Athboy, Co. Meath

Athboy is a small agricultural town on the Athboy River in County Meath, in a wooded country near the County Westmeath border. The town of Athboy began sometime during the sixth century A.D. as a settlement at the river crossing known as the Yellow Ford. The importance of the crossing meant that an established road network converging on the Yellow Ford had existed from early
times. The town developed along these roadways.

In medieval times it was a walled stronghold of the Pale. Owen Roe O' Neill took it in 1643, and six years later Cromwell camped his army on the Hill of Ward nearby. The tower of the Protestant church is a remnant of a fourteenth-century Carmelite priory. Behind the church are remains of the town walls.

Take a few minutes to walk the Athboy heritage trail and experience some of the history and rich tradition.