POSTED FROM

KILMAINHAMWOOD

CO. MEATH · IE

Kilmainhamwood, Co. Meath

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 07 / 07

Kilmainhamwood · Co. Meath

A drumlin-country village on the River Dee, named for crusader knights, with the old railway now a greenway running through it.

Kilmainhamwood sits in the far north of Meath, on the River Dee just south of the Cavan line, in the rolling drumlin country where Meath, Cavan and Monaghan run into one another. Three hundred and sixty-odd people at the last count. A primary school, a church, two pubs and a newsagent near the centre - that is the village, and it does not pretend to be more.

The name is the interesting thing. This was a preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller, the crusading order that ran a great house at Kilmainham in Dublin, and the village took its name from them - the wood of Kilmainham. The older Gaelic name was Rath Cúl, which survives in the nearby townlands of Rath and Coole. Long before the knights, this was rath and crannog country, and the parish is thick with ringforts.

What has changed the place in recent years is the greenway. The Dublin to Kingscourt railway closed to passengers in 1947 and the trackbed lay quiet for decades; in May 2024 it reopened as part of the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway, thirty kilometres of flat, traffic-free path from Navan to Dún a Rí Forest Park in Kingscourt. It runs straight through Kilmainhamwood, and it is the main reason a visitor would now stop here at all.

Come for the walking and the cycling and a pint after. For beds and a fuller evening, Kells, Bailieborough or Kingscourt are all a short drive.

Population

~362 (2022)

Founded

Medieval preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller of Kilmainham

01 / 07

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The name

Named for the Knights Hospitaller of Kilmainham in Dublin.

The village was a medieval preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller - the crusading order the Normans brought to Ireland - held from their house at Kilmainham in Dublin. The circular old graveyard in the village marks where their church once stood.

Stories & lore → 02 The greenway

The old Kingscourt railway is now a walking and cycling path.

Kilmainham Wood station closed to passengers in 1947. The line is now part of the 30 km Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway, opened in May 2024, which runs through the village between Nobber and Kingscourt.

Walks & outings →

02 / 07

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

McKenna's Pub

Old-style local with a stove fire

Country pub, village centre

The village pub in the proper sense - a country bar with old-style charm, a traditional stove fire and a warm welcome. Wheelchair-accessible entrance and car park. The natural stop for a pint after the greenway.

Keogan

Small local

Village pub

Kilmainhamwood is recorded as having two pubs and Keogan's is listed at the village address (the same local telephone exchange as McKenna's). A small country local; opening hours can be irregular in a village this size, so ring ahead or just see what is open.

03 / 07

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

A crusader preceptory in north Meath

The wood of the Knights Hospitaller

Kilmainhamwood was a preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller of St John, the military religious order the Normans brought to Ireland, founded originally to protect pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem. The order's Irish headquarters was at Kilmainham in Dublin, and this north-Meath holding - the wood of Kilmainham - took its name from that connection. The circular old graveyard in the village, roughly 63 by 57 metres, is the site of their church. A rectangular sandstone font and a carved cross slab survive among the stones. The older name of the place was Rath Cúl, the fort of the corner, and it lingers in the townland names Rath and Coole nearby.

The line that closed and came back

From railway to greenway

Kilmainham Wood had its own station on the Dublin to Kingscourt railway, east of the village. Passenger services ended in 1947 and the trackbed went quiet. In May 2024 the corridor reopened as the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway - a thirty-kilometre walking and cycling route along the old line, running from Navan north through Wilkinstown, Castletown, Nobber and Kilmainhamwood to Kingscourt and Dún a Rí Forest Park in Cavan. It is flat, surfaced and traffic-free, and it has given the village a genuine reason for outsiders to pull in.

04 / 07

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway The reason most people come. The greenway runs through the village on the old railway line. South takes you toward Nobber and eventually Navan; north toward Kingscourt and Dún a Rí Forest Park in Cavan. Flat, surfaced, traffic-free, good for families and bikes. Do the Kilmainhamwood-to-Kingscourt leg for the Cavan drumlins, or south to Nobber to tie in the O'Carolan village.

30 km full route (shorter legs easy)distance

A few hours to a full day by biketime

Village and old graveyard A walk around the village core and the circular old graveyard where the Knights Hospitaller church once stood. The sandstone font and a carved cross slab are among the stones. Modest, but it is the oldest thing in the village and worth ten minutes.

Short strolldistance

30 minutestime

05 / 07

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The drumlins green up and the greenway is at its best - dry underfoot, hedges coming in, long enough days to do a proper leg of the route.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Peak greenway season. Bring the bike. Long evenings make a Kilmainhamwood-to-Kingscourt run easy, with a pint at either end.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Quiet, colour in the hedges along the old line, the greenway still very walkable. A good time to have the path largely to yourself.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days and the greenway can be cold and exposed on the open stretches. The pub keeps going. Not the season to make a special trip.

◐ Mind yourself

06 / 07

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Expecting a town

This is a village of about 360 people - a school, a church, two pubs and a shop. There is no hotel, no tourist office, no row of cafes. Come for the greenway and the quiet, not for amenities. For those, drive to Kells or Kingscourt.

Confusing it with Kilmainham in Dublin

The name is shared - both come from the Knights Hospitaller - but this is rural north Meath, not the Dublin 8 of the Gaol and the Royal Hospital. No relation beyond the medieval order.

Getting there.

By car

Kilmainhamwood is in far north Meath, near the Cavan border, roughly 75 minutes from Dublin. Easiest is the N2 to Nobber, then the local roads north; Kingscourt is about 10 minutes north, Kells around 25 minutes southwest. There is parking near the village centre for the greenway.

By bus

Public transport is thin. Local Link Louth-Meath-Fingal runs limited rural services in the area - check current timetables. There is no train; the nearest line is at Drogheda or Dundalk, both a fair drive east.

Next on the tour

Co. Cavan

Kingscourt

North along the greenway, about 10 minutes by car. A working Cavan town and the gateway to Dún a Rí Forest Park, where the greenway ends.

Co. Meath

Nobber

South on the greenway. The O'Carolan village - birthplace of Ireland's last great harper. The obvious other end of a day out.

Co. Meath

Moynalty

Southwest toward Kells. A tidy estate village known for its steam threshing festival.