Rath () is a hamlet in the south west area of

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

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 ...

., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The hamlet is located midway between the towns of Birr and Kilcormac on a northeast-southwest country road. It is located in the parish of Eglish and Drumcullen which is in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Diocese of Meath. The hamlet has a number of local amenities for the local population including a church (dedicated to

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

), a national school, a local community centre and a local shop. Drumcullen GAA is the local GAA club and is located about half a kilometre to the south of the hamlet. As the place-name suggests, Rath takes its name from the Irish word 'An Ráth' which means

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 ...

. Ringforts are circular fortified settlements with some dating as far back as the

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 ...

(800 BCE–400 CE). There is no evidence of a ringfort at the present day hamlet, however there are remains of one at nearby Mullinafawnia, a few kilometres south west of the hamlet. Nearby, about 300 metres from the hamlet, is a hill called Rathmount where the local rath may have been. In

Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland ( ga, Éire Ghaelach) was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late prehistoric era until the early 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Normans co ...

, Rath was located in the territory of

Firceall Firceall () was an ancient Gaelic Irish territory which formed the most south - westerly part of the ancient Kingdom of Meath. O'Molloy was chieftain of the territory. Firceall itself comprised the ancient baronies of Ballycowan, Ballyboy and ...

, of the

Kingdom of Meath Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all of ...

. The O'Molloy clan were chieftains of the territory and had a castle in nearby Eglish (the remains of which are still visible today). Following the plantations of Offaly in the 16th century, Firceall was broken up into the Baronies of Ballycowan,

Ballyboy Ballyboy or Ballaboy () is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is about two kilometres east of Kilcormac. Prior to the Plantations of Ireland, Ballyboy was ruled by O'Molloy in a territory known as Firceall which was allied to the Kingdom ...

and

Eglish Eglish () is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is about 6 km southwest of Dungannon, in the Mid Ulster District Council area. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 93. The village has grown in a dispersed form and ...

. The present day hamlet developed around the old Bennett Estate located in Thomastown, just south of the hamlet which gave regular local employment from the mid-1700s. The present day Catholic church in Rath was built by the family. The Bennett family is an unusual case in being a Catholic landlord family during the times of the Protestant Ascendancy of Ireland. Employment in the area is mainly agricultural however there are a number of industries also. Grennans is a family owned agri-trading business in the hamlet providing much employment. The business mainly deals with the manufacturing and distribution, of animal feeds, farm fertilisers and agricultural seeds and also sell agrochemicals, farm hardware and farm plastics.

Bord na Mona Cucerdea ( hu, Oláhkocsárd, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bord (''Bord''), Cucerdea, and Șeulia de Mureș (''Oláhsályi''). The commune is located in the sout ...

also have a large briquette factory nearby in Derrinlough. Nearby villages include Fivealley about 3 km. to the north which is on the N52 motorway and Killyon about 3 km. to the south on R-440, both of which are located within the same parish. Eglish Castle and the Church of Saint James, Eglish, are located about 3 km. to the west. The site of the once celebrated monastery of Drumcullen is located southeast of the hamlet. The remains of the old church and

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 ...

date back to the early Christian Ireland. Killyon was also the site of an ancient convent founded by Saint Liadhain. It is believed to be linked to the ancient monastery of Seir Kieran.

People

William Bulfin William Bulfin (1 November 1863 – February 1910) was an Irish, and later Argentine, author, journalist, newspaper editor and publisher. He was the fourth son in a family of nine boys and one girl, the children of William Bulfin, of Derrinlough, ...

, Derrinlough (author) *

Eamon Bulfin Eamon Bulfin (1892–1968) was an Argentina, Argentine-born Irish republican. He was the son of writer William Bulfin (1864–1910) of Birr, County Offaly, Birr, in County Offaly (then called King's County). His father had emigrated to Argentin ...

, Derrinlough (Republican activist during 1916 Rising, raised the Irish Tricolour over the GPO and is buried in Eglish cemetery).

References

{{County Offaly Towns and villages in County Offaly