Time zone WET (UTC+0) Local time Thursday 9:41 AM | Irish Grid Reference V422773 Population 215 (2011) | |
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Weather 9°C, Wind SE at 8 km/h, 91% Humidity | ||
Knightstown (Irish: Baile an Ridire, meaning "Town of the Knight") is the largest settlement on Valentia Island, County Kerry, in Ireland. It lies within the townland of Farranreagh, at the eastern tip of the island. Knightstown has a population of 215 (CSO 2011).
Contents
Map of Knight's Town, Co. Kerry, Ireland
History
In 1830 Maurice FitzGerald, the 18th Knight of Kerry, commissioned Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo to draw up plans for a new village. During the 1840s, development began on what was initially known as the New Town of Valentia.
Locality
The local RNLI lifeboat station moved to Knightstown in 1869 from Reenard Point and has since been known as the Valentia Lifeboat Station. There is a selection of local coffee shops and bars in the town, as well as Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland churches.
Knightstown is also the location of the car ferry connection between Valentia Island and Reenard Point on the mainland.
Knightstown served as a base of operations for the laying of the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable completed in 1866.