- The image above is of St. Brigid’s Church in
Hacketstown
- The church is dated from around 1803 and is
of Barn Style.
- The building Pastor was Fr John Blanchfield
PP.
- Hacketstown (Recently Baile Haiceid; Older
Baile an Droichid), a reference to the bridge crossing the river Derreen,
a tributary of the Slaney river
- A castle, contemporary with that of
Clonmore, once stood at Hacketstown. Its site was later occupied by a
barracks which, in turn, became the site of the present parish church.
- Clonmore castle was built c. 1180, and was
the possession of the Hackett family. On 25,h June, 1798, over 10,000
rebels engaged in the Battle of Hacketstown. The stone-walled barracks
proved impenetrable.
- The present church is constructed of granite
and has a gallery at its rear. The Steeple of cut granite was added by
Fr. Patrick Morrin PP, (1836-1855). Mounted in the church is a stone
bearing a rough impression of the crucifixion. It dated to 1610 and
belonged to the original Catholic church on the Carlow the thatched
chapel on the Green.
Topographical Dictionary of Ireland
by Samuel Lewis 1837
HACKETSTOWN, a market-town and parish, partly in the
barony of BALLYNACOR, county of WICKLOW, but chiefly in that of
RATHVILLY, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 6 3/4 miles (S.
E.) from Baltinglass, on the road from Wicklow to Carlow; containing
4434 inhabitants. In 1798 it sustained two attacks from the insurgent
forces, one on the 25th of May, which was successfully repulsed by the
yeomanry and a detachment of the Antrim militia; the other on the 25th
of June, when a body of insurgents, amounting to several thousands,
advanced against it at five in the morning. The garrison, consisting of
170, mostly yeomen, marched out to meet them, but, after a few volleys,
were obliged to retreat, the cavalry by the road to Clonmore, and the
infantry, 120 in number, into the barrack, where they maintained their
position throughout the day behind a breastwork in the rear of it.
The
town was fired in several places by the rebels, who, after various
ineffectual attempts to force an entrance to the barrack and a
garrisoned house by which it was flanked, retreated, and in the night
the garrison retired on Tullow. The town, which consists of 131 houses,
is situated on a rising ground, below which flows a branch of the
Slaney, and commands fine views. It is a constabulary police station,
and has a penny post to Baltinglass, and a dispensary. A patent was
granted in 1635, by Chas. I., to the Earl of Ormonde for a market on
Wednesday and fairs on the Tuesday after Nov. 1st, and the Thursday
after Trinity Sunday. The market is now held on Thursday, but only
during the summer months from March to August, for the sale of meal and
potatoes; and the fairs are on Jan. 13th, the first Thursday in Feb.,
March 12th, April 13th, May 4th, June 2nd, July 13th, Aug. 21st, Sept.
18th, Oct. 17th, the third Thursday in November, and Dec. 21st.
The parish comprises 31,570 statute acres, of which
11,954 are applotted under the tithe act: about one-sixth of the land is
arable, nearly one-half pasture, and the remainder bog and waste; the
latter is chiefly situated in the eastern part of the parish, and large
blocks of granite are dispersed throughout. The principal seats are
Woodside, the residence of S. Jones, Esq.; Ballyhelane, of J. Brownrigg,
Esq.; and Ballasallagh House, of J. Hogier, Esq. The living is a
rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, episcopally united in 1693 to the
vicarage of Haroldstown, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes
amount to £553. 16. 11., and of the benefice to £619. 15. 11.
The
glebe-house was erected in 1819, by a gift of £300 and a loan of £500
from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises 8 1/2 acres.
The church is a neat building, with a square embattled tower surmounted
with pinnacles, which was erected and the church roofed anew, in 1820,
by a gift of £600 and a loan of £500 from the late Board of First
Fruits; it has recently been repaired by a grant of £559 from the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In the churchyard is a monument to the
memory of Capt. Hardy, who was killed in 1798 while defending the town.
In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising
the parishes of Hacketstown and Moyne, and parts of Haroldstown,
Clonmore, and Kiltegan; and containing chapels at Hacketstown, Killamote,
and Knockanana. Near the church is a very neat place of worship for
Wesleyan Methodists, recently erected. The parochial school is supported
by the rector and a small payment from the scholars; and there is a
national school in the R. C. chapel-yard.
Source:
http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/f.php
Images of Hacketstown
Except for the images obtained from Google Maps
all the others are sourced from Facebook & eBay sellers.
