Mornington, County Meath
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Mornington Baile Uí Mhornáin
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| Town | |
Maiden Tower, Mornington, and Mouth of River Boyne
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 Mornington
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| Coordinates: 53°43′17″N 6°17′2″W / 53.72139°N 6.28389°WCoordinates: 53°43′17″N 6°17′2″W / 53.72139°N 6.28389°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Meath |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.19 km2 (0.85 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1 m (3 ft) |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | O149759 |
Mornington (Irish: Baile Uí Mhornáin, meaning "Town of the Mariner") is a coastal village on the banks of the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland approximately 5 km downriver from the centre of Drogheda. Together with the neighbouring villages of Laytown and Bettystown it comprises the census town of Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington with a combined population of 10,889 at the 2011 Census, which is part of the wider area collectively known as East Meath.
The large townland of 1,223 acres (4.95 km2) is bound on the north by the River Boyne estuary and on the east by the Irish Sea. The townland extends along the seashore to Bettystown village and includes part of that village up to and including The Neptune Hotel.
Mornington can also refer to a larger area, a half-parish, within the Laytown-Mornington Roman Catholic Parish established in 1986, and formerly part of the Parish of St. Mary's in Drogheda.
Mornington contains the Maiden Tower and the Lady's Finger, two structures most likely to have been navigational aids for ships entering the River Boyne. A ship approaching the river mouth would be lined up to safely enter the narrow channel when the view of the Lady's Finger was obscured behind the tower.
The Maiden's Tower which stands 60 foot high was built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I who came to the throne in 1558. It is suggested that this association with the Virgin Queen is how it got its name and Sir William Wilde in his book "Beauties of the Boyne" (1849) mentions this as a conjecture. The tower was already in existence by 1582 when it was proposed to build a tower of such height and strength as shalbe of a perpetual continuance like the tower at Drogheda at Ringsend. The original name of the Maiden Tower was Mayden Tower, the area being known as Maydenhayes. Hayes is a common Old English derived place-name element, similar to the Norman-French haie, signifying a hedged-in enclosure. The name could therefore be older than the tower and the link with Elizabeth I something which accrued to the original name. The title Lord of Maydenhayes is currently in possession of Edmund J. McCormick, Jr, of Far Hills, New Jersey in the United States.
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