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{{Short description|Town in County Laois, Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox settlement
| settlement_type = Town
| name = Abbeyleix
| native_name = {{lang|ga|Mainistir Laoise}}
| native_name_lang = ga
| image_skyline = IMG 1771w.JPG
| image_caption = Main Street
| pushpin_map = Ireland
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Ireland
| coordinates = {{coord|52.914|-7.349|dim:100000_region:IE|display=inline,title}}
| blank_name_sec1 = Irish Grid Reference
| blank_info_sec1 = {{iem4ibx|S435850}}
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Ireland|Province]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Leinster]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Counties of Ireland|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[County Laois]]
| unit_pref = Metric
| elevation_m = 95
| population_as_of = [[2022 census of Ireland|2022]]
| population = 1897
| population_urban =
| population_blank2_title =
| population_blank2 =
| population_footnotes = <ref name="cso2022">{{Cite web |date=August 2023 |title=Census 2022 - F1015 Population |url=https://data.cso.ie/table/F1015 |access-date=16 September 2023 |website=Central Statistics Office Census 2022 Reports |publisher=[[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|Central Statistics Office Ireland]]}}</ref>
}}

'''Abbeyleix''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|b|i|ˌ|l|iː|k|s}};<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 29, 2013 |title=Abbeyleix Irish Heritage Town Promo |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBH5pyHq2Yc |access-date=January 29, 2023 |website=YouTube}}</ref> {{Irish place name|Mainistir Laoise|Laois Abbey}})<ref name=logainm>{{Cite web |title=Abbeyleix / Mainistir Laoise |url=https://www.logainm.ie/1411621.aspx |access-date=24 January 2020 |website=logainm.ie |publisher=Irish Placenames Commission}}</ref> is a town in [[County Laois]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], located around {{convert|14|km|mi}} south of the county town of [[Portlaoise]]. Abbeyleix is in a [[Civil parishes in Ireland|civil parish]] of the same name.<ref name=logainm/>

Abbeyleix was formerly located on the [[N8 road (Ireland)|N8]], the main road from Dublin to Cork. At one point, up to 15,000 vehicles passed along the town's main street every day.
Since May 2010, however, the town has been bypassed by the [[M8 motorway (Ireland)|M8 motorway]], with the former N8 consequently downgraded to the [[N77 road (Ireland)|N77]] national secondary road, and R639 regional road.

Abbeyleix was named [[Ireland's Tidiest Town]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fletcher |first=Laura |date=6 October 2023 |title=Abbeyleix named Ireland's Tidiest Town for 2023 |work=[[RTÉ News]] |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2023/1006/1409365-tidy-towns/}}</ref>

== History ==
There was a settlement at Abbeyleix as early as 1183, that grew up near the [[River Nore]], around the Cistercian monastery - which gives the town its name.

The monastery, known as ''Clonkyne Leix'' or ''De Lege Dei'', was reputedly founded about the year 600 AD, but of which there is limited account until 1183, when it was refounded and dedicated to the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Blessed Virgin]] by Conogher or Corcheger O'More (Conor Cucoigcriche).<ref name="lewis1837">{{Cite book |title=A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland |date=1837 |publisher=Samuel Lewis |page=4 |chapter=Abbeyleix |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/topographicaldic0001lewi/page/4/mode/2up?q=ABBEYLEIX |via=archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Irish Pedigrees |date=1915 |publisher=P. Murphy & Son |page=324 |chapter=Moore |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/irishpedigreesor011915ohar/page/324/mode/2up?view=theater |via=archive.org}}</ref> O'More placed in it monks of the [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] order from [[Baltinglass Abbey|Baltinglass]], [[County Wicklow]].<ref name="lewis1837" />

The lordship of ''Feranamanagh'' (i.e. the Monk's land), consisting of the parish of Abbeyleix, is shown on a map of the territories of Leix and Offaly from 1561.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society |date=1911 |page=4 |chapter=Historical Notes on the O'Moores |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/journalofcountyk6190coun/page/6/mode/2up?view=theater |via=archive.org}}</ref>
[[File:Monument to John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci.jpg|thumb|Monument to John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci]]
Modern Abbeyleix is one of the oldest planned estate towns in Ireland.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} It was largely built in the 18th century by [[Viscount de Vesci]]. The regular flooding of the [[River Nore]] made the town an unhealthy place to live. Around 1790, [[John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci|John Vesey]] determined that the location of the town was not suitable for his tenants, and began to design a new one. The old town was levelled, and the residents moved to the new one.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Abbeyleix (Laois Heritage Trail)", Laois County Council |url=https://laois.ie/departments/heritage/laois-heritage-trail/abbeyleix/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121080452/https://laois.ie/departments/heritage/laois-heritage-trail/abbeyleix/ |archive-date=21 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref> A memorial to the 2nd Viscount de Vesci, paid for by subscriptions, is in the town center. It features a water trough for horses.

