Rathvilly
- The name Rathvilly - in Irish Ráth Bhile, ring fort of
the trees - comes from one of a series of raths or circular
earthworks built on the eastern side of the River Barrow.
Today Rathvilly is a picturesque village in North Carlow,
with parish boundaries bordering counties Kildare and
Wicklow. It has the distinction of winning the All-Ireland
Tidy Towns Award on three separate occasions and this is
reflected in the overall character of the village.
In the centre of the village is a monument to Kevin
Barry, (His Story)
a local boy who joined the fight for Irish freedom. He was
captured, and executed at the age of 18 in Dublin. His short
and adventurous life is remembered in one of the best known
rebel songs, The Ballad of Kevin Barry.
In the 5th Century, Crimthan, King of Leinster, lived at
Rathvilly. He was converted and baptised by St. Patrick.
Rathvilly Motte, in the townland of Knockroe, is suggested
as his residence during his reign from 443 AD to 483 AD.
With panoramic views of the Wicklow Hills and Mount
Leinster, Lisnavagh Estate was originally designed and the
gardens laid out by Daniel Robertson in the 1850's
Rathvilly Cemetery
RATHEADON
-
In Ratheadan townland, according to an
Ordnance Survey Map of the time, in 1839 there were the
remains of an ancient church and burial place. A portion of
the church, about six feet in length and height, remained.
This has now disappeared. In the ancient household accounts
of St. Patrick, his three smiths are mentioned. In those
times smiting was regarded as one of the most honourable
occupations, as they frequently manufactured beautiful bells
and other items for churches. One of St. Patrick’s was St.
Fortchern of Rath Aidhne (Rathcadan), who devoted himself so
well to his work that he came to be known as the smith of
St. Patrick.
The Book of Ballymote, of an earlier date,
has this to say – “A conflict, the champion of Laighen (or
it was Etan Redhead, son of Coc, with his household that did
so) fought against Liath of Daire- Lieth from Lock Lurgan,
with his family. His sons Fadat and Dal and his two
daughters, regarding the produce of the Barrow. The two
daughters pursued Etan to his Rath and slew him in it. It is
therefore called Rath Etain.”
Ratheadan is also supposed to be the Rath-Aedine,
referred to in a poem quoted in the Four Masters about 906
A.D. The Four Masters says - “Aed son of Dubhghilla, Lord of
Ui Drona of the Three Plains. Tanist of Ui Ceinnsealaigh,
was slain by the Ui Bairrche.” From the above it would
appear that Ratheadon was the residence of the Lords of
Idrone. As there were two raths in the area, it is not clear
which one gives name to the place. In the last century a
Fr.O’Hanlon describes them - “One is of an oblong form. 158
feet from east to west and 120 from north to south. There is
no appearance of a ditch or fosse. The highest part, or
south west corner, measures from the base in a sloping
direction to the extremity at top, 18 feet. In other parts
it is no more than one half or one third this height. The
centre is sunk. It lies about a quarter of a mile to the
west of the old burial ground. The greater part of the
latter was destroyed; the portion which remains shows that
it was circular.”There are two other raths within the parish
of Agha, each of which gives name to the townland in which
it lies. One is Rathellan (locally called Rathillin) and the
other is Rathwade (locally called Rathade).
RATHNAPISH:- St. Mary's Cemetery. Carlow.
Ruthgail - An extensive hill
fortification in an excellent state of preservation dating
back to the 8th Century BC. The outer perimeter wall of
granite boulders is almost 3m wide. Situated on the borders
of Carlow and Wicklow at Rath, which is between Tullow and
Shillelagh.
St. Mullins - St. Mullins in the south
of County Carlow is situated on the River Barrow amidst
beautiful rolling countryside, nestling between the
Blackstairs Mountains on one side and Brandon Hill on the
other. This picturesque village is approximately four miles
from Graiguenamanagh, nine miles from Borris and New Ross,
twenty-two miles from Kilkenny and Waterford. This was one
of the most important religious foundations in Co. Carlow.
St. Moling, who was of Royal blood, at the beginning of the
7th Century, founded the monastery here. He died in AD696.
Active in politics, he succeeded in convincing the
Leinstermen to let the Munstermen off the Borama, a
traditional tribute of cattle which they were forced to pay.
St.. Moiling is said to have been Bishop of Ferns and also
of Glendalough. The Kings of South Leinster, including the
McMurrough Kavanaghs, were buried here. During his lifetime
many miracles were attributed to him thus ensuring St.
