Monivea is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It is located approximately 30 km from Galway City and 9 km from Athenry. It was formerly part of the kingdom of the Soghain of Connacht. Monivea is known for its forest, Monivea Castle which now lies in partial ruins, and a well-preserved mausoleum. The mausoleum and castle were built by the Ffrench family, one of the "Tribes of Galway", who were also responsible for the distinctive layout of the greens in the centre of the village, which were used as drying stations for the linen of local industries. The forest, mausoleum and castle were left to the State by the last Ffrench, and the forest is now held by Coillte. There are two small grocery shops one with a petrol station, a butcher shop, four pubs, a Garda station, a post office, a playground, a church in Ryehill, and Monivea National School.
History
The Ffrenches bought lands off the O'Kelly family in 1609, building on to the fortifications of the O'Kelly castle and establishing Monivea House. The following generations of the Ffrenches reclaimed useful land which was mainly bog. The Ffrenches, landholders since early Norman times, remained Catholic, and Oliver Cromwell confiscated their land in 1650. Once he was gone however, the Ffrenches reclaimed the land. In 1744 Robert Ffrench inherited the land. He turned bogs into arable land by ploughing, liming and seeding it. He set up a linen industry and houses for the weavers. Greens were laid out to dry the linen. He built a school and planted trees where Monivea woods now stands. In 1762 construction commenced on the Protestant Church, and it was consecrated by the Archbishop of Tuam. It remained in use until 1924. The south side of the roof collapsed in 1955. The remains of the church can now be seen alongside the playground in the village.
Landmarks
The Fr. Sammon Centre is used to host events, including those marking the twinning with Treméven and celebrating the 1916 Rising. The hall is also used by several clubs in including boxing, active age, taekwondo and dance clubs. The mausoleum contains the remains of Robert Ffrench and his daughter. A nearby icehouse was used for food storage by the Ffrenches.
The village of Monivea had been officially twinned with the town of Treméven France in 2010. However this process begun long before this with a number of visits between the two towns in the preceding years. The first part of the twinning towns charter was signed on 5 July 2009 in the town of Treméven France. The Monivea representatives spent a week being entertained by music, dance, tours of the area, and banquets provided by their hosts in Trémeven. Monivea signed the second part of the Twinning towns charter on Sunday 15 August 2010 in Monivea with the town of Treméven France.
