County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
located in the
South-East Region of Ireland, within the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
. Carlow is the
second smallest and the
third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties.
[ ]Carlow County Council
Carlow County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Cheatharlach) is the authority responsible for local government in County Carlow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hous ...
is the governing local authority
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
.
The county is named after the town of Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
, which lies on the River Barrow
The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
and is both the county town and largest settlement, with over 40% of the county's population. Much of the remainder of the population also reside within the Barrow valley, in towns such as Leighlinbridge
Leighlinbridge (; ) is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. The N9 National primary route once passed through the village, which was by-passed in the 1980s. It now lies on the R705 regional road.
It covers the town ...
, Bagenalstown
Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland.
History and name
The town grew within the townland of Moneybeg, from Irish ''Muine Bheag'' or ''Muinebheag'' (meaning "small t ...
, Tinnahinch, Borris and St Mullins. Carlow shares a border with Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
and Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
to the north, Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
to the west, Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...
to the east and Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
to the southeast.
Carlow is known as "The Dolmen County", a nickname based on the Brownshill Dolmen, a 6,000-year-old megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
ic portal tomb
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were som ...
which is reputed to have the heaviest capstone in Europe, weighing over 100 metric tonnes. The town of Carlow was founded by the Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
in 1207 and the county was shired shortly thereafter, making it one of the oldest counties in Ireland. During the 14th century, the county was the seat of power of the Kingdom of Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ire ...
, as well as the capital of the Lordship of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...
from 1361 to 1374.
Etymology
The county was named after the town of Carlow, which is an anglicisation
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of the Irish ''Ceatharlach''. Historically, it was anglicised as ''Caherlagh'', ''Caterlagh'' and ''Catherlagh'', which are closer to the Irish spelling. In the 19th century, John O'Donovan, a scholar working with Ordnance Survey Ireland, hypothesised that the origin of the name was ''Ceatharloch'' (meaning "quadruple lake"), since ''ceathar'' means "four" and ''loch'' means "lake". It is therefore directly translated as "Four lakes". This was accepted by the foremost etymologist of the time, PW Joyce, as the definitive origin of the name; although Joyce noted there was no evidence to suggest that these lakes ever existed in the area.
It is today believed that the first part of the name derives from the Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
word ''cethrae'' ("animals, cattle, herds, flocks"), which is related to ''ceathar'' ("four") and therefore signified "four-legged". The second part of the name is the ending ''-lach'', meaning that "Ceatharlach" referred to a "place of cattle or herds". As the local dialect of Irish evolved, the "''th''" phoneme
In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language.
For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...
became obsolete. Consequently, by the 13th century the pronunciation of the name would have been much closer to its modern anglicised form. Surviving texts from the 15th and 16th centuries which spell the name as "Carelagh" and "Kerlac" seem to reflect this change in pronunciation.
Geography and subdivisions
Carlow is the second-smallest of Ireland's 32 counties by area, and the third-smallest in terms of population. It is the second-smallest of Leinster's 12 counties in both size and population. Carlow is landlocked and bordered by five counties - Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
to the west, Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...
to the east, Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
to the southeast, and Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
and Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
to the north. Carlow town is both the county town and largest settlement, and is situated on the River Barrow in the north of the county approximately from Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
and from Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
.
Physical geography
Carlow's southern, western and eastern boundaries are demarcated by the county's three principal geographic features – the River Barrow
The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
, the River Slaney
The River Slaney () is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), be ...
and the Blackstairs Mountains
The Blackstairs Mountains ( ga, Na Staighrí Dubha) run roughly north/south along the border between County Carlow and County Wexford in Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in no ...
– which are all European Union designated Special Areas of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
(SACs). The county is divided into six physiographic regions – the Barrow Valley, Castlecomer Plateau
The Castlecomer Plateau, or 'South Leinster Coalfield', is an upland area in the North of County Kilkenny, Ireland, extending into County Laois and County Carlow at its northern edge. The plateau is bounded on the east and south by the R44 ...
, Nurney Ridge and Blackstairs Mountains, as well as the Tullow Lowlands and Southern Wedge, which are grouped together as an "Intermediate Region". The county is generally rural in nature and has a population density of 63 people per km2, with the majority of the population living within the Barrow Valley.
The River Barrow, at in length, is Ireland's second longest river. The river cuts out a low-lying valley as it traverse through the county, and much of the county is drained by the Barrow and its tributaries. The most prominent tributary of the Barrow in the area is the Burren River
The Burren River is a river in Ireland, flowing through County Carlow.
Course
The Burren River rises on the north face of Mount Leinster and flows northward under the R724 (Ullard Bridge, west of Fenagh) and under the N80. It continues n ...
, which rises at Mount Leinster and flows through the county for before joining the Barrow at Carlow town. The east and northeast of the county are drained by the River Slaney and its tributaries – the River Derreen, which flows through Hacketstown and Tullow, and the River Derry
The River Derry () is a large river in the southeast of Leinster, Ireland, a tributary of the Slaney. It rises just south of Hacketstown, County Carlow, Ireland. It flows southeast to Tinahely, being accompanied by the R747 regional ro ...
, which rises at Eagle Hill south of Hacketstown and forms the border between Carlow and Wexford before joining the Slaney at Bunclody
Bunclody (), formerly Newtownbarry (until 1950), is a small town on the River Slaney in Wexford, Ireland. It is located near the foot of Mount Leinster. Most of the town is in County Wexford; a small area at the north end of town is in Count ...
.
As of 2017, there is a total of of forest cover in the county, representing 9.4% of total land area. This is below the national average of 11% forest cover and represents just 1.1% of the national forest total. The majority of the county's forests are located in upland areas, namely the Blackstairs Mountains in the east of the county, and the Castlecomer Plateau in the west of the county. Conifers
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extan ...
are primarily grown in these areas and constitute 69.9% of all forest cover within the county. Due to the high quality of land in the lowlands and southern wedge, the area under forest is low, as most of the land is used for agricultural purposes. Some of the oldest deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
trees in the county are found in the yew grove at the Huntington Gardens
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...
, which were planted by the Esmonde family over 500 years ago. Other notable woodland areas include the Oak Park Forest, which is a ca. 123 acre mixed forest of beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
, oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, Scots pine
''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...
, silver fir
Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to:
*''Abies alba
''Abies alba'', the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Car ...
, larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
and sycamore
Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry".
Species of trees known as sycamore:
* ''Acer pseudoplata ...
; the Altamont Gardens and the Barrow Way.
Climate
Carlow is in a maritime temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
region according to Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
. It experiences cool winters, mild humid summers, and a lack of temperature extremes. Met Éireann
Met Éireann (; meaning " Met of Ireland") is the state meteorological service of Ireland, part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
History
The history of modern meteorology in Ireland dates back to 8 October 1860, wh ...
records climate data for Carlow from their station at Oak Park, situated at above sea level. The coldest month is February, with an average daily minimum temperature of , and the hottest month is July, with an average daily maximum temperature of . The driest months are April and May, with and of rain respectively. The wettest month is November, with of rain on average. Humidity is high year round and rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year. A number of synoptic stations which record rainfall are located throughout the county. The driest area of the county is at Tullow, which receives of rainfall per year, and the Blackstairs Mountains are the wettest area, receiving of rainfall per year.
While Carlow is often marketed as being part of the "''Sunny Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
''" alongside Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
and Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
, due to its inland location it does not typically benefit from the elevated sunshine hours observed in the coastal areas of those counties. However, it does experience significantly higher average temperatures and lighter winds during the summer months due to its sheltered location. This was exemplified during the 2018 summer heat wave, when Oak Park was both the hottest and driest location in Ireland.
