Leighlinbridge – Leithghlinn an Droichid

By admin • April 29th, 2010
Black Castle, Leighlinbridge

Black Castle, Leighlinbridge

The attractive village of 3. Leighlinbridge lies along the banks of the River Barrow with beautiful riverside walks and a tradition of gardening that comes alive each year for the national Tidy Towns Competition and the Carlow Garden Festival.     

It was in this peaceful and scenic location that the first Irish Carmelite monastery was established. The Carmelite order was introduced into Ireland in the later-thirteenth century and the first monastery of this order was the one in Leighlinbridge. The Priory of St.  Mary was founded c.1271 by a member of the Carew family. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the friars received financial grants from the English crown to help them maintain the important stone bridge over the River Barrow. The monastery stood on the east bank of the Barrow, near the present Black Castle. It was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1540 when the buildings included a church, dormitory, hall, two chambers and a kitchen. The friars also had a large garden and an eel weir on the river. The Carmelites returned to Leighlinbridge in 1730 and remained until the friary was finally closed in 1836.  
World War 1 memorial, Leighlinbridge

World War 1 memorial, Leighlinbridge

In the Garden of Remembrance spend some time looking at the memorial stones to the Carmelite order and to the Sisters of Mercy. There are plaques to Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada (1984–1993) whose family hailed from the area, John Tyndall and Nicholas Vigors. Visit Ireland’s first all county World War 1 memorial, listing the men from Carlow who died in the Great War.     

The Sculpture Garden, Leighlinbridge

The Sculpture Garden, Leighlinbridge

The Sculpture Garden is dedicated to three of Leighlinbridge’s most famous sons – Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran – Australia’s first Cardinal (see St. Molings Trail), John Tyndall, the scientist and mountaineer (see St. Patrick’s Trail) and Captain Myles Keogh (see St. Patrick’s Trail). Keogh was second in command to General Custer and lost his life in the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876 at the hands of the Sioux Indians.     

  
Memorials in the Garden of Remembrance to the Carmelite Order

Memorials in the Garden of Remembrance to the Carmelite Order

DID YOU KNOW 

In 2001 Leighlinbridge won a gold medal in the European Entente Florale Competition, the first Irish village to do so in twenty five years.  The award is in the Garden of Remembrance. 

                      Open: daily, daylight hours     

Admission: Free 

Parking: Yes       

   

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