Abbeyside

Abbeyside (Irish place name|Dún na Mainistreach|Fort of the abbey), colloquially known as "the village", is the part of the Dungarvan urban area in County Waterford, Ireland, on the northern side of the River Colligan.

History

MacGrath's Castle was a well-known landmark in Abbeyside, overlooking Dungarvan Harbour, until it collapsed in January 1916. It was situated at Friar's Walk in Abbeyside, near the Augustinian abbey. It was a typical tower-house of six floors, two of them supported by stone vaults. The MacGrath family is said to have built it, and it is called MacCragh's Castle in the Civil Survey of 1654. By the mid-18th century the castle was still in a good state of preservation and retained its roof. Following the collapse, fragments of the walls remained up until the early 1960s, but these were removed and now there are no remains visible above ground. [cite web | title=MacGraths Castle | work=Waterford County Museum (by Willie Fraher, 26 July 2001) | url=http://www.waterfordcountymuseum.org/exhibit/web/Display/article/43/ | accessdate=2008-07-14]

port

*Stage 2 of the 1998 Tour de France passed through Abbeyside.
*The local Gaelic Athletic Association club is Abbeyside/Ballinacourty GAA. The club plays both hurling and gaelic football and competes in both senior codes in the county.

People

*Physicist and Nobel Laureate Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (October 6, 1903 – June 25, 1995) was born in Abbeyside, Dungarvan, to a Methodist minister father, Rev. John Walton (1874-1936) and Anna Sinton (1874-1906). [ [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1951/walton-bio.html Ernest T.S. Walton - Biography ] ] Walton was famous for his work with John Cockcroft on the splitting of the atom. The "Walton Causeway Park" in Abbeyside was dedicated in his honour. Walton himself attended the ceremony in 1989. After his death, a plaque was placed on the site of his birthplace in Abbeyside.

References

External links

* [http://abbeysideheritagearchive.blogspot.com/ Abbeyside Heritage Archive]