Geology
The bedrock geology of Carlow consists primarily of granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
, which underlies roughly 70% of the county. Following the closure of the Iapetus Ocean
The Iapetus Ocean (; ) was an ocean that existed in the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic eras of the geologic timescale (between 600 and 400 million years ago). The Iapetus Ocean was situated in the southern hemisphere, between the paleoco ...
approximately 400 Mya, a mountain range formed in the area which was then intruded with magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
. This cooled slowly beneath the surface, forming a large granite pluton
In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
. The mountains, which were mostly composed of Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...
seafloor sediments, were eventually eroded away, exposing the granite at the surface. During the Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
, ca. 300 Mya, limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
re-buried this granite, but has also since been eroded away. More resilient Carboniferous-era shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
s and sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
s are preserved in the Castlecomer Plateau, along with significant quantities of coal.
The oldest rocks in the county are the surviving remnants of these Ordovician seafloor sediments (ca. 540 Mya), and are found in a thin belt extending across the east of the county. These sediments were intensely metamorphosed
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
by the heat of the granite into high-grade schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
s and hornfel
Hornfels is the group name for a set of contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and hardened by the heat of intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in some cases exceedingly tough and durable. These pro ...
s. Minerals such as staurolite, andalusite
Andalusite is an aluminium nesosilicate mineral with the chemical formula Al2SiO5. This mineral was called andalousite by Delamétehrie, who thought it came from Andalusia, Spain. It soon became clear that it was a locality error, and that the spe ...
and garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...
are commonplace in these older formations.
The soils of the county are mostly derived from glacial till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
, rather than solid bedrock geology. These typically consist of a mix of clay, sand and gravel. Occasionally glacial melt-water would form a long ridge of sand and gravel known as an esker
An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...
. One such example is preserved within the county and is a proposed natural heritage area, referred to as the Ballymoon Esker. The north of the county is generally flat, while central and southern Carlow are characterised by an undulating to rolling topography which becomes progressively hillier towards the south and east. The Blackstairs Mountains
The Blackstairs Mountains ( ga, Na Staighrí Dubha) run roughly north/south along the border between County Carlow and County Wexford in Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in no ...
are the highest and most extensive upland area, with Mount Leinster
Mount Leinster ( ga, Stua Laighean) is a mountain in the Republic of Ireland. It straddles the border between Counties Carlow and Wexford, in the province of Leinster. It is the fifth-highest mountain in Leinster after Lugnaquilla , Mullaghcl ...
rising to , making it the highest point in both Carlow and Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
and the seventh highest county top
The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...
in Ireland.
Baronies
There are seven historic baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. The last boundary change of a barony in Carlow was in 1841, when the barony of St. Mullin's was divided into St. Mullin's Lower and St. Mullin's Upper. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units". The largest barony in Carlow is Idrone East, at 52,857 acres (214 km2), and the smallest barony is St. Mullin's Upper, at 7,784 acres (32 km2).
* Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
(''Ceatharlach'')
* Forth
Forth or FORTH may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine
* ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008
* ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw
* Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...
(''Fotharta'')
* Idrone East (''Uí Dhróna Thoir'')
* Idrone West (''Uí Dhróna Thiar'')
* Rathvilly
Rathvilly () is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Wicklow, 11 km from Tullow and 8 km from Baltinglass. It is also on the N81 national secondary route. Rathvill ...
(''Ráth Bhil'')
* St. Mullin's Lower (''Tigh Moling Íochtarac'')
* St. Mullin's Upper (''Tigh Moling Uachtarach'')
Civil parishes and townlands
Townlands are the smallest officially defined geographical divisions in Ireland. There are 650 townlands in Carlow, of which 22 are historic town boundaries. These town boundaries are registered as their own townlands and are much larger than rural townlands. The rural townlands of Carlow range from just 1 acre in size (''Acuan'') to 1,822 acres (''Kilbrannish South''), with the average size of a townland in the county (excluding towns) being 371 acres.
Towns and villages
* Aghade
* Ardattin
* Bagenalstown
Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland.
History and name
The town grew within the townland of Moneybeg, from Irish ''Muine Bheag'' or ''Muinebheag'' (meaning "small t ...
* Ballinabranna
* Ballinkillin
* Ballon
Ballon may refer to:
Places
* Ballon, County Carlow (''Balana'' in Irish), a village in Ireland
*Grand Ballon, the apex of the Vosges Mountains in France
*Ballon, Charente-Maritime, France
*Ballon, Sarthe, France
Others
* Ballon (ballet), the ap ...
* Ballymurphy
* Borris
* Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
* Carrickduff
* Clonmore
* Clonegal
Clonegal, officially Clonegall ( ; ), is a village in the southeast of County Carlow, Ireland. It is in a rural setting, close to the border between counties Wexford and Carlow, 5 km from Bunclody, County Wexford and 22 km from Carl ...
* Fennagh
* Hacketstown
Hacketstown (, IPA: bˠalʲəˈhaceːdʲ, historically known as Ballydrohid (), is a small town in County Carlow, Ireland, near the border with County Wicklow.
It is located on the R747 regional road at its junction with the R727. The R ...
* Kildavin
Kildavin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland. Situated on at the junction of the N80 national secondary road and the R724 regional road, it lies 5 km north of Bunclody, County Wexford at the northern end of the Blackstairs ...
* Leighlinbridge
Leighlinbridge (; ) is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. The N9 National primary route once passed through the village, which was by-passed in the 1980s. It now lies on the R705 regional road.
It covers the town ...
* Myshall
Myshall () is a small village 22 km southeast of Carlow town, on the slopes of Mount Leinster, in County Carlow, Ireland. It is situated on the R724 regional road.
Adelaide Memorial Church
The Church of Ireland Adelaide Memorial Chur ...
* Nurney
* Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...
* Palatine
A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.
* Rathvilly
Rathvilly () is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Wicklow, 11 km from Tullow and 8 km from Baltinglass. It is also on the N81 national secondary route. Rathvill ...
* Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...
* St Mullin's
St Mullins (, formerly anglicised as ''Timoling'' or ''Tymoling'' - 'homestead of Moling')St Mullin's
Placenames Database of I ...
* Tinnahinch
* Tinryland
Tinryland (, translated as "house of Raoilinn") is a village in County Carlow, Ireland, less than 5 km south of Carlow town. It is within the townland of Tinriland (historically Tinrilan), in the parish of Tullowmagimma.
History
Evidenc ...
* Tullow
Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673.
History
There is a statue of ...
European statistical division
For statistical purposes at European level, the county is part of the South-East Region, a NUTS III entity, which is in turn part of the Southern Region, a level II NUTS entity.
Governance and politics
Local government
Local government in County Carlow is governed by the Local Government Acts, the most recent of which (Local Government Reform Act 2014
The Local Government Reform Act 2014 (No. 1) is an act of the Oireachtas which provided for a major restructuring of local government in Ireland with effect from the 2014 local elections. It merged some first-tier county and city councils, ...
) established a unitary structure of local government. This single-tier structure consists of Carlow County Council
Carlow County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Cheatharlach) is the authority responsible for local government in County Carlow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hous ...
, responsible for local services.
There are 18 councillors in the county council, returned from three local electoral area
A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average po ...
s (LEAs): Carlow (7), Muine Bheag (5) and Tullow
Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673.
History
There is a statue of ...
(6). Each of these LEAs is also a municipal district.
Council elections are held every 5 years, with the next election due to be held in May 2024. The 2019 Carlow local election had a voter turnout of 49.4%, a decrease increase of 3.6% on the 2014 local election. The highest turnout was at Muine Bheag (54.2%) and the lowest was at Carlow (45.5%).
As was the case in much of Ireland, Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
and Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
emerged as the two dominant parties in the 2019 local elections, holding 12 of the 18 seats between them. The Labour Party hold 2 seats, both Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
and People Before Profit
People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a left-wing to far-left Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
History
PBP was established in 2005 as t ...
hold 1 seat, and there are 2 independents.
