Tydavnet, officially Tedavnet (Irish: Tigh Damhnata, meaning 'house of Damhnait'),[3] is a village in northern County Monaghan, Ireland, and also the name of the townland and civil parish in which the village sits. Both the Church of Ireland and Catholic church have Tydavnet named as a parish and in both cases, the geographical area is almost identical.[citation needed] The village is located on the R186 regional road.
History
Bronze Age gold
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes the Atlantic Bronze Age Tydavnet gold discs.[4][5] Dating from circa 2100 BC,[1] these discs were discovered in the roots of an old tree.[1] Raised lines, rows of dots and zig-zags produce a central cross surrounded by concentric patterns, were used to decorate the discs.[1] The techniques of repoussé, punching and polishing, and doming of the surfaces are not seen on other similar discs.[1] The pair of discs are on permanent display in the National Museum of Ireland.[1]
Foundation and name
The Irish name of the townland and village, Irish: Tigh Damhnata, meaning 'house of Damhnait', derives from the area's association with the 6th-century Irish saint, Saint Damnat.[a] Damnat is thought to have founded a church in the area,[7] which is generally considered to have been located in the graveyard of the current village Catholic church.[8][9] This church, St. Dympna's Church, was originally erected in 1730, then rebuilt in the early 1900s and the interior renovated in the 1990s. It is one of the three existing Catholic churches in the parish.[10] The other two churches are located in Corlat, and in Urbleshanny, near Scotstown.
In 1206, the Normans plundered Tydavnet.[11][12] In 1302, a taxation list was the first recorded mention of the area.[12]
Transport
Local Link bus route M1 links the village with Monaghan several times daily from Mondays to Saturdays inclusive.[13][14]
Amenities and education
St. Dymphna's National School is a national (primary) school situated on the north end of the village.
Tydavnet Community Centre,[15] originally a school, is now used to host local events, local elections and drama. Tydavnet Village Community Centre Limited is partially funded by National Lottery funding.[16][17][18][19]
As of 2021, planning permission was granted for 13 houses in Tydavnet, including three-bedroom detached homes, and four-bedroom detached homes, opposite the community centre.[20]
Scotstown GAA,[23] the local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club is primarily involved in Gaelic football. Although the team represents the entire parish of Tydavnet the club is named after one of the townland's villages, Scotstown. Páirc Mhuire, Scotstown is the home field of Scotstown GAA, with one full size field and two smaller fields.[24]
Awards and twinning
Tydavnet was a "Pride of Place Award" winner (in the 750–1500 to population category) in 2014.[25][26] The village also previously won Monaghan County Council's "Tidy Towns" competition.[citation needed]
The village is linked with Geel in Belgium, which also has a reputed connection to Saint Dymphna.[6] Tydavnet/Monaghan and Geel were officially twinned in 1992.[27][28][29]
Dolley, Michael (1978). "A Byzantine Copper Coin of the Twelfth Century from the Churchyard at Tydavnet, Co. Monaghan". Clogher Record. 9 (3): 374. doi:10.2307/27695768. JSTOR27695768.
Smyth, James (1955). "Place Names of The Barony of Monaghan". Clogher Record. 1 (3): 15–21. doi:10.2307/27695411. JSTOR27695411.
Dufaigh, Seosamh Ó; Duffy, Joseph (1999). "Medieval Monaghan: The Evidence of the Placenames". Clogher Record. 16 (3): 7. doi:10.2307/27699433. JSTOR27699433.
^Other texts associate the area with a different saint, Saint Dymphna, who -whilst fleeing to Belgium to escape her pagan father's wrath- is said to have stopped in Tydavnet.)[6]
References
^ abcdefMorgan, Deirdre (25 April 2014). "Bronze Age". Art History Leaving Cert. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
^Canavan, Tony (29 August 2019). "MUSEUM EYE: Monaghan County Museum". History Ireland. Retrieved 14 January 2022. Above: One of the Tydavnet gold sundiscs, discovered by accident in the roots of an oak tree. (National Museum of Ireland)
^
Brown, Daniel (May 2013). "Select document: a charter of Hugh II de Lacy, earl of Ulster, to Hugh Hose (2 March 1207)". Irish Historical Studies. 38 (151): 492–510. doi:10.1017/S0021121400001619. S2CID159825381. In 1206, the year after he was created earl of Ulster by King John, the forces of Hugh II de Lacy (d. 1242) devastated the ecclesiastical civitas of Armagh for ten successive days and nights. Then, turning southwest into Monaghan, de Lacy laid waste 'Teach Damhnata' (Tydavnet), 'Ceall Muragáin' (Kilmore), and Clones, before striking northwards into Tír Eógain. There, he attacked Tullaghoge, seat of the king of Cenél nEógain, Áed Méith Ua Néill (d. 1230), reaching as far north as Ciannachta (bar. Keenaght, County Londonderry). This campaign, undertaken with the 'Foreigners of Meath and of Leinster', was followed up in the beginning of 1207 with another assault on Armagh around St Brigid's day (1 February), which was severe enough to prompt Eugenius (Echdonn mac Gilla Uidir), archbishop of Armagh (d. 1217), to cross to the court of King John in order to 'succour the churches of Ireland and to accuse the Foreigners'.
^
Fisher, Michael (13 June 2013). "Monaghan welcoms Geel". Michael Fisher's News. Retrieved 14 January 2022. Tydavnet in County Monaghan has welcomed a group of fifteen visitors from Geel in Belgium, led by the new Mayor Vera Celis
^
Fisher, Michael (21 August 2012). "Tydavnet Goes to Geel". Michael Fisher's News. Retrieved 14 January 2022. For the past 20 years, Tydavnet in Co.Monaghan has been twinned with the town of Geel in the Antwerpen province of Flanders in Belgium.
