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Rathkeale Ráth Caola
Town
Rathkeale main street, with former Central Cinema
Rathkeale Location in Ireland
Coordinates:52°31′00″N8°56′00″W / 52.516667°N 8.933333°W /52.516667; -8.933333
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Limerick
Elevation	45 m (148 ft)
Population  (2016)[1]	1,441
Irish Grid Reference	R360420

Rathkeale (Irish:Ráth Caola, meaning 'Caola'sringfort'^[2][3]) is a town in westCounty Limerick, in Ireland. It is 30 km (18 mi) southwest ofLimerick city on theN21 road toTralee,County Kerry, and lies on theRiver Deel. The town is in atownland andcivil parish of the same name.^[3]

It has a significantIrish Traveller population, and since 1995, almost half the town residents have been members of the travelling community.^[4] Rathkeale also has the largest concentration of descendants of theGerman Palatines who immigrated to Ireland in the early 18th century.

Rathkeale has shopping facilities, a museum, two primary schools, and a community college (Coláiste na Trócaire, founded in 1995). The town has a largeRoman Catholic parish church, St. Mary's,^[5][6]AugustinianAbbey ruins, and the Holy TrinityChurch of Ireland church.

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On the southwestern edge of the town is the 15th-century tower house of Castle Matrix. The castle was built as a fortress during the early 1400s byThomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, and was later the home ofMaurice FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Desmond. It contains a display of art objects, holds historical records, and is one of a series of significant Desmond properties in County Limerick (see alsoAdare,Askeaton, andNewcastle West).

In the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Church are many gravestones bearing names of IrishPalatine families. These families came from Rheinland-Pfalz, in theRhineland Palatinate,Germany as refugees in 1709. Many of their descendants now live in North America.^[7] The region around Rathkeale, namely the townlands of Killeheen, Ballingrane, and Courtmatrix, contains the largest concentration of Palatine descendants in Ireland today. Rathkeale's former railway station on the closed North Kerry railway line fromLimerick toTralee has been converted into the Irish Palatine Museum.

Bus:Rathkeale is served byBus Eireann routes 13 and 14 which operate between Limerick and Tralee and Killarney respectively.

Railways:Rathkeale railway station opened on 1 January 1867, closed for passenger traffic on 4 February 1963, and permanently closed on 2 December 1974.^[8] TheGreat Southern Trail, an off-road trail for cyclists and walkers, is agreenwayrail trail which follows the route of the former Limerick-Tralee railway line between Rathkeale andAbbeyfeale.^[9]

• Sean (Jackie) Finn, Brigadier of the 4th (Rathkeale) West Limerick Battalion of the IRA during theIrish War of Independence was a native of Rathkeale. His grave in the local graveyard features an impressive Celtic cross.
• The town is reportedly home to many members of theRathkeale Rovers crime group, who own much of the property within the town.^[10]

• There is a largeGAA training facility in Rathkeale calledMick Neville Park, which is owned byLimerick GAA and is used by the county teams for training and some matches. It also hosts a number of club games throughout the GAA season.^[11]
• Rathkeale A.F.C., who compete in the Limerick Desmond League Premier Division, and whose home ground is at Holy Cross, just outside the north side of the town.^[12]
• Rathkeale GAA, who have both hurling and football teams, and whose home ground "the bog garden" is just outside the town on the north side.^[13]

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRathkeale.

• Towns and villages in County Limerick
• Townlands of County Limerick
• Civil parishes of County Limerick
• Irish Travellers

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