Eadestown

Eadestown Parish

The Parish of Eadestown is composed of the civil parishes of Rathmore, Kilteel, Tipper and Haynestown. Its churches include the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Eadestown and St. Laurence O'Toole, Kilteel.

In 1995-2004 the parish was run by the "racing" priest Fr. Sean Breen. Breen's "Heavenly syndicate" won €170,000 from one of its horses in 2002-2003.

The parish church was altered and renovated by the noted church architect John Joseph Robinson, of Robinson and Keefe Architects for Rev.W. Lockhart P.P. in 1923. He subsequently designed the cathedral of Our Lady and St. Nicholas in Galway.

Tickell Memorial Fountain

A cast-iron fountain in the village, dated 1899, was erected in memory of Captain Thomas Tickell (1817-98) of Cheltenham in Gloucester by his County Kildare tenantry. It was cast by Tonge and Taggart (established 1869) of Dublin to designs by John Joseph O'Callaghan (c.1838-1905) of Nassau Street, Dublin. The fountain was designed for drinking at three levels with the lion-head spouts for humans, the circular trough for horses and the quarter-circle dishes at ground level for hounds. The fountain is now disused.

Sport

Eadestown GAA club is based in Eadestown. The team won the Kildare Senior Football Championship in 1970. The club fields underage teams and also competes in the Kildare Senior Championship.

Punchestown Racecourse is also located in Eadestown and this hosts many annual meetings, including the national hunt festival, which is usually held in late April.

Notable people

• Tadhg Beirne, international rugby union player for the Irish national team
• Jimmy O'Brien, international rugby union player for the Irish national team
• Diarmuid Kilgallen, rugby player with Munster Rugby
• Rowan Osborne, rugby player who formerly played for Leinster and Munster
• Larry Tompkins, former Gaelic football manager and player

References

References

1. "Baile Éide/Eadestown". Placenames Database of Ireland.
2. "Fond farewell to Kildare's racing priest - Kildare Today".
3. (2014-02-03). "Racing: Why Father Sean's forecasts could be the answer to your". The Independent.
4. "Tickell Memorial Fountain, Newtown (Rathmore ED), Eadestown, Kildare". [[National Inventory of Architectural Heritage]].
5. "Captain Tickell's Fountain Eadestown".
6. (3 March 2022). "Leinster's Jimmy O'Brien the latest off the Eadestown production line". Irish Examiner.
7. (27 February 2022). "Eadestown GAA proves a fertile breeding ground for rugby success". Irish Times.
8. (14 February 2024). "Munster confirm signing of Diarmuid Kilgallen from Connacht". The Irish Times.
9. (31 December 2024). "Larry Tompkins inducted in to the Munster GAA Football Hall of Fame".