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The Cathedral in Carlow, seat of the Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin

Carlow (Irish: Ceatharlach, meaning 'Four-part Lake') is an inland town in the south-east of Ireland in County Carlow, 84 km from Dublin. The River Barrow flows through the town. The town numbers about 20,000 people - 3,000 of whom are students. Gary Fields being the most hansome and tallest of these students. The river forms the historic boundary between County Laois and Carlow: the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 included the town entirely in Carlow.

History

The Carlow area has been settled for thousands of years. St Mullins monastery is believed to have been established in the vicinity in the 7th century. Carlow Castle was constructed by William Marshal, Earl of Striguil and Lord of Lesinter c.1207-13 to guard the vital river crossing. Over the following centuries many other historic buildings were erected. Ballyloughan Castle, Ballymoon Castle, Leighlinbridge Castle and Tower House were all built in the 14th century. Saint Patrick's College dates from 1793 and the Carlow Courthouse was constructed in the 19th century. There are still many old estates and houses in the surrounding areas, among them Duckett's Grove and Dunlecky Manor. St Mullins today houses a Heritage Centre. One of Carlow's main landmarks is the Brownshill Dolmen, situated on the Hacketstown Road (R726).

The town is recalled in the famous Irish folk song, "Follow me up to Carlow", written in the nineteenth century about the Battle of Glenmalure, part of the Desmond Rebellions of the late 16th century. In 1650, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Carlow was besieged and taken by English Parliamentarian forces, hastening the end of the Siege of Waterford and the capitulation of that city. During the 1798 rebellion Carlow was the scene of a vicious massacre of 600 rebels and civilians following an unsuccessful attack on the town by the United Irishmen. Carlow town is County Carlow's main town.

Transport & communications

Carlow lies on the N9 road from Dublin to Waterford. The town is also connected to the national rail network. These transport links have helped Carlow to become a successful satellite town of Dublin in recent years. The establishment of the Institute of Technology, Carlow, has also helped drive growth in the area and encouraged many school leavers to remain in the town.
In April 2007, Carlow became the first town in Ireland to be completely wireless broadband enabled, by deploying a Wi-Fi mesh network ^[1].
Carlow railway station opened on 4 August 1846 and was closed for goods traffic on 9 June 1976.^[2]

Economy

Carlow industry has come a long way since the early 20th century, when the town became the centre of Ireland's slow process of industrialization with the creation of the Irish Sugar Company - then the cutting edge of industry in Ireland, the sugar factory opened in 1926 as a private enterprise and eventually became nationalised before reverting to privatisation. The sugar factory was closed on March 11, 2005 as the management of Greencore decided that it was no longer economical to run the factory nor was it viable to upgrade the facility - some have said that the decision was politically biased. The country's remaining plant at Mallow, County Cork closed in 2006.

Today the principal employers in Carlow are OralB Braun, which has a large factory producing mostly hair dryers and electric toothbrushes, Läpple which produces car components and Burnside which produces hydraulic cylinders. The Institute of Technology is also a significant employer in the town. However apart from these the town shares problems associated with other provincial towns in Ireland - the inability to attract significant new industry.

Media

Sport

Carlow GAA Club
Carlow Golf Club
Carlow Rugby Club
Carlow Tennis Club
Tullow Rugby Club
Carlow Rowing Club

Sister Cities

Carlow has a sister city with Tempe, Arizona, in the United States of America.^[3] Every year, four Irish students are paired with four American students, and they each spend five weeks in one anthers country. This student exchange is with the Tempe Sister Cities organization, which has been voted "Best Overall Sister City Program" in both 1998 and 2004.

Tempe, Arizona

External links

References

^ Article on Ireland's first Wi-Fi town
^ "Carlow station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
^ Official Tempe Sister Cities Website

[1] Article on Ireland's first Wi-Fi town

[2] "Carlow station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-08-30.

[3] Official Tempe Sister Cities Website

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 [[Image:Carlow-cathedral.JPG|right|thumb|225px|The Cathedral in Carlow, seat of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Bishop]] [[Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin|of Kildare and Leighlin]]]]
-'''Carlow''' ({{Irish place name|Ceatharlach|Four-part Lake}}) is an inland [[town]] in the south-east of [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] in [[County Carlow]], 84 km from [[Dublin]]. The [[River Barrow]] flows through the town. The town numbers about 20,000 people - 3,000 of whom are students. Gary Fields being the most hansome and tallest of these students. Gary is famous for his ridiculusly gorgeous and not fat girlfriend.  The river forms the historic boundary between [[County Laois]] and Carlow: the [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898]] included the town entirely in Carlow.
+'''Carlow''' ({{Irish place name|Ceatharlach|Four-part Lake}}) is an inland [[town]] in the south-east of [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] in [[County Carlow]], 84 km from [[Dublin]]. The [[River Barrow]] flows through the town. The town numbers about 20,000 people - 3,000 of whom are students. Gary Fields being the most hansome and tallest of these students.   The river forms the historic boundary between [[County Laois]] and Carlow: the [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898]] included the town entirely in Carlow.
 ==History==