County Meath

County Meath (Contae na Mí) is a county in the, often informally called The Royal County. The county town is, where the county hall and government is located, although , the former county town, has historical significance, and remains a sitting place of the , along with Ireland's largest castle (Norman) and was the setting for an Anglo-Norman parliament. Meath is also home to, with its and monastic past, and , known for its castle and annual rock concert and the Ledwidge Cottage Museum.

Meath (the "middle") was formed from the eastern part of the province of Midhe - see - but now forms part of. Historically this province of Meath included all of the current county as well as all of and parts of, ,  and , and possibly  and. The sat at  in Meath. The archaeological complex of , including the 5,000-year-old Bru na Boinne complex, including the burial sites of, and , in the northeast of the county, is a  designated.

The seat of the, is located in , - outside the county but within the historic diocese of Meath.

Geography

 * Rivers, , Nanny, Inny, Delvin, Devlin, Knightsbrook, Hurley, Tremblestone, Tolka, Ward, Pinkeen, Yellow, Broadmeadow, Athboy, Clonymeath, Dangan, Moynalvy and Owenroe.
 * 10.4 km of coastline with the
 * Bordered by Irish Sea and counties, , , , and , as well as , one of the four parts of the historic County Dublin.

Sights

 * Castles at Trim, Slane (private), Dunsany (limited opening), Killeen (being converted to a hotel)
 * Religious ruins at Trim (two), Bective, Slane (two), Dunsany, Skryne (Skreen)
 * 2500-year-old mound structures of disputed origin at.
 * Bru Na Boinne Unesco World Heritage Site.

Economy

 * Good land, with a strong farming tradition has been prominent historically, producing (,, es, ). Recently production volumes have decreased due to competition for labour from other sectors of the economy. Migrant labour from Eastern Europe has helped however. Meath is Ireland's leading county producer of potatoes, and a significant producer of beef, barley, milk, wheat, and root vegetables.
 * Quarrying and Mining. Europe's largest underground Lead-Zinc mine, has operated since 1970, at a location to the West of Navan. Glacial deposits of gravel exist in a band stretching from the Offaly border at Edenderry, to the sea at Laytown. This is the basis of a long running quarrying tradition. A large cement plant near is situated in this territory.
 * An increasing proportion of Meath residents commute into, with a resulting shift to a in the developing s.
 * Meat processing in Clonee, and Navan.
 * Historically Navan was a manufacturing town, involved in the household goods sector. Navan was the centre of the Irish Furniture industry. Gradually this has declined as a source of employment, though it has acted as a source of inspiration for other ventures producing finished products for the construction industry.
 * Navan was the centre of the Irish Carpet making industry, before this was lost to overseas competition
 * Horse breeding and training
 * Localized tourism in Trim, Kells, Tara and the Boyne Valley.
 * In common with other counties with thriving agricultural and traditional local industrial sectors, like Westmeath, Wexford, Kilkenny and Monaghan, Meath has few multinational investment facilities. Drogheda, Blanchardstown, Swords, and Leixlip are neighbouring towns that provide employment in this regard, however.

Population Change
The population in Co. Meath has been characterised since 1861 as a period of significant decline in population between 1861 and 1901 when the population was almost halved (110,373 to 67,497), stablisation from 1901 to 1971 (67,497 to 71,729), a substantial increase between 1971 and 1981 to 95,419. This increase was mainly due to a baby-boom locally. The population continued to increase at a constant rate, before increasing at an explosive rate between 1996 and 2002, from 109,732 to 134,005. This is due primarily to economic factors, with the return of residents to live in the county, and also an echo effect of the 70s baby boom. The census of 2006 gives a statistic of 162,831 to include a dramatic increase in inward migration in the county, much of it from neighbouring Dublin, and Drogheda.

This population growth has seen divergent trends emerge in recent years, with mild depopulation in the north and west of the county being more than offset by large increases in the population of the eastern and south eastern part of the county, principally due to inward migration to districts which have good proximity via road, to the business parks on the Western outskirts of. The section of the county that is south of the Boyne is considered part of the "". The accession of and  to the European Union in 2004, has resulted in a significant influx of workers from these countries to work in low wage sectors including agriculture, quarrying, construction and catering.

Population by in Co. Meath since 1861:




 * 1861: 110,373
 * 1871: 95,558
 * 1881: 87,469
 * 1891: 76,987
 * 1901: 67,497
 * 1911: 65,091
 * 1926: 62,969
 * 1936: 61,405
 * 1946: 66,232
 * 1961: 65,122
 * 1971: 71,729
 * 1981: 95,419
 * 1991: 105,370
 * 1996: 109,732
 * 2002: 134,005
 * 2006: 162,831

Villages

 * , Kildalkey, Kilmessan
 * , Kildalkey, Kilmessan
 * , Kildalkey, Kilmessan
 * , Kildalkey, Kilmessan
 * , Kildalkey, Kilmessan
 * , Kildalkey, Kilmessan
 * , Kildalkey, Kilmessan

Politics
has held three seats out of five in the Meath constituency since 1987. has won the other two seats at each in four of the five general elections in that period, with the exception of 1992, when it lost a seat to Labour (which was regained in 1997). Due to the increase in the county's population Meath now holds six seats in the Dáil, and has been divided into two constituencies: Meath East and Meath West (which incorporates some parts of County ).

Currently (August 2007) the six Dáil deputies (TD's) for the Meath constitency are:
 * (Fianna Fáil),
 * (Fianna Fáil),
 * (Fine Gael),
 * (Fine Gael),
 * (Fianna Fáil).
 * (Fianna Fáil).

McEntee won a by-election in 2005 caused by the resignation of the former, (Fine Gael) on his appointment as the  Ambassador to the. Fianna Fáil controlled Meath County Council from 1985 until 1991 and again from 1999 to 2004. The current composition of Meath County Council (elected 2004) is as follows:
 * Fianna Fáil   12,
 * Fine Gael      9,
 * 2,
 * Vacant Seat        1,
 * 1,
 * Independents   4.

Road

 * The main road through Meath is the Dublin-Cavan road, the currently being upgraded to mainly motorway standard from the county's south east border at Clonee to the north west border shared with Cavan.
 * The M4 motorway, which is partly in and partly in Meath.


 * The M1 motorway Dublin - Belfast road.


 * The N2 road bypasses the second largest town in the County, Ashbourne. This road is officially a dual carriageway but effectively a motorway as it has a motorway speed limit of 120km/h. The majority part of this route at the end of the dual carriageway is single carriageway standard two lane road.

Rail

 * There is a frequent commuter train service to the coastal villages of East Meath, serving Laytown.


 * Navan is currently served by a spur railway line from the Dublin-Belfast main line, for freight traffic (Iron Ore from Tara Mines in Navan to Dublin Port) connecting at . The direct rail line to Dublin directly remains abandoned, though its path is reasonably intact, and plans are drawn up to reopen it as inline with current government transport policy.


 * There is a commuter train service from Enfield. This gives the village of Enfield the distinction of having a regular train service, though most towns in the county do not have this facility (yet).

Source

 * Meath County Council
 * CSO Website
 * County Meath History Geography map guide