irish, is a publicly licensed executive airport located on the R403 regional road at Leixlip, County Kildare west of Dublin, in Ireland...

is a publicly licensed executive airport just to the south of Leixlip. Its traffic is primarily business/executive as well as private and commercial training.

Local attractions

Leixlip Castle. Built on a rock at the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water, the central part of the castle dates from 1172, just after the Norman Invasion

Norman Invasion of Ireland

The Norman invasion of Ireland was a two-stage process, which began on 1 May 1169 when a force of loosely associated Norman knights landed near Bannow, County Wexford...

of 1171 and is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited buildings in Ireland, pre-dating Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...

by 30 years. It was used as a hunting base by King John when Lord of Ireland

Lordship of Ireland

The Lordship of Ireland refers to that part of Ireland that was under the rule of the king of England, styled Lord of Ireland, between 1177 and 1541. It was created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71 and was succeeded by the Kingdom of Ireland...

in 1185. It was not of major military importance but withstood a 4-day siege by the army of Edward Bruce

Edward Bruce

Edward the Bruce , sometimes modernised Edward of Bruce, was a younger brother of King Robert I of Scotland, who supported his brother in the struggle for the crown of Scotland, then pursued his own claim in Ireland. He was proclaimed High King of Ireland, but was eventually defeated and killed in...

in 1316.

Bought by judge Nicholas White

Nicholas White

Sir Nicholas White was an Irish lawyer and government official during the reign of Elizabeth I.-Background and early career:...

in 1567, it remained in his family until 1728, when Leixlip and 809 acres around it including the castle was then bought by William Conolly

William Conolly

William Conolly , also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner.-Career:...

of nearby Castletown House

Castletown House

Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland's is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of a estate...

for £12,000. His family sold it in 1914. Various famous tenants of the Conollys in the castle included Archbishop Stone, the Protestant Primate (1750s), the Viceroy Lord Townshend

George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend

Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, PC , known as The Viscount Townshend from 1764 to 1787, was a British soldier who reached the rank of field marshal.-Early life:...

(1770s), Lord Waterpark, and Baron de Robeck. In the 1920s it was the residence of the first French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

ambassador to the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

. In 1945 the castle was sold to William Kavanagh, prior to the purchase in April 1958 by The Hon. Desmond Guinness

Desmond Guinness

Hon. Desmond Guinness is an Irish author on Georgian art and architecture and a conservationist.He was the second son of the author and brewer Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne and Diana Mitford...

Castletown House
Castletown House
Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland's is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of a estate...

& The Wonderful Barn
The Wonderful Barn
The Wonderful Barn is a corkscrew-shaped barn built on the edge of Castletown House Estate of the Conolly family, which borders Leixlip and Celbridge, Ireland. It was built in 1743 on the Leixlip side of the Castletown Estate...

. Located off the main street of nearby Celbridge

Celbridge

Celbridge is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. As a town within the Dublin Metropolitan Area and the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the R403 and R405 regional roads....

, Castletown House

Castletown House

is the first grand Palladian House in Ireland - the design of the building led to the construction of Leinster House

Leinster House

Leinster House is the name of the building housing the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland.Leinster House was originally the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its...

and from thence to the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. Begun in 1722 by Speaker William Conolly

William Conolly

William Conolly , also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner.-Career:...

(1662–1729), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons

Irish House of Commons

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

, the lands and the house itself lie in Celbridge, however there is also an entrance from Leixlip, hence there are two modern estates bearing the Castletown name, one in each town. To mark the eastern vista of Castletown a conical shaped building - The Wonderful Barn

The Wonderful Barn

The Wonderful Barn is a corkscrew-shaped barn built on the edge of Castletown House Estate of the Conolly family, which borders Leixlip and Celbridge, Ireland. It was built in 1743 on the Leixlip side of the Castletown Estate...

- was constructed in 1743 with the stairs ascending around the exterior of the building.

A further point of interest is Confey Castle, which the British Publisher and Cartographer Samuel Lewis

Samuel Lewis

Samuel Lewis was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description of each place. The firm of Samuel Lewis and Co. was based in London....

, mentions in the first volume of his 1837 opus "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland". In it he comments that Confey's (or Confoy as he spells it) population was 165, had formerly had a town and a castle of some importance, which were noticed by Camden. Of the tower’s remains were a massive five storey structure with turrets at the north and west angles; that at the north angle containing a winding staircase opening through pointed arches into each storey. The principal entrance was under a semicircular archway. In the war of 1688 the castle is said to have been strongly garrisoned, and to have sustained an attack.

Also of note is Leixlip Spa

Leixlip Spa

The Leixlip Spa situated close to the Royal Canal, Ireland at Louisa Bridge was discovered in 1793 by a group of workmen excavating for the canal...

