Whats in Athboy?

marrakechheat

Hi, might tag along to Athboy this Friday, partner dropping off his parents. Ive never really been to Athboy, just went pass it a couple of times. Can anyone tell me if theres anything worth looking there before driving back. Ill arrive there quite late, like 6 PM. So, maybe just a quick wander around the shopping centre, if any. Have a browse in Penneys, Dunnes, or even Tesco. Doesnt hv to be exactly in Athboy, anything anywhere in a radius of 10 kms is fine.

Thank you

INCONFIDENCE

Oh Dear

Athboy is a hard town to spend time in. I hear they have a new bacon slicer in the supermarekt and you could watch that. Tea in the Darnley is quite good if you are a culchie and like loads of meat. The Sadlers Well is a lovely bar and is so clean you could eat off the floor , you must like horses though. If you want to pub crawl make sure your tetanus is up to date especially if you want to take wiily to the gents if you get my drift. If you are a man you could get suited and booted off Brian Faulkner in Faulkners Fashions he is an extremely nice bloke who is in no way pushy and will help you find what looks good on you. If you are a woman there are a few boutiques selling flowery gunas. Check the local paper for bingo if you like meeting oul wans. Check out the Leavys some of the girls are lookers and some of the guys are talented singers. Matt Leavy has an album on sale locally and if you like Horse Opera he is your man. Be careful,if you are a male of the local women it is a Deliverance type town and they are always interested in new blood for breeding purposes. You could be kidnapped and find yourself a prisoner in a secret local farm where they are trying to breed the Irish Master Race. If you are a red head there is no need to worry. Athboy Ice Skating Stadium is closed until November, The New 200 Screen Multiplex opens in 2015 and both shops in Athboys American Style Multi Storey Designer Outlet Mall close on a Friday at 5.

kc66

You might want to go to Navan, bit of a spin, and detours in place.

redser2

It's the last outpost of Meath
I've never stopped in it, driven through it while getting to a nicer place though.

Also, the one person I know from the place is a backstabbing little c**t. And this blurs my view of the place as well - can't help it - sorry.

jack321

not much in Athboy no supermarket like dunnes tesco lidl aldi supervalue etc , you have to drive to Navan which is about 17 miles away over a bog road in parts so expect a bumpy ride in parts. Pubs in athboy have names like something out of Ryans daughter - the waxies dargle the cosy corner the old darnlie lodge etc. no real shops in athboy, its almost westmeath, also no bus to navan. so all in all nothing to do in the place the village is like an old country town. the hold the blue jean country queen festrival there every year !

marrakechheat

jeez, so not worth me riding in the car, so had a nice time cleaning the whole house, thx all

NufcNavan

"What's in Athboy" A f*ckload of pubs...

bryaner

Only thing you'll get in Athboy is a good kicking around 1.30am.

Head on to Navan and you'll get the same at around 2.30am

upmeath

I haven't walked its fine street in a few years. I doubt I've missed much.

kearney13

Best thing in Athboy is the road out of it or the cosy corner

meathstevie

An awful lot more than you'd think. It just depends on what you're into.

bryaner

meathstevie wrote: »

An awful lot more than you'd think. It just depends on what you're into.

Oh yea forgot the go karting.

Conor_M1990

Buck Mulligans if thats worth metioning

Seanchai

Was in Athboy for the Leinster Fleadh some years ago. The troglodyte of a pub owner where I was listening to about ten musicians playing kept the television on loud at the same time. Disrespectful prick. I asked the girl behind the counter could she turn it off. She lowered it slightly. As if anybody in their right mind would visit that deadbeat pub were it not for the talented musicians playing there. What insulting bastards.

I hope Athboy never again gets the Leinster Fleadh and the tens of thousands of people who go to it.

Seanchai

On the other hand, Baile Átha Buí has a huge and very important history which nobody here has given credit to yet. From the medieval wine cellars which marked it as a trading centre between Connacht and Leinster to its important cattle market and its well-known (and very detailed) medieval charter there is huge potential to resurrect Athboy as a heritage town.