Today, there are many historical structures standing in and around the town - ancient ring forts, burial grounds, churches and estate houses.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} The town once had a carpet factory, established in 1904 by Yvo de Vesci, the 5th Viscount – notably producing some of the carpets used on the [[RMS Olympic|RMS ''Olympic'']] and [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Titanic Carpet Factory |url=http://www.abbeyleixheritagetown.com/heritage-house-page11618.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426042121/http://www.abbeyleixheritagetown.com/heritage-house-page11618.html |archive-date=26 April 2012 |access-date=2011-12-10}}</ref>

== Transport ==
=== Road ===
The [[N8 road (Ireland)|N8 road]] to [[Cork (city)|Cork]] passed through Abbeyleix prior to the opening of the [[M8 motorway (Ireland)|M8 motorway]] in 2010. With the opening of the M8 the [[N77 road (Ireland)|N77 road]] was extended along the route of the former N8 from [[Durrow, County Laois|Durrow]] to [[Portlaoise]]. Access to the M8 from Abbeyleix is also provided via the [[R433 road (Ireland)|R433 road]].

=== Rail ===
[[Abbeyleix railway station]], on the line from Portlaoise to [[Kilkenny]], opened on 1 March 1865 and closed on 1 January 1963.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abbeyleix station |url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926042407/http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2007 |access-date=8 September 2007 |website=Railscot - Irish Railways}}</ref>

=== Bus ===
Both [[Bus Éireann]]'s Expressway service and the Aircoach service, between [[Dublin]] and Cork, ceased to serve Abbeyleix in 2012. As an interim measure, until August 2012, Bus Éireann operated a shuttle service (route 128) to connect with Expressway services at Portlaoise.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shannon Airport - Bus Éireann - View Ireland Bus and Coach Timetables & Buy Tickets |url=http://buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=251#July_1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728170814/http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=251#July_1 |archive-date=28 July 2012 |access-date=24 January 2020 |publisher=Buseireann.ie}}</ref> Slieve Bloom Coaches also have a route from [[Borris-in-Ossory]] to Portlaoise which serves the town.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BorrisInOssory |url=http://www.slievebloomcoaches.ie/borrisinossory_18.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907075718/http://www.slievebloomcoaches.ie/borrisinossory_18.html |archive-date=7 September 2019 |access-date=24 January 2020 |publisher=Slievebloomcoaches.ie}}</ref>

The [[TFI Local Link]] 828 and 858 bus services connect Abbeyleix to Portlaoise and [[Cashel, County Tipperary|Cashel]] and [[Thurles]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2023 |title=828-858-Cashel-Thurles-Portlaoise |url=https://locallinklaoisoffaly.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/828-858-Cashel-Thurles-Portlaoise-6pp-Jul23-ONLINE_organized.pdf |access-date=3 August 2024 |website=Local Link Laois Offaly}}</ref>

== Amenities ==
[[File:Abbeyleix Bog 03.jpg|thumb|Abbeyleix Bog Walk]]
There is a district hospital in the town, and a number of shops and pubs. Father Breen Park has fields for soccer and other sports, while the adjacent CYMS hall is home to a number of clubs.

The "Lords Walk Loop" is a 2.4 kilometer loop that traces an old walking route taken by the De Vesci Family to reach the local church and railway station.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Lords Walk Loop Abbeyleix", All Trail |url=https://www.alltrails.com/trail/ireland/laois/lords-walk-loop-abbeyleix |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064856/https://www.alltrails.com/trail/ireland/laois/lords-walk-loop-abbeyleix |archive-date=21 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref>

Killamuck Bog is managed by the Abbeyleix Bog Project which has constructed two looped walks through the bog.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Conservation and community {{!}} Abbeyleix Bog Project |url=https://www.abbeyleixbog.ie/conservation-and-community |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=Abbeyleix Bog |language=en}}</ref> The entrance to the bog is located by the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visit {{!}} Abbeyleix Bog Project |url=https://www.abbeyleixbog.ie/visit |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=Abbeyleix Bog |language=en}}</ref> The two loops have raised wooden broad walks that traverse through the bog, as well as paths and tracks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Steven |date=2021-07-04 |title=#LoveLaois: Abbeyleix Bog Walk - a highly-recommended experience |url=https://www.laoistoday.ie/2021/07/04/lovelaois-abbeyleix-bog-walk-a-highly-recommended-experience/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=Laois Today |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The Abbeyleix Heritage House is a local heritage centre, with visitor information and an exhibition on the county's history and local attractions. Original antique carpets and vintage costumes are on display alongside archaeological and historical artefacts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Museum – Heritage House Abbeyleix |url=https://www.abbeyleixheritage.com/what-we-do/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Heritage House also provides guided tours of the museum and runs workshops throughout the year.

