Lixnaw 4.31

Lixnaw is a village in North County Kerry, Ireland. It is located near the River Brick 11km SW of Listowel and 17km NE of Tralee.HistoryLixnaw was once the seat of the Fitzmaurice family, the Earls of Kerry. In 1320 Nicolas, the third baron of Lixnaw, erected the Castle of Lixnaw, built the old bridge, and improved the village. In 1600 Sir Chas. Wilmot and his forces garrisoned the castle and established it as their centre of operations. It was subsequently re-taken by Lord Kerry who entrusted its defense to his brother Gerald, who was eventually forced to surrender the castle due to a shortage of water. Today, nothing remains of the Castle of Lixnaw. An interesting point about the Earls of Kerry is that one of the descendants William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, who was born in Dublin but was largely reared in Lixnaw (except when he was in Eton), became British Prime Minister in 1782. Later Lansdowne Road was named after him and it became the common name for that great rugby stadium in Dublin.Lixnaw is situated near the River Brick over which there were originally two stone bridges, from which the village got its name.Places of interestKorean War MemorialErected to honour the Irish soldiers who died in the Korean War. A total of twenty-nine Irishmen died while serving under conscription in the US Army under the banner of the UN from 1950-1953. The monument takes the form of a stone arch, 12ft high and 17ft wide with three granite slabs on which all 35 names, addresses and dates of death are inscribed.St. Michael's ChurchSt. Michael's Church is a Roman Catholic church designed by Irish architect J.J.McCarthy, but more Norman than Celtic in design, due to having to flank the nave with aisles that open off it through robust round arched arcades. Modernised interior.