Athlone

Athlone , town (1991 pop. 15,358), Co. Westmeath, central Republic of Ireland, on the Shannon River. It is an important road and rail junction and a busy inland port, reached by the river and two canals. Industries include the production of cotton textiles, woolens, machinery, electric cable, and furniture. The English occupied the town in the 13th cent. and built Athlone Castle. Possession of the town was disputed during succeeding centuries, and the castle was often besieged. Athlone fell to the forces of William III of Great Britain in 1691. It is an important military station and a major transmitting station of the Irish National Radio.

Athlone [Ir. Áth Lúain, ford of Lúan]. The principal ford of the River Shannon, between the counties of Roscommon and Westmeath, 78 miles W of Dublin and 48 miles E of Galway. Because of its strategic position between east and west, Athlone has long figured prominently in Irish lore and history. Cúchulainn sheared off the tops of three peaks near here. The first fortress at Athlone was built before the Anglo-Norman conquest. The city of Athlone, which lies on both sides of the river, was an English garrison from Elizabethan times.

Ginkel, Godard van Reede, Baron van (1630–1703), created earl of Athlone 1692. An experienced Dutch soldier, he commanded the Williamite army from William III's return to England in September 1690 to the end of the Williamite War.