Navan

County town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland; population (2002) 3,400. The rivers Boyne and Blackwater converge at Navan. The chief industry is mineral exploration and mining; large lead and zinc mines are located west of the town. There are also food-processing industries, engineering, and furniture manufacturers here. In the Middle Ages Navan was a strategic outpost of the Pale (the English-held territory around Dublin).

Navan Motte was built during the Anglo-Norman period. Athlumney Castle, 2 km/1 mi to the south, is a 16th-century fortified house; there is also a large souterrain (prehistoric underground dwelling) here. The ruins of Bective Abbey, a 12th-century Cistercian foundation, are 8 km/5 mi south of Navan, and the ruins of Ardbraccan monastery, founded by St Brecan in the 7th century, are 5 km/3 mi to the west. Rathaldron Castle, 3 km/2 mi to the northwest, has a 15th-century tower incorporated into the 19th-century castle. At Donaghmore, 3 km/2 mi north of Navan, are the ruins of a 16th-century church and round tower on the site of a larger church allegedly built by St Patrick. Tara Hill lies 10 km/6 mi to the south.