A-Z of Laois in 1837

Queen's County | Introduction
Locations: C-D | E-K | L-M | O-V

A - B

Below is a list of links to the locations on this page

Abbeyleix
Aghaboe / Aughavoe
Aughamacart / Aghmacart
Ballickmoyler
Ballinakill
Ballintubber / Fonstown
Ballyadams
Ballybrittas
Ballycollonbeg
Ballylinan
Ballyroan
Burros-in-Ossory

ABBEYLEIX, a market and post-town, and a parish, partly in the barony of Fassadining, county of Kilkenny, and partly in the barony of Maryborough-West, but chiefly in that of Cullinagh, Queen's County, and province of Leinster, 7 miles (S.S.E.) from Maryborough, and 47 ½ miles (S.W.) from Dublin; containing 5990 inhabitants, of which number 1009 are in the town. This place, called also Clonkyne Leix, or De Lege Dei, was the site of a monastery founded about the year 600, but of which there is no further account till the year 1183, when it was refounded and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin by Conogher or Corcheger O'More, who placed in it monks of the Cistercian order from Baltinglass, in the county of Wicklow, and was himself interred within its precincts. It maintained a high degree of reputation; and the town adjoining it, which took its name from the abbey, gradually rose to be the principal place in the territory of Leix, now Queen's County. In the 5th of Elizabeth, the abbey and some of its possessions, which were large, were granted to Thomas, Earl of Ormonde, and now form part of the estate of Viscount De Vesci. The town is situated on the mail road from Dublin, through Athy, to Cashel, and contains about 140 houses, of which the greater number are neatly built: the late Lord De Vesci caused the old town to be entirely rased, and laid out the present on a more eligible site. There are two woollen manufactories; a large worsted-mill and factory has been recently established near the town, which affords employment to about 200 persons in combing, weaving, and spinning yarn; and on the river Nore, which passes near the town, is a boulting-mill. The market is on Saturday; and fairs are held on Jan. 26th, March 17th, May 5th, July 20th, Sept. 20th and Nov. 4th. The market-house is a good building. The quarter sessions for the county are held in the town on June and December; petty sessions are held every Saturday; a court is also held by the seneschal of the manor; and here is a chief constabulary police station. The sessions-house is a commodious building, and a new bridewell has been erected.

The parish comprises 11,974 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: there are about 400 acres of bog and 300 of woodland; the soil is in general light and sandy, and the system of agriculture is improving. Limestone of very good quality abounds, and is quarried for building and for burning into lime; there is also a curious freestone quarry, and excellent potters' clay is found here. The gentlemen's seats are Abbey Leix, the residence of Viscount de Vesci, a spacious and handsome mansion, pleasantly situated in a demesne of about 1135 statute acres, embellished with thriving plantations and with timber of stately growth; Bellview, of W. Bell, Esq., Thornberry, of Capt. Croker; Farmley, of - Roe, Esq.; Rathmoyle House, of E. B. Handock, Esq.; and Oatlands, of J. Ferguson, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of Viscount De Vesci, who is impropriator of the rectory. The tithes amount to £507.13.10 1/4., of which £338. 9. 23/4. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. The parish church, recently erected, is a very handsome building, in the later English style, with a vaulted roof of stone and an elegant spire: the old church, which has an endowment by Lord De Vesci, is not generally used. The glebe-house was built in 1810, for which the late Board of First Fruits gave £400; the glebe comprises 5 acres. In the R.C. divisions this parish is partly in the diocese of Ossory, but chiefly in that of Leighlin; the former in the union or district of Ballyragget, and the latter the head of a district, comprising also the parish of Ballyroan, and containing a chapel in each. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. There are a parochial and an infants' school, a work school for girls, and another aided by subscription, together affording instruction to nearly 300 children: a school-house was erected for the parochial school by Lord de Vesci, at an expense of £250: there are also two pay schools. An almshouse for poor widows is maintained by Lady De Vesci; and a dispensary and an infirmary are supported in the usual way. The tomb of Malachi O'More, with an inscription, is in the gardens of Lord De Vesci, near the site of the old abbey. There is a fine chalybeate spring in the parish.

