Towns and Villages of County Carlow.

Clonagoose - The name may be derived from Cluain na Cuas, ‘the meadow of the caves’ although Annotation in Archdales Monast. Hib. States that the name was Cluain na Cluash. The ruins of an old church exist. In Ryan’s ‘History of Co. Carlow, published in 1828, he described the ruins as it was then “The length of the building was 72 feet, the breadth 24. The remains of five windows yet appear - part of the wall had recently been thrown, obviously from the stone. A stone reservoir lay within the ruins” The reservoir he refers to may well have been a baptismal font. About 120 yards to the southeast of the church was a holy well, named Lady Well. A ‘Patron’ (religious gathering) used to be celebrated here on the last Sunday of June annually. These Patron days (locally called Patterns) was discontinued by the Catholic Church in the last century due to abuses. Peddlers of all kinds (including poteen) gathered at them.
Clonegal - The village of Cluain na nGall, or in English, “the Meadow of the Stranger” is set in a valley between the Blackstairs and Wicklow Mountains, straddling the meeting place of the rivers Slaney and Derry where the counties Carlow, Wicklow and Wexford meet. Clonegal Castle is known worldwide and has been the setting for many TV documentaries. The Wicklow Way Long Distance Walking Route ends here. The mountains, the valleys and the rivers, the fishing and the shooting facilities have made this village at the end of the Wicklow Way a favourite stopping place over the years. With a backdrop of tree clad hills, this pretty historic village is a joy to walk in, explore and discover. With a castle - which itself has a history with is both romantic and unusual - restored Weaver's Cottages, abundant wild and bird life centred on its picturesque river, the village is a pure delight to explore.

Visit the website: St Fiaac's Church, Clonegal

Clonmore - This tiny village in the north-east of county Carlow which has a remarkable wealth of sites and items of antiquity; A High Cross, A 13th Century Caste, St. Mogue’s Well and a great triple Bullaun stone*. A large natural stone in situ with three hollows scooped out and used for pounding ingredients in pre-historic times as a mortar and pestle might be used today. There is also an unfigured High Cross and some early gravestones in the churchyard plus the remains of a 13th century castle and St. Mogue's Well.

*Bullaun Stone The original purpose of bullaun stones is not really known, but they have an undisputable association with water and Brigid worship. A 'bullaun' is a deep hemispherical cup hollowed out of a rock. Bullaun Stone refers to the rock itself, which can have many bullaun's in it, although many are single.

It is generally thought that they date from the Bronze Age, but I personally believe there is a much old provenance to them and that there is a relationship to prehistoric rock art, for a good example of this see Glassamucky Mountain, County Dublin.

Ritual use of some bullaun stones has continued well into the Christian period and many are found in association with early churches. The Deer Stone, Glendalough, County Wicklow is just one of many at Glendalough, and holy wells. Their presence at so many early Christian sites, to me, places them as being of massive importance to the pre-Christian inhabitants of Ireland and something the church was very eager to assimilate.

The beautiful example at St Brigit's Stone in County Cavan still has its 'cure' or 'curse' stones. These would be used to by a visitor turning them whilst praying for (or cursing) somebody. Source: Tom FourWinds 2001-2008 http://www.megalithomania.com/show/glossary_item/25

Clonmore Castle - Clonmore. Twelfth century fortress of roughly coursed granite rubble with extensive remodelling and additions. Nearby is an ancient holy well now much altered. Killoughternane. Small roadside early church, a roofless ruin of simple design. The original building dates back to Saint Fortchern, late 5th century.

Duckett’s Grove - Originally a Georgian home of noted Anglo-Irish family, which was rebuilt in a Gothic Revival style. Although burnt in 1933 the remaining towers and turrets give this enchanting structure a fairy-tale air. See DUCKETT's GROVE

