Kenmare Irish:Neidín | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Henry Street, Kenmare | |
  Kenmare Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:51°52′48″N9°35′01″W / 51.8801°N 9.5835°W /51.8801; -9.5835 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Kerry |
| Population | 2,566 |
| Irish Grid Reference | V908709 |
| Website | www |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 605 | — |
| 1831 | 1,072 | +77.2% |
| 1841 | 1,339 | +24.9% |
| 1851 | 1,509 | +12.7% |
| 1861 | 1,200 | −20.5% |
| 1871 | 1,205 | +0.4% |
| 1881 | 1,279 | +6.1% |
| 1891 | 1,189 | −7.0% |
| 1901 | 1,122 | −5.6% |
| 1911 | 1,034 | −7.8% |
| 1926 | 883 | −14.6% |
| 1936 | 921 | +4.3% |
| 1946 | 906 | −1.6% |
| 1951 | 907 | +0.1% |
| 1956 | 1,054 | +16.2% |
| 1961 | 1,046 | −0.8% |
| 1966 | 1,113 | +6.4% |
| 1971 | 903 | −18.9% |
| 1981 | 1,123 | +24.4% |
| 1986 | 1,130 | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 1,366 | +20.9% |
| 1996 | 1,420 | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 1,844 | +29.9% |
| 2006 | 1,701 | −7.8% |
| 2011 | 2,175 | +27.9% |
| 2016 | 2,376 | +9.2% |
| 2022 | 2,566 | +8.0% |
| [2][3][4][5][6][7][1] | ||
Kenmare (Irish:Neidín, meaning 'the little nest')[8][9] is a small town in the south ofCounty Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is theanglicised form ofCeann Mara,[8] meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. It is also atownland andcivil parish.[9]
Kenmare is located at the head ofKenmare Bay (where it reaches the farthest inland), sometimes called the Kenmare River, where the Roughty River (An Ruachtach) flows into the sea, and at the junction of theIveragh Peninsula and theBeara Peninsula. It is also located near theMacGillycuddy's Reeks,Mangerton Mountain andCaha Mountains and is a popularhillwalking destination. Nearby towns and villages areTuosist,Ardgroom,Glengarriff,Kilgarvan,Killarney,Templenoe andSneem.
Kenmare is in theKerry constituency ofDáil Éireann.
Evidence of ancient settlement in the Kenmare area includes one of the largeststone circles in the south-west of Ireland.[10] Close to the town, this stone circle shows occupation in the area going back to at least the Bronze Age (2,200–500 B.C), when it was constructed. The circle has 15 stones around the circumference with a boulder dolmen in the centre.[10]
Vikings are said to have raided the area around the town which at that time was calledCeann Mhara, which means "head of the sea" in Irish.
The entire area was granted to the English economist and scientist SirWilliam Petty byOliver Cromwell as part payment for completing the mapping of Ireland, theDown Survey in 1656. He laid out the modern town circa 1670. Before him, a previous surveyor of Ireland,Sir Valentine Browne (1510–1589), ancestor of theEarl of Kenmare, was granted some lands inCounty Kerry during the resulting plantation, theMunster Plantation.
The three main streets that form a triangle in the centre of the town are called Main Street (originally William Street, after Sir William, 1st. Marquis of Lansdowne), Henry Street (originally Sound Road), after the son of William the 1st. Marquis and Shelbourne Street (Henry Petty became the firstEarl of Shelburne). This name was also later applied toShelbourne Road in Dublin.
The convent in the town, thePoor Clare Sisters, was founded in 1861 when five nuns including Sister Mary Frances Cusack (The Nun of Kenmare), who was also an author and publisher of many books, moved to Kenmare from their convent inNewry,County Down. Under the guidance of Mother Abbess O'Hagan in 1864 alace-working industry was established andKenmare lace became noted worldwide. The convent no longer exists and Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine secondary school occupies this site since 2001.
A suspension bridge, which is claimed to be the first in Ireland, over the Kenmare River was opened in 1841 and served the community till 1932 when it was replaced by a new concrete bridge.[11]
During and after theCivil War (1922–1923), there were a number of incidents in Kenmare, including thekilling of O'Connor brothers in September 1922 by theAnti-Treaty IRA,[12] and the brutal assault against the allegedlyUnionist daughters of a local doctor by threeDublin Guard officers led byPaddy Daly in 1923 (which is sometimes referred to as the 'Kenmare incident').[13] Kenmare was briefly held by the Anti-Treaty IRA, during theIrish Civil War, before being successfully retaken by theIrish Army in December 1922.[12]
The town library is one of theCarnegie Libraries funded byAndrew Carnegie. It opened in 1918, and the architect was R.M. Butler.[14][15] The library building is now home to the Carnegie Arts Centre and theatre, hosting a local drama group and a number of travelling productions each year, as well as music and comedy nights.[16]
Holy Cross Catholic Church in Kenmare was consecrated in 1864. It was built under the guidance of Archdeacon Fr. John O'Sullivan – who is interred within the church.[17] The church has stained glass windows by O'Connor London (1863), by Caseys Dublin (1864) and by Earley Dublin (1864). The organ is by Telford & Telford(1865). Buried in the church grounds is MonsignorFrancis Cremin (died 2001), who was a periitus or theological expert at Vatican II. He was a native of Kenmare and had been Professor of Canon Law and Moral Theology at St Patrick's College, Maynooth from 1949 until 1980. He was a brother of Con Cremin, an Irish diplomat, who represented Ireland in France and Germany during World War II and subsequently in Portugal, the Holy See, the United Kingdom and at the United Nations.
