The earliest evidence of human habitation at Ardclough was the discovery of a flint dated to 4800 BC, at Castlewarden below Oughterard Hill. Lyons Hill was the inauguration site and base for ten Uí Dúnchada Kings of Leinster. The battle of Gleann Máma , where Brian Boru defeated Meal Mórda of Leinster and Sitric Silkbeard, King Of Dublin, in 999 is believed to have taken place on the Dublin side of Oughterard Hill. 'Aclagh' is marked in Alexander Taylor's map of 1783 on the opposite bank of the canal is believed to be the first occurrence of the name. Limestone quarries (1804) made this site the focus of economic activity from the 1850's until 1910, when the quarries suddenly flooded. The Great Southern & Western Railway's (constructed 1844) and Straffan Station (used until 1947) opened communications to Dublin for cattle and horse dealers. When the GAA club (1937), community hall (1940) and school (1950) were built on a crossroads beneath Henry Bridge it shifted the focus of the community to a site in Tipperstown which is regarded modern Ardclough. The population was boosted by houses built at Wheatfield (1940), Boston Hill (1949-51) and Tipperstown Wheatfield Estate (1976) and Lishandra Estate (1989) Noted Ardclough people include Arthur Guinness founder of theGuinness Brewery, politician Valentine Lawless, sculptess Mary Redmond and writer Emily Lawless while singer Ronan Keating lived near Lishandra Estate for a brief time. Ryanair founder Tony Ryan has a house in Lyons and sports writer, author of "God and the referee" and "GAA Book of Lists" and co-founder of the GAA Museum at Croke Park, Eoghan Corry also lives in Ardclough. Ardclough is also famous for it's horses. Ardclough horses have won fame in both flat and national hunt, notably The Tetrarch (1911, regarded as probably the finest two year old in Irish racing history, Captain Christy (Winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1974), Star Appeal (Winner of the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe in 1975) and Kicking King (Winner of Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2005). Horse breeder Edward Cub Kennedy came from Baronrath, while father and son trainers Pat and Thomas Taaffe came from Alasty while David Ritchie from Oughterard laid out Ireland's first golf course. |