Newtownmountkennedy

Newtownmountkennedy (Irish: Baile an Chinnéidigh, meaning 'Kennedy's town') is a small town in County Wicklow, Ireland. It developed within the historic townland of Ballygarny (Irish: Baile Ó gCearnaigh) (now Mount Kennedy Demesne), although all that remains is a motte where a church, graveyard and a castle or tower house once stood just 0.85 km (0.53 mi) north of the town. It acquired its present name in the mid-seventeenth-century, when Sir Robert Kennedy, M.P. for Kildare, made it his principal residence. It is just off the N11 road to Wexford, just south of Kilpedder and south-west of Greystones. It is about 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Wicklow town, 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Bray and approximately 35 km (22 mi) from Dublin. This town has one of the longest place names in Ireland, so is sometimes abbreviated to NTMK.

Between the 2011 and 2016 census, the population of the town increased by 17.6% (from 2,410 to 2,835 inhabitants), one of the highest growth rates in County Wicklow on the period. The area is a dormitory town for some workers commuting to Bray and Dublin.^{[citation needed]}

The headquarters of Coillte, the Irish Forestry Board, are situated in the village forest. Newtownmountkennedy is in the Roman Catholic parish of Kilquade, and one of the Kilquade parish's two chapels of ease is located in the village at the junction with the Roundwood Road.

Newtownmountkennedy Primary School (St. Joseph's Boys National School and St. Bridget's Girls National School) is located just west of the village. It was formerly split into three buildings, one for male students, and one for female students, while the third building was reserved for the Centre for Autism. The boys' school was known as St Joseph's, while the girls' school was known as St Bridget's. In 2007, the two schools were merged, leaving the lower classes (junior infants, senior infants, first class and second class) in the former girls' school, while the remaining classes (third class through sixth class) took residence in the former boys' school.

The autism centre stayed in the third building. The name given to the new school is Newtownmountkennedy Primary School. The majority of secondary school students travel to the nearby Coláiste Chraobh Abhann in neighbouring Kilcoole.^{[citation needed]}

The area is served by the L1 bus route operated by Go-Ahead Ireland connecting the town with Kilpedder, Greystones and Bray. Bus Éireann route 133 connects the town with Dublin and Wicklow, as well as route 131, which runs between Wicklow and Bray. The closest train station is Kilcoole, which was opened with the name Kilcoole and Newtownmountkennedy, despite the station being just under 5 km (3.1 mi) from the town. Greystones and the further Bray Daly station are accessible by route L1. The nearest airport is Dublin Airport, and the nearest airfield is Newcastle Aerodrome. The closest ferry ports are Dublin Port to the north and Rosslare Europort to the south.

The R772 regional road passes through the village. This was the main Dublin-Wexford route, the N11, but the village was bypassed by the new N11 dual carriageway in 1990.

The Gaelic Athletic Association club of Newtown, known in Irish as Baile Uí gCearnaigh, is one of the oldest clubs in the country, being founded in 1887. The club has two adult teams, one contesting the Senior League and Championship, and one contesting the Junior A League and Championship. There are also underage teams, ranging from Minor (U-18) down to "Super Sevens" (U-8 and younger).