INCONFIDENCE

God Seanchai you really raised the hare. I remember a band in Athboy one weekend playing on a truck with the loudspeakers in the street above them playing a different tune. I though how insulting , if I was in the band I would have left. You raise an interesting point about the 2 sounds . How can you watch TV in a bar with 98FM coming through the speakers. How can you listen to 98FM with the TV in your ear. Bars don't appear to want music they want noise, if I find 2 on and nowhere to seat so I can only hear one I leave. To me it is like being in hell.

upmeath

The Old Darnley Lodge does a decent bit of grub, no doubt about that. Was back there a couple of weeks ago for the first time in years, yum.

INCONFIDENCE

God the Darnley is great if you like meat and meat and more meat. My ham salad was all meat and very little salad. I know most will think I am mad . The Darnely is a red meat eaters paradise , nice mixed grills on a Sunday. I was in another restaurant in Athboy and after an hour I enquired what was keeping my salad, the waitress came back and said they were waitiing for it to cook. I left and never went back

kc66

Someone who was in the Darnley a few weeks ago for food told me they couldn't believe how grubby and dirty it was.

INCONFIDENCE

kc66 wrote: »

Someone who was in the Darnley a few weeks ago for food told me they couldn't believe how grubby and dirty it was.

I think you are being unfair . OK if you were there yourself but your were not .

Mully_2011

Athboy is a nice little town alright. Shame its in the middle of nowhere

vinn

the road out of it is the best part
and dont buy diesel if you want to drive home !!!!!

markc1184

INCONFIDENCE wrote: »

I think you are being unfair . OK if you were there yourself but your were not .

Agreed. I was at a wedding there a few months ago and the reception area and rooms were spotless. Only qualm I had was everything on the plate was covered in garlic!

What is the name of the chipper close to the Darnley? Nice chips after a bucketload of drink!

meathstevie

vinn wrote: »

the road out of it is the best part
and dont buy diesel if you want to drive home !!!!!

2 out of the 3 places that sell diesel in the town are grand

endplate

meathstevie wrote: »

2 out of the 3 places that sell diesel in the town are grand

the place in question has now changed supplier and the diesel seems ok now. I get my diesel there again. I did stop for a while as I was worried about the potential damage but all is ok now

Littlehorny

Know the town well, but like all small towns in this country its the pub, a gaa match of fook all else! If you like Guinness or any other beer for that matter head to Floods there pints are the cream! Also the food in the Darnley is always good.

Brokentime

I'm from Athboy, but have been living abroad for 2 years now and haven't been home. Is it even still standing? What's the unemployment situ. there? Have any of the pubs closed or any new ones opened?

JupiterKid

I took a spin yesterday with a friend in my car after I finished work for the Easter hols and decided to head up the new M3 motorway and do a circuit route via Athboy and Trim back to Dublin.

No offence but I found Athboy to be a rather frozen in time, slightly shabby place. My friend was reticent about going into a pub to use the jacks as he thought the place looked right out of the film Deliverance.:eek::pac:

I thought the main street surface was atrocious and badly needs improving. Also the road through Athboy - the N51 - is an atrocious goat track of a road which badly needs widening and straightening out. The town could probably do with a bypass but I'd say that's a long way off.

We left Athboy and headed for Trim - a beautiful gem of a town with the river, the impressive castle and other historical features. Trim seems a million miles away from Athboy.

Isn't it true that there's a tiny Gaeltacht near Athboy?

chewed

JupiterKid wrote: »

Isn't it true that there's a tiny Gaeltacht near Athboy?

Yes, it's called RathCairn.

Littlehorny

chewed wrote: »

Yes, it's called RathCairn.

Rathcairn is not that big but its still the biggest Gaeltacht in Leinster:)

JupiterKid

Littlehorny wrote: »

Rathcairn is not that big but its still the biggest Gaeltacht in Leinster:)

This is interesting - how many Irish speakers would there be in Rathcairn? I can't see there being too many as most people have never even heard of the Gaeltacht area in Meath.