FENNAGH, or FENAGH - a parish, partly in the barony of SHILLELAGH, county of WICKLOW, but chiefly in that of IDRONE EAST, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (S. E.) from Leighlin-Bridge, on the rivers Slaney and Burrin, and on the road from Bagenalstown to Newtown-Barry; containing 4324 inhabitants. This parish comprises 11,942 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £1230 per ann.; about 600 acres are mountain, nearly 120 bog, and the remainder good arable and pasture land in a good state of cultivation; there are some quarries of fine granite. The village of Fennagh is beautifully situated, commanding picturesque and grand views of Mount Leinster; the surrounding country is thickly planted, and the gentlemen's seats afford some good specimens of ancient architecture. Here was a well-fortified castle, the seat of one of the kings of Leinster. The principal seats are Castlemore House, the residence of J. Eustace, Esq.; Hardy Mount, of J. Hardy Eustace, Esq.; Janeville, of W. Garrett, Esq.; Lumclone, of T. H. Watson, Esq.; Kilconner, of -- Watson, Esq.; Ballydarton, of J. Watson, Esq.; Upton, of I. Grey, Esq.; Clonferta, of T. Dillon, Esq.; and Garryhill House, a residence of Viscount Duncannon. A penny post to Leighlin-Bridge has been established, and here is a constabulary police station. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin; the rectory is in the patronage of the Crown; and the vicarage is endowed with the townlands of Castlemore, Ballybenard, Tullowbeg, Drumphey, and Ardowen (which in the vicar's title are called chapelries), and is in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £646. 3. 1., of which £415. 7. 8 1/4. is payable to the rector, and £230. 15. 4 3/4. to the vicar. The glebe-house is a neat building, and the glebe comprises 16 acres. The church, a neat plain edifice, was erected in 1790; and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £206 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Myshall; the chapel is at Drumphey. There is a place of worship for the Society of Friends. The parochial school for boys is aided by donations from the rector and vicar, and about 50 girls are taught in a school supported by subscription; there are also five private schools, in which are about 270 children, and a dispensary. At Ranegeragh are some remains of a castle, which anciently belonged to the Kavanaghs; at Drumphey are the ruins of an ancient monastery; and at Castlemore is a remarkable moat. Source: http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/f.php

GRAIGUE (Graiguecullen) - Graigue, which lies to the west of the town of Carlow, has grown over the years to become a suburb of Carlow town and is located on the Laois side of the River Barrow. It developed as a satellite village to Carlow town—Graigue is a village and its history is that of its prosperous parent. Nevertheless, Graigue remains part of Laois for purposes of local government and civil administration, and the suburb proudly maintains its distinctiveness. The town of Graigue is essentially one long street extending for about a kilometre parallel to the west bank of the River Barrow. It had already grown to a considerable size by the mid seventeenth century, when it had a population of some 106 families; the Borough of Carlow itself had 560 families, 271 of them English, at this time. Before the Great Famine of 1845-1851 in Ireland, Graigue had a population of almost two thousand people, which declined steadily thereafter until the present century.

Graigue belongs to the old Civil Parish of Sleaty, and its correct full name was Sleatygraigue. The present name of Graigue-cullen dates to the nineteen-twenties, when it was renamed in memory of Father Hugh Cullen, a much-loved local priest who died in 1917.

A handsome monument in Graiguecullen, known as 'the Croppies Grave', stands as testimony to those who gave their lives during the 1798 United Irishman rebellion to further the cause of freedom from a harsh regime. Of the ill-fated insurgents of Carlow, the remains of 640 lie on the site of an old sandpit. The "Croppies" was the name given to the United Irishmen after the habit of cropping their hair to mark their allegiance to the cause.

GRAIGUE, 1837 - a suburb of the town of CARLOW, in the parish of KILLESHIN, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER; containing 1976 inhabitants. It is situated on the right bank of the river Barrow, over which there is a bridge into the town of Carlow, but is entirely exempt from the jurisdiction of the sovereign of that borough, although included within its limits for electoral purposes by the act of the 2nd and 3rd of William IV., cap. 89. It comprises 114 acres, and includes 234 houses, a large flour-mill, two tan-yards, and a distillery which manufactures more than 36,000 gallons of whiskey annually. It is a constabulary police station, and has fairs on Jan. 6th, Feb. 18th, April 1st, and Oct. 6th. The parochial church (a handsome new building with a curious arched roof of stone), the R. C. chapel, and the parochial and national schools, are in the village; near which about 600 of the men who were killed in the attack upon Carlow, in 1789, were buried.

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. Source: http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/f.php

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.

Haroldstown Dolmen - a well preserved example of a Portal Dolmen (a megalithic tomb of Neolithic date comprising a chamber bounded by large upright orthostats (flat stones standing upright), often only three or four in number, which support a large capstone), situated at Tobinstown near Tullow, off the R725.

