Celbridge
Celbridge (/ˈsɛlbrɪdʒ/; Irish: Cill Droichid [ˌciːl̠ʲ ˈd̪ˠɾˠeːdʲ]) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. It is 23 km (14 mi) west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the R403 and R405 regional roads. As of the 2022 census, Celbridge was the third largest town in County Kildare by population, with 20,601 residents.[1]
Celbridge
Cill Droichid
Ireland
Leinster
55 m (180 ft)
20,601
01
The town originated in the 13th century, the name Cill Droichid being anglicised to Celbridge after 1714.
Etymology[edit]
The name Celbridge is derived from the Irish Cill Droichid meaning "Church of bridge" or "Church by the bridge". The Irish name was historically anglicised as Kildroicht, Kildrought, Kildroght, Kildrout (/kɪlˈdraʊt/).[2][3]
Churches[edit]
Celbridges's two main active parish churches are those of St. Patrick (Catholic) and Christ Church (Church of Ireland). St Patrick's forms part of the Catholic Parish of Celbridge and Straffan within the Archdiocese of Dublin.
Christ Church is the Anglican Parish Church for Celbridge and forms part of the grouped Parish of Celbridge, Straffan and Newcastle-Lyons in the Archdiocese of Dublin and Diocese of Glendalough.
The Bridge Church is a non-denominational independent church formed in 2005. The congregation is made of more than 200 adults and children drawn from many nations. Its current pastor is Paul R Carley, who founded the church. Pastor Carley has ministered in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Belarus and Kenya.
Education[edit]
Celbridge has six primary schools: Primrose Hill (co-ed, COI), St Brigid's (girls, RC), Aghards also known as Scoil Mochua (mixed, RC), Scoil na Mainistreach (mixed, RC), North Kildare Educate Together National School (mixed, multi-denominational), and St Patrick's currently located in the GAA grounds on the Newcastle road (mixed, RC); and three secondary schools: Celbridge Community School (a coeducational school, operating under the auspices of the Kildare/Wicklow Education & Training Board and Educate Together.[5]), St. Wolstan's Community School[6] for girls (the only all-female community school in Ireland), and Salesian College Celbridge for boys.
There is also a residential special school, Saint Raphael's, (co-educational, Catholic) for children with a learning disability. Celbridge also has one of the very few Primary Montessori Schools in Ireland, Weston Primary Montessori School, which was established in 2016 by the parents and teachers of the former Glebe School. This school provides Montessori education to children from 3–12 years and is located on the grounds of Barnhall Rugby Club.[7]
Transport and access[edit]
Celbridge's growth has created some traffic congestion, including at peak times.[8] A 2008 report by Kildare County Council attributed some of the issues to the single bridge over the Liffey in the town, and issues with illegal parking and parking enforcement.[9][10] The Celbridge Interchange (Junction 6 of the M4) which connects the town to the motorway as well as the Intel and Hewlett-Packard plants in Leixlip, was opened in 2003 to help address related traffic issues, with some success.
The town is served by Dublin Bus along the C4, X27 and X28 routes along with a night time service (C6). Local services are also provided by Dublin Bus, as the L58 and L59, while Go-Ahead Ireland operate the W61. These routes link the town to the city centre, as well as to the nearby towns of Lucan, Maynooth and Leixlip. The Town is also served by Bus Éireann route 120 and 120B.
Iarnród Éireann runs commuter rail services to a station in Hazelhatch, about 3 km (2 mi) from Celbridge. The L58, L59 and W61 bus services link the station with the rest of Celbridge, Leixlip, and Maynooth, providing connections to other bus and rail routes. Commuter suburban rail services from Kildare to Dublin city centre serve Hazelhatch, although these are quite limited on Sundays. The service brings passengers to Heuston station or to Grand Canal Dock (via Connolly Station, Tara Street and Pearse Street stations). The station is located on one of the most important InterCity lines in the country, with services to Cork, Limerick and Galway, however, these do not stop at Hazelhatch station.
