Rathkeale
Rathkeale
Ráth Caola | |
|---|---|
Town | |
Rathkeale main street, with former Central Cinema | |
| Coordinates: 52°31′00″N 8°56′00″W / 52.516667°N 8.933333°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Limerick |
| Elevation | 45 m (148 ft) |
| Population (2016) | 1,441 |
| Irish Grid Reference | R360420 |
Rathkeale (Irish: Ráth Caola, meaning 'Caola's ringfort') is a town in west County Limerick, in Ireland. It is 30 km (18 mi) southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, County Kerry, and lies on the River Deel. The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.
It has a significant Irish Traveller population, and since 1995, almost half the town residents have been members of the travelling community. Rathkeale also has the largest concentration of descendants of the German Palatines who immigrated to Ireland in the early 18th century.
Rathkeale has shopping facilities, a museum, two primary schools, and a community college (Coláiste na Trócaire, founded in 1995). The town has a large Roman Catholic parish church, St. Mary's, Augustinian Abbey ruins, and the Holy Trinity Church of Ireland church.