History of Athlone
Channel: all the knowledge of the universe PRINCIPIA
Date: 2022-01-21

History of Athlone, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10109002 / CC BY SA 3.0

#Athlone
#Histories_of_cities_in_Ireland
#History_of_County_Westmeath
Athlone （Irish: Baile Átha Luain, meaning 'town of Luan's ford'） is a town on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree in Ireland.
Located on the border between County Westmeath and County Roscommon, the development of the Athlone owes much to the location of a strategic ford （river crossing point） on the Shannon.
The ford at this point on the River Shannon has been in use since at least the Bronze Age, and the settlement （including an early Christian site） expanded around this river-crossing.
The ford of Athlone was strategically important, as south of Athlone the River Shannon is impassable until Clonmacnoise （where the Esker Riada meets the Shannon）, and north is Lough Ree.
The two mortars in front of the medieval donjon of Athlone Castle are believed to date to the Williamite wars, and were previously located outside the main entrance of Custume Barracks.
By the 11th century, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair （King of Connacht） had built a wooden bridge at Athlone, approximately 100 metres south of the current bridge.
This was defended by the earliest recorded fort on the site - built on the west bank of the river in 1129.
On a number of occasions both the fort and bridge were subject to attacks, and towards the end of the 12th century the Anglo-Normans constructed a motte-and-bailey fortification here.
This was superseded by a stone structure built in 1210 by Justiciar John de Gray.
Becoming known as Athlone Castle, this 12-sided donjon dates from the 13th century.
Other parts of the castle were largely destroyed during the Siege of Athlone and the external defences were subsequently rebuilt and enlarged.
The currently visible battlements and cannon emplacements were installed to prevent a French fleet from sailing up the River Shannon and establishing a bridgehead in Lough Ree （likewise south...