Rathangan (/ræˈθæŋɡən/; Irish: Ráth Iomgháin, meaning 'Iomghan's Fort'[2]) is a town in the west of County Kildare, Ireland.

[5] Society of United Irishmen forces led by Captain John Doorley captured the town briefly during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

A Yeoman and agent for the Duke of Leinster named James Spencer died during the four day battle after he was allegedly piked to death on his staircase.

George Pomeroy Colley, a Major General in the British Armed Forces during the First Boer War and later Governor and High commissioner of Southern Africa, was born in Rathangan in 1835.

He became a Garda Síochána Commissioner and also held the distinguished position of President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

The parish comprises 8872 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the principal seat within its limits is Tottenham Green, that of Geo.

The glebe-house was erected in 1810, by aid of a loan of £625 and a gift of £100 from the late board of First Fruits; and there is a glebe comprising 29a.

[6] Bord na Móna's increased activity in the 1940s boosted the population and the number of transient workers.

The Kilinthomas hurling team won four Kildare Championships in a row from 1946 with many of their players being transient workers from Munster counties.[3].

The addition of Ard Mhuire (beside the Rath)to the town's housing stock throughout the 1960s and 1970s was followed by St Patrick's Park in the late 1970s.

The upturn of Ireland's economy in the 1990s again led to increased prosperity, and the extension of the M7 through the nearby towns of Kildare and Monasterevin has made Dublin more accessible.

The old Rectory, commonly referred to as "Buddy's" by locals, fell into ruin by the middle of the 20th century and was finally demolished in the mid-1990s .

For several years the Rathangan Lughnasa festival was held during the August Bank Holiday weekend,[7] to celebrate the arts and crafts, music, literature, history, and sports of the town.

Damien Dempsey, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, The Blizzards, The Walls, Jack L, Lemon and John Spillane have all performed in the town as part of the Lughnasa since 2004.

In 2009, The Lughnasa Festival played host the biggest concert ever staged in Rathangan when international band The Waterboys headlined the bill which also included Mundy.

The writer, broadcaster and journalist Maura Laverty and the poet William A. Byrne both lived in Rathangan during their earlier years.

In 2024, Rathangan signed a historic twinning agreement with Bruce Springsteen's hometown, Freehold Borough, New Jersey.