- Lewis' Topographical Dictionary Map of Carlow
c.1837
County Carlow
A county of Ireland in the province of Leinster, bounded
on the North side by the counties Kildare and Wicklow, on the East by
the counties of Wicklow and Wexford, and on the South by the counties of
Wexford, and on the West side by Queens county and Kilkenny. Excepting
the county of Louth, it is the smallest county in Ireland, having an
area of 221,424 acres, or about 346 sq. m.
The surface of the county is
in general level or gently undulating, and of pleasing appearance,
except the elevated tract of land known as the ridge of Old Leighlin,
(Gallows Hill Bog, 974 ft.), forming the beginning of the coal-measures
of Leinster, and the south-eastern portion of the county bordering on
Wexford, where the wild and barren granite elevations of Knockroe (1746
ft.) and Mount Leinster (2610 ft.) present a bolder aspect.
Glacial
deposits, which overspread the lower grounds, sometimes afford good
examples of the ridge-forms known as eskers, as in the neighbourhood of
Bagenalstown. There are no lakes nor canals in the county, nor does it
contain the source of any important river; but on its western side it is
intersected from north to south by the Barrow, which is navigable
throughout the county and affords means of communication with the port
of Waterford; while on the eastern border the Slaney, which is not
navigable in any part of its course through the county, passes out of
County Carlow into County Wexford at Newtownbarry.
Carlow is largely a granite county; but here the Leinster
Chain does not form a uniform moorland. The micaschists and Silurian slates
of its eastern flank are seen in the diversified and hilly country on
the pass over the shoulder of Mt. Leinster, between Newtownbarry and
Borris. The highland drops westward to the valley of the Barrow, Carlow
and Bagenalstown lying on Carboniferous Limestone, which here abuts upon
the granite. On the west of the hollow, the high edge of the
Castlecomer coalfields rises, scarps of limestone, grit, and
coal-measures succeeding one another on the ascent. Formerly
clay-ironstone was raised from the Upper Carboniferous strata.
The soil is of great natural richness, and the country is among
the most generally fertile in the island. Agriculture is the chief
occupation of the inhabitants, but is not so fully developed as the
capabilities of the land would suggest; in effect, the extent of land
under tillage shows a distinctly retrograde movement, being rather more
than half that under pasture. The pasture land is of excellent quality,
and generally occupied as dairy farms, the butter made in this county
maintaining a high reputation in the Dublin market. The farms are
frequently large, and care is given to the breeding of cattle. Sheep and
poultry, however, receive the greatest attention. The staple trade of
the county is in corn, flour, meal, butter and provisions, which are
exported, in large quantities. There are no manufactures. The sandstone
of the county is frequently of such a nature as to split easily into
layers, known in commerce as Carlow flags.
Porcelain clay exists in the neighborhood of Tullow; but no
attempt is made to turn this product to use.
The Great Southern & Western railway from Kildare to Wexford
follows the river Barrow through the county, with a branch from
Bagenalstown to Kilkenny, while another branch from the north terminates
at Tullow.
As regards population (41,964 in 1891; 37,748 in 1901), the county
shows a decrease among the more serious of Irish counties, and
correspondingly heavy emigration returns. Of the total, about 89%, are
Roman Catholics, and nearly the whole are from the rural area of the
county. Carlow (pop. 6513), Bagenalstown (1882), and Tullow (1725)
are the only main county towns. The county is divided into seven
baronies, and contains forty-four civil parishes and parts of parishes.
It belongs to the Protestant diocese of Dublin and the Roman Catholic
diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. The assizes are held at Carlow, and
quarter sessions at that town, and also at Bagenalstown and Tullow. One
member is returned to parliament.
Note: The population of the county in
1841 was 86, 228, over the next forty years it decreased thus, in 1861,
57,137, in 1871 to 51,650, in 1881 to 46,588, the population almost
halved in forty years.
The population of Carlow County from the 1991
census was 40,942, with Carlow town at 11,271. In 2002 this figure has
risen to 46,014 and the town of Carlow has a population of 17,880.
Carlow, under the name of Catherlogh, is among the counties
generally considered to have been created in the reign of King John.
(1199-1216 AD), Leinster was confirmed as a liberty to William Marshal,
Earl of Pembroke, by King John, and Carlow, among other counties in this
area, had the privileges of a palatinate on descending to one of the
earls heiresses. The relics of antiquity in the county comprise large
cromlechs at Brownes Hill near Carlow and at Hacketstown, and a rath
near Leighlin Bridge, in which were found several urns of baked earth,
containing only small quantities of dust. Some relics of ecclesiastical
and monastic buildings exist, and also the remains of several castles
built after the English settlement. Old Leighlin, where the 12th century
cathedral of St Lazerian is situated, is merely a village, although
until the Union it returned two members to the Irish parliament.
Carlow is situated on the navigable river Barrow. The population
of the urban district (1901, 6513). It is 56 miles South West of Dublin
by the Great Southern & Western railway. The castle (supposed to have
been founded by Hugh de Lacy, appointed governor of Ireland in 1179, but
sometimes attributed to King John), situated on an eminence overlooking
the river, is still a chief feature of attraction in the general view of
the town, although there is not much of the original building left. It
consisted of a hollow quadrangle, with a massive round tower at each
angle.
The principal buildings are the Roman Catholic College of St
Patrick (1793), a plain but spacious building in a picturesque park
adjoining the Roman Catholic cathedral of the diocese of Kildare and
Leighlin; the Protestant parish church, with a handsome steeple of
modern erection; the court-house, where the assizes are held, an
octagonal stone building with a handsome Ionic portico; and other county
buildings. The cathedral, in the Perpendicular style, has a highly
ornamented west front, and a monument to Bishop James Doyle (b1786,
d.1834). The Wellington Bridge over the river Barrow connects Carlow
with the suburb of Graigue. Two miles North East of the town is one of
the finest cromlechs in Ireland, and 3 miles to the west is the notable
church, of Norman and pre-Norman date, of Killeshin in Queens county.
The industries of Carlow consist of brewing and flour-milling, and a
considerable trade is carried on in the sale of butter and eggs.
Carlow was of early importance. In the reign of Edward III
(1327-1377 AD). the kings exchequer was removed thither, and £500, a
large sum during that period, applied towards surrounding the town with
a strong wall. In the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
(1533-1603), the castle was taken, and the town burned by the Irish
chieftain, Rory Og O'More (d. 1578). When summoned to surrender by Henry
Ireton (1611-1651), the Commonwealth general, during the war of 1641,
Carlow submitted without resistance. In the insurrection of 1798 the
castle was attacked by an undisciplined body of insurgents.
They were
speedily repulsed, and suffered severe loss, no quarter being given:
and, in the confusion of their flight, many of the insurgents took
refuge in houses, which the kings troops immediately set on fire. Carlow
obtained a charter of incorporation as early as the 13th century, and
was reincorporated, with enlarged privileges, by King James 1 Born :
Edinburgh, June 19, 1566. and died at Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire,
England in March 27, 1625. The corporation, which was styled The
Sovereign, Free Burgesses and Commonalty of the Borough of Catherlogh,
was authorized to return two members to the Irish parliament. The town
returned one member to the Imperial parliament until 1885.
Carlow Towns and Parishes mentioned
in this Dictionary
The renowned playwright, George Bernard
Shaw, had strong Carlow connections through his mother's family,
the Gurleys who went back to the 1700s.
Carlow town was once described by write
Dean Swift, with this rhyme:
- High Church
- Low Steeple
- Poor Town
- Proud People
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Source: 1911 Encyclopaedia.