TheChurch of Ireland church of St Patrick celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008.[18] The town has been a winner in theIrish Tidy Towns Competition in 2013, 2000 and was a runner-up in 2003 and 2008.
Kenmare lies on two noted Irish tourist routes, theRing of Kerry and theRing of Beara, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi) fromKillarney. As a result, it is a popular tourist destination and many of the businesses in the area cater to tourists. The town is noted for its food and pubs.
Since the late 1990s the tourism industry has driven local construction work,[citation needed] with land being sold at high prices todevelopers wishing to buildestates ofholiday homes.[19] This has led to an increase in the town's population, particularly during the peak tourist season, and prompted fears among some residents that the town is becoming overdeveloped and losing much of its identity.[20]
Inter-countyGaelic footballersMickey 'Ned' O'Sullivan,Stephen O'Brien andPaul O'Connor are from the Kenmare area, whilePat Spillane is from nearbyTemplenoe. Kenmare is also the home of Irish Olympicslalom skierThos Foley.
Kenmare was home to composerErnest John Moeran for a number of years up to his death and a local bar was named after him – but has since been renamed.[citation needed] DiplomatCon Cremin was also from Kenmare, as is senatorMark Daly. WriterAnna McPartlin grew up in Kenmare, and her 2007 novelApart from the Crowd was set in the town.
Francis Brennan is the owner of the five-star Park Hotel in Kenmare.[21] He and his brother John, owner of the nearby Dromquinna Manor Hotel in Templenoe, are known for their TV series "At Your Service".[22]
Due to its location at the centre of a large agricultural area, Kenmare served as the localmarket town. Until the establishment of an auctionmart in the early 1990s, the approximately monthlyfair days were a time when farmers wouldstand their animals in the streets for sale to visiting stock dealers. The only fair which continues to be held is that of 15 August, which coincides with the Catholicholy day of obligation marking theAssumption of Mary. The day attracts crowds of locals and visitors and is the busiest day of the year in Kenmare.[23]
There are daily bus-services in summer toKillarney and in the off-season, the bus runs Monday-Friday. There is also a daily service to/fromCork in the summer months on theN71 viaBantry,Skibbereen,Clonakilty andBandon. In mid-2023, a new service from Killarney to Skibbereen via Kenmare was announced, replacing the previous Killarney to Kenmare and Kenmare to Skibbereen services with additional journeys and extended hours.[24]
The N71 also connects Kenmare to Killarney on a mountainous and scenic part of the Ring of Kerry route viaMoll's Gap andLadies View. Alternatively one can reach Killarney via the slightly longer but more comfortable route throughKilgarvan. Kenmare also lies on theN71national secondary road south-Cork route toGlengarriff. In November 2014, the Eastern Relief Road was opened, allowing drivers from theR569 Kilgarvan Road to bypass the town centre when accessing the supermarkets and schools.
Kenmare railway station opened, in October 1893,[25] as the terminus of a branch from theGreat Southern and Western Railway'sMallow–Tralee line at Headford Junction. The station closed, along with the branch, in early 1960[25] and the last passenger train ran on 1 February 1960.[26][27] The track was lifted shortly afterwards.
The town has a primary and secondary school, a public library, community hospital, as well as Catholic, Church of Ireland and Methodist churches.
The GAA club,Kenmare Shamrocks, competes inKerry GAA competitions.George Mayberry from Kenmare participated in the1908 Summer Olympics.
Kenmare Kestrels Basketball Club was founded in 2006 and competes in the Kerry Area Basketball League.
The local soccer team Inter Kenmare F.C. competes in theKerry District League at U17, Youth & Senior Men's/Women's level and in the Kerry Schoolboys/girls League for all underage teams.
OverlookingKenmare Bay and adjacent to the Park Hotel is the 18 hole, Kenmare Golf Club.[28]
In the fictionalHarry Potter universe, Kenmare is home to theKenmare Kestrels, one of only thirteen Quidditch teams that play in theQuidditch League of Britain and Ireland. The team players wear emerald-green robes emblazoned with two yellow K's across the chest.[29]
The eponymous song"As I leave behind Neidín" was written byJimmy McCarthy and recorded byMary Black amongst others.
The town was also referenced in theStar Trek: Enterprise episode "Breaking the Ice". The crew aboard the spaceship answer questions received from school children who are said to be from Kenmare.
Kenmare GS&W [..] OP 4 October 1893; CL 1 January 1960
On the 1st of February 1960, Kenmare locals and railway workers looked on as the last train made its final journey on the tracks before the line closed
the last train out of Kenmare [was] on February 1st 1960, at 9.30am. The railway had opened in 1893, and the Kenmare branch line was the last stop on the Great Southern and Western Railway route
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