Allenwood

This article is about the Irish village. For the United States prison, see Federal Correctional Institute, Allenwood. For the hamlet near the prison, see Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. For a ship, see HMAS Allenwood.
Allenwood
Fiodh Alúine
Town

R403 through Allenwood
Allenwood

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 53°17′02″N 6°51′39″W / 53.28398°N 6.86091°W / 53.28398; -6.86091Coordinates: 53°17′02″N 6°51′39″W / 53.28398°N 6.86091°W / 53.28398; -6.86091
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Kildare
Elevation 80 m (260 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Rural 845
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference N759266
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1991303—    
1996341+12.5%
2002481+41.1%
2006667+38.7%
2011845+26.7%
[1]

Allenwood (Irish: Fiodh Alúine) is a small Irish village in County Kildare situated on the Grand Canal. Allenwood is located about 47.3 km (29.4 mi) from Dublin and halfway between Rathangan and Clane in north County Kildare. According to the official CSO Census of 2011, Allenwood has a total population of 845 inhabitants. The main road through Allenwood is the R403 and the village is within 20 km (12 mi) of both the M4 (to the north) and M7 (to the south) motorways.

Businesses in the area are centred on the crossroads, and consist of several shops, including a spar, a costcutter and a public house. There are two primary schools, Allenwood G.N.S built in 1957 and Allenwood B.N.S built in 1929. located next to the church which was built in 1954. There is also a business park at the location of the old Power Station. The Grand Canal is traversed by means of a noteworthy bridge, known locally as the Skew (or Shee) Bridge.

Allenwood church, built in 1954

History

Allenwood developed in the nineteenth century as a coaching post along the Edenderry Road. Later residential development primarily occurred on local roads to the east of the village, typically as single plot developments.

Allenwood is the location of a former electricity power station which was fueled by peat from the surrounding bog lands. The station was built in 1952 by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). The cooling tower which could be seen from over 30 km (19 mi), was demolished shortly after the station was retired in 1994.

Bord na Móna which processed peat on the local boglands, established a camp for its workers at Allenwood Cross and the Roadstone quarry in Allen is also nearby. The industrial park located to the north-west of the village has grown around the location of the former ESB power plant.

Recent developments

Allenwood has undergone some rapid expansion in recent years. Several luxury homes have been built in the area as well as a number of housing estates and apartments. Traffic lights have also been added in late 2016 at the towns major crossroads.

Sport and recreation

The close proximity to the Grand Canal makes Allenwood a popular choice for fishing and walking. The local football club Allenwood G.F.C. is situated on the Station Road and offers its premises for a variety of other sports and recreations including kick boxing, dancing, scouting and annual school sports days. The local soccer club Allenwood Celtic is located just outside the village on the Edenderry Road. There were several golf courses within a 15 km (9.3 mi) range of the village, but the nearest ones have recently closed down.[2]

See also

List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.