Sport and voluntary groups[edit]
GAA[edit]
Celbridge GAA park and centre on the Hazelhatch Road was opened in 1996, ending 52 years without a home, the club having lost its field in Ballymakeally after a court case in 1944. Celbridge GAA club is the third oldest club in County Kildare being formed on 15 August 1885, eight months after the GAA was founded in Thurles. In 1890 there were two clubs in the parish, one based in Kilwogan, Celbridge Shamrocks with 64 members, and the other at Hazelhatch where Irish Harpers had 70 members.
Celbridge play at senior level in both codes. They won their first Kildare Senior Football Championship in 2008. Celbridge GAA had won its first Kildare Senior Hurling Championship in 1921. Success in the top hurling competition in Kildare would not arrive until 2005 when the Jimmy Doyle managed team beat Coill Dubh in the final. Following a number of semi-final defeats in the intervening years a "three in a row" of hurling titles came in 2009, 2010 and 2011. After defeat in the 2012 decider to Confey, Celbridge reclaimed the title in 2013. The club has won the Kildare Senior Camogie Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2010, and won the U21 football county championship in 2012 and 2014.
Soccer[edit]
The town has two clubs. Celbridge Town AFC, which was formed in 1959 and plays its home games in St Patricks Park. Ballyoulster United FC, which was formed in 1968 and plays its home games at Louglinstown road. Both clubs compete in the Leinster Senior League.
Golf and Pitch & Putt[edit]
Celbridge Elm Hall Golf Club is a 9-hole parkland course located adjacent to Celbridge / Hazelhatch train station on the Loughlinstown Road. Celbridge's 18 hole championship pitch and putt course meets PPUI standards.
Athletics[edit]
Local resident Mark Kenneally represented Ireland in the marathon at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. George Magan was Irish cross country champion in 1920 and 1922, Irish Mile champion in 1919, 1921 and 1922, Irish 880 yards champion in 1918, 1919 and 1921, and Irish four-mile (6 km) champion in 1921. Jack Guiney was Irish champion in the triple jump and shot in 1937.
Celbridge Athletic Club is active locally, has over 500 participants across all ages.
Rugby[edit]
Celbridge Rugby Club, founded by Fr Joseph Furlong, competed in the Towns Cup in 1928/29. Celbridge players compete in the All Ireland League with MU Barnhall.
Watersports[edit]
Celbridge Paddlers canoeclub is a multidiscipline kayaking club,[11] which was formed in 1984 and is affiliated to the Irish Canoe Union.[11] The annual Liffey Descent Canoe Race passes through Celbridge, where competitors have to navigate the Vanessa weir and Castletown rapids.
Other sports[edit]
Celbridge tennis club was founded in 1923, and the clubs premises on Hazelhatch Road were opened in the 1970s.
Celbridge horse racecourse is mentioned in the Freeman's Journal of 27 September 1763 and 4 October 1763 but was not in use after the end of the 18th century. Locally trained horse Workman, trained by Jack Ruttle out of Hazelhatch Stud was the winner of the Aintree Grand National in 1939. A point-to-point meeting was held at nearby Windgaps 1912–1954.
A cricket club was active from 1880 to 1902. Kildare county polo club had their grounds on Castletown Estate 1901–1906. Among those who played polo in Celbridge was Prince Heinrich, younger brother to Kaiser William II.[12]
There is salmon and sea trout angling locally, with trout found from Islandbridge upstream, with other trout fishing grounds above Leixlip and all the way to Ballymore Eustace.[13]
Community groups[edit]
There are three separate Scouting Ireland Groups in operation in Celbridge. The Groups are 1st Kildare (2nd Celbridge), 3rd Kildare (1st Celbridge), and 19th Kildare. The Celbridge Amenity Group is also active locally.
Politics[edit]
Celbridge is located within the Kildare North constituency which elects 4 TDs to the Dáil.