, a spa found by workmen working on the construction of the Royal Canal, which runs through Leixlip.

Leixlip's main attraction in the past was the Salmon Leap, from which the town is named, a 5 metre waterfall on the Liffey just upstream from the then village. This was a popular place for Dubliners wanting a day out in the country, and the Salmon Leap Inn was built to refresh them. In 1945, a hydroelectric dam was completed and its lake flooded the waterfall.

Religion

Leixlip is divided into two Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

parishes, Leixlip (Our Lady's Nativity) and Confey (St. Charles Borromeo), each with its own parish church. The Church of Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

parish of St Mary's also has a church in Leixlip, located in Main Street. This medieval church was restyled in the 1750s with Gothic windows, and its belltower clock dates from 1720. People from the St. Mary's parish also have their own identity separate from people in the Confey parish. The Confey parish members are known as 'Hillers' and people from the St Mary's parish are known as 'farenders'. There is the usual local rivalry associated with two different parishes which is particularly evident during sporting events.

Education and library

As with religion and sport, education in Leixlip is divided by the two Catholic parishes of Leixlip (Our Lady's Nativity) and Confey (St. Charles Borromeo).

The respective schools in the Confey district are Confey Community College (a community school

Community school

The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...

), Scoil San Carlo (Junior), and San Carlo Senior School (both national schools). The community school of Confey College

Confey College

Confey College is a co-educational Community College in Leixlip, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. The school opened to 36 students in September 1986 and has approximately 620 students at present and about 50 staff members....

has approximately 600 pupils in total, and similarly to Colaiste Chiarain

Coláiste Chiaráin

Coláiste Chiaráin was opened in 1980 to provide second level education to the local area of Leixlip and Celbridge, in Ireland. It has just over 600 students and about 50 staff including office staff, teachers and two caretakers. It has received many science and sporting awards and boasts a big...

is mixed gender and non-denominational. The name "San Carlo", while used as the Irish names of the national schools in the St Charles Borromeo parish, is actually the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

rather than actual Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

translation (which would be "Naomh Cathal").

A modern public library opened in Leixlip in May 2006. It is situated in Confey beside the Town Council Office. It is also near both Scoil San Carlo and Confey Train Station. Among the material library members may borrow from the library include books, DVDs, CDs, computer games and language packs. Leixlip Library hosts a huge variety of events and activities throughout the year. The library also offers free Internet access to library members. Library membership is free to anyone under 18 years of age, while a small membership charge exists for those over 18.

Shopping

The town is not a major retail centre, but there are three supermarkets - a SuperValu

SuperValu (Ireland)

SuperValu is a supermarket chain in Ireland and Spain, owned by the Musgraves wholesaler firm. Its headquarters is located in Cork and has stores across the entirety of Ireland.-Company structure:...

, Eurospar

SPAR

Spar , trades from approximately 12400 stores in 34 countries worldwide and is the world's largest independent voluntary retail trading chain. Spar was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan Van Well and now, through its affiliate organisations, operates through most European...

, and Lidl

Lidl

Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...

. As well as Eurospar, there are also three Spar convenience stores and a Mace in Leixlip. The Liffey Valley Shopping Centre

Liffey Valley Shopping Centre

Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is a shopping centre, that is located in Clondalkin in Dublin 22. The centre opened in 1998 and is located at the junction of the M50 motorway and N4 road...

is a short drive down the N4, and Leixlip is also within easy reach of Dublin city centre's wide variety of shops, as well as the Blanchardstown

Blanchardstown

Blanchardstown is a large suburb of Dublin in the district of Fingal, Ireland. It is within the historical barony of Castleknock. It is located 10 km north-west of the city centre. The suburb is in the Dublin 15 postal area, the Dublin West electoral constituency, and Fingal County...

shopping centre.

It has been agreed to develop a shopping centre in the Collinstown area of Leixlip (opposite Intel), to serve the needs of the North-East Kildare area, comprising Leixlip as well as the towns of Naas, Celbridge, Maynooth and Kilcock, all located within the Dublin Metropolitan Area. This proposal, currently known as the Collinstown Town Centre, is undergoing planning. The developers of the scheme intend to proceed with planning applications in late 2006, with a view to completion in 2010 http://www.treasuryholdings.com/media/article.asp?id=59.

As yet no shopping centre in the Collinstown area of Leixlip has been built or even started.

Arts

There are a number of groups and societies in the town that put on productions and gigs all year round in the town. There are also a number of performing arts schools for young people of the town. Many of these groups joined together and formed PLATFORM, a group focused on obtaining a theatre for the town.

Leixlip Musical & Variety Group (LMVG) are a local amateur group that put on annual musicals and pantomimes in the town.