AGHABOE, or AUGHAVOE, a parish in the barony of Upper Ossory, Queen's County and province of LEINSTER, on the road from Dublin to Roscrea; containing with the post-town of Burros-in-Ossory 6196 inhabitants. This place, originally called Achadh-Bho, and signifying in the Irish language "the field of an ox", derived that name from the fertility of its soil and the luxuriance of its pastures. It was celebrated at a very early period as the residence of St. Canice, who, in the 6th century, founded a monastery here for the cultivation of literature and religious discipline; and so great was his reputation for learning and sanctity, that a town was soon formed around it for the reception of his numerous disciples. The town soon afterwards became the seat of a diocese, comprehending the district of Ossory, and the church of the monastery was made the cathedral of the see of Aghaboe. This see continued, under a succession of bishops, to retain its episcopal distinction till near the close of the 12th century, when Felix O'Dullany, the last bishop, was compelled, by the submission of Donchad, Prince of Ossory, to Hen. II., to remove the seat of his diocese to Kilkenny. The parish comprises 17,311 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The rich and extensive vale in which it is seated lies between the mountains of Cullahill, on the south-east, and the Slieve Bloom range on the north-west, which separates the Queen's from the King's county. The soil is generally fertile, and in a tract of about 40 acres behind the church, said to have been the site of the ancient town, and afterwards of the abbey gardens, it is remarkably rich: the system of agriculture is improving, and there is a considerable tract of bog, but not sufficient to provide fuel for the use of the inhabitants. The substratum is limestone, of which there are several quarries; at Knockaruadh is found a brown slate; and at Carrig and Carrigeen are some rocks of granite. The gentlemen's seats are Ballybrophy, the residence of T. White, Esq.; Old Park, of - Roe, Esq.; Middlemount, of Capt. Moss; Carrick, of - Pilkington, Esq.; and Cuffsborough, of J. Palmer, Esq. Fairs are held at Burros eight times in the year; and petty sessions are held every alternate week there and at Cuffsborough. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, and in the patronage of the Rev. Thomas Carr; the rectory constitutes part of the corps of the deanery of St. Canice, Kilkenny, in the patronage of the Crown. The tithes amount to £789.4.7 1/2., of which £526.3.1. is payable to the dean, and the remainder to the vicar. The parish church appears to be the chancel of the old cathedral, the west end having an arch of red grit-stone, now filled up with masonry; and there are foundations of walls, clearly indicating a continuance of the building towards the west; it was enlarged, or partly rebuilt, about 1818, for which purpose the late Board of First Fruits granted a loan of £500. Divine service is also performed in the courthouse of Burros. The glebe-house was built by aid of a gift of £100 and a loan of £1350 from the same Board, in 1820; there are two glebes in the parish, comprising together 185 acres, which belong to the vicarage. In the R.C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, which comprises also the parishes of Killermagh and Boardwell, and parts of those of Kildellig and Coolkerry, and contains four chapels, three of which are at Knockrea, Ballincolla, and Burros-in-Ossory, in this parish. There are two schools, in which are about 80 boys and 50 girls, and of which one at Cuffsborough is principally supported by Jas. Grattan, Esq.; and there also eight private schools, in which are about 230 boys and 160 girls; and a Sunday school. At the distance of a few yards from the parish church are the remains of the Dominican abbey church; and at Lismore are the remains of an ancient oratory of stone, supposed to have been attached to a residence of the Fitzpatricks; adjoining it is an old burying-ground. To the north of the church is a large artificial mount, surrounded by a fosse and encircled with a wall near the summit; and at some distance from it is an ancient fortification, called the "rath of Lara," or the "moat of Monacoghlan." At Gurtneleahie is an ancient square castle; and at Ballygihin are the remains of an ancient fortress, of which there were formerly many others in the parish. - See Burros-in-Ossory.

