Drumconrath
{{Short description|Village in County Meath, Ireland}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2008}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Drumconrath
|native_name = {{lang|ga|Droim Conrach}}
|native_name_lang = ga
|settlement_type = Village
|image_skyline = Church of SS. Peter and Paul, Drumcondra - geograph.org.uk - 544266.jpg
|image_caption = Former Anglican church in Drumconrath
|image_size = 200px
|pushpin_map = Ireland
|pushpin_label_position = right
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Ireland
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = Ireland
|subdivision_type1 = Province
|subdivision_name1 = Leinster
|subdivision_type3 = County
|subdivision_name3 = County Meath
|established_title =
|established_date =
|unit_pref = Metric
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 = 2.19
|population_as_of = 2022
|population = 423
|population_density_km2 = auto
|coordinates = {{coord|53|51|N|6|39|W|display=inline,title|region:IE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
Drumconrath or Drumcondra{{Cite web |title=Drumcondra switches counties! |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/drumcondra-switches-counties-27132676.html |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=independent |language=en}} (historically Drumconra, from {{Irish place name|Droim Conrach|ridge of Conrach}}){{cite web|url = https://www.logainm.ie/1416706.aspx | publisher = Placenames Database of Ireland | website = logainm.ie | title= Droim Conrach / Drumcondra (see archival records) | accessdate = 15 October 2021 }} is a small village in north County Meath, Ireland. The parish borders County Louth and is also close to the borders of Counties Monaghan and Cavan. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 423 people.
The village lies in a parish, Drumconrath and Meath Hill parish, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath.{{cite web|url = http://www.drumconrathparish.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=18&Itemid=88 | website = drumconrathparish.ie | title = Drumconrath & Meath Hill Parish | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100222031940/http://www.drumconrathparish.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=18&Itemid=88 | archivedate = 22 February 2010 | quote = The parish of Drumconrath and Meath Hill is situated in the north of the diocese of Meath }} The village is in the civil parish of Drumcondra.
History
There is evidence of settlement in the area since before 200 BC in the ancient pathways and ringforts at Corstown and Drumsilagh. Tuath Conraige of the Mugdorna, an Airgíalla tribe mostly in Monaghan, occupied the area in the early Middle Ages and gave their name to the area.
During the Late Middle Ages, Drumconrath was literally "Beyond the Pale" being the first Gaelic Settlement you meet leaving the Pale from Ardee. It was a hostile place for the English who left the safety of the Pale and several battles took place in the village.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} The battle of Ballyhoe (1539 AD) between the O'Neills and the English, took place nearby.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} Of this battle, local folklore says that a treasure was thrown into the lake during the battle and when a true Irish Gael on a white horse comes, he will swoop into the lake and take it.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
The remains of a monastery on Church Hill, destroyed because of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monastery Act, overlooks Lough Braken lake. Here there are views of the Mourne Mountains in one direction and the Dublin Mountains in the other.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
During the 1798 rebellion, five parishioners were killed by the Louth Militia for refusing to allow them entry to the Church in the village. The area had strong Ribbonmen support and six men from the area were hanged for their part in the infamous burning of the Wildgoose Lodge Murders nearby.{{cite web |url=http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID%3D772 |title=The Murders at Wildgoose Lodge | website = fourcourtspress.ie |accessdate=2012-01-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219072943/http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID=772 |archivedate=19 February 2013 |df=dmy }}
A number of local men fought in the Anglo-Irish War and the Irish Civil War with nearby Kingscourt Brigade.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} It is recorded that this Brigade fired the last shot of the Anglo-Irish War at 11:20 on 11 June 1921, twenty minutes after the truce.The Royal Irish Constabulary and the Black and Tans in County Louth 1919-1922 / Stephen O'Donnell
A movie, released in October 2016, was filmed in and near Drumconrath. The movie, "The Wilde Goose Lodge",{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4985692/|title = Wild Goose Lodge (2016) - IMDb|date = 28 October 2016}} involved a number of local people and actors.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
Amenities
Set in forested drumlin countryside and surrounded by small lakes, the area around Drumconrath is a long-established angling centre with a number of walking areas.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} The River Dee, Lough Bracken, and the smaller lakes of Corstown and Balrath are situated in this area.
File:Muldoons bar and funeral directors Drumconrath.jpg
Village amenities including a doctor's GP practice, post office, hair salon, pharmacy, butchers, primary school, grocery store and a B&B.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} There are three pubs in the village, The Old Thatch, Fay's Bar and Muldoon's.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} There is a community centre in the village and a pitch & putt course to the rear. St. Peter & Paul's National School is situated on the Kingscourt road at the end of the village.{{cite web|url = http://www.drumconrathns.com/ | website = drumconrathns.com | title = St. Peter and Paul's N.S, Drumconrath, Co. Meath | accessdate = 15 October 2021 }}
There are two churches in the village. Saint Peter's Church of Ireland (now closed) and Saint Peter & Paul's Catholic Church. There are some graves surrounding Saint Peter's Church, and the village has two other cemeteries on the Ardee Road (one Catholic and one Protestant).{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
The local GAA team, Drumconrath GAA, has facilities on the Navan road in Birdhill. The club also recruits players from the local parish of Meath-Hill to form the team "Drumconrath-Meath-Hill".{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}