Theme Week Leinster – Navan

Wednesday, 24 May 2023 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  5 minutes

Trimgate Street © geograph.org.uk - James Allan/cc-by-sa-2.0

Trimgate Street © geograph.org.uk – James Allan/cc-by-sa-2.0

Navan (Irish: An Uaimh, meaning “the Cave”) is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin.

Navan is a Norman foundation: Hugh de Lacy, who was granted the Lordship of Meath in 1172, awarded the Barony of Navan to one of his knights, Jocelyn de Angulo, who built a fort there, from which the town developed. Inside the town walls, Navan consisted of three streets. These were Trimgate Street, Watergate St. and Ludlow St. (which was once called Dublingate St.). The orientation of the three original streets remains from the Middle Ages but the buildings date from the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The town’s Post Office on Trimgate Street office was built in 1908 on the site of an earlier post office. In 1990, the post office was relocated to Kennedy Road. The building of a new shopping centre re-oriented the town’s centre. The onetime post office was acquired as the site of the town’s first McDonald’s restaurant. Variants of Navan had been in use since Norman times. It is thought to come from Irish an Uamhain ‘the cave/souterrain‘, a variant of its more common Irish name an Uaimh. In 1922, when the Irish Free State was founded, an Uaimh was adopted as the town’s only official name. However, it failed to gain popularity in Irish and in 1971 the name was reverted to Navan in English.

Town Hall © Ruhrfisch/cc-by-sa-4.0 Trimgate Street © geograph.org.uk - James Allan/cc-by-sa-2.0 Bridge Street © geograph.org.uk - Mary and Angus Hogg/cc-by-sa-2.0 Cross streets © geograph.org.uk - James Allan/cc-by-sa-2.0 Newgrange Hotel © geograph.org.uk - Mary and Angus Hogg/cc-by-sa-2.0 Poolboy Bridge © geograph.org.uk - JP/cc-by-sa-2.0
<
>
Newgrange Hotel © geograph.org.uk - Mary and Angus Hogg/cc-by-sa-2.0
Public art and sculptures in Navan include Sniomh, by Betty Newman Maguire, which sits in front of Navan Fire Station. This sculpture is reputedly inspired by the movement of water and the merging of the rivers Boyne and Blackwater. Another public sculpture, The Fifth Province by Richard King, is located on the Navan Bypass. This sculpture is composed of four branches and a central upright stem that symbolises the flowering of hope and peace. The Bull, designed by sculptor Colin Grehan, is a prominent piece of public art. Situated in the market square of the town, this is a 16 tonne limestone statue of a bull being held back by two handlers and commemorates the historic bull markets that took place in the area. The statue was surrounded by controversy over its cost, an estimated €8.7 million, and its location. Local man Paddy Pryle noted that “anybody coming up Timmons Hill, which is one of the main entrances into the town, will be entering Navan via the bull’s arse. It is one of the most crazy things I have seen put up yet,” Objections to the statue delayed its erection by 8 years.

According to local folklore a Souterrain was discovered near the Navan Viaduct in 1848. The location of its entrance has since been lost. Another folk tale involves the ghost of Francis Ledwidge. According to the story an old friend of Ludwidge was working at the Meath Chronicle, the local news printer, when he heard the sound of Ledwidge’s motorcycle outside. His friend was confused as he believed Ledwidge was fighting on the Western Front, upon going out to greet him the friend found that Ledwidge had disappeared. The story claims that this ghostly apparition appeared at the same moment he died. In the Fenian cycle of Irish mythology, Fionn mac Cumhaill studied under the druid Finegas along the river Boyne. He is believed to have caught the Salmon of Knowledge in what is now Navan.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on DiscoverIreland.ie – Navan, IrishCentral.com – Navan, County Meath – more than “just an hour from Dublin”, Wikivoyage Navan and Wikipedia Navan. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Theme Week Egypt

Theme Week Egypt

[caption id="attachment_166053" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Luxor - Winter Palace Hotel © Rowan[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of A...

