History
St Bécán, one of the 'Twelve Apostles of Ireland', founded a monastery here in the 6th century, giving rise to the town's Irish name Cill Bheagáin, meaning "the church of St Bécán". In time the monastery fell into disuse and disrepair. A new monastery was founded on the site in 1150, by a member of the Mac Coghlan family, the ruins of the previous one having been rebuilt by the Dalton family. It was subsequently home to Cistercian monks from Mellifont Abbey. The great priest of Clonmacnois, O'Catharnaigh (O'Kearney), died at the monastery in 1196 and Hugh O'Malone, Bishop of Clonmacnois, was buried there in 1236. In 1217 the monastery was involved in the riot of Jerpoint, and the abbot was punished as a result. Following the Conspiracy of Mellifont, the monastery was made subject to Buildwas Abbey. After its dissolution in 1539, the monastery and its extensive lands were granted to the Lambart family. The monastery church was subsequently rebuilt with an added a bell tower. It served as the parish church for the reformed Church of Ireland. The church is no longer in use. The tower survives, in a ruinous state, surrounded by the churchyard, the town's burial ground.
A ford crossing the River Brosna at Kilbeggan was the site, in 972, of a battle between the Danes and the Irish. A skirmish led by the United Irishmen took place in the town, as part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Lambart family came to be politically dominant in and around Kilbeggan. Sir Oliver Lambart was made Governor of Connaught in 1601 and was subsequently granted 700 acres (2.8 km2) of land and 60 houses. Lambart inaugurated a weekly market in the town in 1606, and Kilbeggan became a borough town by charter of James I in 1612. Kilbeggan's market became important to the surrounding agricultural community. The substantial market house still stands in the town, though no longer used for its original purpose.
Kilbeggan Distillery, standing on the banks of the River Brosna, commenced whiskey production in 1757. Within the distillery complex, the owner constructed a house and gardens on an island in the river. A member of the Locke family established the Convent of Mercy in the town in 1879.
A branch of the Grand Canal, between Dublin and the River Shannon, served the town, opening in 1835.
Rostella (Rosdalla), 3km south of Kilbeggan is the site of the earliest recorded tornado in Europe, which took place on April 30th, 1054.
Read more about this topic: Kilbeggan
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