Enfield, County Meath
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Enfield An Bóthar Buí
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Enfield
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 Enfield
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| Coordinates: 53°24′50″N 6°49′48″W / 53.414°N 6.830°WCoordinates: 53°24′50″N 6°49′48″W / 53.414°N 6.830°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Meath |
| Elevation | 77 m (253 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 2,929 |
| Irish Grid Reference | N775412 |
Enfield (Irish: An Bóthar Buí, meaning "the yellow road") or Innfield is a town in south County Meath, Ireland, situated between Kilcock and Kinnegad and very close to the border with County Kildare. The town is on the Dublin-Sligo railway line. It is located on the R148 regional road, formerly the N4 national primary road connecting Dublin to Connacht.
Enfield's phased growth is paralleled with the various phases of transport history throughout south County Meath. Going back to Ancient Times, prior to and during the early part of the first millennium A.D., the Enfield area is believed to have been situated on one of the main roads to Tara, the coronation site and seat of the high Kings of Ireland from the 3rd Century until 1022. From the great heart and centre of the Irish Kingdom, five great arteries or roads radiated from Tara to the various parts of the country the Slighe(a way or path) Cualann, which ran toward the present County Wicklow, the Slighe Mor, the great Western road, which ran via Dublin to Galway, the Slighe Asail which ran near the present Mullingar, the Slighe Dala which ran southwest, and the Slighe Midluachra, the Northern road.
During Norman times (from 1169) under the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Kildare, a road was built from Maynooth Castle to Courtown House in Kilcock, to the Windmill on Cappagh Hill, to Cloncurry over to Johnstown House (now the Johnstown House Hotel and Spa), and from there on to Newcastle and Ballina House.
When the Stage Coach was used as a form of transport in Ireland, this road took a slightly different route to include the area that is now known as Enfield. The road between Dublin and Mullingar running through Enfield was built in 1735.
A livery stable and courtyard existed opposite the old postoffice building (now a Chinese Restaurant) at the East end of the town, to service people travelling on this road. Fresh teams of horses were available for hire at the livery stable when the coaches stopped at the postoffice. The building also provided some stopover accommodation. Some of the remains of the original livery courtyard could be seen adjacent to the Centra supermarket and car park. These sites were protected once by the Office of Public Works but unfortunately have made way for redevelopment in 2014. The first postal deliveries by stage coach, in the area, occurred around 1740, during the time of Robert Fitzgerald, 19th Earl of Kildare.
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Wikipedia