AUGHAMACART or AGHMACART, a parish, in the barony of Upper Ossory, Queen's county, and province of Leinster, 4¹/₂ miles (W.S.W.) from Durrow; containing 2222 inhabitants. This place is situated on the confines of the county of Kilkenny, and on the road from Durrow to Johnstown and from Dublin to Cork. A priory of Augustine canons was founded here in 550 by O'Dempsey, under the invocation of St. Tighernach, which soon afterwards became the burial-place of the Fitzpatricks, princes of Ossory, who were its patrons. In the 43rd of Elizabeth it was granted to the descendants of that family, then barons of Upper Ossory, who erected a castle at Culla Hill, which now forms a picturesque ruin: the principal remains are a lofty rectangular tower very much broken, and fragments of various outer walls surrounded by a moat. The parish comprises 9135 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the lands are in general fertile and in a good state of cultivation; the system of agriculture is much improving; the waste land consists of mountain. The principal seats are Phillipsboro', the residence of Mrs. Phillips; Belmont, of J. Roe, Esq.; Edmundsbury, of Capt. Thompson; Old Town, of -- Delany, Esq.; and Lodgefield, of Lodge Phillips, Esq. Fairs are held at Culla Hill on May 27th and Oct. 2nd, of which the latter is a large sheep fair. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, with the vicarages of Cahir and Killeen united episcopally and by act of council, and in the patronage of Ladies G. and F. Fitzpatrick, in who the rectory is impropriate: the tithes of the union amount to £466. 13. 4., of which £300 is payable to the impropriators, and the remainder to the vicar. The church is old but in tolerable repair. There is no glebe-house; the glebe comprises 29a. 1r. 3p. In the R.C. divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of Durrow; the chapel is at Culla Hill. A Sunday school is supplied with books by the Sunday School Society of Dublin; and there are three pay schools in which are about 100 boys and 86 girls. Of the ancient priory, only portions of the chapel walls and of the belfry remain, the latter having an arched doorway of good design. In the vicinity are the remains of an ancient castle, situated in the demesne of the La Touche family, at the foot of a hill on the margin of a spacious lake, and environed with woods; they consist of a large low round tower with walls of great thickness, surmounted with battlements and turrets, forming a picturesque object in the landscape.

BALLICKMOYLER, a village, in the parish of Killeban, barony of Slieumargue, Queen's county, and province of Leinster, 5 miles (S.S.W.) from Athy, on the road from Maryborough to Carlow; containing 249 inhabitants. This place was, previously to the disturbances in 1798, rapidly increasing in extent and prosperity, and had obtained a patent for holding a weekly market; but during that calamitous period more than half of it was laid in ruins and its market abandoned. The village contains about 40 houses; and there are some gentlemen's seats in the vicinity, which are described in the article on the parish. Fairs are held on March 16th and Nov. 11th, and petty sessions every Wednesday. The village is the chief constabulary police station for the barony, and contains a dispensary. - See KILLEBAN.

BALLINAKILL, a market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), in the parish of DYSARTGALLEN, barony of CULLINAGH, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 10 miles (S.S.E.) from Maryborough, and 50 miles (S.W.) from Dublin; containing 1927 inhabitants. This is a place of some antiquity, but was not made a market-town till the year 1606, when a grant of a market and fair was made to Sir T. Coatch, proprietor of the manor of Galline. In 1612 it was incorporated by Jas. I., and was invested with considerable privileges, to foster the plantation made here by Sir. T. Ridgway, Bart. The castle, of which there are still some remains, fell into the possession of the R.C. party during the insurrection of 1641, and when Cromwell's troops overran the island, being bravely defended by its garrison, it was cannonaded from the Warren-Hill, adjoining Heywood demesne, by Gen. Fairfax, and the garrison was at length compelled to surrender. The town is situated in a fertile district, the soil of which is principally composed of a deep clay adapted both for the dairy and for tillage. To the east is Heywood, the seat of the Trench family, in a richly varied demesne ornamented with plantations and artificial sheets of water. The manufacture of woollen stuffs, formerly more extensive, is still carried on to a limited degree, and there is a brewery. The market is on Saturday, and has somewhat declined since the establishment of a market on the same day at Abbeyleix, a few years since: the market-house is kept in repair by Earl Stanhope, the lord of the manor. Fairs are held on the 16th of Jan. and Feb., 22nd of March and April, 13th of May, first Thursday after Whit-Sunday, 13th of June and July, 12th of Aug., and 16th of Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.; that in Nov. is a large fair for bullocks. Here is a station of the constabulary police.

