placenamesMoyvally
Maigh Bhealaigh
The Royal Canal and neighbouring railway shaped Moyvally’s buildings, including its paired crossings, a vanished hotel and Furey’s timber-fronted premises.
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
- Maigh Bhealaigh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Moyvally · English · main form
Place & story
Two transport crossings
Moyvally Bridge carries the road across the Royal Canal on a single stone arch dating from about 1810. Its dressed arch stones and central keystone contrast with the rubble masonry of the walls, while the towpath passes beneath the span. The neighbouring railway crossing dates from about 1850. Recorded together by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, the bridges show how successive transport routes were fitted closely into the same stretch of countryside. [2]
From canal hotel to water cure
A hotel opened beside the canal in 1807, but its fortunes changed as the waterway struggled commercially. Local historian Noel French records that John Wright Switzer purchased the premises in 1848 and established a hydropathic business, equipped with plunge, steam and douche baths. Alcohol and tobacco were prohibited. After the water-cure enterprise closed, the building continued as a residence before falling into disuse. Its ruins were demolished during road realignment in 1974. [3]
Furey’s timber building
Furey’s occupies an unusual timber-framed building dated by the architectural inventory to about 1920. The long street front has diagonal timber boarding, sash windows and two entrances beneath signboards bearing raised lettering. Corrugated iron covers the roof and parts of the rear walls, where the building rises to two storeys. The inventory suggests that the nearby railway may explain the availability of these manufactured materials, although it presents that connection as a possibility. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Kildare
- Barony
- Carbury
- Civil parish
- Ballynadrumny
- Within
- Moyvally
- Coordinates
- 53.43219, -6.91660 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412376 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Moyvally. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Moyvally Bridge, NIAH 11900301 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Royal Canal in Meath · Noel French, Meath History Hub
- Furey’s, NIAH 11900302 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.