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Mooncoin —County Kilkenny

Mooncoin is a village situated in the far south of Kilkenny, just 7 miles from Waterford City on the main Waterford to Limerick road. Mooncoin is a quaint village which has continually received high scores in the Tidy Towns competition. Mooncoin is said to have obtained its name from a man by the name of Coin Walsh. The Irish translation of Mooncoin is 'Móin Coin', which means 'the bog of Coin' or 'Coins bog'.
Mooncoin has been made famous by the song 'The Rose of Mooncoin', which has been adopted as the Kilkenny GAA anthem. This is an apt acknowledgement of the village, as Mooncoin (along with Tullaroan) was one of the leading teams in the country in the early years of the GAA. 'The Rose of Mooncoin' was written in the 1800's by a local school teacher named Watt Murphy. Watt was in love with a local woman called Elizabeth, also known as Molly. Both of them were intellectual and they would often stroll along the banks of the river Suir, composing and reciting poetry. However Mollys father, who was the local Reverent, did not approve and Molly was sent to England. Watt was broken hearted and wrote the song in her memory.