Athea

Athea is situated on the river Galey and the crossroads of the R523 (Reens - Listowel) and R524 (Glin - Abbeyfeale) regional roads. It is a 3 km east of the Limerick/Kerry border in the hills of west Limerick and is one of the highest settlements in the county. Its highest point is in the Parkanna townland where, at 220 m above sea level, surrounding towns and counties can be seen.

The river Galey is a tributary to the larger River Feale. The name is derived from the Irish language "Abhainn na Gáile", River of the Gaille, a tribe who lived along its banks. In times of heavy rain, especially in winter, the river swells up over its banks causing floods which can last for days. There are two bridges across the river; the R523/R524 intersection bridge just east of the village and Barry's Bridge, 2 km northwest of the village.

Athea has a mild climate, the average daily maximum temperature in July is 20 °C (68 °F) and the average daily minimum in January is 4 °C (39 °F).

Athea suffered severe flooding in the summer of 2008 with residences sustaining serious damage especially along the river Galey. Athea National School also incurred minor damage.[3]

The large parish of Athea is divided into 25 townlands:[4]

• Athea Lower [Áth an tSléibhe Íochtair - the fort of the mountain]
• Athea Upper [Áth an tSléibhe Uachtar - the fort of the mountain]
• Clash North [An Chlais - the trench]
• Clash South [An Chlais - the trench]
• Coole East [An Chúil - the corner]
• Coole West [An Chúil - the corner]
• Cratloe East [An Chreatalach - a sallow wood]
• Cratloe West [An Chreatalach - a sallow wood]
• Direen Lower [An Doirín - the small thicket]
• Direen Upper [An Doirín - the small thicket]
• Dromada [Drom Fhada - long ridge]
• Glashapullagh [Glaise an Phollaigh - the stream of the place of holes]
• Glenagore [Gleann an Ghabhair - the glen of the goat]
• Gortnagross [Gort na gCros - the field of the crosses]
• Keale North [An Caol - the narrow feature]
• Keale South [An Caol - the narrow feature]
• Knockdown [Cnoc Donn - brown hill]
• Knockfinisk [Cnoc Finnisce - hill of bright water]
• Knocknagorna [Cnoc na gCoirneach - the hill of the clerics]
• Parkanna [An Pháirc - the field]
• Rooskagh [Rúscach - marshy place]
• Templeathea East [Teampaill an tSléibhe - The church of the mountain]
• Templeathea West [Teampaill an tSléibhe - The church of the mountain]
• Tooradoo [Na Tuara Dubha - the black animal enclosures]
• Tooreendonnell [Tuairín Dónaill - the small animal enclosure of Dónall]

Colbert Street and Dalton Street make up the streetscape of the town. The Parish of Athea is the largest in County Limerick, surpassing even Limerick city in area. St. Bartholomew's Church is located on Colbert Street and the village has two graveyards, Holy Cross on the outskirts of the village and The "Old Graveyard" in Templeathea just over a mile away. The village has been suffering economically in recent years. Business closures are slowly downgrading the social status the town once had. Pubs, shops and the local petrol station are some of the hardest hit establishments.

In recent years, new housing estates have been built in or around the village, reviving local jobs. The local pharmacy and post office have moved location and come under new management. Two beauty salons have also been established, contributing to local employment.

The Memorial Hall is the location of most meetings, sports events and other gatherings among locals. Over the last few years, it has undergone an extension which saw the installation of a state-of-the-art sports complex. The cost of the renovation neared €1 million and despite charity donations, government grants and other fundraising efforts, the community hall committee is still faced with a large debt which has been decreasing each year due to fund raising activities carried out by the committee. Today, the Hall is home to the local basketball team, the Athea Vixens and Athea GAA frequently use its indoor sports facilities.

Athea's only pedestrian bridge was opened by Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick, in 2005. The bridge is located next to the existing road bridge at the intersection of the R523/R524 roads. It had been proposed for years for the local school pupils who were crossing the busy road bridge and was seen as a health and safety hazard sharing the bridge with cars. The bridge is 2m wide and 11m long. It was commissioned by Athea Community Council Ltd. who have raised €260,000. The debt was reduced to €27,000 by the "Lucky Numbers" drawings, held Saturday nights.[5]

St. Bartholomew's Roman Catholic Church is located on the main street and was built in 1832. It underwent renovations in 1862 and 1986/87. The church spire can be seen from all approach roads to the village. The church bell sounds daily at 12:00 and 18:00 for the Angelus as well as funerals and Mass times (09:00 and 19:30 weekdays & Saturday, 09:00 and 11:00 Sundays). The church is headed by Fr. Paddy Bowen PP and Canon Patrick Kelly PE.[6]