The council has two representatives on the Southern Regional Assembly, where it is part of the South-East strategic planning area.
Former districts
It was formerly divided into the rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...
s of Baltinglass No. 2, Carlow, and Idrone, and the urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
of Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
. The rural districts were abolished in 1925. Bagnelstown (Muine Bheag) and Tullow
Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673.
History
There is a statue of ...
, within the former rural district of Carlow, had town commissioners
Town commissioners were elected local government bodies that existed in urban areas in Ireland from the 19th century until 2002. Larger towns with commissioners were converted to urban districts by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with ...
. The town of Tullow was later disestablished as separate area. In 2002, the urban district of Carlow and the town commissioners of Muinebheag became town councils
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
. All town councils in Ireland were abolished in 2014.
National elections
Carlow is part of the Dáil constituency of Carlow–Kilkenny which returns 5 TDs. The constituency has been in existence since the 1948 general election.
Prior to 1800, the county was represented in the Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...
through the constituencies of Carlow County, Carlow Borough and the bishop's borough
A bishop's borough or bishop borough was a pocket borough in the Irish House of Commons where the patron who controlled the borough was the bishop for the time being of the diocese of the Church of Ireland whose cathedral was within the borough. ...
of Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...
, each of which returned two MPs. Following the Act of Union, the county was represented in Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
through the Carlow County constituency, which returned two MPs (reduced to one under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...
. It was this constituency that gave Carlow representation in the First Dáil
The First Dáil ( ga, An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919 to 1921. It was the first meeting of the unicameral parliament of the revolutionary Irish Republic. In the December 1918 election to the Parliament of the Unite ...
, convened in 1919.
It was part of the Dáil constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny from 1921 to 1937. Between 1937 and 1948 the county was divided, with the northern half of the county part of the Carlow-Kildare constituency, and the southern half joining the Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
constituency. Since 1948, the county has again been joined with Kilkenny for national elections as Carlow–Kilkenny. From 1997 to 2020, a portion of the county was in the Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...
, rejoining the rest of Carlow at the 2020 general election.
European elections
Carlow is part of the European Parliament constituency
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union (EU). The European Electoral Act 2002 allows member states the choice to allocate electoral subdivisions or constituencies (, ...
of South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
(5 seats).
History
The area of present-day Carlow has been inhabited for thousands of years, and the county has perhaps the highest concentration of megalithic
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
monuments per square kilometre in Ireland. Numerous standing stones
A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...
, bullaun
A bullaun ( ga, bullán; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun. The size of the bullaun is high ...
s and cairns
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
mark the landscape. Carlow is nicknamed the "Dolmen County", reflecting the abundance of dolmens found within its borders, of which the Brownshill Dolmen is reputed to be the largest in Europe. The historic clan territories of the county included Uí Drona ( O'Ryan), Fothairt Feadh ( O'Nolan), Uí Ceinnselaig
The Uí Ceinnselaig (also Uí Cheinnselaig, Anglicized as Kinsella), from the Old Irish "grandsons of Cennsalach", are an Irish dynasty of Leinster who trace their descent from Énnae Cennsalach, a supposed contemporary of Niall of the Nine Ho ...
( Kinsella), Dál Coirpri Cliach (Kerwick), Uí Bairrche
Uí Bairrche ( Modern Irish: ''Uí Bhairrche'', IPA: iːˈwaːɾʲɾʲçə was an Irish kin-based group that originally held lands in the south of the ancient province of Leinster (or ''Cóiced Laigen'' "the Fifth of the Laigin"). Another south ...
Magh dá chonn ( Kearney), Uí Felmeda Tuaidh ( O'Garvey) and Uí Bairrch Maige hAilbe (O'Gorman O'Gorman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Áine O'Gorman (born 1989), Irish footballer
* Camila O'Gorman (1828-1848), wealthy socialite and figure of scandal in 19th century Argentina
* Chevalier O'Gorman (1732–1809), Iris ...
). As Carlow contained both the navigable river Barrow as well as the Slighe Cualann (one of the key arterial roads leading to Tara), control of the area was vital to the claim of any prospective king of Leinster, and the area was much fought over. By the 11th century the Mac Murchada branch of the Uí Ceinnselaig dynasty had firmly established themselves as the Kings of Leinster
Kings or King's may refer to:
*Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings
*One of several works known as the "Book of Kings":
**The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts
**The ''Shahnameh'' ...
.
Emergence as a County
With the exception of a short-lived Norse–Gael settlement near St. Mullin's in the 9th century, the area remained under the control of the Kingdom of Leinster until the early 13th century. Following the Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
, the "Borough of Carlow" was founded in July 1210, and formed part of the Norman palatine county of Leinster.[Desmond Roche, ''Local Government in Ireland'', Dublin, 1982] This was later divided and the independent Liberty of Carlow was established in 1247. At that time the county was over three times larger than it is today, covering approximately and encompassing the majority of the old Diocese of Leighlin
The Lord Bishop of Leighlin was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the small town of Old Leighlin in County Carlow, Ireland.
The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland, it is held by the Lord Bis ...
, extending to and including the coastal area around Arklow
Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 re ...
.
The modern county boundary was shaped by the Gaelic Resurgence
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
from the 14th to 16th centuries. During this period, Carlow was part of the patrimony of the Anglo-Norman Butler dynasty
Butler ( ga, de Buitléir) is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde. ...
; however Art MacMurrough-Kavanagh, the ascendant King of Leinster, controlled more than half of the liberty. He was paid by the Anglo-Normans for his "services" in keeping the roads and trade routes of the area free of bandits, but in reality this amounted to nothing more than rent exacted by MacMurrough-Kavanagh as recognition of his sovereignty over the area. His authority was so absolute that the MacMurrough-Kavanagh's retained control over large portions of the county for centuries, despite radical political changes. In the late 15th-century, James Butler, the 9th Earl of Ormond, purchased land within the county to give to his heirs, rather than enter into conflict with the dynasty. Descendants of the King of Leinster are still in possession of their ancestral home of Borris House to this day.
The informal alliance between the Kingdom of Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ire ...
and the Anglo-Normans remained the status quo for decades, as it kept the peace and made both sides immensely wealthy. Cognisant of the political landscape, the Anglo-Normans began to marry into Gaelic families and adapt to native customs, forging alliances with Irish kingdoms to gain the upper hand over their fellow Anglo-Norman rivals. In a bid to halt the decline of English authority in the region, the crown made Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
the capital of the Lordship of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...
from 1361 until 1374, just north of MacMurrough-Kavanagh's permanent residence at Leighlin.
Large areas on the northern and eastern fringes of the Liberty of Carlow gradually fell completely to the O'Moores, O'Byrnes
The O'Byrne family ( ga, Ó Broin) is an Irish clann that descend from Bran mac Máelmórda, King of Leinster, of the Uí Faelain of the Uí Dúnlainge. Before the Norman invasion of Ireland they began to colonise south Wicklow.
There are many fa ...
and other chiefdoms. Consequently, when the Tudors
The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...
reconquered these areas in the mid 16th century ownership was not reverted to the Anglo-Normans of Carlow but was instead granted to settlers
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer.
Settle ...
from Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. Carlow retained its Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
border, though control of this land became disputed with the ruling chiefs of the area who were petitioning for their own shire
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...
. These areas were eventually given over to County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
in 1606. The present-day boundary of Carlow therefore represents the core Norman holdings in the area which had persisted since the 12th century, propped up by the Caomhánach dynasty.
