Rathmore (), a village,

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 ...

and

District electoral division An electoral division (ED, ) is a legally defined administrative area in the Republic of Ireland, generally comprising multiple townlands, and formerly a subdivision of urban and rural districts. Until 1996, EDs were known as district electora ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, Ireland, is located at the western edge of the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

in the barony of Naas North. The original settlement was at the southwest corner of the

English Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

, serving an important function as a border fortress during the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Geography

Rathmore village is in the

townlands A townland (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Outer Hebrides, Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Middle Ages, medieval Gael ...

of Rathmore East and West, 5 km northwest of

Blessington Blessington, historically known as Ballycomeen (, from the Irish surname ''Ó Coimín''), is a town on the River Liffey in County Wicklow, Ireland, near the border with County Kildare. It is around 25 km south-west of Dublin, and is situat ...

. The civil parish of Rathmore is 7744 statute acres, containing the following townlands: Rathmore borders with the parishes of Kilbride and

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

to northeast and southeast; the boundary extends along the N81 Road and the old coach road between Hempstown and Crosscoolharbour. To northwest, west and south it borders the Kildare parishes of

Kilteel Kilteel () is the name of a village, townland and civil parish located in the barony of South Salt, County Kildare, Ireland. The townland of Kilteel Upper contains the remains of a church with a decorated Romanesque chancel arch, the ruins of ...

and

Kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Other common uses include: *Kill (body of water), a body of water, most commonly a creek *Kill (command), a computing command *K ...

, Tipper and Tipperkevin.

History

Prehistory

Cist burials of possible

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

date were excavated within the

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

in 1893-1894; the mound may contain an early Bronze Age

tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

. A bronze bracelet was recovered near the motte in 1905. Newtownpark contains a ring-barrow of Bronze Age date, a Bronze Age cist burial was excavated in Hempstown Commons in 1950, and a cinerary

urn burial ''Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or, a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk'' is a work by Sir Thomas Browne, published in 1658 as the first part of a two-part work that concludes with ''The Garden of Cyrus''. The title is Greek ...

of Late Bronze Age date was excavated in Athgarrett in 1983.

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

cremated remains were recovered within a pit-burial a short distance west of the

in 1998.

Early Medieval

In the

Early Medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

period Rathmore was a stronghold of the Meic Bráenáin, a branch of the Fothairt Airthir Life, within the territory of ''Uí Máel Ruba'' or ''Uí Maíleruba''. Their principal church was Kilteel.Flanagan, Marie Therese 1998, 'Strategies of Lordship in Pre-Norman and Post-Norman Leinster' in ''Anglo-Norman Studies: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1997'' pp. 107-126, p. 123-124. The

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled and now kept in Trinity College Dublin. It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' ("Book of Nuachongbáil"), a monastic site known today as Oughaval. In 2023 ...

records the killing of Donnchad mac Domnaill Remair, the

Uí Ceinnselaig The Uí Ceinselaig (also Uí Ceinselaig, Anglicized as Kinsella), from the Old Irish "grandsons of Cennsalach", are an Irish dynasty of Leinster who trace their descent from Énnae Cennsalach, a supposed contemporary of Niall of the Nine Hos ...

King of Leinster in 1089 at ''Ráith Mór ''in ''Uí Máel Ruba'' by the Uí Failghe King Conchobar Ua Conchobhair, illustrating Rathmore's importance as a high-status site. The description of Donnchad's death "in unfair advantage" suggests he was being hosted by Conchobar. The use of Rathmore as an Anglo-Norman manorial caput also indicates the importance of the pre-Norman settlement; the motte may incorporate both a Bronze Age tumulus and the rath. Evidence for an earlier occupation layer under the motte was identified in 1894.

Medieval

After the

Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, French, Flemish, and Breton troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquero ...

, Maurice FitzGerald was granted the cantred of ''Offelan ''or ''Ophelan '' with the manor of Rathmore. His son William FitzMaurice granted the manors of Rathmore and

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

to his brother

Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly Gerald FitzMaurice, jure uxoris 1st Lord of Offaly ( – 15 January 1204) was a Cambro-Norman nobleman who took part with his father, Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan, in the Norman Invasion of Ireland (1169–71). Together with his fi ...

, ancestor of the Earls of Kildare. The grant mentions Rathmore and ''Omolrou'';

Kenneth Nicholls Kenneth W. Nicholls (1934 or 1935 – 25 May 2025) was an Irish academic and historian, notable for his work on the late medieval and early modern period. He was the subject of a festschrift in 2014. Work Nicholls worked at the Dublin Institut ...

interprets this as a reference to ''Uí Maíleruba''.Nicholls, K. 1986, 'Medieval Leinster dynasties and families: Three Topographical Notes', in ''Peritia'', Volume V, pp. 409-415, p. 413.

Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean * Maurice, Iowa, a city * Maurice, Louisiana, a village * Maurice River, a t ...

