Navan

Navan (ˈnævən ; ənɣ ˈuəvj, meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. At the 2022 census, it had a population of 33,886, making it the ninth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. The name of the town is a palindrome. Variants of Navan had been in use since Norman times. It is thought to come , a variant of its more common Irish name an Uaimh. In 1922, when the Irish Free State was founded, an Uaimh was adopted as the town's only official name. However, it failed to gain popularity locally and in 1971 the name was reverted to Navan in English. Navan is a Norman foundation: Hugh de Lacy, who was granted the Lordship of Meath in 1172, awarded the Barony of Navan to one of his knights, Jocelyn de Angulo, who built a fort there, from which the town developed. Inside the town walls, Navan consisted of three streets. These were Trimgate Street, Watergate St. and Ludlow St. (which was once called Dublingate St.). The orientation of the three original streets remains from the Middle Ages but the buildings date from the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The town's Post Office on Trimgate Street office was built in 1908 on the site of an earlier post office. In 1990, the post office was relocated to Kennedy Road. The building of a new shopping centre re-oriented the town's centre. The onetime post office was acquired as the site of the town's first McDonald's restaurant. Navan is served by several bus routes. The town has no central bus station; there are four separate stops in the town, with different routes serving each (Market Square, Mercy Convent, Shopping Centre and Fire Station). The majority of routes are operated by Bus Éireann. The most frequent route is the 109 to Dublin, which departs from Abbey Road. Sillan also serve the town. Royal Breffni Tours provide services to Dundalk Institute of Technology. Streamline Coaches provide services to NUI Maynooth.