Athea NS is located in Templeathea, just east of the village centre. It was built in 1921 with an original capacity of 100 students. A large extension to the school was officially opened by Bishop of Limerick Dr. Donal Murray on Sunday 22 March 2009. Today's building houses five classrooms with toilet facilities in each room, a principal's office, a secretary's office, a library, a computer room and a preschool. The school is headed by the Athea National School Board of Management chaired by Canon Kelly. The current principal is Mrs. Margaret Watters.[7]

The creamery at the top of the street was once the centre of the local economy, at a time when agriculture was Athea's primary economic activity. The demise of the industry lead to its closure in the late 1990s. Across the road at the Y junction is Browne's Shop and post office which was residence of the local landlord in the early 19th century.

The Goold Monument, located in Upper Athea commemorates James Goold, a landlord who, at the time of the Great Famine refused to evict tenants who couldn't pay rent. A 4 m high Celtic cross stands just off the road at the left on the way to Listowel.

The Olympic Statue, colloquially called "the feet" is a monument in The Square commemorating two Irish olympic medalists who were originally from Athea - Tim Ahearne and Dan Ahearne. Tim Ahearne won gold in the triple jump in the 1908 Olympics, while his younger brother Dan Ahearne is known for setting a world record in 1909. The sculpture depicts two golden feet with wings spread out.[8]

The pubs in Athea village have events most weekends drawing locals into the town. Annually large events such as the Vintage Rally, TradFéile and Athea Motorcycle Road Races are held during summer months drawing visitors to Athea. The latter, the Athea Motorcycle Road Races, is a two-day event taking place on a Saturday and Sunday at the end of June. In 2007 the race attracted an estimated 18,000 visitors to the village according to Gardaí. Names such as Martin Finnegan and William Dunlop have taken part in the event in the past. A fun fair is usually brought to the village the week before the festival.[9]

"The Giant's Garden" is a walk from the Memorial Hall to Holy Cross Cemetery in Templeathea. It is named after a legend that incorporates a giant carrying his deceased mother on his shoulders to be buried. The walk kept with trees and flowers complementing the scenery of the surrounding hillside. The Giant's Garden overlooks Athea Village as well as the hills and river southwest of the village.[10]

The village was the setting for the local drama sequel Hard Times which released three videos in the early first decade of the 21st century.

The Athea & District News newsletter is published by local print company Cáirde Dúchais on a weekly basis. It features local columnists discussing lifestyle issues which affect local people as well as current affairs. It also contains articles for the neighbouring towns of Knockdown, Carrigkerry and Abbeyfeale.[10]

The Weekly Observer newspaper which contains articles for towns over much of west Limerick has an "Athea Notes" column resulting in it being a household newspaper in Athea.

Athea GAA (Áth an tSléibhe CLG) recently had its pitch and clubhouse refurbished and games take place during the summer months. The team colours are maroon and white, reflecting the colours of the Athea flag. The club is located in Templeathea, 1 km east of the village on the R523. Athea Credit Union are the primary sponsors of the club.[11]

Athea United Athletic Football Club is the local soccer establishment and moved to a new site in 2000. The club recently installed Synthetic Field Grass and has invested into its amenities. The team colours are blue and white. The clubhouse and pitch are located in Lower Dirreen on the Glin Road (R524). Games take place during the winter months and the "Top of the Town" bar is a sponsor.

The Athea Blazers Basketball Club was formed in 2005 and has its base is at Con Colbert Memorial Hall where all of its home games are played. Games take place year-round and the team colours are red and blue.

Fishing is also popular along the river and at Glashia Lake, an artificial trout-lake at Blaine Cross.

The village holds two medical clinics. Westbury Medical Centre is located just outside the town on the R523 to Listowel. A smaller clinic is on Dalton Street and is owned and operated by the Mid Western Health Board. When the local clinics are closed, a 24-hour service serving all of west Limerick is available - ShannonDoc - which comes to the home in an emergency.

The Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick and Kerry General Hospital in Tralee are the closest emergency rooms to Athea.

Only 20% of Athea has a high-speed broadband connection. However, in June 2009 Limerick County Council announced it was to install broadband service for most of the parish in the near future in conjunction with the mobile phone operator 3. For areas of the parish with no broadband service, mobile phone operators Vodafone and O2 offer high-speed internet access through their mobile phone signal. This is not broadband however, and a dial-up connection is still needed.

A Limerick-Tralee bus service operates via Athea every Wednesday. There are many local Hackney services available especially at weekends. There are 2 airports within an hour of Athea: Kerry Airport and Shannon Airport serving international destinations. The closest train stations to Athea are the Colbert Station in Limerick city and Charleville in County Cork.