Mooncoin Móin Choinn (Irish) | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Church at Mooncoin | |
  Mooncoin Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:52°17′44″N7°15′34″W / 52.29556°N 7.25944°W /52.29556; -7.25944 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Kilkenny |
| Barony | Iverk |
| Government | |
| • Type | County Council |
| • Body | Kilkenny CountyCouncil |
| • Dáil constituency | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| • European Parliament | Ireland South |
| Elevation | 25 m (82 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,175 |
| Time zone | UTC±00:00 (GMT) |
| Irish Grid Reference | S 503 162 |
Mooncoin (Irish:Móin Choinn, meaning 'Coyne's Bogland') is anurban area inCounty Kilkenny, in Ireland.[3] The population was 1,175 in 2016.[2] Historically part of theGaelic kingdom ofOsraige, today it is in the far south of thecounty of Kilkenny, located in the valley of theRiver Suir. It is surrounded by the uplands of theSlievenamon andComeragh Mountains, just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north ofWaterford City along theN24 nationalprimary road (Waterford toLimerick), and it is 48 kilometres (30 mi) south ofKilkenny.[4]
The village's name derives from an anglicized version of theIrish "Móin Choinn" which means "Coyne's Bogland".[4] The song "The Rose of Mooncoin" by poet Watt Murphy has been adopted as theKilkenny GAA anthem. The village has continually received high scores in theTidy Towns competition.[5][6][7]
WhileWilliam Carrigan recorded the meaning as unknown, according toO'Kelly 1969 the village's name derives from an anglicized version of theIrish "Móin Choinn", with "móin" meaning "bogland" and the "coine" suffix meaning "Coyne" or "Choinn", so, translated, it is "Coyne's Bogland".[4][8][9] The Grant family, including Coyne Grant, were property owners in the area.[4][9] Recorded as "Moincoin" in a ballad about thebattle of Carrickshock, called "Carraig Seac" and made famous by the song 'The Rose of Mooncoin'.[10] Mooncoin gives its name to atownland, and the Catholic parish of Mooncoin.[11][12]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1837 | 495 | — |
| 1961 | 507 | +2.4% |
| 1966 | 505 | −0.4% |
| 1971 | 413 | −18.2% |
| 1979 | 684 | +65.6% |
| 1981 | 806 | +17.8% |
| 1986 | 868 | +7.7% |
| 1991 | 810 | −6.7% |
| 1996 | 855 | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 854 | −0.1% |
| 2011 | 1,002 | +17.3% |
| 2016 | 1,175 | +17.3% |
| [4][12] | ||
Mooncoin is situated in theSuir Valley, at the south ofCounty Kilkenny in theprovince ofLeinster in the south-east of Ireland. The linear village, which lacks a traditional village centre, stretches along theN24 nationalprimary road with little development north and south. It is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) fromWaterford City and 48 kilometres (30 mi) south of thecounty town,Kilkenny. Located in thebarony ofIverk, Mooncoin is in the civil parishes of Pollrone, Rathkieran, and Ballytarsney.[3]
The population in the2011 census was 1,166, of which the majority (776) lived in the electoral division of Pollrone, and the remaining 390 in the Portnascully electoral division.[13] The village includes shops, traditional cottages, large private dwellings, and a parish hall.[4] The main street lies between the two crossroads, the western end includes the church, convent, and school.[4] At the eastern end is a number of buildings in their own grounds, including the two schools.[4] There are two primary schools, one for boys and one for girls, in Mooncoin along with a secondary school. To the north of the village is the Waterford-Limerick railway line.[4]
The continued growth in the population supports a number of businesses.[citation needed] There are two pubs (reduced from three after Howleys closed), three convenience stores, a pharmacy, a bakery, a hairdresser, and two takeaways. There is a 24-hour petrol station on the Waterford road side of the village.[citation needed]
Historically part of theGaelic kingdom ofOsraige. Prior to theCromwellian conquest of Ireland, Coyne Grant and the Grant family were property owners in Pollrone, Dungooly and Ballynabooly.[4][9] Following the construction of a new road, Mooncoin developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[4]
Mooncoin was the head of aRoman Catholic union or district, comprising the parishes of Rathkyran, Aglishmartin, Portnescully, Poleroan, Clonmore, Ballytarsna, Tubrid, and part of Burnchurch.[12] The parish of Mooncoin has three churches – the main parish church in Mooncoin and two smaller churches inKillinaspick andCarrigeen.
In 1829, the Parish Priest, Rev. Nicholas Carroll, bought thePresentation Sisters a house in the centre of the village. They began teaching, and by 1842, Mooncoin had a girls' school with 200 pupils.[14] Samuel Lewis' (1837) in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, described it as "a village and extra-parochial place" and "containing 102 houses and 495 inhabitants".[12] The single cell church of the Assumption is Church was built in 1869, and in 1871 the Convent school was built next to the Church.[4][15]
Mooncoin has been made famous by the song 'The Rose of Mooncoin', which has been adopted as theKilkenny GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) anthem by Paddy Grace. This is an apt acknowledgement of the village, as Mooncoin (along withTullaroan) was one of the leadinghurling teams in the country in the early years of theGaelic Athletic Association.
The song was written in the 1800s by a local schoolteacher and poet namedWatt Murphy, who met and gradually fell in love with a local girl called Elizabeth, also known as Molly. Elizabeth was just 20 years old, and Watt was then 56, but the difference in age was of no consequence to either of them. Both wereintellectuals, and they would often stroll along the banks of theriver Suir, composing and reciting poetry. However, Elizabeth's father, who was the localvicar, did not approve of their relationship, and she was sent away toEngland. Watt was brokenhearted at the loss of his beloved lady and wrote this song in her memory.
"How sweet 'tis to roam by the sunnySuir stream,
And hear the dove's coo 'neath the morning's sunbeam.
Where the thrush and the robin their sweet notes combine
On the banks of the Suir that flows down by Mooncoin.Flow on, lovely river, flow gently along.
By your waters so sweet sounds the lark's merry song.
On your green banks I'll wander where first I did join
With you, lovely Molly, the Rose of Mooncoin.Oh Molly, dear Molly, it breaks my fond heart,
To know that we two for ever must part
I will think of you, Molly, while sun and moon shines
On the banks of the Suir that flows down by Mooncoin..."
Mooncoin have beenCounty Kilkenny SeniorHurlingChampions twelve times, 1888, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1913, 1916, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1936 and 1965. They were also Senior CountyGaelic football Champions in 1886, beating James Stephens (The Village) in areplay. The most famous and successful GAA player in Mooncoin's history wasRichard 'Drug' Walsh (1878–1958). He won 7 all Ireland medals with Kilkenny and famously captained Kilkenny to three all Ireland finals (1907, 1909, 1913). Only two other people in the history of hurling have achieved this same feat:Christy Ring of Cork and Mikey Maher of Tipperary in the 1890s. The club won its first Club All-Ireland hurling title in 2022 after defeating Cork's Ballygiblin in Croke Park.
Mooncoin Celtic Football Club is located in the village.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Places inCounty Kilkenny | ||
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