Country Ireland Irish Grid Reference N599531 Population 227 (2011) Province Leinster | County County Westmeath Elevation 75 m Local time Thursday 11:31 AM | |
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Weather 7°C, Wind NE at 16 km/h, 80% Humidity | ||
Raharney (Irish: Ráth Fhearna, meaning "Fearna's ringfort") is a village in east County Westmeath, Ireland. It has a population of 227.
Contents
Map of Raharney, Co. Westmeath, Ireland
Raharney is on the R156 road about 18 km (11 mi) from Mullingar and about 67 km from Dublin. It is in the parish of Killucan; the village of Killucan is a further 3 km (1.9 mi) west.
Public transport
Bus Éireann route 115A provides a commuter link to Dublin via Ballivor, Summerhill and Maynooth with one journey in the morning and an evening journey back Mondays to Fridays inclusive. Until 24 August 2013 (incluive) Bus Éireann route 118 provided a daily commuter service to Dublin via Dunboyne and a daily service to/ from Mullingar.
History
The village of Raharney has a bridge over the River Deel and is the last settlement of the county on the edge of bogland that separates Westmeath from County Meath. The bridge links the roads that run north-south alongside the River Deel on one side and alongside the bog on the other (road from Delvin and on through Riverdale). The River Deel is a tributary of the Boyne. The roads into the village all slope down towards the river, suggesting that before the bridge was built there was a ford at this point. Looking westward to Mullingar the town is located in the gap between three large lakes. Raharney, therefore, lies on the route of a path of what probably was, in the past, difficult terrain through the midlands. The three east-west roads were the Athboy-Delvin-Mullingar road, the Clonard-Kinnegad-Athlone/Mullingar road and Trim-Raharney/Killucan-Mullingar road.
A feature of the village is an old, unused graveyard, perched on top of a small hill on the bend of the river as it leaves the village.
Sport
In Raharney, the game of hurling is a favourite sporting pastime and there is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the parish, which has won the County Westmeath senior hurling championship on ten occasions: 1913, 1914, 1919, 1967, 1973, 1984, 1992, 1994, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2016. The club's camogie team has won the Westmeath camógie final for the past four years. One of the sporting greats within the area is Brendan McKeogh junior, who is the only man in the parish with the proud honour of having played on the winning championship team five times in his Raharney career, covering the 1992, 1994, 2006, 2008 and 2010 victories.