Collon
| Collon Collann | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
|
The Foster homestead at Collon | |
  Collon Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°46′43″N 6°28′52″W / 53.77870°N 6.48116°WCoordinates: 53°46′43″N 6°28′52″W / 53.77870°N 6.48116°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Louth |
| Elevation | 128 m (420 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Urban | 564 |
| • Rural | 1,306 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | O001820 |
Collon (Irish: Collann) is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland, on the N2 national primary road. The village is home to the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont, and to Collon House, ancestral home of the Foster family.
Facilities
The Church of Ireland parish church at the lower end was built in 1810 to a design by Daniel Augustus Beaufort who was the rector between 1789 and 1821. There is a memorial in the graveyard at the front of the church to men of the parish who died during the 1914–18 Great War, inscribed on the front is the name of Lt. James Emerson V.C. who was born in the village. The church has been described as "dramatic and atmospheric" and hosted the 2008 Ardee Baroque Festival.[1]
The Foster family, who came to Ireland from Cumberland in the seventeenth century, were for several generations the dominant influence in Dunleer, which they represented in the Irish House of Commons. Collon House, the family seat was built about 1740 by Antony Foster, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and extended in the 1770s by his son John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel, the celebrated "Speaker Foster".
At one point there was a Russian language school in the village, which was founded by White Russian emigres. It is rumoured that the British spies Philby, Burgess and Maclean visited the school as part of their Russian language training.
Collon is home to an animal sanctuary where animals are homed until suitable accommodation is found.
Sport
Mattock Rangers, Louth Senior Football Champions 2002, 2005, 2009 and 2010. Mattock Rangers, Louth Junior Hurling Championship Winners
See also
References
- ↑ Irish Ties, 20 October 2008, page14, article by Eileen Battersby
External links
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