SOME KEY DATES IN CELBRIDGE HISTORY
EOGHAN CORRY 2009
c600 Mission work by St Mochua at Celbridge where the Slí Mor forded the Liffey, associated with undated holy well on later site of Celbridge mill.
c1150 Stone church at Donaghcomper, windows of cut stone were inserted in the fourteenth century.
1176 First mention of church of Stacumny
1202 Abbey at St Wolstan’s founded for Adam de Hereford
1308 John Le Decer’s bridge constructed at Salmon Leap. When it was removed for a hydro electric scheme in 1939 it was the oldest surviving bridge in Ireland.
1314 Mention of village of Kildrought in Naas court case
c1350 Kildrought church
1536 Abbey at St Wolstan’s becomes first monastery in Ireland to be dissolved by Henry VIII (September)
1647 Eoghan Rua Ó Néill and Thomas Preston pitch their joint camp in Celbridge, preparing for an attack on Dublin which never took place (June).
1654 Population of Kildrought recorded at 102 by Down Survey
1683 Celbridge born Thomas Dongan appointed Governor of New York
1703 Celbridge Abbey constructed by Bartholomew Van Homrigh
1709 William “Speaker” Conolly from Ballyshannon Co Donegal purchases Castletown estate in 1709 from Thomas Dongan. School set up in the old market house and James Carberry’s Brewery established, later to become Coyles and eventually Norris’s and the Village Inn.
1720 Development of modern Main Street begins with construction of Kildrought House, designed by Joseph Rotheny for Robert Baillie.
1720 Visit of Jonathan Swift to Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa) at Celbridge Abbey, Celbridge’s most famous love affair.
1722 Construction of Castletown House commences.
1722 Richard Guinness, father of Arthur, opens brewery for Arthur Price on site of Holy faith convent.
1724 Oakley Park built to a design by Thomas Burgh for Arthur Price, newly appointed Bishop of Meath.
1724 Year in which Celbridge rather than Kildrought or (briefly) Cell-bridge, is thought to have prevailed as the name of the town
1732 Collegiate School built as a charity school to design by Thomas Burgh.
1739 Celbridge Obelisk built as famine relief scheme
1750 Jasmine Lodge, later Mulligan’s house, built at corner of Main St and Maynooth Road.
1755 Lord Lieutenant William Cavendish, later Prime Minister of England, makes Castletown house his summer base.
1758 Castletown house inherited by Tom Conolly and the interior decoration was finished by his wife Louisa Lennox, great-granddaughter of Charles II of England.
1760 Construction of Tea (or Tay) Lane
1763 Mention of racecourse at Celbridge (Oct 10).
1765 First “modern” factory in Ireland, manufacturing agricultural implements, opened by John Wynn Baker in Loughlinstown near the newly constructed Grand Canal. It was destroyed by fire in 1767.
1770 Killadoon house built for Nathanial Clements MP, banker and amateur architect (redecorated 1820).
1773 Broe’s house and shop constructed, now the Bank of Ireland.
1773 Lord Lieutenant Simon Harcourt comes to reside at Celbridge for the summer.
1779 Man shot during riot in Celbridge as local people attempt to release prisoner (Aug 11)
1779 Three houses on east bank swept away and thirty people rescued by boat after Liffey rises “with an unusual and most alarming swell for the space of three hours, and at nine o’clock was two feet three inches above the greatest height to which it had risen in the memory of man.” (Nov 13)
1780 Mary McKee, Celbridge’s oldest resident, dies aged 110
1782 John Begnall’s Academy established in Kildrought House, school of Celbridge’s most famous military family, the Napier brothers.
1783 Castletown gates constructed
1783 Date of construction of mill building
1787 Flood on river Liffey causes extensive damage (November)
1798 Rebellion in area leads to burning of several houses and old church on Tea Lane (May-June).
1802 Celbridge bridge destroyed by flood (Sept 10)
1803 “Rebels in arms” take possession of Celbridge but withdraw on news of failure of rebellion in Dublin (July 23)
1805 Celbridge “Manor” Mills opened by Laurence Atkinson. Construction of “English Row” for Yorkshire immigrants who come work on mill.
1810 Fire at Celbridge mills extinguished by villagers (reference Dec 3)
1813 First Church of Ireland built at Castletown Gates. Celbridge Mills closes and reopens when Jeremiah Houghton joins Atkinson as partner (June 4)
1815 Daniel O’Connell challenged by Robert Peel to duel at Celbridge which never takes place (Sept 1)
1817 Owner Jeremiah Houghton tells Westminster parliamentary committee that Celbridge mill is “the biggest wool manufactory in Ireland,” employing 600 people.
