Ballyragget
| Ballyragget Irish: Béal Átha Ragad | |
| County Kilkenny | |
|---|---|
 Ballyragget Castle | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | S450704 |
| Location: | 52°46’60"N, 7°19’60"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,082 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Castlecomer |
| Dáil constituency: |
Carlow–Kilkenny |
Ballyragget is a small town on the River Nore in the north of County Kilkenny. It is on the N77 road, eleven miles north of Kilkenny. The 2016 census recorded a population of 1,082 people.
Names
The name Béal Átha Ragad means 'Mouth of Ragget's Ford'.[1] The name 'Ragget' is Anglo-Norman in origin; from the prominent landowner Richard le Ragget, who held these lands in the early part of the 13th century.
Older names of the settlement include Donoughmore (or Donaghmore; Domhnach Mór meaning "large church") and the even more ancient Tullabarry (Tualach Bare) - the name of an ancient tribe which held their seat in the vicinity. There is some debate as to the meaning of Donoughmore: the very first issue of the Journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society (January 1948), which has an article about Ballyragget and its environs, states a belief that Domhnach Mór means "big Sunday" and relates to the fact that thousands of people congregated at the now ruined church in Donoughmore for its opening on a Sunday and the name stuck.[2]
History
The settlement of Ballyragget originally formed at a fording-point on the River Nore at this location. Originally named after the 13th century Anglo-Norman landowner Richard le Ragget, Ballyragget was later held by the Mountgarret family.
The town is dominated by a large mediæval keep (known as Ballyragget Castle). It is five storeys in height and surrounded by a court or bawn which has round defensive towers in each of four corners. A moat originally surrounded the keep and bawn, but now this can only be seen outside the north wall.[3] This tower was renovated in the late 15th century, and contains a late 16th century inscribed stone which commemorates Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret.
Much of the town streetscape was laid out by George Butler and his grandson Robert Butler around the town's square in the mid-17th century.[4]
A large mid-19th-century Roman Catholic church sits on a rise overlooking the town's central square.[5]
Geography
The River Nore flows beside the town, which nestles in a wide alluvial valley between the Attanagh Plateau and several hills to the east, including 'Knockmannon' and 'The Balla boys'. The Nore passes by one of the most significant ancient sites in North Kilkenny 3.1 miles (5.0 km) south of Ballyragget at Rathbeagh. The statistical Ballyragget Geographical Area is recorded by the CSO as containing 10.3 square miles (26.7 km²).
To the north lies the town of Durrow in County Laois, to the south the River Nore flows on towards Kilkenny City.
The town is located in the townland of the same name which is in the Barony of Fassadinin.[6]
References
- ↑ Béal Átha Ragad / Ballyragget: Placenames Database of Ireland
- ↑ "Old Kilkenny Review". Journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society (1). January 1948.
- ↑ Lyng, T. "Ballyragget and District". https://kilkennyarchaeologicalsociety.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/OKR1947-11-T-Lyng-Ballyragget-and-District.pdf.
- ↑ Lyng, T. "Ballyragget and District". https://kilkennyarchaeologicalsociety.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/OKR1947-11-T-Lyng-Ballyragget-and-District.pdf.
- ↑ "Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, Ballyragget, County Kilkenny (1842)". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/12303013/saint-patricks-catholic-church-ballyragget-county-kilkenny.
- ↑ "Townland of Ballyragget (Béal Átha Ragad)". Irish Placenames Commission. https://www.logainm.ie/1411880.aspx.
- Lewis, Samuel (1837). A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. LEWIS & Co. 87, Aldergate Street.. http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/b3.php.