== Buildings of note ==
[[File:Plaque on Market House Abbeyleix.jpg|thumb|262px|Plaque on Market House]]
[[Abbeyleix House]] and the de Vesci estate (Abbeyleix Estate) is located on the Ballacolla road. As of 2019, the estate was being marketed for sale, with an asking price of €20 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois |url=https://www.daft.ie/laois/houses-for-sale/abbeyleix/the-abbey-leix-estate-abbeyleix-laois-2155057/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624080934/https://www.daft.ie/laois/houses-for-sale/abbeyleix/the-abbey-leix-estate-abbeyleix-laois-2155057/ |archive-date=24 June 2019 |access-date=24 June 2019 |website=DAFT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2019 |title=Historic 1,100-acre Laois estate goes up for sale with €20 million price tag - Laois Today |url=https://www.laoistoday.ie/2019/06/24/historic-1100-acre-laois-estate-goes-up-for-sale-with-e20-million-price-tag/ |access-date=24 January 2020 |publisher=Laoistoday.ie}}</ref> The house and 1050 acre estate was sold in 2021 for €20 million to Irish entrepreneur [[John Collison|John Collinson]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hartnett |first=Alan |date=2022-12-23 |title=2022 Remembered: Billionaire brothers purchase Laois mansion and set to spend €2 million doing it up |url=https://www.laoistoday.ie/2022/12/23/2022-remembered-billionaire-brothers-purchase-laois-mansion-and-set-to-spend-e2-million-doing-it-up/ |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=Laois Today |language=en-GB}}</ref> Millbrook House which is located beside the de Vesci estate was also purchased by Collinson in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FUSIO |title=Millbrook Hall, ABBEYLEIX DEMESNE, Old Town, LAOIS |url=https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/12802342/millbrook-house-abbeyleix-demesne-county-laois |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=Buildings of Ireland |language=en-US}}</ref>

Within the town, Abbeyleix Market House is a five-bay, four storey building which was previously used as a fire station and library. It has been renovated as a library and exhibition centre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Market House |url=https://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/heritage-towns/towns-and-villages-of-lao/abbeyleix/market-house/ |access-date=21 September 2023 |publisher=Ask About Ireland}}</ref> Heritage House is a visitor centre which houses a local history museum. This 19th-century building was once the North Boys School.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage House |url=http://www.abbeyleixheritage.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201214250/http://www.abbeyleixheritage.com/ |archive-date=1 February 2014 |access-date=25 January 2014}}</ref> Both the Market House and Heritage House are listed on the [[Record of Protected Structures]] for County Laois.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Laois County Development Plan 2017-2023 - Appendix 1 - Record of Protected Structures |url=https://www.laois.ie/wp-content/uploads/APPENDIX-1-RPS-2017-2023-.pdf |access-date=2 February 2022 |website=laois.ie |publisher=Laois County Council |archive-date=21 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721164706/https://www.laois.ie/wp-content/uploads/APPENDIX-1-RPS-2017-2023-.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Sport ==
[[Abbeyleix GAA]] club is the local [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] club. Abbeyleix Golf Club and Abbeyleix Lawn Tennis Club were established in 1895 and 1909 respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abbeyleix Golf Club Est.1895 – Welcome to our site |url=https://abbeyleixgolfclub.ie/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226001132/http://abbeyleixgolfclub.ie/ |archive-date=26 December 2019 |access-date=24 January 2020 |publisher=Abbeyleixgolfclub.ie}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About – Abbeyleix Tennis Club |url=http://abbeyleixtennis.com/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118033101/http://abbeyleixtennis.com/about/ |archive-date=18 January 2020 |access-date=24 January 2020 |publisher=Abbeyleixtennis.com}}</ref> Other sports clubs in the area include a [[field hockey|hockey]] club and [[soccer]] (association football) club.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abbeyleix Hockey Club |url=http://www.abbeyleixhockey.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320220659/http://www.abbeyleixhockey.com/ |archive-date=20 March 2013 |access-date=16 March 2012}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208055211/http://abbeyleixjuvenilesoccerclub.com/ Abbeyleix Soccer Club]</ref>

== Notable residents ==
{{See also|Category:People from Abbeyleix}}
* [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]] (1909–1992), artist
* [[Sarah Venie Barr|Sarah "Venie" Barr]], (1875–1947) political and community activist
* [[Edward Massey|Sir Edward Massey]] (1619–1674), English soldier and parliamentarian
* [[Paul Nunn]] (1943-1995), mountaineer, author and economic historian, born in Abbeyleix<ref name="dougscottAAJ">{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=Doug |title=Paul Nunn, 1943-1995 |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199638500/Paul-Nunn-1943-1995 |website=American Alpine Club |publisher= |date= |access-date=1 January 2024 }}</ref>
* [[Launt Thompson]] (1833–1894), sculptor<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896">{{Cite book |title=Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896 |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |year=1963 |location=Chicago}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland|List of towns and villages in Ireland]]
* [[Market Houses in the Republic of Ireland|Market Houses in Ireland]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikivoyage}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.abbeyleix.irishheritagetowns.com/ Abbeyleix Irish Heritage Towns]
* [http://www.abbeyleix.ie/ Abbeyleix.ie]
* [http://www.abbeyleixbog.ie/ Abbeyleix Bog]
* [http://www.abbeyleixfec.ie/ Abbeyleix Further Ed. Centre]
* [http://www.abbeyleixtidytowns.net/ Abbeyleix Tidy Towns]

{{County Laois}}

[[Category:Towns and villages in County Laois]]
[[Category:Civil parishes of County Laois]]
[[Category:Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland]]

Abbeyleix - Revision history

imported>InternetArchiveBot: Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5