Editing Shannonbridge

{{short description|Village in County Offaly, Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                   = Shannonbridge
|native_name            = {{Irish place name|Droichead na Sionainne}}
|native_name_lang       = ga
|settlement_type        = Village
|motto                  = Esto Fideles - The Faithful
|image_skyline          = Shannonbridge sign.jpg
|image_caption          = 
|pushpin_map            = Ireland
|pushpin_label_position = right
|pushpin_map_caption    = Location in Ireland
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
|subdivision_type1      = [[Provinces of Ireland|Province]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Leinster]]
|subdivision_type3      = [[Counties of Ireland|County]]
|subdivision_name3      = [[County Offaly|Offaly]]
|established_title      = 
|established_date       = 
|unit_pref              = Metric
|area_footnotes         = 
|area_total_km2         = 
|population_as_of       = [[2016 census of Ireland|2016]]
|population_footnotes   = <ref name="cso2016">{{cite web | url = http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=74C68C2B-215C-4043-A645-D8FC615EEE2D | publisher = Central Statistics Office | work = Census 2016 | title = Sapmap Area - Settlements - Shannonbridge | date = April 2016 | access-date = 27 February 2020 | archive-date = 24 September 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210924181443/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=74C68C2B-215C-4043-A645-D8FC615EEE2D | url-status = live }}</ref>
|population             = 175
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone1              = [[West European Time|WET]]
|utc_offset1            = +0
|timezone1_DST          = [[Irish Standard Time|IST]] ([[Western European Summer Time|WEST]]) 
|utc_offset1_DST        = -1
|coordinates            = {{coord|53.279|-8.047|dim:100000_region:IE|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes    = 
|elevation_m            = 38
|blank_name             = [[Irish grid reference system|Irish Grid Reference]]
|blank_info             = {{iem4ibx|M969253}}
|website                = 
|footnotes              = 
}}
'''Shannonbridge''' ({{Irish place name|Droichead na Sionainne}})<ref name="logainm village">{{cite web | url = https://www.logainm.ie/en/135338 | title = Droichead na Sionainne/Shannonbridge | website = [[Placenames Database of Ireland]] (logainm.ie) | access-date = 17 October 2021}}</ref> is a village located on the [[River Shannon]], at the junction of the [[R444 road|R444]] and [[R357 road (Ireland)|R357]] [[Regional road (Ireland)|regional road]]s in [[County Offaly]], Ireland. It lies within the [[townland]] of Raghra ({{lga|Reachra}}),<ref name="logainm townland">{{cite web | url = https://www.logainm.ie/en/41565 | title = Raghra/Reachra | website = [[Placenames Database of Ireland]] (logainm.ie) | access-date = 17 October 2021}}</ref> at the borders of counties Offaly, [[County Galway|Galway]] and [[County Roscommon|Roscommon]], with the majority of the population living east of the bridge in County Offaly. As of the [[2016 census of Ireland|2016 census]], the village had a population of 175.<ref name="cso2016"/> There are two [[housing estates]] within the village. Its location along Ireland's largest river and its proximity to [[Clonmacnoise]] have contributed to tourism being a key contributor to the local economy. The village is flanked by a [[Special Area of Conservation]] – the [[Shannon Callows]]. The physical environment consists of the River Shannon, callows, boglands and the [[Esker Riada]] (a major routeway in the 18th century). The village has one of the oldest [[List of crossings of the Shannon|bridges still in use over the River Shannon]], completed in 1757.<ref name="offaly1">{{cite web |format=[[.doc]] |archive-date=26 November 2007 |url-status=dead |via=[[Wayback Machine]] |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126055802/http://www.offaly.ie/NR/rdonlyres/9DB8508E-087D-476C-A704-DBA29A127654/748/Shannonbridge_VP_DisplayDraft_1Aug06.doc |url=http://www.offaly.ie/NR/rdonlyres/9DB8508E-087D-476C-A704-DBA29A127654/748/Shannonbridge_VP_DisplayDraft_1Aug06.doc  |publisher=[[Offaly County Council]]  |title=Shannonbridge |website=[[Offaly.ie]]  |access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref>

The monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise is approximately {{convert|7|km|abbr=on}} upriver.

== History ==
Shannonbridge gets its name from the bridge connecting County Offaly and County Roscommon. Rachra is generally considered the old name for Shannonbridge, but 'Shannonbridge' was adopted after the building of the bridge in 1757. The military may have initially constructed a village, the 'first Shannonbridge', in the vicinity of Temple Duff graveyard just south of the power station.

Shannonbridge was fortified by the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] in the [[Napoleon]]ic era. Some of the [[fortifications]], including a fort that now houses a restaurant,<ref name="theoldfortrestaurant1">{{cite web |url=http://www.theoldfortrestaurant.com/ |title=Home |publisher=Theoldfortrestaurant.com |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323071249/http://www.theoldfortrestaurant.com/ |archive-date=23 March 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> are still visible today on the west bank of the river.

