Hacketstown

Hacketstown is a small village in north-east Carlow of 1,000 people. Much work has gone into improving the appearance of the village in recent years, earning the area the "Endeavour Award" in the national 2006 Tidy Towns competition.

Get in

By car

• From Dublin, Hacketstown is about 90 minutes away. Take the N7/M7 past Naas and take the signposted turn for Carlow to join the M9 motorway. Continue towards Carlow, and turn left onto the R747 after Ballitore, then through Baltinglass and onto Hacketstown.

Alternatively, for a more scenic route, go straight through Blessington, pass the Blessington Lakes and then travel through Baltinglass and Kiltegan before arriving in Hacketstown.

• From Cork and the south-west, take the N8 to Abbeyleix (or another road if more appropriate), look out for the signposted route for reaching Carlow town and follow the directions below.
• From Carlow, take the R726 'Hacketstown Road', zigzag through the crossroads at Killerig (following signposts along the way) then take the R727 onto Hacketstown.

By bus

• J.J. Kavanagh's. Two buses depart Carlow from Monday to Saturday which service Hacketstown, leaving the coach park in Carlow at 12:00 and 17:10. Two buses make the return journey at 07:30 and 14:00. The journey takes between 70 and 80 minutes. 

See

• Haroldstown Dolmen (on the R727 which connects Hacketstown with Tullow). A portal dolmen which has been well-preserved through the centuries. In the 19th century, it housed a family thanks to its large interior, measuring 120 square feet. There are two capstones and ten upright stones and is regarded by many as the best and most attractive example of a portal dolmen in Ireland. 

Do

• Hacketstown Community Centre. Since its opening 20 years ago, Hacketstown Community Centre has provided a vital service to the local community, with its sports hall nearly always in use. It regularly hosts events such as poker classics, discos, tug-of-war meetings and more traditional events such as ceilís and barn dances. 
• Clonmore Golf Course, Clonmore, ☎ [phone]. 18 hole, par 3 golf course open to the public all year around. Clubs available for hire. 

Buy

Eat

Drink

• James Boland's, Main St, ☎ [phone]. 
• Denis Byrne's, Clonmore. 
• Brian Case's, Clonmore, ☎ [phone]. 
• Denis Cullen's, Penny Hill, ☎ [phone]. 
• Michael Cullen's, Main St, ☎ [phone]. 
• Michael Hyland's, Main St. 
• Anthony Kealy's, Main St. 

Sleep

Connect

In 2004, the local area code changed from (0508) to (059). Some old literature still carries the old area code. Where you see 0508 XXXXX, replace this with 059 64XXXXX.