Croghan, County Offaly
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Croghan Cruachán
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| Town | |
Croghan village from Croghan Hill
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 Croghan
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| Coordinates: 53°20′46″N 7°17′35″W / 53.346°N 7.293°WCoordinates: 53°20′46″N 7°17′35″W / 53.346°N 7.293°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | Offaly |
| Elevation | 110 m (360 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 526 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | N470331 |
| Website | http://www.croghancommunity.ie |
Croghan (Irish: Cruachán) is a village in County Offaly in Ireland. It is situated near Croghan Hill, on an "island" of high ground surrounded by an expanse of raised bog which forms part of the Bog of Allen.
The local GAA club in Croghan is St. Brigids (Irish: Naomh Brid). Its 60th anniversary was celebrated in 2014.
Croghan Stores stocks a wide range of goods from household fuel to bread & milk. Croghan Superstores also boasts a community cafe.
St Brigids National School (Irish: Naomh Brid) was built in 1963 and is current school. There was a number of schools throughout the years in Croghan. During the Penal Laws there was a hedge school in Coole which was run by a Mr. Burke, a small farmer who also lived in Cool and is now buried in Ballyburley Graveyard. The first official school opened in August 1835 in Cannakill. According to an English visitor, Mr. Lewis, about 160 boys & 130 girls attended. Croghan Community Centre was the local school until Scoil Bhríde was built. Due to the large number of pupils attending the new school an extension was built in 2009. It included an assembly hall, kitchen, toilets, learning support room, computer room, a classroom, staff room and an office. The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, James Moriarty came to bless the school. There are now 100 pupils attending the school. Scoil Bhríde celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2013.
There are many recreational activities in Croghan, including hill walking, cycling, running & adventure races.
Many people regularly climb Croghan Hill to see the views, it is said that you can see up to 9 counties from the summit of the hill. On 17 March every year, St Patrick's Day, people climb the hill and set fire to the Furzes. The lighting of Furzes is an age old tradition and it was believed that if you drove your cattle through the burning Furzes it would ward off any diseases.
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Wikipedia