Despite its size (third largest in the county – and larger than other towns which had their own councils such as Leixlip and Athy), and numerous proposals, the town was not granted a town council. This meant that Kildare County Council had full control over zoning land in the area, leading to some local discontent. The point is now moot, as town councils have been abolished in Ireland.
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
There is evidence of 5,000 years of habitation as evidenced by beads and quern stones in the National Museum from Griffinrath (53°20′56″N 6°34′26″W / 53.34891°N 6.57386°W) and the nearby high ground sloping down to the Liffey. Research has linked Celbridge with the Slí Mór possibly crossing the Liffey at a ford located below the site of the mill directly east of the bridge rather than at Castletown House, as previously thought. The etymology of Donaghcumper Church (church of the confluence, "Domhnach" is one of the earliest Irish words for church) (53°20′20″N 6°31′37″W / 53.33902°N 6.52699°W.) suggests it may have existed as a monastic site from the 5th century. Folklore and heroic literature associate the north bank of Celbridge with both Saint Patrick (hill and church of uncertain antiquity in Ardrass) (53°19′33″N 6°34′40″W / 53.32595°N 6.57772°W.) and Saint Mochua (c570), who was associated with a church in Tea Lane (53°20′20″N 6°32′49″W / 53.33892°N 6.54708°W.) and a well on the site of the current mill where pagan converts were baptised.
Parish of Kildrought[edit]
The original Kildrought parish church (built 14th century, burned 1798) stood in the present graveyard at Tea Lane and houses the mausoleums of the Dongan and Conolly families. It was granted by the Normans to the Abbey of St Thomas in Dublin. Donaghcumper Church (c1150) had windows of cut stone inserted into the building in the 14th century. Its ruins are extant in the main graveyard for the town of Celbridge on the Dublin road and members of the Alan family are buried in the church vault. The old parish of Donaghcumper consisted of the modern townlands of Parsonstown, Rinnawad, Ballyoulster, Commons, Coneyboro, Coolfitch, Donaghcumper, Elm Hall, Loughlinstown, Newtown, Reeves, Simmonstown, Straleek and St. Wolstans. Pre Norman churches served the adjoining parishes in Donaghcumper (53°20′20″N 6°31′37″W / 53.33902°N 6.52699°W.) and Stacumny (53°20′04″N 6°30′05″W / 53.33448°N 6.50152°W.) (mentioned 1176, burned 1297, held in 1308 by a parson, Waleys) to the east, Adherrig or Aderrig further to the east (Athdearg or Red Ford, church first mentioned 1220) (53°20′27″N 6°29′17″W / 53.34084°N 6.48816°W.), Kilmacreddock (53°21′55″N 6°31′38″W / 53.36520°N 6.52734°W.) to the north east, the tiny parish of Donaghmore (plundered 1150, mentioned in letter 1190) further to the north (53°22′37″N 6°33′15″W / 53.37695°N 6.55422°W.), Laraghbryan (plundered 1036 and 1171) (53°22′55″N 6°36′49″W / 53.38181°N 6.61351°W.) to the north west, and Killadoon (53°19′39″N 6°33′24″W / 53.32752°N 6.55663°W.) to the south.
The modern Catholic parish of Celbridge and Straffan comprises the medieval parishes of Kildrought and Straffan as well as the former parishes of Stacumny, Donaghcumper, Killadoon, Castledillon and Kilmacredock. The parish of Stacumny (Teach Cumni) originally included the townlands of Ballymadeer, Balscott and Stacumny. Killadoon from Cill an Dún may get its name from the earthen mound that still stands by the gate leading into the grounds surrounding Killadoon House. On the left-hand side of the avenue, as you enter through the gate, there is an overgrown churchyard with some headstones. Killadoon parish embraced the present townlands of Ardrass, Ballymakeally, Crippaun, Killadoon, Killenlea and Posseckstown. Kilmacredock is the smallest of the medieval parishes. A roofless ruin is all that remains of the original church. It is named for Redoc, who had a son who established a religious foundation southwest of the present town of Leixlip. Bellingham family members were buried in a vault in the floor of the building, but their remains were removed in the mid-20th century.