Early modern history
Following the Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
in the 1650s, the great majority of Gaelic Irish and Anglo-Norman landowners were dispossessed, and their lands were granted to English soldiers who took part in the Cromwellian conquest. Carlow was one of four counties set aside by the Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
government for the payment of public debt, although much of the land in these counties eventually ended up in the hands of notable regicides
Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
, considered ''"friends of the Republic"''. These lands were legally deemed to be in the possession of King Charles II following the Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
, and many dispossessed Irish nobles were able to petition the king and recover their lands. The Cromwellian conquest therefore had a limited impact on Carlow, as both Charles and the Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...
had shown leniency to ordinary soldiers who were granted land elsewhere in Ireland, but all regicides were either exiled or executed.
Carlow, along with neighbouring Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
, saw some of the fiercest fighting of the 1798 Rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
. The rebellion in Carlow is particularly infamous for the sectarian
Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...
excesses committed within the county. Prior to the rebellion, United Irishmen
The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...
member William Farrell had claimed "there was no part of Ireland where a better feeling of friendship existed between both Catholics and Protestants, nor no part where greater numbers of both were blood relations". However, in the wake of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, local members of the Orange Order
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...
organised into a Yeomanry Cavalry
The Yeomanry Cavalry was the mounted component of the British Volunteer Corps, a military auxiliary established in the late 18th century amid fears of invasion and insurrection during the French Revolutionary Wars. A yeoman was a person of r ...
Corps which conducted nightly raids on Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Dissenter
A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc.
Usage in Christianity
Dissent from the Anglican church
In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...
homes, often burning them to the ground, in search of weapons and revolutionary literature.
As feelings of persecution and religious division grew amongst the overwhelmingly Catholic populace, local United Irish leader Laurence Griffin lamented ''"the people of Carlow think of all Protestants as Orangemen"''. Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants could not vote to effect change, so they eventually joined forces with radical liberal Anglicans
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
to overthrow the Parliament. The Battle of Carlow
The Battle of Carlow took place in Carlow town, Ireland on 25 May 1798 when Carlow rebels rose in support of the 1798 rebellion which had begun the day before in County Kildare. The United Irishmen organisation in Carlow led by a young brogue-ma ...
was one of the opening skirmishes of the rebellion in May 1798, and ended in a crushing defeat for the rebel forces. Months of intimidation and revenge attacks followed, led by Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Robert Rochfort of Clogrennan House, who oversaw the unlawful kidnapping, torture and execution of suspected United Irishmen, earning Rochfort the nickname ''"the slashing parson
A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...
"''.
Revolutionary Period
During the War of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List of o ...
, the Carlow Brigade of the Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...
(IRA) had 6 battalions which operated in the shadow of the Curragh Camp
The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel ...
– the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's headquarters in Ireland – across Carlow, western Wicklow, southern Kildare and eastern Laois and Kilkenny. The abandoned estate at Duckett's Grove
Duckett's Grove ''(Irish: Garrán Duckett)'' is a ruined 19th-century great house and former estate in County Carlow, Ireland. Belonging to the Duckett family, the house was formerly the focal point of a estate, and dominated the local land ...
served as both an IRA training camp and the headquarters of the Carlow Brigade from 1919 to 1922.
Plagued by poor supply-lines and hindered by a heavy Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
(RIC) presence, the Carlow Brigade was one of the least active of the war and mostly specialised in delaying tactics such as blocking roads, destroying bridges and intercepting mail. The brigade carried out a botched ambush near Ballymurphy in April 1921, with the loss of 12 members (4 killed and 8 captured) and vital munitions, after which no further active engagements with either the RIC or British Army were attempted.
The Carlow Republican District Court, established in February 1922 at the Carlow Courthouse
Carlow Courthouse is a judicial facility in Dublin Road, Carlow, County Carlow, Ireland.
History
The courthouse, which was designed by William Vitruvius Morrison in the neoclassical style and built in ashlar stone, was completed in 1834. The ...
, was the first post-independence court held by the government of the Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
. Carlow saw relatively little action during the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, as the Free State Army
The National Army, sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State army or the Regulars, was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War, ...
deployed hundreds of soldiers to the former RIC strongholds within the county, effectively strangling the Irregulars
Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military orga ...
. The first head of an independent Irish-Government, President of the Executive Council W. T. Cosgrave
William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ir ...
, served as TD for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 1921 to 1927.
Places of interest
Landmarks
Pre-historic era
Carlow is nicknamed the "Dolmen County", reflecting the abundance of dolmens found within its borders. Dolmens or "portal tomb
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were som ...
s" are above-grove burial chambers which were used by Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
farming communities. The Brownshill Dolmen, situated on the Hacketstown
Hacketstown (, IPA: bˠalʲəˈhaceːdʲ, historically known as Ballydrohid (), is a small town in County Carlow, Ireland, near the border with County Wicklow.
It is located on the R747 regional road at its junction with the R727. The R ...
Road ( R726), has a capstone which weighs an estimated 100 metric tons, and is reputed to be the heaviest in Europe. The tomb is listed as a National Monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
. There are at least 10 megalithic
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
tombs within the county, of which 7 are dolmens. Carlow and Kilkenny have 14 dolmens between them, many of which are among the most impressive in Ireland. This is unusual for such a small area. In contrast, County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
, over twice the size of Carlow and Kilkenny combined, has 7 dolmens, and Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
– Ireland's largest county – has just 2. This suggests that the fertile plains of the Barrow and its tributaries were well inhabited during the prehistoric era.
A wealth of Neolithic, Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
and Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
artefacts were discovered during excavations for the M9 Carlow Bypass in 2006. A total of 57 archaeological sites were identified along the proposed route and yielded a variety of relics, including flint arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
s and bone scrapers, pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
, hammers and axeheads made of granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
and an Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
glass bead. These artefacts are now housed in the Carlow County Museum. Their discovery a significant distance from any water sources revealed that the extent of early settlement in the area was more widespread than previously thought.
Numerous surviving Ogham
Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...
stones dot the landscape of the county. The stones use Ogham inscription
Roughly 400 known ogham inscriptions are on stone monuments scattered around the Irish Sea, the bulk of them dating to the fifth and sixth centuries. Their language is predominantly Primitive Irish, but a few examples record fragments of the ...
to record personal names, and were most likely commemorative monuments to the deceased individual. Many of the stones are inscribed with Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
, but some have been distinctly "Christianised" through the influence of local monastic settlements, such as the Rathglass Ogham Stone which reads ''"Donaidonas Maqi Mariani"'' – Donaidonas son of. Marianus. The stones are typically cut from weather-resistant granite, although they are not immune to decay. The Patrickswell Ogham Stone, believed to have been associated with the Waterstown ecclesiastical site, is now illegible.
Religious Structures
Early Christian settlements were founded throughout Carlow from the 5th to 7th century. An extensive monastic site is located at St Mullin's
St Mullins (, formerly anglicised as ''Timoling'' or ''Tymoling'' - 'homestead of Moling')St Mullin's
Placenames Database of I ...
in the southern tip of the county. The village is named after Saint Moling
Saint Mo Ling (614–697), also named Moling Luachra, was the second Bishop of Ferns in Ireland and has been said to be "one of the four great prophets of Erin". He founded a monastery at St Mullin's, County Carlow. His feast day is 17 June.
...
, who founded a monastery there in the early 7th century. The monastery was said to have been built with the help of "Gobán Saor
The Gobán Saor was a highly skilled smith or architect in Irish history and legend. Gobban Saer (Gobban the Builder) is a figure regarded in Irish traditional lore as an architect of the seventh century, and popularly canonized as St. Gobban. ...
", the legendary Irish builder. An 8th-century manuscript, The Book of Mulling, contains a plan of the monastery – the earliest known plan of an Irish monastery – which shows four crosses inside and eight crosses outside the circular monastic wall.
Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...
was the site of one of the largest monastic settlements in Ireland, founded by St Goban in the 6th century. In 630 AD a church synod was held at Old Leighlin which determined the date of Easter. The main abbey of Old Leighlin was destroyed by fire in 1060 and replaced in the 12th century with St Laserian's Cathedral. The cathedral remains in use to this day and was modified over centuries, with each change adding unique elements to the building. Among the most recent additions are the stained glass window
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
s created by Catherine Amelia O'Brien in 1934. Once the cathedral church of the former Diocese of Leighlin
The Lord Bishop of Leighlin was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the small town of Old Leighlin in County Carlow, Ireland.
The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland, it is held by the Lord Bis ...
, it is now one of the six cathedrals in the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory
The United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory (''Full title'': The United Dioceses of Cashel, Waterford and Lismore with Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, ga, Deoise Chaisil, Phort Láirge, Leasa Móire, Osraí, Fhearna agus Leithghlinne) is a diocese of ...
of the Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
.
The remote abbey of Clonmore was founded in the 6th century by Máedóc of Ferns
Saint Máedóc of Ferns (; 6th & 7th century), also known as Saint Aidan ( ga, Áedan; cy, Aeddan; la, Aidanus and '), or Saint Mogue ( ga, Mo Aodh Óg), was an Irish saint who was the first Bishop of Ferns in County Wexford and the fo ...
. It flourished until the 11th century and taught Saint Finian Lobhar as well as Saint Oncho, who is buried at the site. While the monastery's buildings have long since been demolished, a substantial cemetery remains which includes high cross
A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...
es, ogham stones, ballaun stones and numerous inscribed grave slabs from Early Christian Ireland
Early may refer to:
History
* The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.:
** Early Christianity
** Early modern Europe
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa
* Early, Texas
* E ...
.
Another monastery was established by Saint Comhgall in 634 and is located in present-day Carlow town. The Normans built a stone wall around the town in the 13th century. The monastery, which was by that stage in ruins, lay just outside of it. The burial grounds survive today at Castle Hill and a new church was built at the site in 1727, known as St. Mary's Church. A spire was added in 1834, which remains the tallest building in the county.
The Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow town was built in a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style in the early 1800s and is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin (; ga, Deoise Chill Dara agus Leithghlinn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the A ...
. It once boasted a -tall ornately carved wooden pulpit, which is now on display in the Carlow County Museum and was featured in A History of Ireland in 100 Objects
''A History of Ireland in 100 Objects'' was a joint project by ''The Irish Times'', the National Museum of Ireland, and the Royal Irish Academy to define one hundred archaeological or cultural objects that are important in the history of Ireland ...
, a national project which identified one hundred archaeological or cultural objects that are important to Irish history
The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quatern ...
.
Castles
The oldest known castles within the county date from the first few centuries AD. The two most common forms of early defensive structures were ringfort
Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...
s and Motte-and-bailey castle
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
s. This style of fortification remained prevalent for centuries, persisting even after the Norman Invasion
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
in the 12th century.
The Rathvilly Moat, constructed in the 400s, was home to Crimthann mac Énnai
Crimthann mac Énnai (died 483) was a King of Leinster from the Uí Cheinnselaig sept of the Laigin. He was the son of Énnae Cennsalach, the ancestor of this dynasty.
Biography
It is not known when he acquired the throne but, in the annals rec ...
, King of Leinster. The town of Rathvilly itself is named after an unknown historic ringfort, derived from the Irish ().
The arrival of the Normans was followed by the widespread construction of stone castles and tower houses
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 ...
throughout Ireland. These structures did not entirely supplant the earlier forms of fortification, as evidenced by Castlemore Moat, which is an example of a much later Motte-and-bailey. It was built by Raymond FitzGerald
Raymond (or Redmond) Fitz William Fitz Gerald (died 1185–1198), nicknamed ''Le Gros'' ("the Large"), was a Cambro-Norman commander during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Raymond was among the first of a small band of Norman knights who lan ...
in the 12th century following his conquest of O'Nolan lands in the Barony of Forth.
Although stone castles were generally of far superior quality, wooden structures were still favoured by the more mobile Irish kingdoms, as they could be easily constructed and abandoned when necessary. As late as the 1370s, the King of Leinster, Art McMurrough-Kavanagh, is recorded as residing in a large wooden fortress in the woods near Old Leighlin.
For six centuries, Carlow Castle
Carlow Castle ( ga, Caisleán Cheatharlach) is located near to the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated fro ...
was the oldest and most imposing stone castle in the county. Built from 1207 to 1213, the town of Carlow grew around it, and it once stood as the centrepiece of the walled medieval town, complete with four towers (of which two survive). The castle endured numerous sieges and conquests, and changed hands dozens of times throughout its history, remaining intact. In 1812 the castle was leased to Dr. Phillip Parry Price Middleton, who intended to convert it into a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
. In an ill-fated attempt at remodelling, Middleton used gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
to create cut-and-cover tunnels beneath the castle. This undermined the castle's foundations and its entire eastern side collapsed into rubble. It lay abandoned until the Office of Public Works
The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of ow ...
renovated the site in the 1990s.
Other notable castles and castle ruins which are listed as National Monuments include the 15th century Leighlinbridge Castle
Leighlinbridge Castle, also called Black Castle, is in the village of Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland, on the River Barrow.
The early castle was built c.1181 for the Normans. In the 1540s a Carmelite friary was converted into a new for ...
, around which the town of Leighlinbridge
Leighlinbridge (; ) is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. The N9 National primary route once passed through the village, which was by-passed in the 1980s. It now lies on the R705 regional road.
It covers the town ...
grew; Ballymoon Castle, which was constructed in the 13th century near Muine Bheag; and Ballyloughan Castle which belonged to the Kavanagh dynasty until the 16th century.
Estates and Manor Houses
Carlow was at the epicentre of the estates period of the late-18th and 19th centuries, and the county had a greater number of country houses and demesnes per hectare than any other rural county in Ireland. These " Big Houses" and their occupants dominated the economic and political landscape until the turn of the 20th century. Although the term was never applied at the time, historian Jimmy O'Toole refers to Carlow as ''"the most gentrified
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
county in Ireland"'' due to the concentration of aristocratic families and their grand estates within its borders.
A valuation survey undertaken in 1876 revealed that just 21 families owned – almost 40% of the entire county. Although not as prevalent as in other counties, absenteeism
Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism is unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implici ...
by the landholding class in Carlow was still common. Towards the end of the 19th century, anger at high-rents and the widespread eviction of tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...
s in Ireland resulted in the Land War
The Land War ( ga, Cogadh na Talún) was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the first and most intense period of agitation between 1879 and 18 ...
(1879–1882) and the formation of the Irish National Land League
The Irish National Land League (Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmer ...
led by Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...
, which heralded the end of the estates period.
While as many as 300 Big Houses across Ireland were burned down during the revolutionary period, Carlow was left relatively untouched, losing just three Big Houses between 1919 and 1923, two of which were unoccupied. Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
was against such burnings and addressed supporters at the gates of Browne's Hill House in January 1923, stating that ''"nothing was to be achieved by the burning or damaging of homes, big or small...raid for arms, yes, but leave them as they found them"''.
Some of the most prominent Big Houses are currently in public ownership, such as Altamont House, Oak Park and Duckett's Grove
Duckett's Grove ''(Irish: Garrán Duckett)'' is a ruined 19th-century great house and former estate in County Carlow, Ireland. Belonging to the Duckett family, the house was formerly the focal point of a estate, and dominated the local land ...
. Several historically significant Big Houses such as Borris House, Huntington Castle
Huntington Castle was situated in the village of Huntington in Herefordshire, England, 2½ miles south-west of Kington ().
Natural Site
The castle is sited on a commanding position on the modern day England Wales border in what was the ...
and Dunleckney Manor are privately owned but open to tours and visitors at certain times of year. The majority of the surviving Big Houses within the county are in use as either private residences or hotels, while a small number have been abandoned and are in a derelict state.