Improbable though it may seem, this interesting megalithic tomb was lived in by a family in the nineteenth century, a purpose to which its large interior was suited and possibly to some extent modified. Gaps between the side-stones were wind proofed with turf and mud, and no doubt the resulting 'house' was as snug as some of the tiny cabins occupied around the time of the Great Famine. These ancient structures not infrequently served as animal shelters in the past. A visitor to the group of chamber tombs at Farranmacbride in Co. Donegal in 1871 records; 'On getting into another cavity, I found two black lambs inside, and in another some pigs, in another calves. The Haroldstown dolmen stands near the bank of the Derreen River at Acaun Bridge, 4 miles north-east of Tullow. The chamber, 13 feet long and nearly 9 feet wide at one point is more spacious than most portal-tombs and comprises about ten upright stones. There are two capstones, the larger of which measures some 12 feet in length. Between the portals in a tall door-stone to close the tomb entrances. Presumably the opening in the side of the monument is the result of one or more stones having been removed by the human tenants to gain access to the inside.

Huntington Castle - The home of the Durdin-Robertson family continuously occupied since the original tower house was built in 1625 by the Lord Esmonde.

Huntington Castle as it stands today, is a Jacobean gesture in architecture. It was built in 1625 by the First Lord Esmonde, and replaced an earlier stronghold that had been built in the 15th century on the site of an ancient monastery. Approached via a long avenue of majestic limes, it casts a long finger of shadow across its surroundings, and possesses a spellbinding quality. Its interior of dark, creaking corridors and atmospheric rooms, crammed with an eclectic mix of tapestries, suits of armour, dusty old books, stuffed animals and family portraits, has a decided otherworldly feel, and it comes as little surprise to learn that this truly mysterious castle, which for over two hundred years has been home to the Durdin-Robertson family, is haunted.

Outside is the 600-year old Yew Walk, one of the few survivors from the days of the monastery. Its’ curled and entwined branches form a long and mysterious tunnel that could so easily be a gateway into another time. On several occasions, monks manage to transcend the centuries, and their ghostly forms are seen walking up and down beneath the interlocking canopy. Elsewhere in the gardens, the restless wraith of Ailish O’Flaherty, the first wife of Lord Esmonde is sometimes seen standing by the “Spy Bush”, combing her long hair by moonlight and wailing in grief-stricken anguish. Her husband and son went off to the wars, and here she would stand, anxiously awaiting their return.

A spectral soldier has been known to knock on the castle door. He is thought to have lived in the 17th century, when Cromwell’s forces were riding rough shod over the land. Having disguised himself in the uniform of the opposition, he set off to gather information about the enemy. But on his return, his comrades failed recognise him and shot him dead through the grille of the door where his ghostly face is now sometimes seen. Crossing the threshold, a portrait of Barbara St. Lege (1748-1820) hangs on one of the walls inside. She married into family and was, apparently, so taken with Huntingdon Castle, that her spirit still walks the corridors, jangling her keys as she goes. She is closely followed by her maidservant, Honor Byrne, pauses to polish door handles with her hair. Bishop Leslie of Limerick, who stayed at the castle when he retired in the 18th century, haunts the “Four Poster Room”. Several guests have woken in the dead of night to find his genial phantom standing at the foot of the bed. A portrait of a Spanish flower girl gazes from the wall of the room and, from time to time, the Bishop’s face has been known to replace hers.

Huntingdon Castle is a magical and timeless place that possesses a unique atmosphere. It is a tranquil time-capsule that is truly one of Irelands most historical and fascinating treasures.

Source: http://www.haunted-britain.com/Haunted_Ireland_South.htm

Killoughternana

This holy well at Killoughternana near Corries Cross has been modernised and obviously is still used as an altar.

It is a well preserved ruin of a church dating near back to c1262. At the end of the war a group of men came together to make the blessed well at Killoughternane more presentable.

This well has always been associated with St. Fortchern and is beside a 12 th century ruins of an old church. St Finian was a pupil of St. Fortchern. In 1951 they erected a Celtic Cross near the Well in honour of the two saints Finian and Fortchern. Sometime later they erected an altar. During the sixties and seventies they promoted the Blessed Well and thousands of people came to pray and take the blessed water. In 1987 Fr. Dowling began to celebrate Mass at the well each year and in 1980 there was a mass to mark the centenary of the finding of the Killoughternane Chalice in the well, In 2000 there were great Jubilee celebrations to mark 1500 years since the death of St. Fortchern. Andy Quirke was a founder member of the group who looked after the well. In latter years he was nearly the only one making sure everything was ready for the Mass and that all was safe for passing pilgrims during the year. He is one of the few active survivors of the founding group. Andy attends early Mass each day winter and summer and is a wonderful example to his family to the community and to the whole parish. Honours were awarded in 2006 to all the men and women who tended this sacred place in the parish.

