The townland gave its name to the Civil Parish on account of the fact that a church stood in it down through the years. In Pre-Christain times teh townlan was know as Magh Torthain and was in habited by a tribe called Ui Borthain. They worshipped a sacred tree called Bile Torthain, which was said to hae been cut down in 660. In the early 6th Century St Braccan built a monastery in the townland where the Portestant Church now stands. He was followed in the 7th Century byy St Ultan who established a hospital to care for children, orphaned during a plague. Beside the monastery site is a well dedicated to him. Ardbraccan later became a Bishopric and the abbot of the monastery was usually also the Bishop. It is thought that chapels in the surrounding areas of Allenstown, Ongenstown, Killenagolach, Kilsaney and Markeystown were under the jurisdiction of the monastery. The monastery suffered many attacks during the Viking times and by 1143 it eventually closed though the church of St Ultan would have remained in operation for the parishioners. The last abbot was the scholarly Giolla Modhuda O Cassidy. The Bishopric of Ardbraccan was also dissolved. Two centuries later Henry IV ordered the Bishops of Meath to live in the townland. Another local church, St Mary's, may have been the private chapel of the bishops. After the reformation of hte 1540's the Catholic bishops were ordered to leave Ardbraccan and the Prostestant bishop of Meath took up residence. A Bishop's Palace, the present Ardbraccan House was built in 1774 by Bishop Maxwell with stone from the nearby White quarry. James Watt drew up the plans. The present Protestant Church was built in 1777 and a Charter School stood nearby. Several bishops are buried in the adjoining graveyard. In 1837 the Bishop owened all the townland. He held 273 acres in his own possession and let the remainder. The palace was sold in 1885 and the rectory in Glebe became the Bishop's new residence. It was renamed "Bishops Court". It is now the home of the Holy Ghost Fathers. The church closed in 1970. The White Quarry to the north of the townland was inoperation from the 14th Century and provided stone for many of Dublin's finest buildings including the Customs House and Trinity College. Thomas Pettigrew was the owner in the early 20th Century and more recently Bennett and Rennicks. The quarry closed a number of years ago. The well known actor John Cowley 1923 - 1998, was a native of the townland. He began his career in the 1940's and had a lon association with the Glebe Theare in Dun Laoighre. He worked in TV in the UK before returning to Ireland in 1964 to work in the long runnign RTE series "The Riordans" in which he played Tom Riordan, The series ran from 16 years. In 1967 he was voted TV actor of the year. He continued to work in theatre and film afther "The Riordans" ended.