Abbeyfeale: a destination enjoying the best of both counties…

IT might sound like a well-worn out cliché in business parlance to say a ‘town has everything you need’. But every once in a while it becomes a truism worthy of merit. Abbeyfeale is one such place where community, business and vibrancy combine to offer the best a town can give and it’s pretty fair to suggest that it’s a place that enjoys the best of both worlds – laying claim to counties Kerry and Limerick in equal measure.

Perhaps it’s this ‘betwixt and between’ feel to Abbeyfeale that encourages it to find a niche all of its own making. Through recessions and emigration, Abbeyfeale has endured all that can beset a rural town and each time it has returned to regain its stature as a place with a thriving community spirit. The statue of Fr William Casey in the square – a parish priest who helped local tenant farmers in the fight against the injustices of landlordism – stands as a proud symbol and reminder of Abbeyfeale’s wish to keep its past very much a part of its present success.

Although historically a market town, Abbeyfeale today is a growing economic hub for people living both in the town and its surrounding hinterlands. The town centre is very much a thoroughfare where all business, recreational, sporting, educational, social and spiritual pursuits are provided for. Chemists, accountants, hairdressers, sports shop, solicitors, supermarkets, garages, construction services, DIY shops, farm supplies, pubs, restaurants, credit union, creameries, and beauty salons - the list of services available in Abbeyfeale is longer than a summer’s day.

But Abbeyfeale also likes to twin its economic and business shrewdness with strong community activism as the two go hand in hand. Here you’ll find a busy Tidy Towns committee doing marvellous work keeping Abbeyfeale in tiptop shape 12-months of the year; Abbeyfeale Community Development Association continues to grow ever stronger serving as an important social hub and a great rallying point for people; an active parish and prayer group; Abbey Family Support Programme offers advice and community education opportunities; the Town Park with its rich biodiversity, meditative and recreational qualities is cherished by locals and visitors.; while cycling, rugby, GAA, music and singing clubs round off all that Abbeyfeale has to offer.