Town of Kildrought[edit]
The town of Kildrought or Kildroighid developed around the castle, monastery and mill of Kildrought which Thomas de Hereford, the Norman Lord of Kildrought erected early in the 13th century. The one long street running between the de Hereford Castle and lands of Castletown, and the mill, had taken shape by 1314 when Henry le Waleys was charged at a Naas court of "breaking the doors" of houses in the town of Kildrought and by night "taking geese, hens, beer and other victuals" against the will of the people of the town.
By the time of the Down Survey (1654–1656) the population was 102 and the Dongan family were in possession of all the land in Celbridge. Killadoon House was the home of John Dongan's brother in law Richard Talbot Earl of Tyrconnell. Dongan died at the Battle of the Boyne and is buried in Tea Lane cemetery. Talbot died immediately before the Siege of Limerick. His widow remained in Killadoon, outliving the two men who took over the town from her husband and John Dongan, Bartholmew Van Homrigh and William Conolly.
Kildrought to Celbridge[edit]
The present day houses in Celbridge Main Street and town centre were built over a period of two hundred years. Celbridge Abbey was built in 1703 by a Dutch Williamite emigre, Bartholmew Van Homrigh. He was appointed Chief Commissioner for Stores in Ireland for the victorious allied forces of William III and Mary II who defeated the Jacobite alliance, and enforced the Treaty of Limerick in 1691. He moved to Kildrought Manor in 1695. When William "Speaker" Conolly purchased the rundown Castletown Estate in 1709 from Thomas Dongan, the restored Earl of Limerick and later Governor of New York, he complained that "all the Earl's tenants were beggars". Conolly built his new mansion at Castletown, cleared the existing tenantry and began to develop the town. Improvers and speculative developers followed Conolly to Celbridge. The new leases were granted on condition that the builders erect substantial stone houses with gable ends and two chimneys, replacing mud cabins and waste ground.
Existing mercantile buildings such as the 17th-century Market House, where the town's first school was based in 1709, were incorporated into the expanding mill complex of buildings near the bridge. Developers began to survey e green field sites to the north east of the bridge in the direction of Castletown House. The result was to move the axis of Celbridge away from the bridge, corn and tuck mill and road to St Mochua's church to a new Main Street.
The old Irish name Cill Droichid (Kildrought), meaning the church of the bridge, was anglicised first to Cellbridge and then, after 1724, to Celbridge. Swift in his letters to Vanessa always named the place "Kildrought", but she replied from "Celbridge".
Celbridge's 18th-century bridge had to be rebuilt after it was destroyed in a flood in December 1802.[14]
Historic buildings and places[edit]
Celbridge Main Street[edit]
The development of the Main Street commenced with the building of Kildrought House by Joseph Rotheny in 1720 for Robert Baillie, a Dublin upholsterer who was William Conolly's greatest prospect as an improving tenant. A large extension, which included a malt house, was added after Baillie sold in 1749. Kildrought house became home to John Begnall's Academy after 1782. Among the attendees were the sons of Col George Napier, George, Charles, William and Henry, later to be collectively known as "Wellington's Colonels, " and their younger brother Richard Napier, and John Jebb (1775–1833), later Church of Ireland bishop of Limerick, Ardfert, and Aghadoe. Jeremiah Haughton, owner of the Mill lived there after 1818. For a time in the early 19th century, Kildrought House had a cholera hospital attached to it and served as the local police barracks from 1831 to 1841 when the barrack moved to the site of the current Michaelangelo's restaurant. After 1861 it was leased by Richard Maunsell of Oakley Park. Next door is the courthouse where the local petty sessions took place every fourth week.[15] It later became home of Lloyd Christian, athletics pioneer and colleague of Michael Cusack in the hurling revival of the 1880s.