At Curleys Island between Shannonbridge and Clonmacnoise, there is a legendary ford of Snámh Dá Éan ("swim two birds"). It was here that a proselytising [[Saint Patrick]] ostensibly crossed the Shannon into [[Connacht]], and much later the [[Anglo-Normans]] considered the ford important enough to be guarded by one of their campaign forts. Accordingly, they constructed the great Motte of Clonburren on the Roscommon side of the river, within sight of an even then declining early [[Christianity|Christian]] [[nunnery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.offaly.ie/offalyhome/visitoffaly/Towns/Shannonbridge/ |title=Shannonbridge |publisher=Offaly.ie |access-date=2008-10-27 |archive-date=19 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119020210/http://www.offaly.ie/offalyhome/visitoffaly/Towns/Shannonbridge/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019, a group of Romanian nuns established an orthodox monastery, ''The Life-Giving Spring - Ard Ciaran'', in Shannonbridge.<ref>[https://orthochristian.com/126597.html Romanian Church Acquires Property for Monastery in Ireland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720135638/https://orthochristian.com/126597.html |date=20 July 2021 }} www.orthochristian.com, 23 December 2020.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://orthodoxmonasteryireland.ie/ |title=The Orthodox Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=20 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720160409/https://orthodoxmonasteryireland.ie/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The property ''Ard Ciaran'' was formerly a prayer and retreat centre run by the [[Ursuline order]].<ref>[http://www.ursulines.ie/latest/shannonbridge-leave-taking-and-welcome/ Shannonbridge: leave-taking and welcome] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721085524/http://www.ursulines.ie/latest/shannonbridge-leave-taking-and-welcome/ |date=21 July 2021 }} www.ursulines.ie 20 February 2020.</ref>

[[File:Shannonbridge .jpg|thumb|center|550px|Fort and bridge]]

== Economy ==
[[File:IMG WestOffalyPower5777.jpg|thumb|right|250px|ESB Power Station]]
Historically, the main employers in Shannonbridge have included the [[Electricity Supply Board]] (whose [[West Offaly Power Station]] operated from 1965 to 2020) and [[Bord na Móna]] (harvesting peat used in the station).<ref name="www1">{{cite web|url=http://www.esb.ie/main/about_esb/powerstations/shannonbridge/thestation/index.jsp |title=ESB > About Us > PowerStations > Shannonbridge > The Station |publisher=Esb.ie |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050310112639/http://www.esb.ie/main/about_esb/powerstations/shannonbridge/thestation/index.jsp |archive-date=10 March 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bnm.ie/corporate/index.jsp |title=Bord na Móna |publisher=Bnm.ie |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218024403/http://www.bnm.ie/corporate/index.jsp |archive-date=18 December 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Tourism also supports employment in the area, and there is a farming community present. The nearby towns of [[Ballinasloe]], County Galway and [[Athlone]], [[County Westmeath]] serve as district centres for the village.<ref name="offaly1"/>

The Electricity Supply Board's peat-fired power station, the West Offaly Power Station, had a capacity of 135 megawatts and was located about {{convert|1|km|abbr=on}} downriver from Shannnonbridge. The peat was supplied from the Blackwater Bog peatlands, managed by Bord na Móna. The power station closed in 2020.<ref>{{cite news | last = Lee | first = George | title = ESB to close two peat-fired Midlands power stations | publisher = [[RTÉ.ie]] | date = 2019-11-08 | url = https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/1108/1089500-esb-power-plants/ | access-date = 2019-11-08 | archive-date = 8 November 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191108125614/https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/1108/1089500-esb-power-plants/ | url-status = live }}</ref> The [[Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway]] (a [[narrow gauge railway]]) was principally used to transport the peat to the power station, and also provides passenger tours of the peat lands for visitors.<ref name="www1"/>

Shannonbridge Potteries is located just outside the village. Their factory shop is open to the public.<ref name="shannonbridgepottery1">{{cite web| url = http://www.shannonbridgepottery.com/| title = Irish Pottery Gift Shop {{!}} Novelty Mugs Ireland {{!}} Shannonbridge Pottery| access-date = 26 January 2008| archive-date = 22 January 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080122120606/http://www.shannonbridgepottery.com/| url-status = dead}}</ref>

Local services include two shops, a post office, three pubs, a service restaurant,<ref name="theoldfortrestaurant1"/> and a butcher.