Under the charter of Jas. I. the corporation was styled "The Sovereign, Burgesses, and Freemen of the Borough of Ballinakill;" and consisted of a sovereign, twelve burgesses, and an unlimited number of freemen, but is now extinct. The corporation returned two members to the Irish parliament until the Union, when the £15,000 awarded as compensation for the loss of that privilege was paid to Charles, Marquess of Drogheda. Quarter and petty sessions were formerly held in the town, but have been removed to Abbeyleix, about three miles distant. The parish church, a handsome edifice with a tower and spire, is situated in the town; and there is a R.C. chapel. Here is a national school, in which about 330 boys and 350 girls are taught; also a dispensary. The R.C. poor of the town derive benefit from a bequest of £500 by a Mr. Dillon. - See DYSARTGALLEN.

BALLINTUBBER or FONSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of BALLYADAMS, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 3¹/₄ miles (W. by S.) from Athy: the population is returned with the parish of Ballyadams. This parish is situated on the road from Maryborough to Carlow; agriculture is improving, there is a small quantity of bog, and limestone is quarried for building. Kellyville, the residence of the late Judge Kelly, is now the property of Thos. Kelly, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, united to that of Ballyadams, and its tithes are included in the composition for that parish. The church of the union, a neat small edifice in good repair, is situated here, and adds greatly to the pleasing appearance of the village. In the R.C. divisions also it forms part of the union or district of Ballyadams. The schools are noticed in the description of that parish.

BALLYADAMS, a parish, partly in the barony of STRABALLY, but chiefly in that of BALLYADAMS, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 3¹/₂ miles (S. W.) from Athy; containing, with the parish of Baltintubber, 2165 inhabitants. This parish, which gives name to the barony within which it is chiefly included, and is also called Kilmakedy, is situated on the road from Carlow to Maryborough; and comprises 6811 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, of which about 30 are woodland, 260 bog, and the remainder good arable land. The state of agriculture is improving; limestone is quarried for building and burning; there are some quarries of good flag-stone, and coal is found in the parish. Ballyadams Castle is the seat of Capt. Butler; Gracefield, of Mrs. Kavanagh; and Popefield, of Capt. Pope. To the north of the old castle is Southville, formerly a residence of the late Richard Grace, of Boley, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, with the rectory and vicarage of Ballintubber united from time immemorial; the patronage is disputed, and in the mean time the Bishop presents. The tithes of the united parishes amount to £553. 16. 11. The church of the union is at Ballintubber; the old parish church is a ruin situated on an eminence, and containing a monument with the recumbent effigies of Sir Robert Bowen, of Ballyadams Castle, and his lady, and one to the memory of the late Major-Gen. Sir Edward Butler. There is neither glebe or glebe-house. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district which comprises also the parishes of Ballintubber, Tullowmoy, Kilclonbrook, Rathaspeck, and Tecolme, and contains three chapels, one of which is in this parish. There is a school of about 80 boys and 50 girls. A school at Ballintubber was founded towards the close of the last century by Bowen Southwell, Esq., who endowed it with £20 per annum; and there are three pay schools. On a hill opposite to that on which are the remains of the church, are the ruins of the old castle of Ballyadams, which was besieged in 1641; they consist of embattled walls with projecting towers, and a lofty keep, and present a very interesting appearance. Near the castle are two very ancient wells sunk a few feet in the solid limestone rock, the water of which is supposed to have had medicinal properties imparted to it by St. Patrick. Cobler's Castle, bordering on the barony of Stradbally, was built on the summit of a lofty hill, to give employment to the neighbouring poor in a season of scarcity.

