Wikipedia

Rathmore, County Kildare

Rathmore (Irish: An Ráth Mhór or An Ráith Mór, meaning 'big fort'),[2] a village, civil parish and District electoral division in County Kildare, Ireland, is located at the western edge of the Wicklow Mountains in the barony of Naas North.[3] The original settlement was at the southwest corner of the English Pale, serving an important function as a border fortress during the medieval period.

Rathmore
An Ráth Mhór / An Ráith Mór
Village
A row of houses in the village
A row of houses in the village
Rathmore is located in Ireland
Rathmore
Rathmore
Coordinates: 53°13′02″N 6°33′49″W / 53.217222°N 6.563611°W / 53.217222; -6.563611
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
CountyCounty Kildare
Area
 • Total
31.4603 km2 (12.1469 sq mi)
 (civil parish)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
1,045
 • Density33/km2 (86/sq mi)
 (population of the entire electoral division)
Time zoneUTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Historical population
YearPop.±%
18411,285—    
18511,042−18.9%
1881599−42.5%
1926363−39.4%
1961383+5.5%
20111,045+172.8%
[1]

Geography

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Rathmore village is in the townlands of Rathmore East and West, 5 km northwest of Blessington. The civil parish of Rathmore[4] is 7744 statute acres, containing the following townlands:

Townland Acreage Early record of placename or variant
Athgarret 742 1481 - Agarret [5]
Blackhall 345 1518 - Blackhall [6]
Caureen 110 1783 - Coreen Hill[7]

1816 -Cowreen Hill[8]

Crosscoolharbour 110 1752 - Crosscoolharboar[9]
Eadestown 461 1518 - Ediston[10][11]
Furryhill 673 1541 - Firrehill[12]
Greenmount 122 1842 - Greenmount[13]
Hempstown Commons 238
Newtown 74 1481 - Neveton (?)[14]

1536 - Newtown

Newtown Great 469 1614 - Newtown O'Moore[15]

1654 - Newtown O'More[16]

Newtown Little 23 1541 - Little Newton[17]
Newtownpark 270
Nunsland 87 1654 - Nunstowne[18]
Philipstown 175 1518 - Philippiston[19][20]
Pipershall 176
Punchestown Little 121 1493 - Punchestown[21]
Punchestown Upper 264
Rathmore East 377 1189 - Ráith Mór [22]
Rathmore West 927 -
Redbog 459 1654 - Red Mountaine[16]
Segravescastle 30
Slatesquarries 143 1783 - Slate Quarry[7]

1816 - Slatequarries[23]

Walshestown 106 1518 - Walshiston [24]
Wolfestown 452[25] 1627- Wolfenston [26]

Rathmore borders with the parishes of Kilbride and Blessington in County Wicklow 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 and Kill, Tipper and Tipperkevin.

History

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Prehistory

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Cist burials of possible Bronze Age date were excavated within the motte in 1893-1894; the mound may contain an early Bronze Age tumulus.[27][28] A bronze bracelet was recovered near the motte in 1905.[29] 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 of Late Bronze Age date was excavated in Athgarrett in 1983.[30][31][32] Iron Age cremated remains were recovered within a pit-burial a short distance west of the motte in 1998.[33][34]

Early Medieval

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In the Early Medieval 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.[35] The Book of Leinster records the killing of Donnchad mac Domnaill Remair, the Uí Ceinnselaig 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.[22][35][36][37]

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.[28]

Medieval

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After the Norman invasion, 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 to his brother Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, ancestor of the Earls of Kildare.[38] The grant mentions Rathmore and Omolrou; Kenneth Nicholls interprets this as a reference to Uí Maíleruba.[39] Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly, died at Rathmore in 1286.[40]

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 letter from the chief persons in Kildare to the Duke of York 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.[41][42][43]

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.[44] 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".[45] The manor passed to the Chevers family by marriage at the end of the 16th century.[46] 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.[47]

Motte and bailey castle

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The rath in summer 2024

The remains of a motte-and-bailey castle 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.[48] The 'castle' recorded in the 16th century and depicted on the Down Survey was likely a later stone building.[49]

Deserted medieval settlement

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Rathmore was granted a borough charter before 1203. In a charter of 1220 Maurice FitzGerald granted the burgesses 96 burgages 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.[50][51]

Medieval Church

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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.[52] 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".[53][54] The current building dates from 1766.[55] Possible traces of the earlier church were identified during archaeological monitoring in 2008.[56]

Border fortress

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In the medieval period Rathmore served as a border fortress on the marches of the English Pale, under attack from the Gaelic O'Byrne and O'Toole lordships of the Wicklow uplands. On 5 January 1356, Edward III, 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:

go in person with 5 men-at-arms with horses, 12 hobelars well armed, and 40 archers and other foot, well provided, to Rathmore on Monday after the Octaves of Trinity, or on Tuesday at the latest, to hold the said wards at his expenses, for the defence of the said lands...by the allegiance that he owes the King and under pain of forfeiture of those lands to be present with the said men-at-arms...on the said day, to remain there...and he is to defend those parts against the malice of the enemy.[57]

