County Carlow - Heritage/Historical<< Carlow Homepage |
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| Here's a selection of Carlow Heritage/Historical.Click on the 'Go to ALL' link to get the full list. |
1. Castles (Historical) |
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Carlow CastleCo. CarlowThe original keep was 3 storeys high and was square in shape with stout three-quarters round towers at the corners, but only the eastern half still stands, with its two corner towers and the connecting wall. The entrance was through a door in the first floor of the north side. The topmost storey of the north-western tower is of 15th-16th century date. Although the castle is only first mentioned in 1231, it was probably built by William the Marshall or by his son not long after he gave a charter to the town in 1208. William's grandnephew handed it over to the Crown on his death in 1306. In 1312 it was granted to Thomas Plantagenet, surnamed 'de Brotherton', who became Earl of Norfolk, and it remained in possession of the same family until it was confiscated by the Crown in 1537 because the owners were absentee landlords. It was already in bad repair by 1307. It was captured in 1535 by Silken Thomas, but was retaken after a short siege. It was bought by Donough, Earl of Thomond, in 1616. During the 1640s it changed hands many times before being taken by Cromwell in 1650, but it was later returned to the Earl of Thomond. Having later passed into the hands of the Hamilton family, it was granted to a Dr Middleton who, in order to create more room for the building of a lunatic asylum in 1814, blew up parts of the castle! As a result, most of the castle had to be demolished as a safety precaution, leaving only the two towers and adjoining wall of what was once one of the finest Norman castles in Leinster. | |
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2. Dolmens |
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Brown Hill DolmenRathvilly Road, Co. CarlowA field monument of huge proportions, the capstone is believed to be the largest in Europe. The location, setting and purpose of this Megalithic structure have been the subject of conjecture for centuries. Most likely it marks the burial place of a local king of long ago but has been invested with a rich overylay of myth and legend. | |
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3. Heritage Centres |
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St. Mullins Heritage CentreCo. CarlowOpened August, 1994 - themes include the life and work of St Mogue, founder of a monastic settlement here in the 7th century; boating on the Barrow, and the local milling and craft industries. | |
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4. Archaeological |
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St. Mullin'sCo. CarlowThe monastery was founded by St Moling who died in 696. Active in politics, he succeeded in convincing the Leinstermen to let the Munstermen off the Borama, a triditional 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. St. Mullin's Abbey is a medieval nave-and-chancel church with spiral staircase. Near it are the stump of a Round Tower, a tiny oratory ('St. James's Chapel') and a small granite High Cross with a Crucifixion on the east face and interlacing and wave-like motifs on the other faces. 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 motte. The monastery was plundered by the Vikings in 951 and was burned in 1138. 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. | |
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5. Towers (Historical) |
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LeighlinbridgeCo. CarlowA strategic tower known as the Black Castle, guarding the very early river crossing. Access direct from the tow-path. | |
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6. Tombs |
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Haroldstown DolmenHaroldstown, Co. CarlowImprobable 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 windproofed 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. The presence of a horse in the photograph is a reminder too that 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. | |
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7. Homes (Historical) |
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LisnavaghBen & Jessica Rathdonnell , Co. CarlowLisnavagh House was built in 1848 and redesigned 100 years later. It is surounded with the extensive parkland, pleasure grounds and gardens which were laid out by Daniel Robertsonduring the 1850's . Over the last twenty five years, the pleasure grounds have undergone major restoration. | |
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8. Crosses (Historical) |
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Clonmore Castle and High CrossesCo. CarlowTypical of the late 13th century, the castle is nearly square in plan, with rectangular towers at the two southern corners, and smaller turrets at the other two corners. Remains of the main interior buildings can be seen on the eastern side of the courtyard. While the castle is not mentioned in existing records until the 14th century, the shape of the trefoil window in the south wall shows that it was built probably towards the end of the 13th century. Clonmore was captured by the Earl of Kildare in 1516 and by the Earl of Ormond in 1598. It changed hands several times in the Confederate War, and was finally taken by Cromwell's forces under Colonel Hewson in 1650. In the village graveyard, 300 yards to the east, there is one plain High Cross in the churchyard on the north side of the road, and considerable fragments of another, along with many slabs bearing a cross in relief, in the graveyard on the south side of the road. The road, in fact, cuts through the site of an old monastery founded by St. Mogue probably in the 6th century. Show me all the details for Clonmore Castle and High Crosses | |
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9. Museums |
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Carlow MuseumMr. Kevin Kennedy , Town Hall, Co. CarlowOperated by the Old Carlow Society, the museum displays in a series of shop layouts, aspects of early 20th & 19th Century domestic and commercial life in the Carlow area. | |
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10. Monastic Sites |
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Clonmore Heritage TourEddie McDonald , Co. CarlowFeatures visits to the site of a monastic settlement established here in the 6th century by St. Mogue; a moat dating from the Norman period and the ruins of a 13th century castle fortress. | |
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11. Stones (Historical) |
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Aghade Holed Stone ('Clochaphoill')Co. CarlowA large flat stone, now leaning though originally upright, with a hole 6 inches wide at one end. It may have been a so-called 'port-hole' stone which closed the chamber of a megalithic tomb. However, the traditional explanation - as usual, much more romantic and appealing - is that it was a stone used at the dawn of history by Niall of the Nine Hostages to tie up Eochaidh, son of Enna Eochaidh broke the chain and took his revenge by killing the nine men whom Niall had sent to kill him. Up till the 18th century, sick infants were passed through the hole to restore them to health!. Show me all the details for Aghade Holed Stone ('Clochaphoill') | |
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12. Churches (Historical) |
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Aghade Holed Stone ('Clochaphoill')Co. CarlowA large flat stone, now leaning though originally upright, with a hole 6 inches wide at one end. It may have been a so-called 'port-hole' stone which closed the chamber of a megalithic tomb. However, the traditional explanation - as usual, much more romantic and appealing - is that it was a stone used at the dawn of history by Niall of the Nine Hostages to tie up Eochaidh, son of Enna Eochaidh broke the chain and took his revenge by killing the nine men whom Niall had sent to kill him. Up till the 18th century, sick infants were passed through the hole to restore them to health!. Show me all the details for Aghade Holed Stone ('Clochaphoill') | |
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13. Hills (Historical) |
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Rath GallShillelagh Road, Co. CarlowIn an excellent state of preservation, this extensive hill fortification dates from the 8th century B.C. | |
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