Bettystown
| Bettystown Baile an Bhiataigh | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
|
Neptune Hotel, Bettystown | |
  Bettystown Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°42′05″N 6°14′46″W / 53.7014°N 6.2461°WCoordinates: 53°42′05″N 6°14′46″W / 53.7014°N 6.2461°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Meath |
| Elevation | 2 m (7 ft) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
| • Urban | 10,889 |
|
as part of Laytown- Bettystown-Mornington | |
| Irish Grid Reference | O156734 |
Bettystown (Irish: Baile an Bhiataigh), previously known as Betaghstown transliterated to Beattystown/Bettystown,[3] is a small, picturesque, village in an area known as East Meath within County Meath, Ireland. Together with the neighbouring villages of Laytown and Mornington it comprises the census town of Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington with a combined population of 10889 at the 2011 Census.[2]
During the boom years of the Celtic Tiger, with increasing property prices in Dublin, Bettystown expanded to cater for large numbers of commuters to Dublin. In 2007,[4] it was announced that in revisions to Dáil Constituency boundaries for 2012, Bettystown and Laytown as far as the River Nanny would be ceded from the three-seat constituency of Meath East to the five-seat constituency of Louth.
Transport & communications
The Dublin and Drogheda Railway line opened on 25 May 1844 with a station at Bettystown. However, this station was to close soon after in November 1847[5] and since then the village has been served by Laytown railway station also opened on the Dublin and Drogheda Railway line on 25 May 1844[5] (renamed as Laytown & Bettystown in 1913). The opening of the M1 motorway between Dublin and Northern Ireland as well as the frequent rail service from Laytown to Dublin have made commuting a realistic option. Bus Éireann route 190 provides several daily services between Laytown and Drogheda via Bettystown and Mornington.[6]
Amenities
Bettystown contains three supermarkets, two pharmacies, several take away food outlets and restaurants, a pub and the East Meath Credit Union. There are a number of local schools, both primary and secondary.
Education
There are two primary schools in Laytown/Bettystown which follow a Catholic ethos. They are Scoil Oilibhear Naofa Junior School and Scoil an Spioraid Naomh Senior School. Scoil Oilibhear Naofa is a recently built state-of-the-art school and the Department of Education has plans for a complete redevelopment of Scoil an Spioraid Naomh.
There are also two multi-denominational schools outside the town that service East Meath and South Drogheda. They are Le Cheile Educate Together National School and Gaelscoil an Bhradain Feasa. These schools teach an ethical programme and a basic type of comparative religion. If parents want the children to have faith formation in any particular religion, they have to arrange that in after school classes. Le Cheile Educate Together National School is sited on grounds provided by another South Drogheda school, Drogheda Grammer which caters for children from Laytown, Bettystown, Mornington and surrounding areas.
A new secondary school (Colaiste na hInse) has been built in Laytown which services the East Meath area.
Leisure facilities
Leisure facilities in the Bettystown area include Funtasia, an amusement park, a tennis club and a golf course.
Funtasia is an indoor family fun center established for entertainment. [7] It provides a number of different leisure activities such as bowling, pool or fairground rides.
The resident professional at Laytown & Bettystown Golf Club is R. J. Browne who has been at the club for many decades. He has been coach to many players including Des Smyth and Darren Clarke. The course par is 71 and course record is 64. The club celebrated 100 years in 2009. Several club members have been capped for Ireland: Declan Branigan, Des Smyth, Val Smyth and Robert Cannon.
Ireland will host the Land-sailing European Championships on Bettystown's beach in September, 2017. Over 100 of europes best sailors will compete over a five day period. Sand yachts and Power Kite flying is a regular occurrence on the beautiful Co. Meath coast line.[8]
Archaeological finds and myths
On the beach at Bettystown, one of Ireland's most notable historical finds was made. In 1850 a peasant woman claimed to have found the Tara Brooch in a box buried in the sand. The Tara Brooch is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
References
- ↑ [afloat.ie afloat.ie] Check
|url=value (help). Missing or empty|title=(help) - 1 2 "Census 2011 – Population Classified by Area" (PDF). Central Statistics Office Census 2011 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. April 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-08.
- ↑ Lewis Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) - Betaghstown or Bettystown Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Report on Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies 2007" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
- 1 2 "Bettystown station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ↑ http://buseireann.ie/pdf/1261645889-190.pdf
- ↑ "Funtasia Bettystown | Entertainment Centre Meath". Family Fun. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ [afloat.ie afloat.ie] Check
|url=value (help). Missing or empty|title=(help)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bettystown. |