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.[58] In 1536 Thomas Alen was appointed constable of Rathmore.[59] In 1538 after John Kelway, "Constable of the King's Castell of Rathmore", hung two of Turlough O'Toole's kern 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 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.[60] A letter of 22 August 1538 from Sir William Brabazon to Sir Thomas Cromwell describing the events stressed the importance of Rathmore:

Toching the garrison of Rathmore, which Kelway had; forasmuche as it is one of the chief keys of defence against the Tholes [OTooles], and that the cuntrie is greatly depopulate in thois quarters, we beseeche your good Lordship, that none be appointed therunto, but sooche one as shalbe an honest man, that wolbe resident ther, having some experience to goveme and defende a cuntrie.[46]

Friar Clyn's Annals of Ireland names Rathmore among several settlements on the Pale border raided and burnt by Rory O'More before 1577.[61]

A battle on 17 September 1580 was described in a letter from Earl of Kildare to Francis Walsingham. Sixty to eighty kern and gallowglass, led by two brothers of Fiach McHugh O'Byrne, 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.[62][63][64] 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.[7]

Tower houses

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The castle of Rathmore recorded in 16th century sources was likely a tower house. The site is unclear. Remains of a separate tower house at Segravescastle survive, attached to a dwelling of possible 17th century date.[65] The ruins of a tower house survive within a cluster of later farm buildings in Blackhall.[66] 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.[67] All four sites are recorded in the Record of Monuments and Places. 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.[47]

Nineteenth Century

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Population

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The 1831 Census records 1473 people in the parish, with 235 families inhabiting 222 houses.[68] A parliamentary report of 1836 records three public houses in the parish.[69] 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.[70]

Principal buildings

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St. Columbcille's Church (Church of Ireland)

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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, 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".[71] The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes it as a Board of First Fruits-style Gothic-style church erected c. 1780.[72]

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Eadestown (Roman Catholic)

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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.[73] The Chapel is marked on a Longfield map of August 1823.[74]

The village

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A Royal Irish Constabulary 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.[75][76] The building survives in ruined form.[77] 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.[78] The buildings are not marked as a mill on the 25 Inch Ordnance Survey, but survive today in partial form.[77]

Landholding

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In 1853 the Marquess of Downshire held the townlands of Blackhall, Crosscoolharbour, Newtown Great, Newtown Little, Newtownpark, Segravescastle and Walshestown. Kenelm Henry Digby 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.[79]

Education

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Rathmore N.S., Scoil Chéile Chríst

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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.[80]

Recreation

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Rathmore Hall

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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.[81]