Natural Attractions
Gardens and Trails
The Carlow Garden Trail features 21 gardens and curated woodlands of former estate houses located within the county. Gardens include the Delta Sensory Gardens in Carlow town, the Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) is a Carlisle-based retailer specialising in clothing, along with interests in homewares and destination shopping for tourists. It was previously owned by the Dubai-based British billionaire Philip Day.
The company ...
s Arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
in Leighlinbridge, the Borris House gardens and woodlands, Lucy's Wood and the Newtownbarry House gardens near Bunclody
Bunclody (), formerly Newtownbarry (until 1950), is a small town on the River Slaney in Wexford, Ireland. It is located near the foot of Mount Leinster. Most of the town is in County Wexford; a small area at the north end of town is in Count ...
, the Kilgraney house gardens, the Hardymount house gardens and the Duckett's Grove gardens. The Robinsonian-style gardens of Altamont House are often referred to as "the jewel in Ireland's gardening crown".
There are several long-distance trails
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...
which traverse the county. Ireland's flagship long-distance trail – the Wicklow Way – ends in Clonegal
Clonegal, officially Clonegall ( ; ), is a village in the southeast of County Carlow, Ireland. It is in a rural setting, close to the border between counties Wexford and Carlow, 5 km from Bunclody, County Wexford and 22 km from Carl ...
in northeastern Carlow, after crossing the Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...
for . The Barrow Way follows the course of River Barrow for from Robertstown, County Kildare to St Mullin's
St Mullins (, formerly anglicised as ''Timoling'' or ''Tymoling'' - 'homestead of Moling')St Mullin's
Placenames Database of I ...
. The South Leinster Way begins at the foot of Mount Leinster
Mount Leinster ( ga, Stua Laighean) is a mountain in the Republic of Ireland. It straddles the border between Counties Carlow and Wexford, in the province of Leinster. It is the fifth-highest mountain in Leinster after Lugnaquilla , Mullaghcl ...
near Kildavin
Kildavin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland. Situated on at the junction of the N80 national secondary road and the R724 regional road, it lies 5 km north of Bunclody, County Wexford at the northern end of the Blackstairs ...
, and runs for before joining the River Suir
The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of .
The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2. at Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the so ...
in County Tipperary.
The Blackstairs Mountains
The Blackstairs Mountains ( ga, Na Staighrí Dubha) run roughly north/south along the border between County Carlow and County Wexford in Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in no ...
are a designated Special Areas of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
(SAC) and contain a diverse range of habitats which are protected under Irish and European law. These habitats range from dense forested areas to open heath and blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...
. Vegetation within the range is limited to those adapted to the strong winds and often freezing temperatures of the mountain-tops, and include Western gorse (Ulex gallii
''Ulex gallii'', the western gorse or dwarf furzeA R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, ''Flora of the British Isles'', Cambridge, 1962, p. 332 is an evergreen shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the Atlantic coasts of western Europe: sou ...
), Ling heather (Calluna vulgaris
''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...
) and Bell Heather (Erica cinerea
''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe.
The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produ ...
). The last recorded Irish wolf was shot and killed in the Blackstairs Mountains in 1786. Populations of Red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
and Feral goat
The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world.
Species
Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...
s roam the range; however, human intervention is required to control their population as they now lack natural predators.
Other natural features and wildlife habitats within Carlow which have been identified as proposed Natural Heritage Area
Natural Heritage Area () is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in Ireland. The Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 makes legal provision for the designation and protection of a national network of Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs).
The d ...
s include Baggot's Wood, John's Hill, Ardristan Fen, the Ballymoon Esker, the Slaney River Valley and Cloghristick Wood.
Demographics
According to the Central Statistics Office, Carlow had a population of 56,932 in 2016; an increase of 2,320 since the 2011 Census of Ireland. Population growth from 2011 to 2016 included a natural decrease of 650 people (−1.14%) since the last census, coupled with an increase of 2,970 people (5.2%) due to net migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
into the county. Immigration from outside Ireland resulted in a net increase of 297 people, and migration from other counties produced a net increase of 2,673 people. As of 2016, 47.6 percent of Carlow's population was born within the county, and a further 11.5 percent were born in neighboring Kilkenny, the majority of which would most likely be Carlow natives who were born in St. Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
City. Excluding Kilkenny, 26.6 percent of the county's population were born elsewhere in Ireland, and 14.3 percent were born abroad.
In 2016, the racial composition of the county was:
* 94.3% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
(84.2% White Irish, 9.2% Other White Background, 0.9% Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...
)
* 1.3% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
* 1.2% Others including mixed
* 1.0% Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
* 2.2% Not stated
The five largest foreign national groups in Carlow are: British (4.6 percent), Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
(3.8 percent), Latvian (0.8 percent), Romanian (0.54 percent) and Lithuanian (0.41 percent).
In 2016, 7.2 percent of the county's population was reported as younger than 5 years old, 21.6 percent were between 5 and 19, 58.2 percent were between 20 and 65, and 13.0 percent of the population was older than 65. A total of 1,681 people (3.0 percent) were over the age of 80. The population was evenly split between Females (50.08 percent) and Males (49.92 percent).
In 2018, there were 834 births within the county, and the average age of a first time mother was 29.7 years.
Religion
Within Carlow, 91.3% of residents identify with a religion, while 6.9% identified as having no religion. Additionally, 1.9% of people did not state their religion. Christianity and its various denominations was by far the largest religious group in the county, constituting 89.4% of the population. Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
was the only major non-Christian religion, with 587 adherents (1.0%).
The largest denomination by number of adherents in 2016 was the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
with 46,982; followed by the Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
and Episcopalian
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
with 2,282, and other minor Christian denominations including Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
and Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement with 1,073 adherents. Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...
had 587 adherents, and, coincidentally, the exact same number of people identified as Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
in 2016. Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
had 99 adherents and Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
had 59. There were 159 adherents of all other religions, and 1,072 people did not state their religion.
The Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin (; ga, Deoise Chill Dara agus Leithghlinn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the A ...
. Denis Nulty
Denis Nulty KC*HS (born 7 June 1963) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin since 2013.
Early life
Nulty was born in Slane, County Meath, on 7 June 1963, the youngest of five children to Den Nulty an ...
is the current bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. The 12th-century St Laserian's Cathedral in Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...
was formerly the main cathedral of the Church of Ireland Diocese of Leighlin
The Lord Bishop of Leighlin was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the small town of Old Leighlin in County Carlow, Ireland.
The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland, it is held by the Lord Bis ...
, but is now one of six cathedrals in the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory
The United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory (''Full title'': The United Dioceses of Cashel, Waterford and Lismore with Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, ga, Deoise Chaisil, Phort Láirge, Leasa Móire, Osraí, Fhearna agus Leithghlinne) is a diocese of ...
. The early 19th-century Scot's Church in Carlow town is the county's largest Presbyterian church, and the Carlow Islamic Cultural Centre is also located in Carlow town.
Continuing the trend which has been observed throughout Ireland since the Census of 2006, a significant increase in the number of people who identified as having no religion was observed between 2011 and 2016. This demographic increased by 79.3% from 2,198 in 2011 to 3,941 in 2016. People with no religion now account for 6.9% of the county's population.
Urban areas
Carlow is the county town and by far the largest settlement, with over 40% of the county's population. It is the 13th largest urban area in the state and, excluding cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, the 8th largest town.
Under CSO classification, an "Urban Area" is a town with a population greater than 1,500. Despite having only three towns which qualify as urban areas, County Carlow is predominantly an urban county. According to the 2016 Census, 55.8 percent of the county lived in urban areas (i.e. the three largest towns), and the remaining 44.2 percent lived in rural areas. Nearly two-thirds (64.3 percent) of the county's population live in the ten largest settlements.
