Kilcock

Kilcock Cill Choca
Town
Kilcock in the 1990s
Kilcock Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°24′01″N6°40′05″W / 53.4004°N 6.6681°W / 53.4004; -6.6681
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Kildare
Population  (2022) [1]	8,674
Time zone	UTC±0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode	W23
Telephone area code	01
Irish grid reference	O003360

Kilcock (Irish : Cill Choca, meaning 'church of St Cocha') ^[2] is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 8,674, ^[1] making it the eighth largest town in County Kildare and 61st largest in Ireland. The town is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Dublin, and is on the Royal Canal. It is in a civil parish of the same name. ^[2]

Local industries include a large Musgrave Group distribution centre, ^[3] which supplies SuperValu and Centra stores across much of the country.

History

Kilcock takes its name from the 6th century Saint Coca who founded a church beside the Rye River, a major tributary of the River Liffey. The saint is traditionally said to have been a sister of St. Kevin of Glendalough; by occupation, she was an embroiderer of church vestments, including those for St. Colmcille. A holy well dedicated to Coca, formerly thought to be lost in the back-yards of Kilcock, is believed locally to be in the area behind the Permanent TSB building,^{[ citation needed ]} and her feast is remembered on 6 June. However, this commemoration is a modern revival as when the Ordnance Survey of the area was being made in 1837 it was recorded that "there is no old church in ruins in this parish nor is any patron saint or day remembered... the meaning of the name Cille Choc is not remembered." When the present parish church was dedicated in 1867 it was named for St. Coca, and it had cost £10,000 to build to the design of architect J.J. McCarthy. ^[4]

In the 8th century, there was a battle between rival kings near the church of St. Coca, then in the territory of Carbury and close to the border between Leinster and Meath. There is a gap of several hundred years until the next reference to Kilcock when, in 1303, it belonged to the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem at Kilmainham.

In the 17th century, markets and fairs were held regularly in Kilcock. The tolls and duties of Kilcock Fairs were shared between the Wogans of Rathcoffey and the Eustaces of Castlemartin, Kilcullen, County Kildare. Kilcock had 70 acres (28 ha) of common land to which several inhabitants had a common right. There was also a Commons at Courtown (Bawnogue & Duncreevan) and Laragh Commons. ^[5]

The markets in Kilcock were probably the largest in North Kildare. A measure of oats in those times was referred to as a "Kilcock Measure." ^[5]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1821	1,497	—
1831	1,730	+15.6%
1841	1,327	−23.3%
1851	1,164	−12.3%
1861	873	−25.0%
1871	764	−12.5%
1881	721	−5.6%
1891	647	−10.3%
1901	662	+2.3%
1911	590	−10.9%
1926	562	−4.7%
1936	475	−15.5%
1946	492	+3.6%
1951	670	+36.2%
1956	722	+7.8%
1961	739	+2.4%
1966	815	+10.3%
1971	827	+1.5%
1981	1,150	+39.1%
1986	1,414	+23.0%
1991	1,551	+9.7%
1996	1,825	+17.7%
2002	2,985	+63.6%
2006	4,100	+37.4%
2011	5,533	+35.0%
2016	6,093	+10.1%
2022	8,674	+42.4%
[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [1]

Transport

Children watching a steam train pass by the town in 1991

The M4 motorway opened in 1994 and bypasses Kilcock to the south of the town. The motorway connects Dublin to the west of the country. There is a National Roads Authority (NRA) plan to create an outer orbital motorway, which would extend 80 km from Naas to Drogheda, via Kilcock. ^[12]

Bus Éireann has route 115 and 115A (Summerhill) running from Dublin to Mullingar passing through Kilcock.

