User:Nightmote/sandbox Ennis



Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original Inis Cluain Ramh Fhada ("long rowing meadow island").

The town is 19 km (12 mi) from Shannon and Shannon Airport. Geographically located near the mouth of the Fergus estuary, it is now a gateway to the West of Clare via the N85 Western relief road for people travelling from the Limerick and East Clare regions.

The 2006 census indicates that Ennis had a population of 24,253 making it the largest town in Munster and the sixth largest town in Ireland. It is the 11th largest urban centre in the country.

In 2005 Ennis won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition. The town has maintained this high status over the years coming 2nd in 2008, an improvement on the previous year.

History
The name Ennis comes from the Irish word "Inis", which means an island formed between two courses of the River Fergus and on which the Franciscan Abbey was built. The past of Ennis is greatly associated with the O'Brien family, who were descendants of Brian Boru. During the 12th century the O'Brien's who were Kings of Thomond, left their seat of power in Limerick and built a royal residence at Clonroad on the then island. During 1240 King Donnchadh O'Brien ordered the construction of an extensive church grounds which he later donated to recently formatted followers of St. Francis. The centuries which followed bore great activity. The Friars keep was expanded and students came in great flocks to study at the theological college. The Friars, who were free to move about, met the spiritual needs of the local population. It was a religious centre until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Because it never had town walls it became a location for many Catholic merchants from Limerick when Catholics were forbidden to reside in the walled towns by the Penal Laws, and much of its past prosperity is attributable to this influx.

The Town contains several old British military barracks, which were built over the centuries. The Clare Road and Clonroad areas contain terraced cottages, built in the Early 20 th century to house soldiers. On Station Road, once stood a prison. Many Ennis men fought for the British Army during The First World War.

Politically, Ennis has always been considered a Fianna Fáil stronghold. Many of the Town's past councils are made up of members of this party. A monument to Éamon de Valera, founder of the party and former President of Ireland, stands outside Ennis Courthouse.

The River Fergus runs through the middle of Ennis, and is a well-known trout and salmon fishery. At one time small sailing boats made their way up river from the Shannon and berthed in the centre of the town at Woodquay. This area of the Town along with Parnell Street and Mill Road was routinely susceptible to flooding, but the flood defence system put an end to the event in Parnell Street and the Mill Road areas. , although in November 2009 other parts of the town experienced severe flooding. A new pedestrian bridge named "Harmony Row Bridge" was built over the river Fergus in June 2009.

Heritage and economy
Clare became a county under rule of Elizabeth I and Ennis was chosen as its capital because of its central location and it because of its great influence by the Earls of Thomond. Ennis got a grant to hold fairs and markets in 1610 and some years later a Charter for a Corporation with a Provost, Free Burgesses, Commonalty and a Town Clerk.

Ennis continued to expand in the following centuries in a slow but steady fashion, mainly as a market town and later as a manufacturing and distributing centre. Many commodities were then conveyed by river to Clarecastle for shipment abroad.

Ennis is an historically important market town. The market square today is still home to market stalls on each Saturday through the year and with the rise in the town's commercial retail sector in recent years, the market has shifted its traditional trading from agricultural produce to mainly textiles and home hardware. The market has added an vibrant organic farming element over the previous years. The Town Centre consists of medieval narrow streets and laneways, which are overshadowed by simple elegant structures built over the last 1000 years. Of the main thoroughfares, Parnell Street has been pedestrianised, while the others, O'Connell Street, Bindon Street and Abbey Street are one way. The Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is situated on the fringe of the old town centre.

Ennis serves as a major regional hub for County Clare. Among its emergency services, it contains the Ennis Regional Hospital, the HQ of the Clare Divisional Garda, the Clare Fire Brigade and Civil Defence. Ennis also includes many relief organisations, such as The Samaratans, Clare Care and St. Vincent De Paul. Among its civil services, it contains Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council, Clare Revenue Commissionairs, as well as Social and Family affairs.

Ennis has been a center for Irish Traditional Music, and for forty years has hosted the Fleadh Nua in late May each year, the second largest traditional music festival in Ireland.

Transport (bus, rail & air services)
Ennis is served by both bus and rail links to all major cities and towns in Ireland. The main bus depot is adjacent to the town's train station and both are located about one kilometre distance from the town centre. The station is situated on the Clon Road toward the east of the town, which links to the main N18 in either direction.

Bus services are provided to Shannon Airport, Galway, Limerick, Cork, Dublin and all routes in between and run nearly every hour. Shannon Airport is 15 minutes from Ennis, providing daily flights to European and US destinations.