[ read more ]

70 years Luxembourg Agreement

70 years Luxembourg Agreement

[caption id="attachment_229367" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Luxembourg City Hall © Cayambe/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Reparations Agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany ("Luxembourg Agreement", "Wiedergutmachungsabkommen" or "Reparations Agreement") was signed on September 10, 1952, and entered in force on March 27, 1953. According to the Agreement, West Germany was to pay Israel for the costs of "resettling so great a number of uprooted and destitute Jewish refugees" after the war, an...

[ read more ]

The winter sports resort Arlberg in Tyrol

The winter sports resort Arlberg in Tyrol

[caption id="attachment_160587" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © skiarlberg.at[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Arlberg is a mountain range or massif between Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria. The highest peak is the "Valluga" at 2,811 metres (9,222 ft). The name Arlberg derives from the tradition of the "Arlenburg," who are said to have once established themselves on the Tyrolean side of the Arlberg passes (1,793 m over sea level). Another story derives the name from the "Arlenbushes" that are very numerous here. There is no mountain...

[ read more ]

The Disney Magic

The Disney Magic

[caption id="attachment_152377" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Disney Magic at Cozumel, Yucatan © Altairisfar[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Disney Magic is a cruise ship operated by the Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Magic is over 80 feet longer than the RMS Titanic. Scattered throughout the ship, there are Mickey Impressions, known as "Hidden Mickeys". People like to search for them. Onboard shows (just about one each night) are very well done. Some of these shows have been nominated,...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Abu Dhabi - Al Ain

Theme Week Abu Dhabi - Al Ain

[caption id="attachment_165482" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Oasis of Green Mubazarrah © Shahinmusthafa Shahin Olakara/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Al Ain (literally The Spring), also known as the Garden City of The Gulf given the many oases, parks, tree-lined avenues and decorative roundabouts within the city. Strict height controls on new buildings, to no more than four floors, emphasise the greenery of the city, is the second largest city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the fourth largest city in the United Ara...

[ read more ]

Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism

Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism

[caption id="attachment_232261" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Fred Romero/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The NS-Dokumentationszentrum is a museum in the Maxvorstadt area of Munich, Germany, which focuses on the history and consequences of the Nazi regime and the role of Munich as Hauptstadt der Bewegung (′capital of the movement′). In December 2005 the government of Bavaria announced that the museum would be situated at the site of the former Brown House, the Nazi Party headquarters, which pla...

[ read more ]

Romans-sur-Isère in southeastern France

Romans-sur-Isère in southeastern France

[caption id="attachment_219573" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Toutaitanous/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Romans-sur-Isère is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Romans-sur-Isère is located on the Isère, 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Valence. There are more than 50,000 inhabitants in the urban area (if the neighboring town of Bourg-de-Péage is included). Romans is close to the Vercors. Historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie wrote Carnaval de Romans (1980) a microhistorical study, based on...

[ read more ]

Theme Week North Korea - Kaesong

Theme Week North Korea - Kaesong

[caption id="attachment_218580" align="aligncenter" width="590"] The Goryeo Museum © Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Kaesong is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close to the border with South Korea and contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. Called Songdo while it was the ancient capital of Goryeo, the c...

[ read more ]

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

[caption id="attachment_169437" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Imalipusram[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. It is the largest international economic organization in the world. The WTO deals with regulation of trade in goods,...

[ read more ]

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London

[caption id="attachment_26512" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Schlaier[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642. A modern reconstruction of the Gl...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Max Planck, c. 1930 © library.si.edu - Transocean Berlin
Portrait: Max Planck, originator of quantum theory

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck ForMemRS was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel...

© flickr.com - William Murphy/cc-by-sa-2.0
Theme Week Leinster – Drogheda

Drogheda (Irish: Droichead Átha, meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the...

© flickr.com - Ninara/cc-by-2.0
Yazd in Iran

Yazd, formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd province, Iran. The city is 270 km (170 mi)...

Schließen