Ardfinnan

Ardfinnan (Irish: Ard Fhíonáin, meaning 'Fíonán's height') is a small village in County Tipperary in Ireland.

[1] During the week it is served five times a day in each direction by Bus Éireann route 245 linking it to Clonmel, Mitchelstown, Fermoy and Cork.

Saint Fíonán Lobhar (or Finian the Leper) founded an abbey for Canons Regular of Saint Augustine with a leper colony here in the early 7th century, high up on the site of the now present castle, known as Fíonáin's height, where the village gets its name.

It was built on the site of a former corn mill which had been in operation since before the Civil Survey of 1654 up until it was sold by the Prendergasts of Ardfinnan in the mid 19th century.

The woollen mills became a leading firm in Irish textiles and was of great benefit to the village of Ardfinnan, providing employment to over 220 workers at its peak and electricity for streetlights and homes in the surrounding area long before the Rural Electrification Scheme was introduced.

Ardfinnan was a location, used by Atari, for the manufacture of wooden video game arcade cabinets from 1974 to 1984.

As a public safety initiative, a traffic light one way system has been in place on the bridge since the end of 2015 after significant structural damage was discovered.

Illustration of corn mill leased by the Prendergasts - Mid 19th century