Clonard, County Meath
town in Leinster, Ireland
Clonard (Irish: Cluain Ioraird, meaning 'Iorard's meadow') is a small village in County Meath, Ireland. It lies on the R148 regional road between the towns of Kinnegad and Enfield. This road was the main road between Dublin and Galway until the construction of the M4 motorway. It is still used by traffic avoiding the toll on the M4.
Clonard is notable for being one of the earliest Christian sites in Ireland, being linked with the first Irish bishop Palladius c. 450 and as the location of a major early medieval monastery Clonard Abbey, founded in the 6th century by St. Finnian. The village is in a civil parish of the same name.
Around 1177, Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, built a motte-and-bailey fortification at Clonard.
During the 1798 Rebellion on 11 July 1798 the Battle of Clonard took place at the Tyrrell fortified house (now in ruins) beside Leinster Bridge between around 2,000 United Irishmen and 27 British loyalists, the battle ended in a decisive British victory.
“Clonard, County Meath” enters the record as town in Leinster, Ireland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Clonard, County and Meath can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Clonard, County Meath” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Clonard, County and Meath provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 27, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q182700. VIAF identifies the subject as 315147949. Authority coordinates are 53.452, -7.022. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1177 and 1798.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Clonard, County Meath”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Clonard, County Meath primary sources, Clonard, County Meath archive and Clonard research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Clonard, County Meath”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Clonard, County Meath” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.