, died at Rathmore in 1286. In 1453-54 title to the manors of Rathmore and Maynooth were disputed between the Butlers of Ormond and the FitzGeralds. The Earl of Ormond was then

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

. A letter from the chief persons in Kildare to the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

complained that the dispute: "hath caused more destructionne in the said counte of Kildare and liberte of Mith within short time now late passed and dayly doth, then was done by Irish enemys and English rebelles of long tyme before." The Butlers were later driven out. The manor was forfeited to the Crown after the revolt of Silken Thomas, 10th Earl of Kildare in 1534. In 1541 the "manor and castle of Rathemore" was leased to Walter Trott, Vicar of Rathmore. In 1545 the manor with the "castle and watermill there" and lands in Wicklow and Kildare were granted to John Travers of Monkstown, an usher of the King's chamber, for his services "especially in the wars in Ireland". The manor passed to the Chevers family by marriage at the end of the 16th century. The Civil Survey of 1654 lists John Chevers as holding 402 plantation acres in the parish with a manor house or castle and a mill, then waste''.''

Motte and bailey castle

The remains of a

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

from the late 12th or 13th century are located in the village. Ten metres high, 46 metres in diameter at base and 17 metres at top, with an inner and outer fosse, the earthworks were badly damaged by gravel extraction for roadworks in the 19th century. An adjoining bailey to the north was destroyed before 1955. The 'castle' recorded in the 16th century and depicted on the

Down Survey The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist William Petty in 1655 and 1656. It was created to provide for precise re-allocation of land confiscated from the Irish. The survey was apparently called the "Do ...

was likely a later stone building.

Deserted medieval settlement

Rathmore was granted a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

charter before 1203. In a charter of 1220 Maurice FitzGerald granted the burgesses 96

burgage Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...

s at an annual rent of 12d with the "liberties of Breteuil". Traces of burgage plots may survive as earthworks immediately north of the village. The absence of references after c. 1400 points to the settlement's decline though the borough still had a provost in 1608.

Medieval Church

The medieval church, mentioned in 1270, was likely located close to the site of the Church of Ireland building. The 2nd Earl of Kildare granted the advowson to the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in 1318. The church was among the possessions of the Hospitaller preceptory of Kilteel transferred to the Allen family after the dissolution of the monasteries. The church was in repair in 1615 but a survey of 1630 recorded the "church and chauncell" as "downe". The current building dates from 1766. Possible traces of the earlier church were identified during archaeological monitoring in 2008.

Border fortress

In the medieval period Rathmore served as a border fortress on the

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

of the

, under attack from the Gaelic O'Byrne and O'Toole lordships of the Wicklow uplands. On 5 January 1356, '' ''

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, noting that'' 'the more noble and powerful persons' '' of Leinster had failed to remain at the wards of'' 'Kylhele, Rathmore and Ballymore in co. Kildare...for the salvation of the marches against Obryn and his accomplices' ''issued orders requiring the 4th Earl of Kildare to: An act of 1488 set out the boundaries of "the four obedient shires" of Louth, Meath, Dublin and Kildare and described the Pale boundary passing through Kilteel and Rathmore''.'' In 1536 Thomas Alen was appointed constable of Rathmore. In 1538 after John Kelway, "Constable of the King's Castell of Rathmore", hung two of Turlough O'Toole's

kern Kern or KERN may refer to: People * Kern (surname), includes a list of people with the name * Kern (soldier), a light infantry unit in Medieval Irish armies Places * Kern, Alaska, a ghost town in Alaska * Kern, Austria, see Sankt Marienkir ...

during a truce between O'Toole and the Crown, O'Toole demanded redress. Kelway called for a parley, raised "certain husbandmen and freeholders of Rathmore, Newtown and the parish of Kill" and met with O'Toole and his followers. After a skirmish, O'Toole fled to the mountains, pursued by Kelway's men. Ambushed by O'Toole's men, Kelway's party took refuge in the

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

at Threecastles. O'Toole's men set fire to the castle, forcing them out. Kelway and up to sixty others were slain, the remainder taken prisoner. Contemporary accounts, such as that of Lord Deputy Grey, blamed Kelway. A letter of 22 August 1538 from Sir William Brabazon to

Sir Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution. Cromwell ...

describing the events stressed the importance of Rathmore: Friar Clyn's '' Annals of Ireland ''names Rathmore among several settlements on the Pale border raided and burnt by

Rory O'More Rory Oge O'More (; – 30 June 1578) was an Irish noble and chief of the O'More clan. As the Lord of Laois, he rebelled against the Tudors' sixteenth-century conquest of Gaelic Ireland. Irish nationalists Patrick Pearse and Philip O'Su ...

before 1577. A battle on 17 September 1580 was described in a letter from

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

. Sixty to eighty

and

gallowglass The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from meaning "foreign warriors") were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland and Scotland between the mid 13th ...

, led by two brothers of

Fiach McHugh O'Byrne Fiach mac Aodha Ó Broin (anglicised as Feagh or Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne) (1534 – 8 May 1597) was Chief of the Name of Clann Uí Bhroin (Clan O'Byrne) and Lord of Ranelagh during the Elizabethan wars against the Irish clans. Background Dur ...

