Bunclody
| Bunclody Irish: Bun Clóidí | |
| County Wexford, County Carlow | |
|---|---|
 Bunclody's market square | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | S909569 |
| Location: | 52°39’18"N, 6°39’4"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,053 (2022) |
| Local Government | |
Bunclody, known as Newtownbarry until 1950, is a small town on the River Slaney in County Wexford. It stands near the foot of Mount Leinster. Most of the town is in County Wexford, but a small area at the north end of town is in County Carlow. The town is twelve miles by road north of Enniscorthy. The R746 road intersects the N80 road in the town
The town is known for the "Streams of Bunclody Festival" held during the month of July.
The new name 'Bunclody' is from the Irish Bun Clóidí meaning 'bottom of the (river) Clody'.
Name
During the 17th century, the name of the town was changed from Bunclody to Newtownbarry, but after the creation of the Irish Free State the name fell into disfavour and it was reverted to its original name in the 20th century: the change was made official by a local government order in 1950.
History
Although a hamlet already existed here, Bunclody was raised to the status of a post town in 1577 by alderman James Barry, sheriff of Dublin.[1][2]
The town was the scene of the Battle of Bunclody during the 1798 rebellion.[3]
In the 19th century, a small canal was made, drawing water from the Clody river, to provide drinking water for the town.[4] The canal still flows along the middle of the town's main street. During the Tithe War, 1830–1836, 'Newtownbarry' was the scene of a clash between locals and the officials of the Crown. Locals had become enraged by the seizure of property by the police and army to pay for the Protestant Episcopal polity. According to James Connolly, "twelve peasants were shot and twenty fatally wounded".[5]
In 1884, a metal bridge was built across the River Slaney upstream from today's bridge. It was built of iron from New Ross, and assembled in the bridge meadow beside where the bridge stood. This bridge was washed away in 1965 by a flood. The remains of the bridge were visible from the bank of the river for some years, until it was removed in 2007, during the building of Bunclody Golf and Fishing Club beside the River Slaney.
Among the amenities of the town there are number of Gaelic Athletic Association and association football pitches, an outdoor swimming pool (open 2½ months of the year), an aparta-hotel, and two primary and two post-primary schools and an Adult Education & Training Centre.
Civil War events
The town was a site of three fatalities during the Irish Civil War.
The first was James Roche, a member of the Anti-Treaty IRA, who died in a car crash on 4 July 1922.[6]
The second person killed was Lieutenant Ignatius "Nacey" Redmond, a local member of Sinn Féin, who held the post of secretary. He had overseen pro-treaty meetings in Easter 1922 in the town, in opposition to the position of his comrades, and resigned his post in Sinn Féin in August 1922 before joining the pro-treaty Free State army. On 2 October 1922, he was killed approximately two and a half miles from Bunclody on the old Bunclody-Kiltealy road.[7][6]
The third was 29 year old Thomas Doyle, a First World War veteran from Enniscorthy, who later worked as a clerical officer with the Free State army. He was shot dead at Ryland's Cross outside the town when a Free State army vehicle was ambushed on 1 December 1922.[6]
Tourism and culture
Bunclody featured in the 2018 Venice Architectural Biennale, alongside nine other Irish market towns.[8] A volunteer-led tourist office is open in the town.[9]
The Bunclody Adventure Hub at Ryland Road allows access to water sports on the River Slaney.[10] There are also a number of walking trails along the Clody Valley and off-road trails at Coolmeelagh and Kilbranish. It is a point on the 'Columban Way', which runs from Bangor, County Down through Bunclody and on through mainland Europe to Bobbio in Italy – following the life journey of Saint Columbanus.[11]
A folk song about Bunclody, titled Streams of Bunclody and written by a local emigrant,[12] was reputedly one of Luke Kelly's favourite ballads.[13]
Sport
Bunclody Golf and Fishing Club was officially opened in early 2009. The course is on the Carlow side of the town. The 18-hole course is set on 300 acres beside the river Slaney, and is home to Ireland's first on-course elevator, which links the 17th green to the 18th tee. The great spotted woodpecker, not known before in Ireland, was spotted there in 2013.[14] Bunclody Golf and Fishing Club hosted the Irish PGA in August 2019.[15]
- Gaelic Athletics: Halfway House Bunclody
- Football: Bunclody AFC, founded in 1969
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Bunclody) |
References
- ↑ Hayward, Richard (1949). Leinster and the City of Dublin. Barker. p. 108.
- ↑ Brewer, J. N. (1825). The Beauties of Ireland: Being Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Biographical, of Each County. Sherwood: Jones, & Co.. p. 378.
- ↑ DeVal, Seamus. "A History of Bunclody, Wexford, Ireland". http://www.bunclody.net/Bun_his.htm.
- ↑ Bassett, George Henry (1991). Wexford County Guide and Directory. Hibernian Imprints. pp. 343–347. ISBN 1-874238-00-6.(original publication 1885)
- ↑ "Labour In Irish History". http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1910/lih/chap12.htm. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Fatalities" (in en-US). https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/military-service-pensions-collection-1916-1923/1916-1923-resources/civil-war/fatalities/.
- ↑ "Lieutenant Ignatius Redmond". http://www.bunclody.net/History/Nacey-redmond/N-redmond.htm.
- ↑ "Irish architecture hits Venice - a Biennale Diary". RTÉ. 22 May 2018. https://www.rte.ie/culture/2018/0522/965306-irish-architecture-hits-venice-a-biennale-diary/.
- ↑ "Bunclody Tourism". http://bunclodybusiness.com/portfolio-items/bunclody-tourism/.
- ↑ "Bunclody Adventure Hub". https://www.shielbagganoec.com/bunclody-adventure-hub/.
- ↑ "The Columban Way". https://carlowtourism.com/thecolumbanway/.
- ↑ "RTÉ Archives - Singing Folk Trio Emmet Spiceland - 1968". https://www.rte.ie/archives/2017/0724/892654-emmet-spiceland/. Retrieved 16 August 2021. "'By the Streams of Bunclody' is said to have been written by a homesick Wexford emigrant"
- ↑ "FBI agent sings about Bunclody". Enniscorthy Guardian. 1 September 2000. https://www.independent.ie/regionals/enniscorthyguardian/news/fbi-agent-sings-about-bunclody-27188037.html. "It has often been reported that the late Luke Kelly of the Dubliners included `Streams of Bunclody' among his favourite ballads"
- ↑ "Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) - Irish Birding" (in en). http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/58523/Great_Spotted_Woodpecker.html.
- ↑ "RTÉ Sport - McGrane secures Irish PGA Championship in Bunclody". 22 August 2019. https://www.rte.ie/sport/golf/2019/0822/1070386-mcgrane-secures-irish-pga-championship-in-bunclody/.