Athy

Athy is a town in County Kildare in the midlands of Ireland, 72 km southwest of Dublin. It's long been a quiet market and garrison town, expanding in the late 20th century as it became part of the Dublin commuter belt. In 2016 the population of Athy was 9677.

Understand
Baile Átha Í is Irish for "town of the ford of Ae" - Ae was supposedly a 2nd century chieftain slain at the river crossing. A bridge over the River Barrow definitely existed by 1417, along with a castle to defend it. The main conflict to afflict the town was the Confederate war of the 1640s, part of the Civil Wars, concluded definitively but brutally by Cromwell. The English then ensured that a large loyal garrison was stationed here. They stood firm against the rebels of 1798, who gained much of County Kildare but did the loyalists a good turn by killing the messenger bringing orders to retreat to Naas. In 1791 the river was linked by canal from Athy to the Grand Canal at Robertstown, and these all remain navigable.

The tourist information centre is within the Heritage Centre or Shackleton Museum.

Get in
Trains run every 2-3 hours from Dublin Heuston via Newbridge and Kildare, taking 45 min to Athy, and continuing to Carlow, Bagenalstown / Muine Bheag, Kilkenny, Thomastown and Waterford (another 80 min). By rail from other cities such as Cork, Limerick or Galway involves going all the way into Dublin then out again. A walk-up single from Dublin might be €10, see Irish Rail for timetables, fares and on-line tickets.

Athy is 200 m east of town centre.

GoAhead Commuter Bus 130 runs 3 or 4 times a day from Naas via Kilcullen, 40 min. In rush hour two services from Athy go all the way into Dublin and return in the evening.

Local Link Bus 817 runs once a day from Kilkenny via Castlecomer to Athy, and continues to Kilcullen, Naas and Dublin. There's a second bus M-F on the Castlecomer-Athy-Naas section.

By road from Dublin take M9 to Exit 3 then N78 into town. Athy is on the national waterways network. The Barrow Navigation branches off the Dublin-Shannon Grand Canal at Robertstown and courses south through Athy, Carlow and into the tidal river at New Ross and Waterford. Obviously there are limits on how far a rental boat may be taken.

Get around
The town is compact, but you need wheels to reach Burtown Gardens, Moone or Ballyadams. A bike would do.

Taxi operators are Crom a Boo Cabs +353 59 863 2463 and Val's Cabs +353 87 704 0245.

