A slideshow of photos I took during my first visit to Muine Bheag (Bagenalstown) on Monday 11th September 2017.

Muine Bheag, also known as Bagenalstown, is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. Muine Bheag is the 3rd largest town in County Carlow and in the 2016 Census had a population of 2,837.

The town sprang up within the townland of Moneybeg, which comes from Irish Muine Bheag, meaning 'small thicket'. In the 18th century there was a small hamlet there. Walter Bagenal decided to build a town on the site, named 'New Versailles' and modelled after Versailles in France. However, shortly after the building began the coach route from Dublin was changed so that coaches now crossed the River Barrow at Leighlinbridge instead. Bagenal abandoned his plans, having built only a courthouse. The towns fortunates however were later boosted by the construction of a canal next to the River Barrow in the 1790's and the arrival of the railway in 1846 that the settlement began to grow into a town.

The town was referred to in English as 'Bagenalstown', but local Irish speakers continued to refer to it as Muine Bheag. Following the creation of the Irish Free State, Muine Bheag became the town's only official name. A number of other places were renamed likewise.

The motto on the town's coat of arms is The Irrepressible Number and its Irish equivalent Uimhir Gan Choisc.

Near Muine Bheag is Ballyloughan Castle, which comprises a twin-towered gatehouse and the hall and foundations of one of the corner towers of a large castle dating from about 1300.

Ballymoon Castle is 3 km (2 mi) east of Muine Bheag, and is thought to date from the 13th century.

The 1st Bagenalstown BP Scout Group was set up in 2009 and meets in the McGrath hall. Their activities include hiking, camping, kayaking and games. In 2011 the troop became the first in the history of the state to stay in an Army barracks.

Muine Bheag hosts a floral festival every August.

Muine Bheag/Erins Own is the local hurling club, and have won the Carlow Senior Hurling Championship 14 times; their last win was in 1970. The local Gaelic football club is named Saint Andrews, who won the Intermediate football championship in 2016.

Muine Bheag currently has two soccer clubs both participating in the Carlow premier division, Bagenalstown F.C. and Kilree Celtic.

Muine Bheag has had a long tradition in cricket. The Bagenalstown Cricket Club was first formed in 1843 by the local millers, and is still in use. The club's logo is a grinding wheel, which was used in early milling.

There is a swimming pool on the approach road to the town from Leighlinbridge.

The racehorse Danoli, described in 1995 as "the most popular racehorse in Ireland" was trained near the town by Thomas Foley.

Muine Bheag is a Roman Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. St. Andrew's Church in the town was built in 1820 and extended in 1893.

Muine Bheag is in the Church of Ireland Union of Dunleckney in the United Dioceses of Cashel & Ossory. St. Mary's Church of Ireland in Muine Bheag was built in 1844. It replaced
the older church at Dunleckney 7km from Muine Bheag.

Muine Bheag has three primary schools and two secondary schools.

Queen of the Universe National School, founded by Bishop Keogh in 1957, is a primary school in Muine Bheag for boys (junior infants to 1st class) and girls.
St Brigid's National School, founded in 1865, is a primary school in Muine Bheag for boys only from classes 2nd to 6th.
St Mary's National School is a co-educational school under Church of Ireland patronage, based in Muine Bheag.
Presentation De La Salle College is a secondary school in Muine Bheag established in 1983. This Catholic College is under the trusteeship of the De La Salle Brothers, the Presentation Sisters and Bagenalstown Parish.
Muine Bheag Vocational School is a secondary school in Muine Bheag, opened in 1963.

Olympic, World Rowing Championship (silver medalist), and world record-breaking sculler Seán Drea
Colour-Sergeant John Lucas who won a Victoria Cross during the Taranaki Maori War in New Zealand in 1861
Beauchamp Bagenal, (1741–1802) rake, duellist and reputedly "the handsomest man in Europe"
Richie Kavanagh, an Irish entertainer

The town is on the River Barrow. It is at the junction of the R705 and R724 regional roads and lies on the eastern side of the R448.

It is connected to the railway network on the Dublin – Kilkenny section of the Dublin-Waterford railway line. This connects the town to nearby Carlow, as well as Kilkenny to the southwest. Bagenalstown railway station opened on 24 July 1848. It was permanently closed for goods traffic on 6 September 1976 and renamed "Muine Bheag" in 1988.

The town was twinned with the town of Pont-Péan, Brittany in 1999. The twinning charter, which is written in Irish, English and French, commits the two towns to "developing social, economic, cultural, touristic, and sporting links" between the two communities.