, having burnt the "towne" of Rathmore were retreating into the mountains with a herd of cattle when they met with a party of horse under the Earl and Sir Henry Harrington at a ford. A series of charges broke the O'Byrne force and despite fighting "a long tyme very valyantly" the Palesmen eventually "putt them all to the sword savinge two which escaped". Among those slain were Fiach McHugh O'Byrne's brothers, his son and Kildare's Lieutenant, George FitzGerald. Alexander Taylor's map of 1783 marks a site on the road between Rathmore and Edestown as 'English Ford' a placename not used on the Ordnance Survey.

Tower houses

The castle of Rathmore recorded in 16th century sources was likely a

. The site is unclear. Remains of a separate tower house at Segravescastle survive, attached to a dwelling of possible 17th century date. The ruins of a tower house survive within a cluster of later farm buildings in Blackhall. While a ruined castle marked in Athgarrett on Alexander Taylor's map of 1783 is not marked on the Ordnance Survey, in 1983 a range of late medieval material was recovered from the 'castle field' in Athgarrett. All four sites are recorded in the

Record of Monuments and Places The Record of Monuments and Places (RMP; ) is a list of historical and archaeological sites the Republic of Ireland established under the National Monuments Acts. It can be consulted in county libraries and local authority offices and online and ...

. The Civil Survey records at least five additional castles in the parish whose sites are not clearly identifiable including castles in Edestown, Punchestown, and two 'stumps' of castles in Walshtown.

Nineteenth Century

Population

The 1831 Census records 1473 people in the parish, with 235 families inhabiting 222 houses. A parliamentary report of 1836 records three public houses in the parish. At the time of the 1841 Census the parish contained 1,495 persons and 229 inhabited houses. By 1851 this had dropped to 1,193 people and 192 inhabited houses.

Principal buildings

St. Columbcille's Church (Church of Ireland)

Samuel Lewis described St. Columbcille's Church in 1837: "''a small plain structure, with a square tower, erected by aid of a grant of £450, in 1766, from the

Board of First Fruits The Board of First Fruits () was an institution of the Church of Ireland that was established in 1711 by Anne, Queen of Great Britain to build and improve churches and glebe houses in Ireland. This was funded from taxes collected on clerical inco ...

, which also granted for it, in 1824, £375, as a gift: it has lately been repaired by a grant of £187 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners''". The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes it as a Board of First Fruits-style Gothic-style church erected c. 1780.

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Eadestown (Roman Catholic)

The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes this as a five-bay single storey Gothic-style church, constructed between 1820 and 1860 and extended in 1880. The Chapel is marked on a Longfield map of August 1823.

The village

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

Barracks marked on the southern edge of the village on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map is recorded in the Primary Valuations but not marked as a barracks on the 25 inch Ordnance Survey map. The building survives in ruined form. A mill marked on Alexander Taylor's map of 1783 is marked on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map as a corn mill, 300 metres north of the motte on the Hartwell River. The buildings are not marked as a mill on the 25 Inch Ordnance Survey, but survive today in partial form.

Landholding

In 1853 the

Marquess of Downshire Marquess of Downshire is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, a former Secretary of State. Hill had already been created Earl of Hillsborough and Viscount Kilwarlin of County Down ...

held the townlands of Blackhall, Crosscoolharbour, Newtown Great, Newtown Little, Newtownpark, Segravescastle and Walshestown.

Kenelm Henry Digby Kenelm Henry Digby (c. 1797 – 1880) was an Anglo-Irish writer, whose reputation rests chiefly on his earliest publication, '' The Broad-Stone of Honour, or Rules for the Gentlemen of England'' (1822), which contains an exhaustive survey of medi ...

held Caureen, Greenmount, Hempstown Commons, Philipstown, Pipershall, Punchestown, Punchestown Upper, Redbog, Slatequarries and Wolfestown, with lands in Eadestown and Rathmore West. Lady Henrietta Geary and Francis Geary held what had been the lands of the Nevills of Furness, in Furryhill, Punchestown Lower, Rathmore East and part of Rathmore West. William Cogan of Tinode held lands in Athgarret and leased Hempstown Commons from Digby. The Representatives of Colonel Southwell held Eadestown and Rathmore West, while Edward Tickell held Newtown, Nunsland and Punchestown Little.

Education

Rathmore N.S., Scoil Chéile Chríst

The local primary school is Rathmore National School, Scoil Chéile Chríst and it is situated 1 mile west of the village. Opened in 1837, it remained on the same site until 2005, when a new purpose built facility was provided adjacent to the original school site. Today the school has 12 class and 4 learning support teachers on staff. The principal is Mr. Robbie Jameson.

Recreation

Rathmore Hall

Opened in 1992 by then Irish President Mrs. Mary Robinson, Rathmore Hall (also known as Rathmore Community Centre) is a focal point for the community. The funds to build the hall were raised almost entirely by the local community. The Hall provides facilities for a wide range of activities for all age groups. The sports of Bowls, Badminton, Karate are well catered for as is Ballet, Hip Hop, Dance, Drama, Art and Yoga. A community cafe takes place on the second Wednesday morning every month to bring together local senior citizens. The goal is to ensure that locals living alone have an opportunity to meet one another.

References

{{County Kildare Towns and villages in County Kildare Civil parishes of County Kildare