Bradán Players is an amateur dramatic society that puts on many plays during the year around the town, and further afield. The group has the distinction of winning, and coming 3rd, in the National One-Act Festival in their first year of competing. The group performs a Theatrical Pub Crawl during the Leixlip Festival.

Festival

The Leixlip Festival (previously known as the Salmon Festival) has taken place every year since 1990 on the June bank holiday

Bank Holiday

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...

weekend. It offers live entertainment in pubs, a number of open-air concerts, and also a street carnival.

Most notably, in 1995 the Festival Committee decided to include 'The Arrival of the Vikings' as a theme for the festival. It was decided to invite Viking Re-Enactment groups from the UK to participate in the weekends festivities in full Viking dress and to stage mock battles.

The committee, in conjunction with FAS who at the time provided resources to organise and stage the festival, decided to build a Viking replica ship which would be burnt in a battle re-enactment on the banks of the Liffey on the festival closing night with a fireworks display. Three members of the organising team, with the aid of two FAS carpenters spent 5–6 weeks constructing the to-scale replica ship at the Wonderful Barn site in Leixlip. For the festival, the boat was transferred to the banks of the Liffey in the centre of Leixlip village, where as planned it was ceremoniously burnt on the Festival Sunday night.

The fireworks display continues to take place on the Sunday night since 1995.

Leixlip Salmon Festival Limited also provides a youth training scheme in association with Foras Áiseanna Saothair

Foras Áiseanna Saothair

An Foras Áiseanna Saothair , referred to in English as the Training and Employment Authority and commonly known as FÁS , is a state agency in Ireland with responsibility for assisting those seeking employment...

.
Over the past four years the festival has played host to bands such as The Corona's, Aslan, The Blizzards, The Hot House Flowers, The Republic of Loose and Delorentoes.

Industry

Leixlip's leading employer is Intel, who own a complex consisting of Fabs (fabrication plant) 10 & 14 (IFO), 24, and 24-2 of Intel's manufacturing operations. Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...

is the other main local employer. Most other employment in Leixlip is in retail and the licence trade (see below for details).

Notable people

According to his autobiography, soccer star Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....

lodged in Leixlip for a period from late 1989 when he first started full time training at a Palmerstown FAS course.
Ireland international rugby star Trevor Brennan
Trevor Brennan
Trevor Brennan is a former rugby union player for Barnhall, Bective Rangers, St Marys College RFC, Leinster Rugby, Stade Toulousain and Ireland; being capped 13 times. He played either in the second row or as a flanker.Trevor captained St Mary's College RFC to their only AIB League title in 2000...

grew up in Leixlip, and played for the local rugby team Barnhall RFC
Barnhall RFC
Barnhall Rugby Football Club is a rugby club in Leixlip, County Kildare near Dublin. The club has a very successful history and one of the largest youth rugby programmes in Ireland. Barnhall has 7 senior teams including an under 20's team, a ladies team and underage teams from 19's to 13's at youth...

.
Jack O'Shea
Jack O'Shea
Jack O’Shea is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played football at various times with his local clubs St. Mary’s in Kerry and Leixlip in Kildare. He was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1976 until 1992...

(Kerry footballer) played his football with St. Marys, Leixlip.
David Matthews (Track Athlete) current Irish Record holder for the 800 meters, grew up in Leixlip and ran for the Leixlip athletic club in his early career.
Leixlip was the site of the notorious suicide-by-starvation of 83-year-old Frances Mulrooney and her three nieces, Josephine (46), and twins Catherine and Ruth, (51), discovered July 12, 2001.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/01/17/wire17.xml
David Geraghty solo-artist and Bell X1 member grew up in Leixlip
Martin Grehan, world-renowned falconeer.
Ex-international footballer Don Johnson hailed from Leixlip.
Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...

went to school in Leixlip.
World renowned Rock and Roll band The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

are known to frequent Leixlip when they visit Ireland. They have taken up residence in Leixlip Castle on numerous visits.
Thomas Moolick, Kildare minor and senior footballer.
Enda Murphy,former Kildare senior captain,has represented Ireland in International Rules
Hugh Lynch, Kildare senior footballer.
Arthur Price (archbishop), buried beneath the aisle of St Mary's church, Leixlip
Daniel Slevin, Irish kickboxer
Emma Byrne
Emma Byrne
Emma Anne Byrne is an Irish association footballer from Leixlip in County Kildare. She currently plays as a goalkeeper for the English team Arsenal, and also for the Republic of Ireland women's team.-Club career:...

, Ireland and Arsenal goalkeeper, grew up in Leixlip and played for Leixlip Utd.

