Athy (/əˈθaɪ/; Irish: Baile Átha Í, meaning "town of the ford of Ae") is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin.A population of 10,490 (2011 Census preliminary results) makes it the sixth largest town in Kildare and the 50th largest in the Republic of Ireland, with a growth rate of 58% since the 2002 census.