The Bonze Age in Killoughternane by Frank O'Connell

There are several monuments in Killoughternane and the surrounding areas from the Bronze Age down to the early Christian era. For example, on the top of the hill at Killoughternane/Knockscur there is a hill-fort about 100m in diameter, which would have been used to keep stock safe from wolves and thieves.

Down further to the west is a stone circle 12 m in diameter listed as a castle in the Archaeological Inventory of Co. Carlow. There are a number of standing stones, circular areas, Cairns, hollowed out stones and saddle querns. Rock art was also discovered carved on stones of varying sizes and consisting of cupmarks, depressions, pocket grooves, groups of concentric circles and spirals.

The Ballaun Stone at the Well was found about 100m below the Chapel. There are many theories as to their use. A number of saddle querns, a rock with a o worn side and a rarely found smaller stone known as a rubber which was used for grinding the corn, were located at the edge of the bog where the Bronze Age people lived between the dry land and the water.

Fulacht Fiadh, found when ploughing, is a Bronze Age cooking place. It consists of a crescent shaped mound of small stones, some of which are burnt, and a nearby area of blackened ground where the fire for heating them was located. The meat and hot stones were then put into a wood lined pit of water to cook.

Some of the rock art and saddle querns are in the National Museum.

Read more about the The Killoughternane Chalice

Kildavin - A small picturesque village, just off the main road between Carlow and Wexford (N80). The meaning of Kildavin is thought to refer to an early church (Cill) or an ancient wood (Coill) and there is a burial ground nearby on the banks of the River Slaney. The predominant features in the landscape are Mount Leinster and Brandon Hill. St. Lazerian's Roman Catholic church in the village dates from 1830. The South Leinster Way long distance walking trail starts here at the Church of Ireland church, built in 1812 at a cost of £850.00. The Co. Carlow stretch of this varied trail from Kildavin to Graiguenamanagh, leads the walker between some very fine lofty summits, follows a towpath along the River Barrow and passes through medieval towns and ancient sites. Stage 1 from the starting point in Kildavin to Borris is 22km and stage 2 from Borris to Graiguenamanagh is 12km. The overall distance of the entire walk is about 100km in five stages and ends in Carrick on Suir, County Tipperary. The grandmother of Cardinal Spellman of New York emigrated from the Kildavin area in 1850.

Kiltennil - This name comes from the Gaelic Gill Senchill, ‘church of St. Senchill’. There were, in fact, two St.Senchill’s who flourished in the 6th century. One was spelled Sinchill, and he was an Abbot. The other was a Bishop. But the fact that a Patron used to be held here on 15 June annually proves that it was Bishop Senchill who was commemorated by the name, as that was his feast day.

Kiltennil must have been an important place. A Protestant Bishop made a complaint in a Return of 1731 that “several Archbishops, bishops and other Popish clergy assembled daily last summer for about a month together, at or near ye Church of Kiltennil, under pretence of drinking spaw water, where there convened several persons, and exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction.” According to Bishop Comerford, writing in the 1860’s this was merely the annual Patron day gathering. Again according to Dr. Comerford, an elderly man remembered his grandmother preparing breakfast for up to 28 priests at the Patron. There were ruins of an old church, which measured 50 feet long by 20 feet wide. An addition was made to the church in the 17th century at the east end, which was 28 feet long and 15 feet wide. Inside the ruins was an ancient font, pierced at the centre. A portion of the churches burial ground was reserved for protestants. One of the monuments there is inscribed “Erected by Lieut. John Stone, in memory of his father, who was killed by the rebels, on 26th June, 1798, aged 73 years.” A man named Byrne, who was hanged together with an accomplice, Strange, for the kidnapping of two sisters, the Misses Kennedy, is interred here.

