Placenames Database of Ireland
The Placenames Database of Ireland ( ga, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of t ...
. Retrieved 19 April 2014. or Ballyclough () is a small village 8 km outside Mallow,
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
, Ireland. The name Ballyclogh has its origins in the past abundance of stone quarries in the area. Ballyclogh is part of the Cork East Dáil constituency.
The village has a
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
, built by the Barry family (or Mac Robert-Barry). In 1641 it was forfeit to the Purdon family, who produced a number of politicians, including Sir Nicholas Purdon (died 1678) and his grandsons Bartholomew Purdon and
Henry Purdon
Henry Purdon (–1737) was an Irish barrister, politician and Law Officer of the early eighteenth century. He sat in the Irish House of Commons and held the Crown office of Third Serjeant.Hart p.179
Purdon was born in County Cork, to a junior ...
. While it was surrendered to the Williamites in 1691, the Purdons later regained possession of the tower house. It was largely destroyed by fire soon afterwards, before being renovated during the 19th century. It is now in ruins.
The village today has a public house, a local grocer, a community centre, a playground, a funeral chapel and a Catholic church. Ballyclogh has a rich history of farming; Ballyclogh Creamery was founded in the early 1900s and grew to join forces with Mitchelstown Co-op to form Dairygold Co-Op.
The Rev Samuel Hayman (1818–1886) noted that when first mentioned in 1291 it was called "Labane" – meaning the "fair district", and acquired the name Ballyclogh when the local castle was built by the Barry family in 1591. Another 19th-century antiquarian, the Rev JF Lynch, wrote that "''Ballyclogh is named Lathbán in taxation of 1302, and in taxation of 1306 is named Lachbán, and this 'Lathbán' or 'Lachbán' is given as 'Lavan' by Lewis, who names this parish 'Ballyclough or Lavan". An area close to village centre still goes by the name 'Lachbán' - (pronounced Ly-bawn), just west of the 'Smithfield' area and approximately 400 metres from the castle.