Annacotty
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| Annacotty Áth na Coite | ||
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WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: | ||
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| Irish Grid Reference R574572 | ||
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| Province: | Munster | |
| County: | County Limerick | |
| Dáil Éireann: | Limerick East | |
| Dialling Code: | 061-33**** | |
| Population (2006) | 1,839 | |
Annacotty (Áth na Coite, the ford of the angling cots, in Irish) is a town on the outskirts of Limerick, Republic of Ireland, 7km from the centre of the city. It is situated where the old N7 main road between Limerick and Dublin crosses the Mulkear River, 1km upstream of where it flows into the River Shannon.
The village originally grew up around the grain mills which harnessed the water power of the Mulkear. One was beside the bridge itself and has now been restored as bar and restaurant and the second was 1km upstream at Ballyclough. Annacotty Co-Operative Society was founded in the 1890s and butter was made at the creamery up to the 1960s when it was taken over by Black Abbey Co-operative of Adare (which, after a succession of mergers, became part of the Dairygold Co-op). The creamery, which has been transformed into a hardware store, remains a focal point of the town.
With the expansion of Limerick from 1990, Annacotty has been swallowed up into the rapidly growing suburb of Castletroy. The N7, which originally ran though the main street, bypassed the village as it was then, in 1980 when a new bridge was built over the Mulkear 100m downstream. That, in turn, was superseded by the building of the Limerick Southern Ring Road which crossed the river 1km upstream at Ballyclough.
Annacotty Industrial Estate was built on the former site of the Ferenka factory. Opened in March 1972 by the AKZO Group to manufacture steelcord, it achieved notoriety when its Dutch managing director Tiede Herrema was kidnapped by IRA Volunteers Eddie Gallagher and Marion Coyle in October 1975 and freed four weeks later following a protracted siege in Monasterevin, County Kildare. After sustaining continuing losses and experiencing numerous industrial disputes from the day it opened, the factory closed down in December 1977 with the loss of over 1,400 full-time jobs.
Annacotty is the birthplace of the renowned Limerick hurler Jackie Power and a statue of him of him stands on the main street. Former Irish rugby international Peter Clohessy also comes from the town.
[edit] Transport
Annacotty railway station opened on 8 August 1858, but finally closed on 9 September 1963.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Annacotty station. Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
[edit] See also
| Image:Limerick.Shield.png | City of Limerick |
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| Topics: People | History | Architecture | Mayor | |
| Education: UL | LIT | Mary I | Art & Design | |
| Regions: Centre | Castletroy | Caherdavin | Plassey | Raheen | |
| Landmarks: Bunratty | St. Mary's | King John's Castle | St. John's | Hunt Museum |