About a quarter of a mile from the church was a Holy Well, which gives the townland its name, Tobermodalowen. It was Tober Madalamhan, ‘St. Magdelan’s Well’. About a half mile from the church is a field where Mass was celebrated during Penal times. Dr. Edmund Byrne, Archbishop of Dublin, who consecrated the second chapel at Kiltennil in 1709, was a native of Ballybrick, not far away. He was born in 1656, completed his education in Spain and was ordained a priest in 1678 at Saville. In 1707 he was appointed to the See of Dublin in succession to Dr. Peter Creagh. He was the only Catholic prelate to attend a convention of both Catholic and Protestant clergy, set up to debate the difference between the two faiths.

Leighlinbridge - An historical village on the River Barrow. A strategic tower known as the Black Castle was first built here in 1181 and so was one of the earliest Norman fortresses in Ireland. A pretty village where the well known Lord Bagenal Pub and restaurant is situated. On Sundays throughout the summer fishermen from the local club can be seen in competition on the banks of the River. Leighlin Bridge is also the site of an old quarry of slate.

Milford Mill - When the lights of Carlow Town were switched on 31st July in 1891, the Milford Mill hydro-electricity generation station enabled Carlow to become one of the first Towns in the British Isles to have street lighting. The station still contributes to the National Grid to day. A picturesque location with lovely bridges, a weir and canal.

Myshall - A small village which lies in the south of County Carlow off the main Wexford road, at the base of the North western slopes of the Blackstairs Mountainsl. The name Myshall "Midh Iseal" means low plain and the village also gives its name to the townsland and parish. The buildings which were prominent when the village was planned in the 17th century are now domestic residences, shops and bars but retain their charm of former days. The lofty summit and haunting splendour of Mount Leinster provides a magnificent backdrop for the surrounding lowlands, wide open spaces and quiet country roads.

In 1822 one Francis F. Hayden wrote of the panoramic setting of Myshall saying that it "commands as wild, as romantic and picturesque a range of scenery as ever attracted the pen of Byron, the pencil of a Reynolds, or the genius of a Thomson", and the wealth of scenery has changed little since.

There is a lovely drive with stunning scenery from Myshall up to Mount Leinster and the Nine Stones vantage point. One of Carlow's hidden gems, the Adelaide Memorial Church is located in the village. Built as a miniature of Salisbury Cathedral, this architectural gem was completed in 1912/13 by John Duguid of Dover, England., around the graves of his wife Adelaide and his daughter Constance who were killed in a riding accident near the village in 1903. In this "exquisite church of rare beauty" many objects of interest and art are to be seen in marble, mosaic, woodcarving, stained glass and ironwork. The design of the marble floor in the Chancel was taken from St. Mark's in Venice while the stained marble steps came from Galway and the red granite pillars from Aberdeen in Scotland. Mr. Duguid's portrait, with his wife's and other members of his family may be seen in the vestry.

One of Myshall's most famous sons was Peter Fenelon Collier, the founder of Collier's magazine, an illustrated general weekly. He arrived in the United States penniless at the age of 16. Starting with a borrowed $35, he was the first man to sell books on the instalment plan and eventually built a publishing empire worth $12 million.

Nurney - A small village with an interesting pub, a church, and ancient stone cross. The village stands on the junction of several roads and there are granite quarries for building in the vicinity. Nearby, at Clonmelsh cemetery, you will find Walt Disney’s ancestors buried there.

Oak Park & Oak Park House
Oak Park House in Carlow town is probably the finest 18th/19th Century house in south east Ireland. The house itself is of huge architectural and historical significance. There are 700 acres of Woodlands and open pasture including a lake.

Old Leighlin - two miles west of Leighlinbridge, St. Lazerians Cathedral, one of the smallest Irish Medieval Cathedrals, which was built on the site of an old monastic church founded in 632 AD. Part of the existing Church dates from 1181. This site was one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster at the time with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in 630 AD, which decided the date on which Easter Day would fall for the entire Christian world. Today there are only a few remains including St. Lazerians Cross and Well.

Places of interest: The Marble Quarry in Old Leighlin, beside St Lazerian's Cathedral, they turn out the most beautiful white marble creations. Source: Elizabeth Curran

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If your town or village is not included in the above list then please email me with your location and its history and have your location added to this collection of towns of Carlow

Email Michael Brennan, with your contribution.

Please report any images or broken links which do not open to mjbrennan30@gmail.com

The information contained in these pages is provided solely for the purpose of sharing with others researching their ancestors in Ireland.

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