The railway arrived in Kilcock on 28 June 1847, but the station closed on 1 July 1848, ^[13] as it was sited on a 1% (1 in 100) gradient which the locomotives of the day found difficult to start off from. This site was slightly east of the current Kilcock station. A replacement station opened in 1850 west of the town, where the old N4 crosses the Royal Canal and railway, but closed in 1963. The current Kilcock railway station, under Shaw Bridge, opened in 1998. ^[14]

As of November 2016 ^[update] , construction was underway by the county council to pave a pedestrian and cycling path along the riverbank.^{[ citation needed ][ needs update ]}

Education

Kilcock has three primary schools: Scoil Chóca Naofa, ^[15] St. Joseph's BNS ^[16] (which since September 2016 changed from single-sex schools to mixed schools and both schools are linked with each other), and Gaelscoil Uí Riada (an all-Irish school). The latter is located beside the Bánóg on the outskirts of the village.^{[ citation needed ]}

Kilcock is also home to the secondary school Scoil Dara. ^[17] Located on Church Street, it accommodates over 900 students from Kilcock and surrounding areas including Donadea, Summerhill, Enfield, Moynalvey and Mulhussey.^{[ citation needed ]}

Places of interest

The town's library features mementos of the poet Teresa Brayton who was born in Kilbrook. The Old Bog Road, 4.5 km west of the town, was the subject of one of her verses. It was set to music by Madeline King O'Farrelly and recorded by artists including Josef Locke, Johnny McEvoy, Finbar Furey, Daniel O'Donnell, ^[18] and Finbar Wright.^{[ citation needed ]}

There is also the old manor where Lady Catherine McCormack was born in the 1800s. ^[19]

Also nearby, in Calgath, County Meath, is "Bridestream" (an 18th-century house which is the headquarters to a local business),^{[ citation needed ]} and "Larchill", an 18th-century Ferme Ornée (ornamental farm). ^[20] Larchill was restored from the mid-1990s, ^[21] and there are walkways through beech avenues linking several classical and gothic follies. There is also a 8-acre (32,000 m²) lake with two island follies, a formal walled garden with shell-lined tower and a model gothic farmyard. ^[22]

Kilcock Art Gallery was established in 1978 by Breda Smyth and opened by George Campbell, RHA. ^[23]

Kilcock has a greenway cycle/walkway which runs from Maynooth through Kilcock for 38 km towards the Westmeath border.^{[ citation needed ]}

Economy and community

The town has a Lidl store which opened in February 2013,^{[ citation needed ]} and also a SuperValu store which opened in June 2016. ^[24] Kilcock Business Association has in excess of 50 members. ^[25]

Kilcock Musical & Dramatic Society (KMDS) is an amateur musical society ^[26] affiliated to the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS), in existence since 1970. The society has produced a number of productions, both musical and non-musical since 1983. For example, the society presented the musical Oklahoma! in 2012. ^[27]

Sport

GAA

Kilcock GAA Club is situated in the townland of Branganstown and was founded on 1 May 1887. A clubhouse was opened in 2002, consisting of a bar, sports hall and changing rooms. The club has won the Kildare Senior Football Championship five times. ^[28] The club caters to over 60 teams.^{[ citation needed ]}

Football

As of 2022, there was one football club in the town, Kilcock Celtic.^{[ citation needed ]}

Canoeing and canoe polo

Kilcock's proximity to the Royal Canal makes it a common spot for canoeing. Kilcock Canoe Polo Club (KCPC) was founded in 1998, ^[29] and occupies a site in the harbour at Kilcock on the Royal Canal. The club hosts training sessions in canoe polo, and the European Canoe Polo Championship was held there in 2003. ^[30]

Basketball

Kilcock Tigers Basketball Club was established in 2000 and is based in Scoil Dara. The club has under 11 and under 18 teams for boys and girls. ^[31] Kilcock Tigers is based in the Dublin Leagues and is a member of the Dublin Ladies Basketball Board and the Dublin Men's Basketball Board.^{[ citation needed ]}

Athletics

St. Coca's Athletic Club in Kilcock was established in the 1970s. ^[32] A number of club members have competed nationally and internationally. ^[33] Training takes place at a running track in the Bawnogue. ^[34]

Rugby, hockey and cricket

North Kildare RFC, which is a part of North Kildare Club, is located in the Maws, Kilcock, and was founded in 1928. ^[35]