Mullins’ fame as a place of pilgrimage. The original
monastery was plundered by the Vikings in 951 and was burned
in 1138, and an Abbey was built on the site in the Middle
Ages. The monastic ruins include a number of churches,
domestic buildings and the base of a round tower and a tiny
oratory ('St. James's Chapel'). There is a 9th century
granite Celtic Cross depicting the Crucifixion on the east
face and interlacing and wave-like motifs on the other
faces.. There is an 18th century Penal Altar used in the
days when anti-Catholic penal laws were in force. Further
down the slope is a medieval domestic building with an
unusual diamond-shaped east window. Between the 'Abbey' and
the graveyard gate is a small building with antae known as
'The Bath', while outside the gate is a Norman mote. In an
8th century manuscript, known as 'The Book of Mulling' there
is a plan of the monastery - the earliest known plan of an
Irish monastery-which shows four crosses inside the round
monastic wall and eight crosses outside it. St. Moling’s
Mill and Well are a short distance away.
Famous people buried here include St.
Moling himself, Art McMurrough Kavanagh, King of Leinster
(died 1417), Bryan na Stroake Kavanagh who fought at the
Battles of Aughrim and the Boyne (1691) and General Thomas
Cloney (Insurrection Leader, 1798).
There is a fine example of a Norman Mote
and Bailey, built in the 12th century to dominate passage
and protect the crossing on the Barrow. By 1200, St. Mullins
had acquired the status of a Borough - a settlement in which
the inhabitants (burgesses) enjoyed privileges denied to
rural dwellers, such as the right to sell their property or
pass it on to their next of kin. Unlike many other Norman
boroughs however, the settlement did not develop into a
prosperous town.
The River Barrow is tidal to St. Mullins
facilitating the arrival of Vikings who plundered the
monastery in 825. It was plundered again by a later fleet
under Lairic in 951. The Normans led by Maurice de
Pendergast arrived in 1170. The lock system which made it
navigable was begun at St. Mullins in 1750. A thriving cargo
and passenger trade existed for 150 years. Today the locks
and towpaths are valued leisure amenities. Corn and woollen
mills provided employment in the 19th and 20th centuries.
TINRYLAND (Tigh an Raoireann; House of
Raoire; A very ancient name of a Royal Residence) - The townland of Tinryland is located just
3 miles SSE of Carlow town, just to the western side of the
N 80 road. The townland's size of 545 acres is a bit larger
than the Irish average, but about normal for this part of
Carlow. To describe the shape of the townland, it looks like
a miniature state of Texas, about 1 1/2 miles north to
south, and 1 1/4 miles in width. The main town-center area,
with the church, school and several other buildings is, in
fact, in the center of the townland. Based on aerial
photography flown in 1995, there were about 60 houses and
other buildings in the townland. The land is relatively
level, with a 60 to 70 foot high "hump" in the center of the
townland - where the school and church are located. The
boundaries of the townland are determined primarily by small
streams.
Parish of Tinryland Catholic Population in
2000 was 1,600. the name of the parish church is St.
Joseph's Church, Tinryland which was built in 1819 in the
style of Cruciform. J.K.L. (Bishop James Doyle) was
Bishop-Elect of the diocese when he consecrated the New
Church at Tinryland.
Father Thomas Tyrrell P.P. Tinryland
(1823-1846) played a very important role in Co Carlow
elections of M.P.'s in the 1840's to the extent of erecting
in Tinryland church a 'crib' to accommodate "the black sheep
who voted Tory". A stained glass window in the church
commemorates Thomas Keogh, and his wife Alice, and Lt Col.
Myles Keogh from Orchard, Leighlinbridge.
An archaeological find in Linkardstown in
the 1940's proved to indicate a stone burial plot from the
period 2,500-2,000B.C. Hence such burial places are known as
Linkardstown-type burials.
Church alterations took place in 1974
under architects Tyndall, Hogan & Hurley, Dublin; building
contractors were the Carbery firm of Carlow. the three
galleries with their stairs of stone were taken down. A new
sanctuary area was constructed and a new alter and Baptismal
font of Wicklow granite installed.
Mr Paddy Dowling native of Linkardstown,
passed away in Jubilee year 2000. He was chosen as
"Carlowman of the Century by the Old Carlow Society for his
pioneering work in brining electricity to rural Ireland in
the 1940's. Tinryland parish was one of the first rural
parishes in Ireland to be electrified and Tinryland church
was the first rural church in Ireland to use electric
lighting.
(From a book called The Churches of Kildare
& Leighlin 2000AD by John McEvoy).
Tullow Town - A small fishing town on
the river Slaney, Tullow is in the east of the county of
Carlow. In the centre of the town is a statue of Father John
Murphy, a local priest involved in the 1798 rising who was
executed in the market square in July of 1798. Tullow also
boasts a small museum with information on local history.
Five kilometres east of the town lies Rathgall ring fort, in
excellent preservation which dates from the 8th century BC
and is thought to be the burial place of former kings of
Leinster. Other local interests are Rathwood Home & Garden
World. Nearby, Mount Wolseley's 18 hole Golf Club also
provides an excellent game of golf.
