Navan

Navan (An Uaimh in Irish, meaning "The Cave") is the administrative town of County Meath, Ireland. The capital of the county is Trim. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath seat was located in Navan until a backlash occurred against the Bishop of Meath, it is now located in Mullingar, County Westmeath.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The confluence of the River Blackwater (flowing south east from Virginia Lake and the famous River Boyne) occurs in Navan. Situated in the famous Boyne Valley the town is close to Br? na B?inne (the Neolithic monuments of Newgrange, Knowth & Dowth), the Hill of Tara, Skryne and Slane, as well as the heritage towns of Kells and Trim.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The town traditionally was famous for carpets (Navan Carpets closed in 2003) and for a thriving furniture industry (Beechmount Industrial estate). Both are now in decline, or have ceased, as a result of the move away from manufacture to cheaper locations like the Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, Navan has rapidly expanded with the Celtic Tiger to become a large dormitory town as it is only 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Ireland's capital city, Dublin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Navan is also known for being the birthplace of Pierce Brosnan, the fifth actor to play the celebrated role of James Bond, for eleven years after his birth in neighbouring County Louth. T.V. personality Hector ? hEochag?in and comedians Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan also hail from Navan.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other famous people included Sir Francis Beaufort famous for his wind scale. His birthplace was removed by the local council in the 1990s to make way for a road junction.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The best-known secondary school in Navan is St. Patrick's Classical School, a Roman Catholic boys' school. Navan also has two convent schools and a large non-denominational vocational school. The town's only other Catholic boys' school, run by the Christian Brothers, closed amid scandal in the early 1970s. Its past pupils included Pierce Brosnan. The town's only Church of Ireland school, Preston School, closed in the 1970s.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Irish: Irish may refer to:...

County Meath: County Meath (Contae na M? in Irish) is a county in the Republic of Ireland, often informally called The Royal County. The de facto county town is Navan, where the county hall and government is located, although Trim has a historical significance, including the location of the circuit court, Norman ...

Ireland: :This page is about the island of Ireland. For the political territories on the island, see Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the History section below....