1818 Mill runs into financial trouble and is purchased at auction by Houghton from his former partners (Dec 18)
1821 Royal visit to Celbridge by English King George IV (Aug 31)
1826 Strike by Celbridge weavers (Aug 11)
1830 Mill closes, death of Jeremiah Houghton (Aug 25).
1831 Constabulary Barracks established at Kildrought house.
1839 Construction of Celbridge workhouse commences (tender May 7).
1841 Constabulary Barracks moves to the site of the current Michaelangelo’s restaurant
1842 Bare knuckle prize fight for £50 and Irish championship between Jem Byrne and Mick Hayden stopped by Celbridge constabulary in the 20th round (Jan 1)
1846 Hazlehatch station opens (August 4).
1856 James Lambert from Celbridge becomes Lord Mayor of Dublin.
1867 Large party of Fenians assemble in Celbridge including two “American Celts”,
1859 Catholic church of St Patrick, designed by JJ McCarthy, dedicated by David Moriarty, Bishop of Kerry in the absence through illness of Archbishop Paul Cullen (June 19)
1877 Holy Faith convent opens
1879 Royal visit to Celbridge by Empress Elisabeth (Cissi) of Austria (Mar 19).
1880 Celbridge cricket club founded (active until 1902)
1884 Christ Church Church of Ireland constructed utilising the tower of original 1813 church
1885 Celbridge GAA club founded (August 15)
1871 Closure of Joseph Shaw’s flax and flour mills at Temple Mills (Oct 4)
1879 Closure of Celbridge Mills
1901 Polo Club established on Castletown Estate
1902 Royal Visit to Celbridge by Crown Prince Heinrich of Germany (May 20)
1903 Death of Gerald R Dease] (1831-1903) benefactor to Catholic church in Celbridge and chamberlain to successive Lord Lieutenants who was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1897 (October 18)
1903 Callendar paper company established in former mill to manufacture paper from turf but lasts just one year.
1920 RIC barracks, on at site of disused mill, burned by Irish volunteers (Aug 31)
1921 Celbridge bridge badly damaged during War of Independence (Jan 8)
1921 Celbridge resident Art O’Connor TD becomes Minister for Agriculture in the second Dáil (Aug 16)
1921 Celbridge barracks, on site of Workhouse/Hospital, later the paint factory, is reputedly first in which uniform of the new Free State army is worn when occupied by an officer and 40 men (Mar 24).
1921 Gunfight ensues when volunteers attempting to mine the railway bridge at Stacumny are surprised by Black and Tan patrol (July 5).
1922 Free State Soldiers travel from Celbridge to take possession of Beggar’s Bush Barracks in Dublin (Jan 31).
1922 Anti-treaty forces attack but fail to capture Free State’s barracks in Celbridge workhouse, one of first engagements of civil war (April 17).
1923 Celbridge born Anthony O’Reilly executed following hjs capture after battle of Pike’s Bridge (January 8).
1923 Celbridge Union abolished by Minister of Local Government leading to closure of hospital (May)
1923 Celbridge tennis club founded
c1923 The 67 bus service commences linking Celbridge to Dublin city centre.
1928 Celbridge Rugby club founded by Fr Joseph Furlong, active 1928-29.
1931 Weston Aerodrome established by Darby Kennedy
1933 Union paint factory opens on site of Celbridge workhouse
1934 Celbridge Mills reopened by Leinster Hand Weaving Company (Oct 2)
1939 Workman, trained by Jack Ruttle at Hazlehatch, wins Aintree Grand National (Mar 24).
1939 Celbridge Garda station opens.
1947 Hazlehatch station closed (Oct 11).
1948 Construction of housing at Ballyoulster.
1953 Oakley Park opened by St John of God brothers as St Raphael’s hospital (January 17)
1954 Construction of first of two phases of housing at St Patrick’s Park (1954-57 and 1964-‘67).
1957 Secondary school for girls opened by Holy Faith sisters at St Wolstan’s on Dublin Road.
1959 Celbridge Town AFC founded
1966 Celbridge born Aidan Higgins wins James Tait Black Memorial Prize for literature
1966 Celbridge Mills acquired by Navan carpets, employment rises to 180
1966 Weston airport serves as the base for the war film, The Blue Max, directed by John Guillermin.
1967 Celbridge rezoned for rapid growth under the Kildare Development Plan
1967 Desmond Guinness purchases Castletown House to save it from development and establishes headquarters of the Irish Georgian Society there.
1969 Permission was granted for the first development of 400 houses within Castletown Gates.
1973 Collegiate school closed by the Incorporated Society for Promoting Protestant Schools in Ireland. Pupils are transferred to Kilkenny College.
1975 Minister for Industry & Commerce Justin Keating opens Castletown, first of more than 30 multiple housing developments in Celbridge (October 1st).
1977 French electrical group Telemecanique group open factory on Maynooth road
1980 Former Collegiate School opens as Setanta Hotel (January 25th)
1982 Celbridge Mills closes for final time (May)
1984 Celbridge Paddlers canoe club founded
1986 Census lists Celbridge as the fastest growing town in Ireland with a growth rate of 54.9pc.
1989 Ben Briscoe becomes third resident of Celbridge to become Lord Mayor of Dublin.
1994 Hazlehatch station reopens to passengers (May 19)
2002 St Wolstan’s Girls school moves to Ballymakealy.
2003 Schnieder MGTE group closes former Telemecanique factory on Maynooth road (September)
2007 New main terminal opens at Weston Airport.
2008 Celbridge wins Kildare senior football championship for first time
Some key dates in Celbridge History. Our thanks to Eoghan Corry
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