The town most probably owes its origin to the foundation of Clane Friary in the sixth century, from about 520 A.D., when Ailbe of Emly, Bishop of Ferns, founded an Abbey in Clane and made St. Senchel the Elder its first Abbot. Saint Ultan Tua, who used to put a stone into his mouth to prevent him from speaking during Lent, and his brother Fotharnaise, are said to have been buried in Clane. They were brothers of Maighend, Abbot of Kilmainham, from whom the parish and church of Mainham, near Clane, were probably called. King Mesgegra's Mound claims links to the legendary first-century AD king Mesgegra of Leinster and was later used by Normans.[citation needed]
The ruins of the Franciscan monastery founded at Clane by Sir Gerald FitzMaurice, 3rd Lord Ophaly, in 1272 still exist. In 1542, Henry VIII's Commissioner granted the site and precincts of this House of Friars, manor or preaching-house of the preaching Friars of Clane to Robert Eustace, Roger Roche and Ed. Brown for £177. Besides about 70 acres (28 ha) of land in the neighbourhood – its possessions consisted of a church, cemetery, chapter-house, dormitory, store, kitchen, two chambers, stable and orchard. The dormitory and other buildings probably stood on the north side of the Abbey Church, and have long since completely disappeared.[citation needed]
The parish of Clane has the distinction of being the place where the rebellion of 1798 broke out; a battle between the United Irishmen and the Yeomen forces led by Richard Griffith took place on Coiseanna Hill by the modern Woods Centre. The rebels were easily defeated, and the survivors fled to Timahoe with the rest of the North Kildare rebels.[4]
Features and amenities
Clane has two Liffey tributaries, the Butter Stream at the south west, with a small park, and the Gollymochy River at the eastern side.
Sections of The Pale remain as ditches and hedgerows in private fields to the north of Clane.[5]
Clane Friary and Abbey Cemetery lie to the south of the village. The Abbey, on Main Street, was formerly a church, then a ruin, and has since been restored into a community centre and garden of remembrance. The Wogan Mausoleum and churchyard lies at Mainham.[citation needed]
The Liffeyside Nature Park is a small wilderness area leading to a paved path by the River Liffey.[6]
Clane is a commuter town for Dublin, which lies 32 km (20 mi) to the east.[7]
As of the 2022 census, Clane had a population of 8,152 people,[1] an increase from 7,280 in the 2016 census.[8] According to the 2011 census, 2,565 people then spoke Irish in Clane (with 880 people speaking it daily).[9] 984 people speak a language other than English or Irish, with Polish the most common foreign language (with 336 speakers).
Transport
A commuter railway station in Sallins, approximately 6 km (4 mi) from Clane, has a service to Dublin. The town is also served by Go-Ahead Ireland, which operates regular bus service between Edenderry and Dublin with the routes 120/a/b/c/d/e/f/x.[10] A rapid town link service, provided by private operator JJ Kavanagh and Sons operates hourly between Clane, Sallins and Naas, and the route 139 served by the same company, operates regularly between Naas and the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown.[11]
Sport
There are 10 golf courses within 16 km (10 mi) of the town, including the K Club, where the 1995 European Open was held, and which hosted the 2006 Ryder Cup.
Clane Rugby Club has 2 senior sides and a youth program, with pitches situated on the Ballinagappa Road.[12]
Primary schools (national schools) serving the area include Hewetsons N.S. (located near Millicent), Scoil Bhríde G.N.S. (on the Prosperous Road),[13] and Scoil Phádraig B.N.S. (also on the Prosperous Road).[14]
According to the 2011 census, 53% of residents of Clane have completed second-level education and 38.4% had gone on to third level.[9]
Religion
Saint Patrick's & Saint Brigid's Church is the Catholic place of worship, part of the Catholic parish of Clane and Rathcoffey. It first opened in 1884, and was renovated after a fire in 2008, which left the church unsafe.[15] The local Church of Ireland church is Church of St Michael and All Angels, Millicent (C of I parish of Clane and Donadea), a 19th-century building noted for its architecture and interior.
^"Who the hell are?". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2020. Dublin-born Graham Hopkins was brought up in Clane, Co Kildare
^"Tenor Josef Locke dies at 82". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 16 October 1999. Retrieved 18 April 2020. Josef Locke, the Derry-born tenor, died [..] in Clane, Co Kildare, near where he lived in retirement