Economy
The Central Statistics Office estimate of Carlow's total household income in 2017 was €1.48 billion, ranking 24th out of 26 counties However, Carlow residents were the 13th highest per capita tax contributors in the State, returning a total of €331 million in taxes in 2017. This was primarily driven by the higher aggregate value of economic output from the county, along with higher wages when compared to counties in other regions such as the Midland or Border Region
The Border Region (coded IE041) is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. The name of the region refers to its location along the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border. It is not a cross-border region. It comprises the Irish coun ...
. Per capita disposable income in 2017 was €20,154, or 96.63% of the State average, ranking it 8th in the country. The primary economic sectors within the county are retail, services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and the food and drink industry.
Agriculture
Despite its small size, Carlow has a large agricultural sector, and is a major producer of dairy, cereals
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food en ...
and vegetables. Carlow has a tradition of producing high-quality agricultural products. Samuel Lewis's 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland noted the "highly improved state" of the county's agricultural practices. It further states that "wheat of a superior quality is grown in every part" and that barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
grown in Carlow "has long been celebrated and in great demand, and large quantities are annually shipped to England".
Dairying
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
is the most profitable agricultural sector in the county, which historically has always been the case. Lewis's 1837 description states "Dairies are numerous and the dairy farms extensive and profitable; butter, generally of very superior quality and much esteemed in English and foreign markets, is the chief produce". As of 2018, there were 102,357 cows within the county, approximately 60% of which were beef cattle
Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef.
In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operat ...
, and the remainder dairy cattle
Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''.
Historically, little distinction was mad ...
. The county also has Ireland's 13th largest sheep herd (108,851 sheep) and 13th largest pig herd (40,715 pigs).
There are 1,806 individual farms in the county, with a total farmed area of , accounting for 79% of land area. Of this, is under tillage, the 9th highest in Ireland, and of land is dedicated to horticulture and fruit, the 8th highest. The average size of a farm in the county is , significantly above the national average of and according to the Irish Farmers' Association
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) ( Irish: ''Feirmeoirí Aontaithe na hÉireann'') is a national organisation to represent the interests of all sectors of farming in the Republic of Ireland. The IFA is Ireland's largest farming representative ...
, the total value of agricultural produce from Carlow in 2016 was €188 million.
Industry
Historically, Carlow was the primary producer of sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
in Ireland. The Irish Sugar Manufacturing Company was created in 1926 by Carlow businessman Edward Duggan, and was a landmark moment in the industrialisation of the nascent Irish State. In 1933 the plant was nationalised by the newly elected Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
government. The government were pursuing a policy of autarky
Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems.
Autarky as an ideal or method has been embraced by a wide range of political ideologies and movements, especially ...
and recognised sugar manufacturing as a core national industry, creating a State-owned
State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
sugar company – Comhlucht Siúicre Éireann – with the Carlow plant as its headquarters. The plant's forced closure in 2005 due to the introduction of EU sugar quotas was highly controversial.
Manufacturing, biosciences, retail, services and agribusiness are the county's primary economic sectors. Burnside Group are the largest single employer in the county, with over 800 employees at their sites in Tullow, Bagenalstown and Carlow. Manufacturing firm Autolaunch employ 300 people at their plant in Muine Bheag. Pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme
Merck & Co., Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and is named for Merck Group, founded in Germany in 1668, of whom it was once the American arm. The company does business as Merck Sharp ...
has a vaccine
A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...
manufacturing plant in Carlow, which employs 300 people, and Glanbia agribusiness has two feed mills in the county, at Carlow and Tinnahinch. The county is also a key supplier to the Glanbia milk pool.
In the services and IT sector, US-based insurance firm Unum employs 150 people in Carlow town, and indigenous security firm Netwatch, headquartered in Carlow town, employs 160 people, with an additional 340 employees in the UK and USA.
Multinational oil and gas exploration company Tullow Oil was founded in Tullow
Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673.
History
There is a statue of ...
by Aidan Heavey in 1985. The company, which is now headquartered in London, is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and recorded a revenue of just under €1.6 billion in 2019.
Infrastructure
Transport
Road
County Carlow is located along the main Dublin to Waterford motorway, the M9 motorway (Ireland), M9. The M9 bypasses Carlow town to the south and has aided the growth of other commuter towns located near junctions along the M9, such as Leighlinbridge and Ballinabranna. The N80 road (Ireland), N80 cross-cuts the county for , running from Carlow town to the Wexford border at Bunclody. The N81 road (Ireland), N81 was built to replace the old local railway line and traverses the county for from Ballon, through Rathvilly and Tullow, up to the County Wicklow border and on to Dublin city.
Bus Éireann, as well as private coach operators, provide bus services to villages and towns across the county.
The county is served by the following national National primary road, primary roads and National secondary road, secondary roads:
Rail
Rail coverage in Carlow is sparse, with only one active rail line currently serving the county. The Great Southern and Western Railway extended to Carlow town in August 1846. This line remains in use and serves both Carlow town and Muine Bheag along the main Dublin–Waterford railway line. The line is operated by Irish Rail and runs eight trains per day (Monday to Friday) from Carlow to Heuston Station. It is primarily used by commuters to Dublin city.
Historically, the railway network was more extensive. A rail line ran from Naas in County Kildare to Tullow and Rathvilly. This line opened in 1886 and was designed to pass through the scenic west Wicklow hills. The line closed for passenger traffic in 1947, and finally terminated all operations in 1959.
An additional line connecting Carlow to Wexford was constructed by the Bagenalstown and Wexford Railway Company. It opened its first station in December 1858 and operated two trains per day before going bankrupt in June 1864. Great Southern and Western Railway bought the line, and its successor CIÉ continued its services until 1 January 1963.
Air
For international flights, Dublin Airport is the closest international airport to Carlow. The airport is less than 2 hours by car from most towns and villages in the county. The airport can also be accessed via bus from some of the larger towns, or by linking the train from Carlow town or Bagenalstown to the Aircoach in Dublin city. Waterford Airport is the closest regional airport; however, it is currently non-operational.
The county has two airstrips which are used for light aircraft and recreational flying. The Hacketstown Airfield (ICAO airport code, ICAO Code: EIHN) is located on the Tinaheally Road approximately south of Hacketstown and has one 375m runway. The Killamaster Airstrip is located northwest of Carlow town.
Sport
GAA
In Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA, Carlow is recognised as a dual county, meaning that Gaelic football and Hurling are equally popular. The county competes in Division 1B of the National Hurling League and Division 3 of the National Football League (Ireland), National Football League. Historically, the county has seen little success at top level in either sport, its biggest achievement being a Leinster football Leinster Senior Football Championship, provincial win in 1944. That year, Carlow progressed to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, All-Ireland semi-final, in which they were beaten by Kerry GAA, Kerry.
At club level, the county has seen much more success. Football clubs compete annually in the Carlow Senior Football Championship. The competition was first played for two years in 1889 and 1890, after which financial constraints suspended activities until 1897. Ballon O'Gorman Mahons won the first, and what would be their only, championship title in 1889, beating the Tullow Stars and Stripes 1–01 to 0–00. The most successful club in the county is Éire Óg GAA (Carlow), Éire Óg, with 28 Senior Football Championship titles. At provincial level, clubs from Carlow have won 6 Leinster Senior Club Football Championship titles, the 3rd most of any county. Of these, Éire Óg have won 5 and O'Hanrahans GFC have won 1, the most recent of which was in 2000. No team from Carlow has ever won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship, although Éire Óg have been runners up on two occasions in 1993 and 1996.
The county's hurling tradition is more recent, dating back to the first Carlow Senior Hurling Championship in 1927. The first championship was won by Carlow town in a 2–03 to 1–04 victory over Bagnelstown. The most successful hurling club in the county is St. Mullin's GAA, St. Mullin's, with 27 titles. In 2013 Mount Leinster Rangers GAA, Mount Leinster Rangers became the first Carlow club to win a Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship, Leinster Senior Club Hurling title, and the club made in to the finals of the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, All-Ireland the following year, but were beaten by Portumna GAA, Portumna.