BALLYBRITTAS, a village and post-town, in the parish of LEA, barony of PORTAHINCH, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 7 ¹/₄ miles (N.E.) from Maryborough, and 33 miles (S.W. by W.) from Dublin; containing 168 inhabitants. This place is celebrated for a battle which was fought here, in the reign of Elizabeth, between a part of the army of the Earl of Essex and the Irish, led by the chieftains O'Dempsey and O'Moore, in which the former was defeated; and from the circumstance of the latter cutting off the high plumes worn by the English, the scene of the conflict was called "the Pass of Plumes." The village, which is situated on the high road from Dublin to Maryborough, consists of about 30 houses neatly built, and has a pleasing appearance. In the vicinity are Bellegrove, the residence of G. Adair, Esq.; Glenmalire, of Mrs. Trench; Rath, of T. Trench, Esq., the Derries, of R. M. Alloway, Esq., and Ashfield, of H. Birch, Esq. Fairs are held on March 25th, May 12th, and Aug. 15th; petty sessions are held once a fortnight; and here is a station of the constabulary police. Near the village were formerly the remains of an ancient castle, which belonged to the O'Dempseys, Lords of Clanmalire, and was destroyed in the time of Cromwell. - See LEA.

BALLYCOLLONBEG. - See Mountmellick.

BALLYLINAN, a village, in the parish of KILLEBAN, barony of BALLYADAMS, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S.W.) from Athy, on the road to Castlecomber; containing 94 houses and 533 inhabitants. In the strata of the neighbouring lands are numerous marine exuviae; and some valuable coal mines, called the Wolf-Hill and Mordulah collieries, are worked by steam-engines recently erected. Great quantities of fine flag-stones were formerly raised on the adjoining townland of Boley; but on the discovery of similar quarries near Carlow, more conveniently situated for conveyance by canal, they were abandoned. Stones containing a large proportion of iron are found on the lands called Iron Park; but no works have been yet established. The village is a constabulary police station, and has a penny post to Athy. Fairs are held in it on Jan. 11th, Feb. 10th. May 10th, Sept. 2nd, and Nov. 26th; and petty sessions every Saturday. To the north is Rahin, the seat of Lieut.-Col. Weldon, a handsome mansion surrounded by thriving plantations; and at a short distance are the luxuriant woods of Gracefield Lodge, the seat of the ancient family of Grace, whose old mansion has been taken down and replaced by an elegant villa in the later English style, from a design by Mr. Nash, completed in 1817; the grounds have been tastefully embellished, and the approach from the Kilkenny side presents some beautiful and interesting mountain scenery. In the village are the ruins of an old church, near which some ancient coins have been dug up; and on the Marquess of Lansdowne's estate of Luggaghcurran, in the vicinity, are the remains of a cromlech, consisting of five upright pillars, about 4 1/2 feet high, and a table stone 8 1/2 feet long, 7 wide, and 2 1/2 feet in thickness. On the highest point of the Boley hills, and near the woods of Gracefield, is Dundrom, an extensive earthwork consisting of a vast mound, the summit of which is 130 yards in diameter, enclosed by a high bank, and surrounded at the base by a fosse 30 feet wide at the bottom. Within the enclosure is a well of fine water, and from the mound is a view of uncommon extent. This post was occupied by a party of the insurgents in 1798. - See KILLEBAN.

