Bagenalstown (/ˈbæɡnəlztaʊn/ BAG-nəlz-town), officially named Muine Bheag[2] (Irish: [ˌmˠɪnʲə ˈvʲaɡ]), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland.

[5][6] However, shortly after building began, the coach route from Dublin, which had passed the location, was changed so it crossed the River Barrow a few kilometres away, at Leighlinbridge, instead.

In a 1975 plebiscite, 77% of residents who voted opted to change the name back, but the proposal failed due to voter turnout of only around 50%, while the law required 75%.

[10] Bagenalstown very quickly transitioned into a highly prosperous town, and became recognised as a post, boat, mill and marketplace hub.

The canal route very quickly declined once the railway had been introduced and in 1852, only a small number of trading boats remained on this river.

[10] In 1982 a mile north of Bagenalstown a mechanical excavator was used to dig the foundations of a silo and struck a large granite boulder which proved to be a capstone of a cist burial dated from the Bronze Age.

[11] Bagenalstown is at the junction of the R705 which leads to New Ross via Graiguenamanagh and Goresbridge and R724 R724 whics and lies on the eastern side of the R448 which links it to Carlow and the M9 to Dublin.

[12] The station was reopened and officially renamed "Muine Bheag" in 1988[13] although Bagenalstown is recognised as its common name on the bilingual nameboards, in place since 2015, and on the Iarnród Éireann website.

[13] The town is on the River Barrow which was made navigable from the Grand Canal upstream at Athy starting in 1792, all the way to Waterford downstream.

The McGrath complex offers sporting facilities such as hurling, cricket, soccer and Gaelic football fields, tennis courts, and pitch-and-putt courses.

The twinning charter, which is written in Irish, English and French, commits the two towns to "developing social, economic, cultural, touristic, and sporting links" between the two communities.