Other sports
In addition to Gaelic games, clubs for other organised sports were set up across the county in the latter half of the 19th century. Several Carlow landlords were involved in the formation of the Phoenix Cricket Club (Ireland's oldest cricket club) in 1830. Local aristocrat Horace Rochfort founded the Carlow Cricket Club the following year. The Bagnelstown Cricket Club was set up in 1843, making the derby between these two clubs the longest provincial cricket rivalry in Ireland. Towards the end of his life, Rochfort also established the County Carlow Football Club, Carlow Rugby Football Club (Ireland's second oldest rugby club) in 1873, as well as the Carlow (and later Ireland) Polo club.
In association football, Carlow was represented in the League of Ireland by F.C. Carlow, which competed in the A Championship until the club's disbandment in 2016. While the county currently lacks a prominent football club, local amateur clubs compete in the Carlow and District Football League. There are also over a dozen golf courses within the county, among them the Carlow Golf Club, Killerig castle, Borris Golf Club and the Mount Wolseley Spa and Golf Resort.
Culture and Heritage
The patrimony of the Butler dynasty, Butlers of Ormond encompassed parts of County Carlow as well as most of the modern counties of County Tipperary, Tipperary and Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
, and all three counties share a Armorial of Ireland#Counties, similarly styled coat of arms which reflect the Butler dynasty. Their first recorded use was in 1665, collectively making them the oldest county coats of arms in Ireland.[Genealogical office Ms.60, ''Some 1150 Tricks of Family arms, with arms of Bishoprics and of counties Carlow, Tipperary and Kilkenny collected by Carney, Ulster about 1668'', folio 190] Most other counties adopted a coat of arms after independence, whereas Carlow, Kilkenny and Tipperary continue to use their historic Butler-era coat of arms.
The county's coat of arms comprises an Ermine (heraldry), Ermine field – a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat. The linings of medieval coronation cloaks and some other garments, usually reserved for use by high-ranking peers such as the Butlers, were made by sewing many ermine furs together to produce a luxurious white fur with patterns of hanging black-tipped tails.
There are two further symbols per Fess. On the left side, a red Lion (heraldry)#Lions rampant, lions rampant, the heraldic symbol of the branch of the Butler dynasty which resided within Carlow. On the right side, two Lion (heraldry)#Lions passant, lions passant from the Flag and coat of arms of Normandy, coat of arms of Normandy, which symbolise that the Butlers derived their authority from the Angevin Empire, Angevin monarch. This latter symbol makes Carlow's coat of arms unique in the Republic of Ireland, where British monarchical emblems are not typically present on local or national government seals.
In Gaelic games, the List of flags of Ireland#County Flags, county flag was first adopted in 1910. The flag is a green, red and yellow Tricolour (flag), tricolour adapted from the coat of arms of Carlow town. The town's coat of arms displays a green and yellow flag with the Butler red lion in the centre, flying over Carlow Castle
Carlow Castle ( ga, Caisleán Cheatharlach) is located near to the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated fro ...
. The county flag has several variant forms, often displaying either the county coat of arms or the Carlow GAA logo in the middle.
County Songs
The Irish Folk music, folk song "Follow Me Up to Carlow" is the county anthem, and is used for a variety of tourism and sporting purposes. However, the song itself is not actually about Carlow. It celebrates the defeat of the English army by Fiach McHugh O'Byrne, Fiach Mac Aodh Ó Broin at the Battle of Glenmalure in 1580. A "Song for Carlow" competition was held in 2005 to select a new unofficial anthem based on the county. Out of 112 entries, a song entitled "The Red, Yellow and Green" by country singer Derek Ryan (singer), Derek Ryan was chosen as the winner by a live audience and panel of judges. Comedian Richie Kavanagh has also written numerous songs which make reference to the county and its landmarks, including "It's Called the County Carlow" and "The Carlow Fence" – a comedic song of admiration for the county's unique Quaker-style decorative granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
fences.
Art and Festivals
The VISUAL Centre is located on the Old Dublin Road in Carlow town and hosts a contemporary art museum as well as the George Bernard Shaw Theatre. Shaw had familial ties to the town and inherited properties through his mother's family. He donated his properties to the Carlow Urban Council in 1944 for the ''"common welfare"'', specifically stipulating that the properties could not be privately sold or used to subsidise the local rates.
There are a number of cultural activities and events held within the county each year. The Carlow Arts Festival has been held annually since 1979 and is aimed at promoting culture and the arts within the county. The Taste of Carlow Festival is centred around local cuisine and showcases locally produced bread, cheese, pastries and Craft Beers. The Festival of Writing and Ideas is held each year on the grounds of Borris House and features live discussions with novelists, poets and journalists.
People
*Turtle Bunbury – Historian and author
*Pierce Butler (American politician), Pierce Butler – soldier, planter, and statesman, recognized as one of United States' Founding Fathers
*Finnian of Clonard, 5th century saint
*William Dargan – engineer, often seen as the father of Irish railways
*Alan Harverson – organist and teacher
*Samuel Haughton – polymath, in 1866 published a formula for calculating the drop needed to cause instantaneous death at hangings
*Richie Kavanagh – comic songwriter
*Myles Keogh – American Civil War military officer and later Captain (US Army), Captain of Company I, 7th Cavalry Regiment (United States), U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
*Richard Montfort – architect and engineer, first Chief Engineer of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
*David Mullins (jockey), David Mullins – Irish jockey, notable for riding Rule The World (horse), Rule The World to win the 2016 Grand National
*Peter Murphy (broadcaster), Peter Murphy – radio and television broadcaster, presented RTÉ's ''Cross Country Quiz'', was born in Carlow
*Seán O'Brien (rugby union, born 1987), Seán O'Brien – Leinster, London Irish, Ireland and British & Irish Lions international rugby player
*Frank O'Meara – Carlow-born artist known for his impressionist, plein air landscape painting
*Thomas P. O'Neill (historian), Thomas P. O'Neill, historian
*Mary O'Toole – first woman Municipal court, municipal judge in the United States
*Saoirse Ronan – Oscar nominated and Golden Globe awarded actress
*Derek Ryan (singer), Derek Ryan – Country music singer & former member of Pop band D-side
*William Desmond Taylor – silent film director and actor
*Kathryn Thomas – RTÉ presenter
*John Tyndall – the 19th century scientist who was the first to explain why the sky is blue
See also
*List of monastic houses in Ireland#County Carlow, List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Carlow)
*Lord Lieutenant of Carlow
*High Sheriff of Carlow
References
External links
Carlow Local Authorities
Bibliography
* Campbell, Timothy R. and Royle, Stephen A. : The country house and its demesne in County Carlow.
* Conry, Michael: The Personality of County Carlow: landscape and people. Carlow History and Society
* Doran, Linda: Medieval settlement hierarchy in Carlow and the 'Carlow Corridor' 1200–1550. Carlow History and Society
*
*
* Nolan, William: County Carlow 1641-1660: Geography, land ownership and society. Carlow History and Society
* O’Byrne, Emmett: 'A divided loyalty': The MacMurroughs, the Irish of Leinster and the Crown of England 1340–1420. Carlow History and Society
* O'Toole, Jimmy: The landed gentry in decline – A County Carlow perspective.
* Purcell, Michael Carlow in Old Pictures & Carlow in Old Pictures Vol 2
{{coord, 52, 40, N, 6, 50, W, region:IE_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title
County Carlow,
Leinster, Carlow
Counties of the Republic of Ireland, Carlow
Local government areas of the Republic of Ireland, Carlow