Isn't it true that the Rathcairn Gaeltacht was created when farmers from the West of Ireland were relocated to Meath by the Land Commissiuon in the 1930s?

Is Athboy itself within the Rathcairn Gaeltacht? The town could really do with a bit of sprucing up and modernisation.

Littlehorny

JupiterKid wrote: »

This is interesting - how many Irish speakers would there be in Rathcairn? I can't see there being too many as most people have never even heard of the Gaeltacht area in Meath.

Isn't it true that the Rathcairn Gaeltacht was created when farmers from the West of Ireland were relocated to Meath by the Land Commissiuon in the 1930s?

Is Athboy itself within the Rathcairn Gaeltacht? The town could really do with a bit of sprucing up and modernisation.

I would say about 2000 people live in Rathcairn, its a small rural area of land in the middle of the Athboy, Trim and Dunderry triangle so to speak. There is a church and a pub, also a national school and a secondary school.
Rathcairn starts about two mile outside of Athboy and yes your right farmers from Galway did receive this land in the 30's and if local legend is to be believed many a scrap happend in the town when these "blow ins" arrived.
Agree about the state of the town, it needs a good revamp and looks very rough and neglected at the moment.

byhookorbycrook

Rath Cairn was created when some of the big estates were divided by the land commission. The people came from Connaught, so the dialect is more Connaught than anything else. A lot of outsiders have come into the are since,so the gaeltacht is not as strong as it was.

McIllhinneys of Athboy is the traditonal place to shop for a wedding outfit, but does has some nice bits and pieces,not just mammy of the bride stuff. Causey Farm is just outside Athboy, great craic for adults and kids.
http://www.causey.ie/

meathstevie

JupiterKid wrote: »

I took a spin yesterday with a friend in my car after I finished work for the Easter hols and decided to head up the new M3 motorway and do a circuit route via Athboy and Trim back to Dublin.

No offence but I found Athboy to be a rather frozen in time, slightly shabby place. My friend was reticent about going into a pub to use the jacks as he thought the place looked right out of the film Deliverance.:eek::pac:

I thought the main street surface was atrocious and badly needs improving. Also the road through Athboy - the N51 - is an atrocious goat track of a road which badly needs widening and straightening out. The town could probably do with a bypass but I'd say that's a long way off.

We left Athboy and headed for Trim - a beautiful gem of a town with the river, the impressive castle and other historical features. Trim seems a million miles away from Athboy.

Isn't it true that there's a tiny Gaeltacht near Athboy?

I think I know the pub you're talking about...it's my local

Littlehorny

meathstevie wrote: »

I think I know the pub you're talking about...it's my local

Which one do you think it is?

Tillie

You know a town is not all about its infrastructure. Yes of course it helps to have all the conveniences needed to carry on a normal happy life but what matters most is to have a great community.

I moved to Athboy about 10 years ago and I have to say I never regretted it. Yes the street was in an appalling state (now fixed), yes there are some pubs that need updating (isn't there in every town?). What I WILL say about Athboy though is the community spirit is amazing! There are so many clubs and organisations, there is music coming out of its pores, there are festivals, shows, sports events. There are parades. The town is steeped in history and its very easy to get a local historian to walk through the town with you and fill you in on the towns past (should you wish).
The town has a lovely Fair Green, it has another space currently being developed with all weather playing pitches etc.

Of course it has its issues too, it has crime, unemployment, it has derelict buildings. There are alot of things need improving. But the great thing about this town is that they recognise these issues and there are various community groups addressing them.

So don't just drive through the town and decide it looks like a dump. Some of the most picturesque towns in the country won't come within a hairs breadth of the amount of personality that the town of Athboy has.

Lots of people have said that the best thing about Athboy is the road out ... well my advise to you is to head on that road and don't come back because obviously its not the town for you