== Tourism ==
Tourists come to Shannonbridge by [[cabin cruiser|cruiser]] on the River Shannon, a short distance from the main street. A tourist office is located at the west end of the main street. The monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise is {{convert|7|km|abbr=on}} upriver and attracts approximately 100,000 visitors per annum.<ref name="eircom1">{{cite web |url=http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/human_environment.html |title=Shannonbridge human environment |publisher=Homepage.eircom.net |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306172611/http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/human_environment.html |archive-date=6 March 2005 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Shannonbridge tennis court was built in 1988 with funds from the national lottery on land leased from the Electricity Supply Board. The court is located at the eastern end of the village adjacent to St. Kierans Park.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/tennis.html |title=GAA History |publisher=Homepage.eircom.net |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306170123/http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/tennis.html |archive-date=6 March 2005 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Shannonbridge is a destination for [[angling|anglers]], and the River Shannon has stocks of [[bream]], [[rudd]], rudd/bream hybrids, [[tench]], [[perch]], [[Esox|pike]] as well as stocks of [[trout]], [[eel]] and [[salmon]].{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} Angling also takes place in the rivers [[River Suck|Suck]] and [[River Brosna|Brosna]] and in the [[Grand Canal (Ireland)|Grand Canal]]. [[Lough Ree]] is {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} from the town.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/guides/coarse/shannonbridge.htm |title=River Shannon & Lower River Suck - Shannonbridge, A Complete Coarse & Pike Fishing Guide |publisher=Shannon-fishery-board.ie |access-date=2008-10-27 |archive-date=25 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225070743/http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/guides/coarse/shannonbridge.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway [[Bog]] Tour is a 45-minute train journey giving a guided {{convert|9|km|abbr=on}} tour across a working environment, a cutaway area of preserved peatlands. About 32,000 visitors go on the tour per annum.<ref name="eircom1"/>

The Shannonbridge Pottery is nearby.<ref name="shannonbridgepottery1"/>

In August 2009, Ireland's first ever [[Climate Camp]] was held in the village, bringing activists from all over the country to a field next to the West Offaly Power Station. For a week they protested against the extraction and burning of peat in the station, on the grounds that it releases large quantities of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climatecamp.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:shannonbridge-power-station-the-call-of-climate-camp-protestors-deirdre-verney-westmeath-independent-22nd-august-2009&catid=54:media&Itemid=70 |title=Climate Camp |publisher=www.climatecamp.ie |access-date=2009-11-09 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721122939/http://www.climatecamp.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:shannonbridge-power-station-the-call-of-climate-camp-protestors-deirdre-verney-westmeath-independent-22nd-august-2009&catid=54:media&Itemid=70 |url-status=live }}</ref> They held workshops on the themes of sustainability and climate change.

== Flora and fauna ==
The River Shannon, which flows through the area, provides a habitat for a number of species of local [[flora]], include types of [[algae]], [[Reed bed|reeds]] and [[grasses]]. Local [[fauna]] include brown hares, foxes, [[mink]] and frogs.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} There are butterflies, [[dragonflies]], beetles and in the Shannon; [[mussels]], snails and [[leeches]].{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} Bird varieties on the Shannon include swans ([[Bewick's swan|Bewick's]], [[Mute swan|mute]] and [[Whooper swan|whooper]]), moorhens, swallows, terns, ducks and [[corncrake]]s.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

[[Climatologists]], [[archaeologists]] and [[biologists]] value the area's peatlands and the peat archives in the bogs for research purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/natural_environment.html |title=Natural environment of Shannonbridge |publisher=Homepage.eircom.net |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306173633/http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/natural_environment.html |archive-date=6 March 2005 }}</ref>

[[Shannon Callows|The Callows]] is a stretch of the River Shannon at Shannonbridge that has a shallow gradient which results in seasonal flooding when heavy rain occurs. This has resulted in the formation of [[callows|callows areas]] (wet grassland areas) which are rich in flora and fauna and a conservation area which is designated as an (NHA) Natural Heritage Area, (SAC) [[Special Area of Conservation]] and (SPA) [[Special Protection Area]].<ref name="offaly1"/> The [[corn crake]], which is rare and is protected nationally, is seen in the Callows area. Ducks, [[gulls]], swans, and breeding [[wader]]s including the [[northern lapwing]], [[common redshank]], [[Eurasian curlew]] and [[common sandpiper]] are also recorded within the area.<ref name="offaly1"/>

== Sport ==
Shannonbridge [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] club have won one [[Offaly Senior Football Championship]] title, which they achieved in 1996 by defeating [[Tullamore]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/gaahistory.html |title=GAA History |publisher=Homepage.eircom.net |access-date=2008-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611142036/http://homepage.eircom.net/~rachra/gaahistory.html |archive-date=11 June 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> They also won the Offaly Intermediate Championship in 2019, and progressed onto the Leinster semi-final where they were defeated by Rathgarogue-Cushinstown.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cushinstown claim Leinster Final place|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/goreyguardian/sport/gaa/cushinstown-claim-leinster-final-place-38725727.html|access-date=2021-12-06|website=independent|language=en}}</ref> Several players from the club have won medals with both under-21 and senior county teams. For example, John Ryan won an All-Ireland senior [[hurling]] medal and a national football league medal in 1998.{{fact|date=September 2024}} Two players from the club, Vincent Mooney in 1991 and Anthony Kelly in 1996, were chosen as Offaly 'footballer of the year'.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} As of 2024, the club was playing Gaelic football at the Junior A grade.{{fact|date=September 2024}}

==Notable people==
* [[George Brent]], actor

==See also==
* [[List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland|List of towns and villages in Ireland]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Shannonbridge}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190602122904/http://www.shannonbridge.com/ Shannonbridge.com Homepage] (archived)

{{River Shannon}}

[[Category:Towns and villages in County Offaly]]
[[Category:Populated places on the River Shannon]]