Gowran (; ) is a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

in the east of

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The size of the barony is . There are 35

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...

in Gowran. The chief town today is

Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is located in the centre of Gowran close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course is located one km from t ...

. The barony contains the ecclesiastical sites of

Kilfane Kilfane () is a combination of two townlands located outside of Thomastown in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is made up of the townlands of Kilfane East and West with a total area of . Located in the barony of Gowran, Kilfane gives its name to th ...

and

Duiske Abbey Duiske Abbey National Monument (Ireland), National Monument, also known as Graiguenamanagh Abbey, is a 13th-century Cistercian monastery situated in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny in Ireland. Duiske Abbey was founded by William Marshal, 1st ...

The barony of Gowran is situated in the east of the county between the baronies of

Fassadinin Fassadinin (), sometimes written Fassadining, is a Barony (Ireland), barony in the north of County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of 12 baronies in County Kilkenny. The size of the barony is . There are 19 Civil parishes in ...

to the north (whose chief town is

Castlecomer Castlecomer (Irish: ''Caislean an Chumai'' meaning "the castle at the confluence of the waters") is a town in the north of County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is positioned at the meeting of N78 and R694 roads about north of Kilkenny city. At the ...

), the baronies of

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 ...

, Shillelogher and

Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford to the north, and Ballyhale to the south. It was formerly situated on ...

to the west (whose chief towns are

, Bennettsbridge and

), and the barony of

Ida Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...

is to the south. It borders

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

to the east. The M9 motorway bisects the barony.

Geography

Gowran contains the towns of

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number of ...

Paulstown Paulstown () is a small village in County Kilkenny in Ireland. Paulstown is located at the (northern) junction of the N9 and N10 National primary roads. It is 21 km south of Carlow and 19 km east of Kilkenny. Scoil Bhride is the p ...

Bennettsbridge Bennettsbridge () is a village in County Kilkenny in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the River Nore south of Kilkenny city, in the centre of the county. Bennettsbridge is a census town, and has population of 745 as of the 2016 ...

Goresbridge Goresbridge () is a small village located in the east of County Kilkenny, in the province of Leinster, Ireland. Goresbridge is named after a 1756 bridge, built by Colonel Ralph Gore, which provides a crossing of the River Barrow between County ...

Graiguenamanagh Graiguenamanagh or Graignamanagh () is a town on the River Barrow in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Part of the settlement, known as Tinnahinch, is on the County Carlow side of the river, and Carlow County Council refers to the whole village as "Grai ...

, and

Inistioge Inistioge (; ) is a small village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Historically, its name has been spelt as Ennistioge, Ennisteage, and in other ways. The village is situated on the River Nore, southeast of Kilkenny. Situated along the River No ...

, and the settlements of Ballyfoyle, Maddockstown, Whitehall, Castlewarren, Dungarvan, Rathgarvan or Clifden, Skeaghvasteen, and

Johnswell Johnswell () is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. On the village green is a powerful spring and well dedicated to John the Baptist which was traditionally the venue for a local "pattern" (religious fair) of note, while the moat north of t ...

. There are 35

in the barony (see map). They are: Blackrath, Blanchvilleskill, Clara, Columbkille, Dunbell, Dungarvan, Famma, Gowran, Graiguenamanagh, Grangesilvia, Inistioge, Jerpointabbey, Jerpointwest, Kilderry, Kilfane, Kilkieran, Killarney, Kilmacahill, Kilmadum, Mothell, Pleberstown, Powerstown, Rathcoole, Shankill, St. John's, St. Martin's, St. Maul's, Thomastown, Tiscoffin, Treadingstown, Tullaherin, Ullard, Wells, and Woolengrange. Three of which are split between the Barony of Gowran and the Baronies of

and

(Mothell, Kilmadum and

). Most of the eastern boundary of the barony of Gowran is formed by 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 ...

History

The barony was part of the territory of the historic kingdom of

Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of t ...

(''Ossory''). That kingdom was almost co-terminus with the still extant

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 ...

diocese of

Ossory Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...

. In 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 diocese has been merged into the diocese of Cashel and Ossory. Gowran is currently administered by

Kilkenny County Council Kilkenny County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Chill Chainnigh) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kilkenny, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

. Gowran was recorded in the

Down Survey The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist, William Petty, in 1655 and 1656. The survey was apparently called the "Down Survey" by Petty, either because the results were set down in maps or because the su ...

(1656), and on Griffith's Valuation (1864). Parts of the barony were in the Poor law unions of Castlecomer, Kilkenny, and Thomastown. Territory of O'Carroll and O'Dunphy. Given to Theobald Fitzwalter (

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

). Dobbyn family based there in the 15th century. Richard FitzPatrick was created Lord Gowran in 1715, and his son was created

Earl of Upper Ossory Earl of Upper Ossory was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 October 1751 for John FitzPatrick, 2nd Baron Gowran, who later represented Bedfordshire in the House of Commons. He was the son of Richard FitzPatrick, who had been c ...

in 1751. Both titles became extinct in 1818. Contains the ecclesiastical sites of

and

Kilbline Castle Kilbline Castle is a fortified 16th century tower house in County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is set on the Kilbline Estate in the parish of Tullaherin, within the historical barony Gowran, approximately 1 mile southeast of Bennettsbridge. It is ...

and Woodstock Castle are also located in Gowran.

Notes

References

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External links

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{{Kilkenny-geo-stub

Geography

History

See also

Notes

References

External links