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:''Navan should not be confused with Navan Fort (Irish ''Emain Macha'') in County Armagh.''
Navan (, meaning "The Cave") is the largest town and county town or administrative capital of County Meath, Ireland.

Contents

Geography

Political

Population

Local economy

Noted natives and residents

Education

Railways

Twin towns

Sport

See also

References

External links

Geography

Navan is situated in the centre of the County Meath, on the N3 National Primary Road approximately north west of Dublin and west of Drogheda. The town is in the Boyne Valley, at the confluence of the River Boyne and River Blackwater. It is upriver from the Brú na Bóinne (the Neolithic monuments of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth). The town is also near the historic locations of the Hill of Tara, Bective Abbey, Skryne and Slane. The town of Trim is upriver on the Boyne from Navan. The town of Kells is upriver on the Blackwater from Navan. ^[1]

Political

Navan is the county town or administrative capital of County Meath. Navan is also the name of a Local Electoral Area which includes the town and adjacent parts of the county. The total population of Navan Electoral Area was 38,891 in 2006.^[2]3

The seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath was located in Navan until an outcry occurred against the Bishop; it is now located in Mullingar, County Westmeath.

Population

The population of Navan within its legally defined boundary was only 3,406 in 2006, however when its suburbs or environs are considered its population was 24,851. Using this criterion it was the 5th largest town in Ireland. The population of the town and its environs increased by 28% since 2002.^[3]

Local economy

Tara Mines, Europe's largest lead and zinc mine is located in Navan. 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 due to its proximity to Dublin.

Noted natives and residents

Navan was the childhood home of Pierce Brosnan, the fifth actor to play the celebrated role of James Bond. He lived until age 11 in neighbouring County Louth. TV personality Hector Ó hEochagáin, 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.
Brian Byrne, composer, is a native of Navan, and is currently living in L.A. working on film and TV scores.

Education

Navan has a number of secondary school both private denominational and public inter-denominational and non-denominational. St. Patrick's Classical School is a Roman Catholic boys only school. St. Michael's Loreto Secondary School and St. Joseph's Secondary School at the Mercy Convent are both girls only Roman Catholic convent schools. Beaufort College is a large state owned inter-denominational vocational school. The Abylity College is a parent owned non-denominational school.^[4][5]
Navan and the surrounding area has a number of primary schools including town's Catholic boys' primary school is Scoil Muire which was originally run by the De La Salle Brothers, but they departed the town 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.

Railways

The town has a freight only railway line. Navan was a railway crossroads, with the GNR(I) line from Drogheda to Oldcastle and the MGWR line from Kingscourt to Clonsilla (on the Dublin to Sligo line) passing through the town, connecting at Navan Junction.
The GNR(I) line from Navan to Oldcastle and the MGWR line from Clonsilla to Navan closed in 1963, leaving the lines from Drogheda to Navan and Navan to Kingscourt in place. A spur to Tara Mines on the Navan to Oldcastle trackbed was reinstated in 1977.
As of 2005 the railway is solely used by Iarnród Éireann to bring freight from the local lead and zinc mine, Tara Mines, to Dublin Port. The line from Kingscourt was used for transport of gypsum until quite recently but now this line is unused.
A campaign to have the Clonsilla to Navan line reopened, seeks a commuter service to Dublin, initially via the existing Drogheda line, and then directly through reopening the direct line to Dublin via Dunboyne. The Transport 21 plan envisages the reopening of Clonsilla services happening in two stages, initially to a park and ride off the M3 at Pace by 2009 and later extending to Navan by 2015.

Twin towns

★ – Bobbio, Province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Sport

★ Horse racing (national hunt & flat)

★ Navan Rugby Club

★ Navan O'Mahoneys Gaelic Football Club

★ Simonstown Gaels GFC

★ Knockharley cricket club

See also

★ List of towns in the Republic of Ireland

★ The Meath Echo

★ Navan Man

References

1.
2.
Meath Electoral Areas Map

3. Census 2006 – Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area
4.
School Details for all open Post Primary Schools in Ireland
5.
Smith Duff appointed

External links

★ Meath County Council

★ Meath Tourism website managed by Meath County Council

★ The Meath Chronicle, local newspaper

★ Navan horse racing official site