In 1976 passenger trains were withdrawn on the railway line from Limerick to Claremorris via Ennis. County Clare thus became the only Irish county outside Ulster without a passenger train service. The closure of Ennis station proved to be only temporary; eighteen rail services per day are now provided to and from Limerick City, from where connecting rail services are available to both Dublin and Cork. The Western Railway Corridor north of Ennis (to Athenry and Galway) is expected to reopen in late 2009.

Ennis was formerly the starting point of the West Clare Railway, a narrow gauge railway which ran from Ennis to Ennistymon, Miltown Malbay and onwards to the towns and villages along the West Clare coastline. Trains ran from the same railway station as still used by mainline Irish railway services. The line was CIÉ's last narrow gauge railway and was finally closed in 1961, despite investment in new diesel trains in the early/mid 1950s.

Education
Primary Schools in Ennis include Ennis National School, established in 1897 (Formerly Boys National School), Cloughleigh National School, Gaelscoil Mhicíl Cíosóg, Holy Family School, CBS and the multi-denominational Ennis Educate Together National which opened in 1998. School. There are several secondary level schools located in Ennis, including Rice College, Ennis Community College, Colaiste Mhuire, St. Flannan's College, and Gaelcholaiste an Chláir. The Ennis Business college is one of Ennis's 3rd level facilities.

Culture
Ennis is a stronghold of traditional music with many musicians in residence and regularly playing locally. There is a thriving Rock music scene in Ennis with bands playing at Glór and pubs around the town. The town is host each May to the annual Fleadh Nua, a traditional music festival. The Glór Irish Music Centre hosts music concerts, comedy acts and plays. The World Irish Dancing Championships are also held every two years in the town.

Sports and Leisure
Cusack Park, the main county GAA playing grounds is situated in the Town centre on Francis Street.

Ennis has many athletics areas, such as Lees Road, which consists of playing pitches and running woods and also in the centre of the town lies the Fair Green.

There is one 25m pool in the town as well as other smaller ones in hotel leisure clubs throughout.

Twin towns — Sister cities
A sister city of Ennis is Phoenix, Arizona. Each summer an average of four 4th/5th year students partake in the Phoenix Youth Ambassador Program, which is facilitated by the city of Phoenix twinning committee and the Ennis Chamber Of Commerce.

It is also twinned with the town of Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet; in Southern France. Ennis is also twinned with the town of Clare, South Australia.

Information Age Town
In September 1997, Ennis became Ireland's first and only Information Age Town, which was funded by Eircom (formerly Telecom Éireann). The town was greatly enhanced by the project's IR£15 million investment, which saw 4200 computers provided to residents, a computer lab for every school and every primary school classroom been provided with a computer. Elderly residents were given the chance to become computer users also as a result. The project also gave Ennis Ireland's first high speed ISDN line infrastructure, which connected all the town's businesses together. Ennis was also used as a test site for VISA Cash, which allowed users to top up a chip and pin card with petty cash and purchase goods in local stores. Funding for the project ran out in 2000.

People

 * Daniel O'Connell, MP returned for the Clare electoral area, was known as "The Liberator" for his winning of Catholic Emancipation in 1829.
 * Des Lynam, Irish presenter on British television
 * Dara O'Kearney, international ultra runner and professional poker player
 * Trotskyist theorist Sean Matgamna
 * Boxer Muhammad Ali's great grandfather Abe Grady was from the Turnpike area of Ennis. On 1 September 2009, Ali was made the first Honorary Freeman of Ennis on his first visit to the town.
 * Singer Maura O'Connell comes from the market area of Ennis
 * The scriptwriter Mark O'Halloran, who wrote the screenplays for the films Adam and Paul and Garage, is from Ennis.
 * William Mulready (1786–1863) – Genre Painter
 * James Bartholomew Blackwell (b. 1763/1765 – d. ?) – Revolutionary soldier
 * Johnny Patterson (1840-1889) singer and composer was born in Feakle but raised in Ennis
 * Actress Harriet Smithson (b. 1800 – d. 1854), first wife of French composer Hector Berlioz, was born and lived for a time in Ennis.
 * Footballer Claude Makalele(b. 1973 -present), a great French footballing talent in his day, Claude's aunt, Mary Makelele lives in Willow Park, on the Watery Road in Ennis.

Cultural references

 * Ennis is mentioned in the songs "Isobel" by British performer Dido, and "At The Ceili" by Celtic Woman.