See

 * Crom a Boo Bridge carries Duke St across the River Barrow. The first known bridge was built along with White's Castle in 1417, with the present version from 1796. Although "Athy" indicates a ford, chances are there was an earlier wooden bridge, or rather a series of them washed away in floods. Divers in the Shannon at Clonmacnoise have found bridge foundation piles from the 9th century; bridging the Barrow is a far simpler construction task, but to date no similar evidence has turned up here. The name is the Fitzgerald clan motto, Crom Abu ("Crom forever"). Crom in County Limerick was their bastion. Cars may not stop on the bridge, use the car park at its west end, the one that isn't next to a second castle.
 * was built in the 13th century to guard the north approaches to the ford. It was much smashed and patched up in later centuries, most lately in the Civil Wars in 1648. It's now a fenced-off blank cube of masonry with no interior access, so what it most resembles is a late-Norman electricity substation.
 * St Michael's Old Cemetery on Dublin Rd just east of the railway station contains the ruin of the 14th-century St Michael's church. This was replaced by a church closer to town centre, then by another in 1803, finally by the present Roman Catholic church on Stanhope St north of White's Castle. It's a 1960s retro-Italianate building.
 * Moate of Ardschull on R418 five km northeast of town was a motte, an oval mound 11 m high surrounded by a ditch and embankment. It was probably built in the 12th century, with wooden palisades. But it was planted with trees in the 19th century and you'll need to use your imagination.
 * is a remarkable 8th-century cross, 7 m tall and richly carved. It was discovered in bits in the 19th century and re-assembled; there are also fragments of another cross. The old church housing it (with a modern roof) is about all that's left of the abbey here. A 15th-century turret stands nearby. The site is now within the grounds of Moone Abbey House, sometimes open for B&B but with no access in 2021. Appropriately, Moone is from Irish Maen, property, in this case the property of St Colmcille. The village straggles along R448, which was the Dublin to Waterford road until bypassed by M9.
 * is a village further south on R448 near the boundary with County Carlow. The remains of St Diarmuid's 9th century monastery are now within the precincts of St James Church: a Round Tower (given medieval battlements), two High Crosses, a 12th-century Romanesque doorway and a "hogback" gravestone, rare in Ireland. 200 m south, the ruined church was part of the Franciscan friary built circa 1300.
 * is just over the boundary in County Laois. It looks like the ruin of a grandiose gatehouse, but it's a 15th-century tower house with a 17th-century fortified house added behind, which is even more dilapidated. You'll have to make do with a view from the lane.
 * is a remarkable 8th-century cross, 7 m tall and richly carved. It was discovered in bits in the 19th century and re-assembled; there are also fragments of another cross. The old church housing it (with a modern roof) is about all that's left of the abbey here. A 15th-century turret stands nearby. The site is now within the grounds of Moone Abbey House, sometimes open for B&B but with no access in 2021. Appropriately, Moone is from Irish Maen, property, in this case the property of St Colmcille. The village straggles along R448, which was the Dublin to Waterford road until bypassed by M9.
 * is a village further south on R448 near the boundary with County Carlow. The remains of St Diarmuid's 9th century monastery are now within the precincts of St James Church: a Round Tower (given medieval battlements), two High Crosses, a 12th-century Romanesque doorway and a "hogback" gravestone, rare in Ireland. 200 m south, the ruined church was part of the Franciscan friary built circa 1300.
 * is just over the boundary in County Laois. It looks like the ruin of a grandiose gatehouse, but it's a 15th-century tower house with a 17th-century fortified house added behind, which is even more dilapidated. You'll have to make do with a view from the lane.
 * is just over the boundary in County Laois. It looks like the ruin of a grandiose gatehouse, but it's a 15th-century tower house with a 17th-century fortified house added behind, which is even more dilapidated. You'll have to make do with a view from the lane.

Do

 * Boat trips: Athy Boat Tours run one- and 3-hour river cruises, usually Sa Su but mid-week if there's demand.
 * Boat hire for extended trips can be organised with Barrowline Cruisers. They're northwest at Vicarstown in County Laois.
 * Athy Golf Club is 2 km northeast of town, blue tees 6436, par 71. There's also a course at Kilkea Castle Hotel.
 * Gordon Bennett Classic Car Rally, open to vehicles older than 30 years, circles through Portlaoise, Kildare, Stradbally, Athy and Carlow. It's held in June over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Buy

 * Lidl next to the railway station is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM.
 * The market is held in Emily Square, Tu 9AM-2PM.

Eat
Eating places are clustered on or near Leinster St east of the bridge, with 29 Urban Corner, Ngai's, The Bay Tree, Peony Inn and Mama Mia.

Drink

 * Most pubs are on Leinster St: C I Bar, Anderson's, Clancy's, Frank O'Brien's, Kane's and McEvoys.
 * West of the bridge are The Duke, Paddy Dunne's, W Doyle, and the Auld Shebeen.

Sleep

 * Hawthorn B&B is next to Clanard Court Hotel, and Aurora House is behind on Gallow Hill. The Carlton Abbey Hotel has closed down.
 * Hawthorn B&B is next to Clanard Court Hotel, and Aurora House is behind on Gallow Hill. The Carlton Abbey Hotel has closed down.

Connect
As of July 2021, Athy has 4G from Three, and 5G from Eir and Vodafone.

Go next

 * Kildare is near the National Stud and Japanese Gardens, and Curragh racecourse.
 * Carlow has a fine cathedral and semi-demolished castle.
 * Portlaoise is near Rock of Dunamase, and Stradbally holds events such as steam rallies.