Knightstown
| Knightstown Irish: Baile an Ridire / An Chois | |
| County Kerry | |
|---|---|
 Knightstown | |
| Location | |
| Island: | Valentia Island |
| Grid reference: | V422773 |
| Location: | 51°55’31"N, 10°17’38"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 244 (2016) |
| Local Government | |
| Dáil constituency: |
Kerry |
Knightstown alternatively called Knight's Town, is a village and the largest town on Valentia Island, County Kerry. It is within the townland of Farranreagh, at the eastern tip of the island. As of the census of 2022, Knightstown had a population of 244.
History
In 1830 Maurice FitzGerald, the 18th Knight of Kerry, commissioned Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo to draw up plans for a new village. During the 1840s, development began on what was initially known as the New Town of Valentia.
Locality
The local RNLI lifeboat station moved to Knightstown in 1869 from Reenard Point and has since been known as the Valentia Lifeboat Station.[1] There is a selection of local coffee shops and bars in the town, as well as Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic churches.
Knightstown is also the location of the car ferry connection between Valentia Island and Reenard Point on the mainland.
The area served as a base of operations for the laying of the first successful Transatlantic telegraph cable to Heart's Content, completed in 1866. A cable station operated until it was closed in 1966. The history of the transatlantic cable and artifacts from it can be seen at the local history museum located in Knightstown.[2]
References
- Knightstown: Placenames Database of Ireland