[3] The area was the birthplace of St Oliver Plunkett, the last Irish Catholic martyr to die in England.

Oldcastle is the 18th century creation of the Naper family who had received parts of the Plunkett estate following the Cromwellian wars.

St. Oliver Plunkett, who served as Lord Archbishop of Armagh in the seventeenth century, and who was hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in Middlesex (now in the Marble Arch area of the City of Westminster in London) in 1681 on false charges, was the most famous member of this family.

Nonetheless, land patterns visible today still reveal a strong attachment to the pastoral farming of Gaelic culture.

Politically and culturally the area has a strong tradition of support for radical republicanism, the Gaelic Athletic Association and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann; a local paper published in the town in the early 1900s gave its name to one of the Irish political parties, Sinn Féin.

The monument in the form of a cross was unveiled by Seán Dowling, Chairman of the National Federation of the Old IRA.

[5] In November 1997 Michael McKevitt and other IRA dissidents held a meeting in a farmhouse in Oldcastle, County Meath, and a new organisation styling itself Óglaigh na hÉireann was formed.

After this Act was passed, the British War Office started looking for suitable buildings to convert into detention centres.

They had much of the infrastructure to hold hundreds of people: dormitories, kitchens, dining halls, water, washing facilities, an infirmary, store rooms, recreation yards etc".

The eight foot perimeter walls were reinforced, ‘There are nine sentry boxes around the workhouse grounds, while several galvanized houses have been erected...

‘Written accounts show that the highest recorded number of prisoners being held at the Oldcastle Detention Camp was 583 – the building appeared to be operating at full capacity.’ As taken from John Smith's article on the subject.

As part of camp life they were allowed to write and send two letters a week containing twenty-four lines.

One inmate, Aloys Fleischmann, a Bavarian church musician and composer, wrote to his wife and requested “three blankets and a pillow, a warm knitted Jacket, waterproof boots, a wash bowl, a kettle and mug, cutlery, tobacco and books.” This quote was taken from John Smith's research article.

Morlang and Grein left the prison and made their way northwards to Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, disguised as two clergymen.

‘At the village of Denn a few miles from Cavan, Grein entered the public house and treated all hands in lavish style.’ An account taken from The Anglo Celt.

There was an enquiry and it was declared that ‘Private Tiernan’s actions to be “quite justified” in the “discharge” of his duty.’ As stated by the article by John Smith.

According to the information given to the press by the camp authorities, the detainee was playing football when he collided with another player and was taken to the infirmary; the following day he died from serious internal injuries.

In May 1920, during the War of Independence, Oldcastle Workhouse was set ablaze by the local IRA to stop the British using it as a military base.

[citation needed] Le Chéile Arts & Music Festival is held on the bank holiday weekend in August at various venues around the town.

The festival has been running since 1998 and has featured acts such as Aslan, The Saw Doctors, Shane MacGowan, The Riptide Movement and Kodaline.

[15] Oldcastle is a centre for anglers & is ideally located four miles (6.4 km) from Lough Ramor (County Cavan), a lake that is noted for its coarse fishing.

Oldcastle is also ideally located six miles (10 km) from Lough Sheelin (County Cavan) which is noted for its trout fishing.

The track and mountain running club of Saint Brigid's Athletic club are also located in close proximity of Mullaghmeen forest with such notable members as Gerrard Heery who finished 2nd over 40 in Snowdon international mountain race 2013, and other endurance members who have completed and ranked highly in many international multi day adventure and foot races representing his club and country[17][18][19][20] Oldcastle acts as a retail and service centre for the surrounding hinterland, and is also home to a number of furniture-manufacturing and engineering businesses.

[24] A similar event occurred on the night of October 31, 2020, when a fire tore through an Oldcastle Co-Operative building.

[25] There are the engineering firms located in the parish of Moylagh, County Meath, approximately 5.0 mi (8 kilometres) from the town.

These industries have attracted immigrants to the area for work,[citation needed] including from Lithuania and Poland.

[26] Oldcastle is located a short distance from the Loughcrew Cairns, a tourist attraction that was built around 3300 BCE as passage tombs.

[4] In 2005, an environmental disaster occurred in Oldcastle when a sewage treatment plant overflowed and spilled into the River Inny.

Oldcastle railway station, at the end of a branch line from Navan, opened on 17 March 1863 and for many years provided a source of revenue and income for local farmers as well as other industries in the area by allowing local goods and produce to be transported to the main ports of Ireland for export.

Subject to road safety the bus will stop to pick up and set down passengers at any safe point along the route.