placenamesRobertstown
Baile Riobaird
The story of 52M adds a surviving vessel to the district’s better-known canal buildings.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Baile Riobaird · Irish · main form
- Robertstown · English · main form
Place & story
A vessel from the Grand Canal Company
Barge 52M was built in Dublin for the Grand Canal Company in 1928. County Kildare LEADER Partnership’s account records that it had sunk twice before Robertstown Community Amenities Association restored it. The vessel thus preserves canal history in a movable object, alongside the bridges, towpaths and buildings that remain on land. [2]
Restoration followed by use
The partnership’s August 2023 newsletter records approximately €41,000 in LEADER support for the restoration. By that report, the work was complete and the barge had made trips to Dublin and along the local canal. Community groups were using it as a meeting place, including the Kildare North Ukulele Group on Monday evenings, and it had hosted a wedding. These are documented uses in 2023, rather than a present-day programme of events. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Robertstown. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- LEADER News, August2023: the barge at Robertstown, whole3-page newsletter · County Kildare LEADER Partnership
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2014-05-21. How this page was prepared.