placenamesKnockvicar
Cnoc an Bhiocáire
Knockvicar’s crossing over the Boyle River records successive bridges and the revival of leisure navigation in the twentieth century.
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
- Cnoc an Bhiocáire · Irish · main form · validated name
- Knockvicar · English · main form
Place & story
A crossing rebuilt in the 1840s
Knockvicar Bridge crosses the Boyle River on three stone arches beside a quay with iron mooring posts. The inventory dates it to about 1845. It records a worn inscription dated 1727, together with another stating that it was removed from the old bridge in 1846. The reused stone preserves evidence of the earlier crossing. [2]
Restoring the route to Lough Key
The Athlone branch of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland recalls boats reaching Knockvicar in 1955 while Clarendon Lock was unusable. Crews hauled their boats over the weir to continue towards Lough Key. The branch’s history records the lock reopening in 1956, making the route available for its first Shannon boat rally. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Roscommon
- Barony
- Boyle
- Civil parish
- Kilbryan
- Within
- Kilteasheen
- Coordinates
- 54.00302, -8.19828 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414411 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Knockvicar. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Knockvicar Bridge, NIAH 31906026 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- History of the Athlone branch: adapted extracts from Silver Jubilee 1954 to 1979 · Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, Athlone Branch
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.