Athea

Athea is situated on the river Galey and the crossroads of the R523 (Reens - Listowel) and R524 (Glin - Abbeyfeale) regional roads. It is a 3 km east of the Limerick/Kerry border in the hills of west Limerick. Its highest point is in the Parkanna townland where, at 220 m above sea level, surrounding towns and counties can be seen.

The river Galey is a tributary to the larger River Feale. The name is derived from the Irish language "Abhainn na Gáile", River of the Gaille, a tribe who lived along its banks. There are two bridges across the river; the R523/R524 intersection bridge just east of the village and Barry's Bridge, 2 km northwest of the village. Athea has suffered damage and disruption over several years, when the River Galley flooded in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2015.[4] Proposals and funding to address the issue had been muted for several years,[5] and a civil engineering consultancy were appointed by Limerick County Council in October 2019 to "assess, develop and design" a flood relief scheme.[6]

The large parish of Athea is divided into 25 townlands:[7]

• Athea Lower [Áth an tSléibhe Íochtair - the fort of the mountain]
• Athea Upper [Áth an tSléibhe Uachtar - the fort of the mountain]
• Clash North [An Chlais - the trench]
• Clash South [An Chlais - the trench]
• Coole East [An Chúil - the corner]
• Coole West [An Chúil - the corner]
• Cratloe East [An Chreatalach - a sallow wood]
• Cratloe West [An Chreatalach - a sallow wood]
• Direen Lower [An Doirín - the small thicket]
• Direen Upper [An Doirín - the small thicket]
• Dromada [Drom Fhada - long ridge]
• Glashapullagh [Glaise an Phollaigh - the stream of the place of holes]
• Glenagore [Gleann an Ghabhair - the glen of the goat]
• Gortnagross [Gort na gCros - the field of the crosses]
• Keale North [An Caol - the narrow feature]
• Keale South [An Caol - the narrow feature]
• Knockdown [Cnoc Donn - brown hill]
• Knockfinisk [Cnoc Finnisce - hill of bright water]
• Knocknagorna [Cnoc na gCoirneach - the hill of the clerics]
• Parkanna [An Pháirc - the field]
• Rooskagh [Rúscach - marshy place]
• Templeathea East [Teampaill an tSléibhe - The church of the mountain]
• Templeathea West [Teampaill an tSléibhe - The church of the mountain]
• Tooradoo [Na Tuara Dubha - the black animal enclosures]
• Tooreendonnell [Tuairín Dónaill - the small animal enclosure of Dónall]

Athea is situated in the constituency of Limerick West; the parish itself is subdivided into two electoral areas - the Newcastlewest electoral area (predominantly south of the river Galey) and the Rathkeale electoral area (north of the river) which are used mainly in local elections. At European level, Athea is in the constituency of Ireland South. At election times, the school is used as the polling station.

Opened in January 1974 by Erskine Hamilton Childers, Con Colbert Memorial Hall is named after one of the executed leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising.[8] The hall is used for meetings, sports events and other gatherings. Since its opening, it has been extended to incorporate a sports complex. The cost of this renovation neared €1 million and despite charity donations, government grants and other fundraising efforts, the community hall committee is still faced with a large (if decreasing) debt.

Footbridge in Athea

Athea's only pedestrian bridge was opened by Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick, in 2005. The bridge is located next to the existing road bridge at the eastern end of the main street.[9] It had been proposed for years for the local school pupils who were crossing the busy road bridge and was seen as a health and safety hazard sharing the bridge with cars. The bridge is 2m wide and 11m long. It was commissioned by Athea Community Council Ltd. who raised €260,000. The debt was reduced to €27,000 by the "Lucky Numbers" drawings, held Saturday nights.

St. Bartholomew's Roman Catholic Church is located on the main street and was built in 1832.[10] It underwent renovations in 1862 and 1980s. The church spire can be seen from all approach roads to the village.

The Goold Monument, located in Upper Athea commemorates James Goold, a landlord who, at the time of the Great Famine refused to evict tenants who couldn't pay rent. Dated to 1863, the monument comprises a 4 m high Celtic cross which stands just off the road to Listowel.[11]

The Olympic Statue, colloquially called "the feet" is a monument in The Square commemorating two Irish olympic medalists who were originally from Athea - Tim Ahearne and Dan Ahearne. Tim Ahearne won gold in the triple jump in the 1908 Olympics, while his younger brother Dan Ahearne is known for setting a world record in 1909. The sculpture depicts two golden feet with wings spread out.[12]

Annually large events such as the Vintage Rally, TradFéile and Athea Motorcycle Road Races are held during summer months. The latter, the Athea Motorcycle Road Races, is a two-day event taking place on a Saturday and Sunday at the end of June. In 2007 the race attracted an estimated 18,000 visitors to the village according to Gardaí. Names such as Martin Finnegan and William Dunlop have taken part in the event in the past. A fun fair is usually brought to the village the week before the festival.[13]

The "Giant's Garden" is a walk from the Memorial Hall to Holy Cross Cemetery in Templeathea. It is named after a legend that incorporates a giant carrying his deceased mother on his shoulders to be buried. The Giant's Garden overlooks Athea Village as well as the hills and river southwest of the village.[14]

The Athea & District News newsletter is published by local print company Cáirde Dúchais on a weekly basis. It features local columnists and current affairs. It also contains articles for the neighbouring towns and villages of Knockdown, Carrigkerry and Abbeyfeale.[15]

The Weekly Observer newspaper which contains articles for towns over much of west Limerick has an "Athea Notes" column resulting in it being a household newspaper in Athea.