BALLYROAN, a parish, in the barony of CULLINAGH, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N.E.) from Abbeyleix, on the road from Monastereven to Durrow; containing 3544 inhabitants, of which number, 714 are in the village. It comprises 8625 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and contains several high hills, the largest of which, Cullinagh gives name to the barony. The village, which lies low, contains 132 houses; it is a constabulary police station, and has a patent for a market, but no market is held. Fairs are held on Jan. 6th, April 2nd, May 15th, the first Wednesday in July (O.S.), Aug. 15th, and the second Wednesday in Nov. (O.S.), chiefly for cattle and pigs. At Cullinagh are some cotton-mills and a boulting-mill, both badly supplied with water; in the former about 50 persons are employed, of whom two-thirds are children. But the inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture: the soil consists of a rich loam and a deep black earth, and is equally productive under tillage and in dairy husbandry. The system of agriculture is improving; there is but a small tract of bog, not more than sufficient to supply the inhabitants with fuel. The dairy lands are sometimes appropriated to the fattening of black cattle. Limestone is quarried principally for burning; and grit flagstone is found in the mountains. A thin stratum of coal has been discovered, but has not been worked, though there is near it a mineral vein; much of the same kind of coal is found in the mountain of Cullinagh, where works were commenced but have been discontinued some years. The chief seats are Blandsfort, the residence of J. T. Bland, Esq., in whose family it has continued since 1715; and Rockbrook of L. Flood Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £415.7.8 1/2. The church is a neat plain edifice in good repair. There is neither glebe-house nor glebe. In the R.C. divisions the parish is in the union or district of Abbeyleix; the chapel is a spacious edifice. In the village is a school endowed with lands in Cappaloughlan, bequeathed by Alderman Preston: the school-house is a large slated building, erected at an expense of £500; about 20 boys receive a classical and English education under a master, whose stipend is £55 per annum, each boy paying £4 yearly in addition. There is also a scriptural and a national school, in which are about 80 boys and 50 girls. Sir Jonah Barrington, late Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, and author of "Personal Sketches of His Own Times," and other works relating to Ireland, resided at Cullinagh.

BURROS-in-OSSORY, a market and post-town, in the parish of AGHABOE, barony of UPPER OSSORY, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 13 miles (S.W. by W.) from Maryborough, and 53 miles (S.W. by W.), from Dublin; containing 770 inhabitants. This place was formerly of some importance: being bounded on the north by the river Nore, and encompassed on every other side by bogs, it formed the great pass to Munster; and for its defence the Fitzpatricks, proprietors of the district, at an early period built a castle, of which, as appears by his will, Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick, second baron of Upper Ossory, was in possession in 1582. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth granted this place, among other possessions, to Florence Fitzpatrick and his son, which grant was confirmed by Jas. I. in 1611. The castle was, in 1641, besieged by Florence; and the garrison, consisting of Protestants of Upper Ossory, though enduring the greatest sufferings from want of provisions, refused to surrender, and kept possession of it till they were relieved by Sir C. Coote. In 1642, Bryan the sixth baron, accompanied the insurgents to besiege this castle, which was subsequently granted to the Duke of Ormonde, and with the townland of Burros, comprising 600 acres, is now part of the estate of the Duke of Buckingham. The town is situated on the mail coach road from Dublin to Limerick, and consists of one long street containing about 130 houses. It has a market; and fairs are held on Jan. 25th, March 21st, May 31st, June 24th, Aug. 15th, Oct. 11th, Nov. 21st, and Dec. 20th. A constabulary police force is stationed in the town; and the quarter sessions for the county are held in April and October, and petty sessions irregularly. Here is also a dispensary. Near the town, on the estate of the Earl of Mountrath, are some remains of the old castle of Ballaghmore, built by the Fitzpatricks, which, in 1647, was attacked by Capt. Hedges and the garrison of Burros, to whom it surrendered, and was partly dismantled; the captain, on his return, was intercepted, and before he reached his quarters lost several of his men. On Kyle hill, about two miles from the town, is a rude stone chair, called by the peasantry the "Fairy Chair," which was probably in former times a seat of judgement of the Brehons. - See AGHABOE.

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Locations: C-D | E-K | L-M | O-V

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