Athletics

Le Chéile Athletic Club was founded in 1981 to offer the youth of Leixlip, Maynooth and surrounding areas (aged 7 and older) the opportunity to partake, regardless of their ability, in all athletics disciplines at a club, county and national level. Outside of competing, the club offers its members the opportunity to get fit, stay healthy and have a bit of fun! The club trains every Tuesday and Thursday evening throughout the year at their facility at the Leixlip Amenities Centre, Collinstown, Leixlip

Canoeing

Salmon Leap Canoe Club founded in 1963 is located on the banks of Leixlip Lake. Members of the club have represented Ireland at every Olympic Games from 1972 to 2008. The club is the most successful sprint and marathon club canoe club in Ireland having won the Riba de returds trophy more times than any other club. The club has over 150 active canoeists. One inspiration for the club was the international Liffey Descent canoe race from Straffan

Straffan

Sruthán was mistakenly cited by Thomas O'Connor in the Ordnance Survey Letters in 1837, and adopted as the Irish form of Straffan. Seosamh Laoide used it in his list of Irish names of post-offices published in Post-Sheanchas . An Sruthán gained currency among those involved in the Irish revival...

to Dublin, which passes through Leixlip and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

Gaelic games

Leixlip has two Gaelic Athletic Association

Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

clubs, Leixlip GAA

Leixlip GAA

Leixlip GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland. They were senior football finalists in 1986, club of the year 1979, and home club of Matt Goff who featured on the Kildare millennium football team at full-back....

founded in 1887 and Confey GAA

Confey GAA

Confey GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland and won Kildare's Club of the Year award in 2004.-Honours:Kildare GAA Club of the Year 2004Hurling...

founded recently in 1989. People from the St. Mary's parish also have their own identity separate from people in the Confey parish. The Confey parish members are known as 'Hillers' and people from the St Mary's parish are known as 'farenders'. There is the usual local rivalry associated with two different parishes which is particularly evident during sporting events.

Soccer

There are also four amateur football clubs, Confey F.C., Leixlip United F.C.

Leixlip United F.C.

Leixlip United F.C. are a football club from Leixlip, Kildare. The club became in existence in 1959 however it was officially formed in 1969. Leixlip United play their home games at Leixlip Amenities Center, Leixlip.Current Senior SquadJack Moran...

, Barnhall Rovers and Leixlip Town FC. Confey FC and Leixlip United FC both participate in Dublin District leagues (or in the case of both clubs' senior teams the Leinster Senior Football League). Leixlip Town FC and Barnhall Rovers on the other hand participate in the UCFL Dublin League.

Rugby

Barnhall Rugby Football Club, a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

club, which competes in the All-Ireland League is also located on the outskirts of the town, it is actually in Celbridge and is registered as such with the IRFU. The Le Cheile Athletics Club trains at its grounds based at the Amenities Centre and the members compete in indoor, outdoor track & field events and cross country competition at county,provincial and national level.

Basketball

Liffey Celtics Basketball Club is the local basketball club for ages girls aged 8–18, boys teams U11 & U12 and boys academy group. There are 8 underage basketball teams competing in the Dublin Area Board League and Cup competition. Training and home matches take place at the Amenities Centre and Confey GAA hall.
The club now has a senior women's team competing in the Basketball Ireland National League and in Division 1 Dublin Leagues.
Liffey Celtics welcome new members.

Fishing

Leixlip has been the host to many coarse fishing competitions thanks to the permanently pegged stretch of the Royal Canal. The Leixlip stretch consists of 62 marked pegs and there is also the Confey stretch consisting of sixty pegs. These swims as well as the large fish stocks have created a unique fishery. Conditions are suited to both the pleasure and match angler.
The Rye river runs through Carton Demesne and through the Intel Ireland site, the fishing on the river is mainly trout with the occasional salmon.The Leixlip stretch is controlled by the Leixlip and District Angling Association and permits to fish are available from the local Amenity centre.Trout up to 2 lbs are regularly taken, with fish of 1/2 lb to 1 lb being the average.

Sports centre

A sports centre, Leixlip Amenities Centre, is located in the town with various facilities, including a children's playground, sports hall, astro turf football pitches and tennis courts. The centre provides fitness classes such as yoga, spinning classes, Step, Ciruit Training to name but a few.

Body Building

World renowned bodybuilder Sean "Fago" Fagan, known for his naturally muscular physique, hails from Glendale in Leixlip. Sean has recently turned his talents to coaching, with such notable students as junior Leinster champion Gavin O'Reilly.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Leixlip is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

with the following towns:
Bressuire

Bressuire

Bressuire is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in France. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton.-Notable buildings:...

, France

France

Niles

Niles, Illinois

Niles is a village in Maine and Niles Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 29,803.The current mayor of Niles is Robert M. Callero.-History:Niles was first settled in 1827....

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.