Castletown, historically called Ballycaslane (), is a small village and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

in northeast

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It has a small national (primary) school and a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church. Castletown is in the parish of Kilgorman which contains one of the earliest Christian settlements in Ireland. Kilgorman was founded by St Gorman, who reputedly established a monastery in the area. This is possibly the same St Germanus after whom St German's Cathedral on St Patrick's Isle off the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

is named.

Geography

Castletown is located, between the towns of

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is bypassed by the main N11 road (Ireland), M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the Gorey railway station, railway network along the same route. Local newspape ...

and

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 Battle of Arklow, bloodiest battles ...

, at the foot of Tara Hill, County Wexford. It lies, within 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Kilgorman, on the boundary between counties Wicklow and Wexford. Located within a tourist area, Castletown is close to several beaches (Saleen, Clone, Kilpatrick and Kilmichael).

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of barrow,

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

and

moated A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water de ...

sites in the townlands of Castletown, Monagarrow and Clones Middle. The current Catholic church in the area, Saint Patrick's Catholic Church (built in 1885 to designs by

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

), replaced an earlier nearby structure (built 1806 and now in ruins). Liam Mellows Commemoration 2011

Castletown was the Wexford headquarters of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

. At that time, the IRA fighting columns who had been training nearby went for drinks in the Golden Anchor pub. Each year a commemorative rally is held in the village to honour those involved. The flag bearers lead proceedings from the pub to Castletown cemetery. The commemoration is named for

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...

, whose grave is in Castletown cemetery.

Sports

The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA) club,

Castletown Liam Mellows GAA Castletown Liam Mellows Gaelic Athletic Association is a Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football club based in Castletown, County Wexford, Castletown, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. History Castletown Liam Mellows are named ...

, is based between Castletown and the village of Tara Hill. It was a football-only club up until the 1960s when the decision was made to form a hurling club. The club, previously known as Castletown GAA club, was later renamed in honour of the executed Irish Republican,

. The club first won the Wexford Senior Football Championship in 1965. Castletown also has both Ladies football and camogie clubs.

References

{{County Wexford Towns and villages in County Wexford

Geography

History

Sports

See also

References