Rathtoe (), also spelled Rathoe, is a village and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

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 ...

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 village is located in the

civil parish 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 ...

of Gilbertstown, between Tullow and

Ballon, County Carlow Ballon () is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the N80 road near Carlow town. Amenities Money from "Siopa Glas" on Main Street is channelled back into the village, school garden and to local charities. There is a primary sc ...

. 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 ...

flows through the area. Rathtoe is a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

, and had a population of 304 as of the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

. Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include the

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 ...

settlement of

Ballon Hill Ballon Hill is a bronze age hilltop enclosure encompassing burial grounds located near the village of Ballon, County Carlow. Description Ballon Hill is an archaeological site, listed as an Irish National Monument, which sits on a low hill near ...

(6 km to the south), and a

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 ...

(''rath'') within Rathtoe townland itself. The local

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 ...

church is dedicated to

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

and was built . The church is listed on the Record of Protected Structures for County Carlow, as is the nearby

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

building (formerly a school) which dates to 1837. The local

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

club, Fighting Cocks GAA, has its grounds approximately west of the village. The club won the

Carlow Senior Football Championship The Carlow Senior Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Michael Lyng Motors Carlow SFC''), is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Carlow GAA clubs. The Carlow County Board of the ...

in 1938.

References

{{County Carlow Towns and villages in County Carlow