Notable people

• John Kenny, president of the Clan-na-Gael in New York, who ran a mission to Germany in September 1914 to request guns and military assistance from the German government, and delivered funds from America to Irish Volunteers HQ in Dublin ^[36]
• Ciarán Kilduff, a League of Ireland footballer^{[ citation needed ]}
• Brian Murray, a Donegal footballer who won an All-Ireland SFC medal in 1992. Currently lives in Kilcock^{[ citation needed ]}
• Pádraig Nolan, a Kildare footballer and manager ^[37]
• Mick O'Brien, an Irish international footballer who was capped 14 times between the years 1921 and 1927^{[ citation needed ]}
• Derek Warfield, a former member of the Wolfe Tones, lives in Kilcock ^[38]

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. "Census 2022 - F1015 Population". Central Statistics Office Census 2022 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
2. "Cill Choca/Kilcock". www.logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
3. "Musgrave Group". www.musgravegroup.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
4. "Welcome to Kilcock and Newton Parish Online". Kilcockparish.net. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
5. Rochfort, James (2012). The Rochforts. Cardinal House, Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland: Maynooth University Press. p. 110. ISBN   978-1897922-18-7.
6. "Census for post 1821 figures". Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
7. "Home". Histpop.Org. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
8. NISRA. "Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency – Census Home Page". Nisranew.nisra.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
9. Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
10. Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November 1984). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850". The Economic History Review. Volume. 37 (4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x. hdl: 10197/1406 . Archived from the original on 4 December 2012.
11. "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Kilcock". Census 2016. CSO. 2016. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
12. Life saver (12 March 2008). "M50 and outer orbital lands are in demand – Commercial Property, Business". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 16 May 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
13. "Kilcock station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
14. "Rail station at Kilcock opens". The Irish Times . 3 November 1998. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
15. "Scoil Chóca Naofa". www.scoilchoca.ie. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
16. "St. Joseph's Kilcock". www.stjosephskilcock.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
17. "Scoil Dara". www.scoildara.ie. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
18. McDonagh, Michael J; O'Donnell, Daniel (2007), Daniel O'Donnell's Ireland, London: Virgin Books, ISBN   978-1-905264-08-7
19. "Lyrics – Old Bog Road, The". Celtic-lyrics.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
20. "18th Century Ferme Ornée". www.larchill.ie. Larchill Arcadian Garden. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
21. "Rediscovery and Restoration". www.larchill.ie. Larchill Arcadian Garden. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
22. "The Walk". www.larchill.ie. Larchill Arcadian Garden. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
23. "About Kilcock Art Gallery". www.kilcockartgallery.ie. Kilcock Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
24. Lawless, James (30 June 2016). "SuperValu Kilcock Open For Business". www.jameslawless.ie. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
25. Lane, Tara (2 November 2009). "Kilcock Business Association Formed". Our Kilcock. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
26. "Kilcock Musical & Dramatic Society". Kilcockms.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
27. "Productions to date - Kilcock Musical & Dramatic Society". Kilcockms.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
28. "Club History". www.kilcockgaa.com. Kilcock GAA Club. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
29. "Club History". www.kilcockcanoepoloclub.com. Kilcock Canoe Polo Club. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
30. Whelan, Trish. "Kilcock hosts International Canoe Polo". KildareNet News. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
31. "Kilcock Basketball Club". www.town-buzz.com. Maynooth Buzz. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
32. "Welcome to St. Coca's AC". www.stcocasac.com. St. Coca's Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
33. "Honours". www.stcocasac.com. St. Coca's Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
34. "Training Times". www.stcocasac.com. St. Coca's Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
35. "About North Kildare Club". www.northkildareclub.ie. North Kildare Club. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
36. "John Kenny". Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
37. O'Riordan, Ian (17 October 2002). "Nolan new Kildare manager". The Irish Times. A native of Kilcock and a former Kildare player at minor, under-21 and senior levels, Nolan's appointment follows weeks of speculation on the possible replacement for O'Dwyer, who has moved across the border to Laois to take over from Colm Browne.
38. "Contact". www.youngwolfetones.com. Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.