Donacarney Domhnach Cairnigh Mór | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Castle ruin at Donacarney | |
  Donacarney Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:53°42′34″N6°16′42″W / 53.70944°N 6.27833°W /53.70944; -6.27833 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Meath |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.19 km2 (0.85 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 15,642 |
| Urban area ofLaytown–Bettystown–Mornington–Donacarney | |
Donacarney (Irish:Domhnach Cearnaigh orDomhnach Cairnigh) is a village inCounty Meath,[2] Ireland, close toDrogheda and the border withCounty Louth. It contains one church, two estates, two schools, and one pub.[citation needed] Although it includes thetownlands of Donacarney Great and Donacarney Little, most locals would never use those terms in describing Donacarney. The remains of a late-medievaltower house (see picture to right) are sited close to Donacarney Cross. It is described in theDown Survey (1654–56) as "an ould Castle". It appears in this state on a map of 1771. Blackhills Crescent, Donacarney, takes its name from the area known as theBlack Hills orBlack Hill Lands[3] north of the crossroads and the castle, the old name of which wasCroc a' Searra in Irish.
Together with the neighbouring villages ofLaytown,Bettystown andMornington, it comprises the urban area ofLaytown–Bettystown–Mornington–Donacarney with a combined population of 15,642 at the2022 census.[1]
Donacarney, or Duuenacharny, was recorded as part ofMornington in a 'Charter ofWalter de Lacy reciting and confirming a grant made byHugh his father of various churches & lands in Ireland’ in 1230–1234.[4][5] Thereafter[6] it became part of the manor of Colpe throughout the medieval period. It was in the possession of theAugustinian Abbey at Colp, (a cell ofLlanthony Priory in Monmouthshire) but held and run separate from the manor by a tenant.[7] At theSuppression of the Monasteries in 1536 in became part of the estates ofHenry Draycott. The ruins of the late-medieval tower house were known as ‘Draycott’s Castle’ and is thought to have been burnt in 1641.[8]
Little Donacarney was connected to the eighteenth-century case ofAnnesley v Earl of Anglesea [sic.] (1743). This case was taken to trial to test the claim ofJames Annesley to the title and estates of Earl of Anglesey as the legitimate son and heir of Arthur, lord Altham against the claims of his uncleRichard Annesley, 6th Earl of Anglesey. The trial was commenced in November 1743 by a plea of trespass and ejectment taken against the Richard, Earl of Anglesey for 1,500 acres of the lands of Great and Little Stameen, Little Donacarney, Shallon &c. in the County of Meath, by Campbell Craig for those lands leased to him in May 1742 to him by James Annesley, Esq. and which Craig occupied and was subsequently ejected from in May 1742. This allowed the question of ownership of the estates of the Earl of Anglesey to be raised in the Irish courts. James laid claim to his birthright with the help of the Scottish adventurer and barrister Daniel Mackercher. It has been claimed that the novelKidnapped byRobert Louis Stevenson was inspired by the true story of James Annesley's sale into servitude in America and return to claim his inheritance.
In 1799 a local respectable farmer named Laurence Murray was robbed bybanditti who surrounded the house and broke open the door. They declared "We are not robbers, but patriots; and it is but just that the opulent should contribute to support us, who thus venture ours lives for the good of the country". They left with cash, asugar tongs and a Great Coat, before their captain returned what teaspoons they had taken.[9]
Donacarney has two schools: a boys' school and a girls' school. Roughly 600 pupils attend both schools. The schools share the same campus. The names of the schools are Réalt ná Mara BNS and Réalt ná Mara GNS respectively.[10] The old school hall, which was replaced by the current schools in 1965, was originally opened in 1873. The red-bricked building, beside theforge and old village water pump at Donacarney Cross, now serves as a community centre. It is also used as the local polling centre in elections. The school was given planning permission for a new school in 2012 and the sod was turned.[needs update]. It was officially opened on December 5, 2014, byBishop Michael Smith of Meath.[11]
There is oneRoman Catholic church close to Donacarney in the adjoining townland ofMornington. It is calledStar of the Sea Church. It is also called Mornington Church, and serves the half-parish of Mornington, part of the Laytown-Mornington parish created in 1986, which includes Donacarney.
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