Rathvilly


Rathvilly is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Wicklow, 11 km from Tullow and 8 km from Baltinglass. It is also on the N81 national secondary route. The area has the family seat of Baron Rathdonnell. Rathvilly has won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition on three separate occasions, 1961, 1963, and 1968.

History

In the centre of the village there is a statue dedicated to Kevin Barry, an 18-year-old who was executed for his part in the Irish War of Independence on 1 November 1920. Though from Dublin, Barry had family locally, and had attended the national school in Rathvilly.

Places of interest

, a medieval structure, is found one mile off the village on the Hacketstown road. The Lisnavagh Estate lies just outside the village of Rathvilly.

Sport

Rathvilly GAA club is the village's Gaelic Athletic Association team. The teams play in Green and Gold jerseys and have won the Carlow Senior Football Championship 8 times in their history. The club's most recent championship win came in 2014. Rathvilly's Brendan Murphy has represented his country in the annual AFL series on several occasions. In 2015, a Rathvilly team won the Under 16 Carlow A Championship. In 2013, the Rathvilly Junior-A team completed the double, winning both championship and league finals.

Transport

Rathvilly railway station opened on 1 June 1886, closed for passenger traffic on 27 January 1947 and finally closed altogether on 1 April 1959.