Welcome to Moate
A busy town located off the main Dublin - Galway road, Moate owes its modern origins to Quakers who settled here and started industries at the end of the seventeenth century.

The remains of a Quaker meeting house and cemetery can still be seen in the town today. To commemorate Moate's history as a market town a wooden sculpture entitled 'The Bargain' was erected on the green in the town centre in 1989. Present day Moate has good quality accommodation and a wide variety of evening entertainment and restaurants.

The name An Móta is derived from the term motte-and-bailey as the Normans built an example of this type of fortification here (date TBC). The earthwork is still visible behind the buildings on the main street. The town later became an important marketplace and Quaker village. There are several extant examples of Quaker houses on the main street, which itself is typical of an Irish marketplace

Location The town is situated the R446 road between just beyond Kinnegad to just before Athlone. Until July 2008, this was the N6 road, a national primary route. Moate was a serious traffic bottleneck as traffic on Fridays lead to 5 km tailbacks, however, the M6 motorway now bypasses the town. A disused railway runs through the town, built by the Midland Great Western Railway to connect Dublin and Galway (now served by another route).

Athlone is 12 km west, along the N6. Moate is a growing town with many new businesses being attracted to it, including a supermarket, hardware store, internet café / computer shop, and over twelve public houses. It has been the site of many new building ventures in recent years, for example at the site of the old convent there now stands a complex of apartments and shops.

Culture and heritage
The town has a long established Gaelic Football club known as the Moate All Whites. known as such because the team's playing strip is solely white. The club's name and colour date from a meeting held in the Fr. McDonnell Hall (which stood where the new modern Carmelite Pastoral Centre is now) in the Carmelite Priory in Moate in early 1923. The team adopted the colours of the religious habits worn by the Carmelite White Friars.

The town has a strong musical tradition with many young bands emerging from the town.

The town's theatre and arts centre is called 'Tuar Ard' and was once the site of the St. Patricks Hall. It is a venue for plays, seminars, classical and rock concerts, and presentations.

The Dun na Sí heritage centre on the west side of town includes a genealogy centre, recreations of various types of indigenous dwellings, and preserved farm machinery.

The former gaol, part of the old courthouse, contains a small museum housing artifacts found in the area dating from the Stone Age through to the modern era.

In December 2008 a memorial park was opened in Moate, named after the only Irish soldier to die in combat on home soil since the end of the Irish Civil War. On 16 December 1983, Patrick Kelly, who was from Moate, was attempting to free American businessman Don Tidey, who had been kidnapped by the IRA. Along with Garda recruit Gary Sheehan, he was killed in a shoot-out with Provisional IRA gunmen at Derrada Woods, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim.

Numerous sections of the film The First Great Train Robbery (1979) starring Sean Connery were filmed on the section of train line around Moate, and the train station depicted as Ashford in the closing scenes of the film are actually of Moate train station.

Visiting Moate
There’s alot to choose from when you want to take a break in Moate. So, where do you start? Simple, right here. Whatever it is you’re looking for – family fun, romantic breaks, relaxing with friends – you’ll find it all here. Moate Town is proud of its history and unique heritage born from the days of a busy wide market street to the more modern summer festival fun.  Indulge yourself and family in the beauty of Moate with many shops, restaurants, pubs and amenities offered. 

Moate in the heart of Ireland midway point between Galway and Dublin offering a vast amount to its visitors. So why not find out for yourself, go on, you’re only a few clicks away from a break you’ll never forget.