Clonroche () is a village in County Wexford,

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 ...

. It is located approximately west of

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountain ...

and approximately east of New Ross, on the N30 national primary route.

History

From the mid-17th century until the early 20th century, the village of Clonroche was located on the large estate owned by the Carew family of nearby Ballyboro (later renamed Castleboro). From the 18th century onwards, their seat was Castleboro House, and a notable head of this family was Robert Carew (1787–1856). Rev. James Bentley Gordon, who was Protestant

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Killegney in 1798, wrote an account of the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

and also wrote an account of the parishes of Killegney and Chapel that appeared in William Shaw Mason's ''Statistical Account or Parochial Survey of Ireland'', printed in 1814. A later author, Patrick Kennedy was also connected with Clonroche and the surrounding area (in his youth he attended school in Cloughbawn, in the townland of Clonroche, and resided in Castleboro and Courtnacuddy townlands). He wrote of the locality and its people (e.g., the clerics of Killegney parish) in ''Banks of the Boro'' (1856). The Boro from the title is a small river that flows through the nearby countryside. On 27 April 1920 the RIC barracks located in Clonroche was attacked by the IRA during the Irish War of Independence

Cloughbawn Parish

Clonroche is located 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 let ...

(R.C.) parish of ''Cloughbawn'', in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns The Diocese of Ferns ( ga, Deoise Fhearna) is a Roman Catholic diocese in south-eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin. ...

. Cloughbawn R.C. Parish church is located at the edge of the village of Clonroche. Poulpeasty, 5 km away, is also in the R.C. parish of Cloughbawn, and has its own R.C. church and curate. Cloughbawn in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

means "the white rock" and the village is situated at the foot of 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 ...

. The village is close to surrounding

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 orig ...

s, including Poulpeasty, Kilegney, Chapel, Castleboro, Ballyboro, Rathturtin, Tominearly, Meelgarrow, Raheen, and Rathfardon, which stretches to the borders of Adamstown and Rathnure parishes. There is also a Protestant church located about a kilometre from the village of Clonroche at Killegney. This is a

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 secon ...

(C.O.I.) church. Killegney C.O.I. church was formerly part of the C.O.I. parish of Killegney, but today it is part of the United Parishes of Killegney, Rossdroit, Killane and Templeshanbo

Amenities

Clonroche village has two local stores, Greenes and Larkin's, along with Judes and Doyles pubs. There is also a petrol station, a chemist, a chipper and a hair salon. The local creamery provides services and products for the large agricultural community. Local produce includes potatoes, strawberries, cereals, dairy products and pumpkins. Clonroche hosts an annual steam rally. The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

club is Cloughbawn GAA Club. The club's hurling team competes at senior level, and reached the Wexford County Final in 2002 and 2015.

People

Cloughbawn GAA Club has been home to hurlers such as Tim Flood and Larry Murphy. Clonroche is also the birthplace of Walter O'Brien, the founder and CEO of Scorpion Computer Services, and the inspiration for and an executive producer of the 2014 CBS television series ''< /scorpion>''.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * *Longfield, A. K. (ed.). ''The Shapland Carew Papers''. Dublin: Stationery Office, 1946.

External links