Dunboyne

Dunboyne Irish: Dún Búinne
Meath
Looking east-south-east from the centre of the village
Location
Grid reference:	O010422
Location:	53°25’12"N, 6°28’30"W
Data
Population:	6,959  (2011)
Post town:	Dunboyne
Postcode:	A86
Local Government
Council:	Meath

Dunboyne is a town in Meath, centred on the crossroads formed by the R156 regional road and the old Maynooth Road (formerly designated R157).

History

Dunboyne Castle

Dunboyne Castle, originally a castle was built as a seat for a branch of the Butler dynasty, the Lords Dunboyne. It later passed to the Mangan family and was the seat of Simon Mangan, HM Lieutenant for County Meath in the 1890s and 1900s.

The house was sold in 1950 and became the Good Shepherd convent, in which nuns used to live and operate a mother and baby home, The Ard Mhuire mother and baby home in Dunboyne was opened by the sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1955. It closed in 1991. A partial amount of the building had been dismantled. In 2006, the convent was sold and converted into a hotel.

Church of Saints Peter & Paul

Notable former residents

• Archibald Hamilton father of William Rowan Hamilton was of the Hamilton family of Dunboyne. They were once large landowners in the town. His father owned Ballymacoll Estate. William Rowan's uncle the Rev. James Hamilton was the Vicar of Trim and Dunboyne.
• Thomas Cusack, a Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the 1500s.
• John Butler, 12th Baron Dunboyne
• Thomas Blood, Colonel Thomas Blood (1618 – 24 August 1680) was an Irish colonel best known for attempting to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in 1671. He was raised in Sarney, Dunboyne.

Sport

Athletics

Dunboyne Athletic Club was founded in 1928 and is located on the Rooske Road, where facilities include a 440-yard, all-weather track, IAAF standard hammer throwing cage and club house. In 2013 the club had 790 registered members, making it the 4th largest club in Ireland. Current Irish international athletes who are members include Padraig White and James Mc Cabe (hammer), Michael O Hanlon (discus) and Luke Forde (cross country). The club host an annual 4-mile road race on the last Sunday in March that attracts over 1000 participants. Programmes added in 2013 were Fit4Youth for teenagers and Couch25k. New events include a Winter Throws Competition on the first Saturday in March and a Schools Cross Country on the first Wednesday in December.

Golf

The GUI National Golf Academy is located 5 km outside Dunboyne on the Maynooth Road. It has a driving range, putting green and short game area. It has golf lessons available from professionals.

GAA

Dunboyne has a rich Gaelic Athletic Association tradition. The Dunboyne team won the Meath senior county football championship in 1998 and 2005. Dunboyne man Seán Boylan was the longest serving county manager in GAA history and led Meath to four All Ireland victories in 1987, 1988, 1996 and 1999. He was awarded 'Freedom of Meath' in 2006 for his contributions to the Meath GAA scene. In 2009 the under-14 team won the All-Ireland club championship.

Ladies GAA

Since its foundation in 1996, the Dunboyne Ladies GFC remains the only stand alone Ladies Gaelic Football club in the County. It caters for girls from the local Dunboyne Community and surrounding areas and fields teams in all age competitions and Senior Leagues. There is a very active Underage/Nursery which welcomes new members to come along and join the club, with emphasis on fun and learning the skills of Gaelic Football. Dunboyne Ladies GFC have won Meath Championships several times over at all under age levels up to and including Under 21s

Motor racing

Dunboyne was also a motor racing venue between 1958 and 1967 for both cars and motorbikes. The racing circuit was a four-mile-long triangular shaped circuit with a combination of fast straights and hairpin bends. The start/finish line was in the centre of Dunboyne village and the racing circuit itself consisted of public roads around the village. During these years races such as the Leinster Trophy, Dunboyne Trophy and Holmpatrick Trophy were held.

The 2015 "Spirit of Dunboyne" Festival of Motorsport event took place on 26–27 September. The old motor racing circuit still sees competitive racing of the two legged variety in the form of the Annual Easter Sunday Road race held by the Dunboyne Athletic Club. Athletes compete for the Mattie McGrath Trophy and 2008 saw this event being held for the 39th time.

Rugby

Dunboyne has produced two Irish rugby internationals, Tom and Conleth Feighery (brothers) both received a number of caps for their country in the 1970s. Tom is currently a local GP.

Football

Dunboyne has two football clubs, Dunboyne AFC and Dunboyne FC. One plays at Dunboyne AFC's grounds on the Summerhill Road, and the other in the Phoenix Park, which were officially opened by Pele in November 2009, in recognition of the club receiving the FAI Club of the Year award for 2009.

Tennis

Dunboyne Tennis Club was formed about 1980 using the car park at Dunboyne National Primary School. It later moved to Dunboyne Community Centre and is today located on the edge of Clonee Village, just off the N3.

Dunboyne Community Centre

In 1985 the people of Dunboyne came together at a public meeting and agreed that a social and recreational centre was badly needed. Four years of fund-raising followed, during which 80–90% of households contributed on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. Local businesses participated with sponsorships, and the local clubs ran fund-raising events. These efforts raised over £400,000, the Irish government contributed grants totalling £35,000, and a fully equipped Community Centre was opened by then-President of Ireland, Dr Patrick Hillery, in 1989.

With the establishment of St Peter's College on the adjoining site in 1994, the opportunity arose to embark on an innovative venture which has since become a model for school/community ventures elsewhere in Ireland. The money that would have been spent on putting sports facilities into the College, £280,000, was instead invested in the Centre. Through further fund-raising, the Committee added another £150,000 to this and the result was a major extension of the building in 1997. This arrangement provided the College with a larger sports hall than it otherwise would have had while, outside of school hours, the extension enabled the centre to cater better for the growing community. A Health & Fitness Club was added in January 2000, and a floodlit all-weather pitch (another joint venture with St Peter's College) in 2004.

A non-profit making body, owned by the community, the centre is funded by the community, and operated for the benefit of the community. It has a charitable exemption from income tax. All the income which it generates goes towards covering its costs and funding further development.

People

• John Bruton, Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997 lives about three miles outside the village.
• Seán Boylan, former manager of the Meath GAA football team and present manager of the Irish International Rules team lives in Dunboyne.
• Mgr Dermot Farrell, the Parish Priest since 1 October 2007, is the former President of St Patrick's College, Maynooth. He succeeded Mgr Edward Dunne as parish priest of Dunboyne in 2007.
• Niall Quinn, a British Formula 3 driver and rookie driver for A1 Team Ireland was born in Dunboyne.
• Virginia Kerr, operatic soprano, is from Dunboyne and lives there.

References

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Dunboyne)