References

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  1. ^ "National Centre for Geocomputation, NCG - Maynooth University". ncg.nuim.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. ^ "An Ráth Mhór/Rathmore". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Shop.osi.ie Mapviewer". maps.osi.ie. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  4. ^ "An Ráth Mhór / Rathmore (Civil Parish)". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  5. ^ Smyly, J. Gilbert 1948, 'Old Deeds in the Library of Trinity College - V.' in Hermathena, No. 71 (May, 1948), pp. 36-51, p.43.
  6. ^ Otway Ruthven, Jocelyn 'Knight's Fees in Kildare, Leix and Offaly' in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Vol. 91, No. 2 (1961), pp. 163-181, p. 166.
  7. ^ a b c Andrews J.H. 1983. A Map of the County of Kildare: Lieutenant Alexander Taylor of His Majesty's 81st Regiment 1783. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. A comparison of Taylor's map with the First Edition Ordnance Survey would suggest the site is located at the northeast corner of Newtown townland, where a small stream crosses the road. http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,695277,718196,11,7 Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ John Taylor's 1816 Map of the Environs of Dublin. Phoenix Maps.
  9. ^ "Noble J. & Keenan J. 1752. Map of county Kildare. D. Pomarede, Dublin". Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  10. ^ Otway Ruthven, 1961, 166.
  11. ^ Hore, Herbert Francis 1866, 'The Rental Book of Gerald, Ninth Earl of Kildare, A. D. 1518 (Continued)' in The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society, New Series, Vol. 5, No. 3 (1866), pp. 501-518, 525-546, p. 541.
  12. ^ Irish Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns,Henry VIII, No. 184.
  13. ^ "Tithe Applotment Books" (PDF). Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  14. ^ Smyly, 1948, 43
  15. ^ High Court of Chancery c. 1800. Irish Patent Rolls of James I. Dublin. HMSO. p. 272.
  16. ^ a b Simington, Robert C. 1962. The Civil Survey AD 1654–56: Vol. VIII: County of Kildare. Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin. p. 44.
  17. ^ I rish Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, Henry VIII, No. 184.
  18. ^ Simington, Robert C. 1962. The Civil Survey AD 1654–56: Vol. VIII: County of Kildare. Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin. p. 45.
  19. ^ Otway-Ruthven, Jocelyn (26 August 1961). "Knight's Fees in Kildare, Leix and Offaly". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 91 (2): 163–181. JSTOR 25509431.
  20. ^ "The Rental Book of Gerald, Ninth Earl of Kildare, A. D. 1518 (Continued)". archive.org. The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society. January 1866. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  21. ^ Quinn, David. B. 1941 'The Bills and Statutes of the Irish Parliaments of Henry VII and Henry VIII' in Analecta Hibernica, No. 10 (Jul., 1941), pp. 71-169, p. 88.
  22. ^ a b Nicholls, K. 1986, 'Medieval Leinster dynasties and families: Three Topographical Notes', in Peritia, Volume V, pp. 409-415, p. 413
  23. ^ John Taylor's Map of the Environs of Dublin extending 10 to 14 miles from the castle by actual survey on a scale of 2 inches to one mile.
  24. ^ "The Rental Book of Gerald, Ninth Earl of Kildare, A. D. 1518 (Continued)". archive.org. The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society. January 1866. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  25. ^ http://www.thecore.com/cgi-bin/iresrch[permanent dead link‍]
  26. ^ Kearney, H.F. 1956. 'The Court of Wards and Liveries in Ireland, 1622-1641' in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C, Vol. 57, (1955/1956), pp. 29-68, p. 47.
  27. ^ Record of Monuments and Places No. KD020-009009-: "Description: Discovered in the late-19th century during gravel extraction at Rathmore motte (KD020-009004-) and recorded by the Earl of Mayo (1896-98, 113-14). In 1893 several skeletons were found 'buried inside a ring of roundish undressed limestones' near the base of the bank of the motte. In 1894 a long stone cist, five feet long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches deep, was found 'exactly 20 feet' below the present grass-grown surface of the (motte); it contained a single inhumation. Antler, cattle, sheep and pig bones were found at the same level as the cist. (Bradley et al. 1986 vol. 4, 432) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy"
  28. ^ a b Mayo, Earl of 1896, 'Rathmore' In Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol.II, No. 2, pp. 112-115.
  29. ^ 'Notes' in Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Volume IV, p. 498.
  30. ^ Hartnett, P.J. 1950, 'A Crouched Burial at Hempstown Commons, Co. Kildare' in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 80, No. 2 (Jul., 1950), pp. 193-198
  31. ^ RMP KD025-007: "Description: In undulating pasture. Discovered in 1983 during topsoil-stripping for the construction of the Cork-Dublin natural gas pipeline. Most of a flat-based, bucket-shaped pot containing ‘tiny fragments of burnt bone’ was found standing upright in a pit of only very slightly larger volume and shape, which may originally have been sealed by a covering stone. While the paucity of the burnt bone led the excavator to caution against interpreting it as a cinerary urn, the form of the vessel suggests a Late Bronze Age date. (Cleary et al. 1987, 43). Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 23 July 2012"
  32. ^ RMP KD025-008: "Description: Prominently located (OD c. 296m) at the NE end of a narrow-topped, moderately steep-sided NE-SW ridge, overlooking Glen Ding valley to the NE and with panoramic views in all directions except SW. A sub-circular area (diam. 14.4m E-W; 13.4m N-S) is defined by a shallow fosse (D 0.2-0.4m: base Wth 0.8m at N – 3.5m at E) and by a low, heavily poached outer earthen bank (int. H 0.2-0.6m; Wth 2.5m at S – 4.1m at W; ext. H 0.3-0.5m) which has a spine of dense stony material, and possible small inner revetting stones at S (ext. diam. 29m E-W; 27.5m N-S). An entrance gap (Wth 3.3m) at ESE is flanked on its S side by a single revetting stone on the inner face of the bank. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 23 July 2012"
  33. ^ RMP No. KD020-009015
  34. ^ "Excavations.ie. Searchable database of Irish excavation reports". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007.
  35. ^ a b 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.
  36. ^ http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G800011A/ - Dondchad mac Domnaill Remair .iii. Conchobor Hua Conchobuir lasro marbad oc Raith Móir i nHuib Maeli Ruba.
  37. ^ O'Keeffe, Tadhg 1997, 'Diarmait Mac Murchada and Romanesque Leinster: Four Twelfth-Century Churches in Context' in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 127 (1997), pp. 52-79 p. 52.
  38. ^ Orpen, Godard Henry 1914, 'The FitzGeralds, Barons of Offaly' in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Sixth Series, Vol. 4, No. 2 (30 Jun. 1914), pp. 99-113 pp. 99-100.
  39. ^ Nicholls, K. 1986, 'Medieval Leinster dynasties and families: Three Topographical Notes', in Peritia, Volume V, pp. 409-415, p. 413.
  40. ^ Swinton, the Hon Mrs. 1896. 'Notes on a Book of Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary' in Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Volume II, pp. 426-429, p. 426.
  41. ^ Wood, Herbert 1928 'Two Chief Governors of Ireland at the Same Time' in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Sixth Series, Vol. 18, No. 2 (31 Dec. 1928), pp. 156-157.
  42. ^ Curtis, Edmund 1932 'Richard, Duke of York, as Viceroy of Ireland. 1447-1460; With Unpublished Materials for His Relations with Native Chiefs' in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Vol. 2, No. 2 (31 Dec. 1932), pp. 158-186, pp. 176-177.
  43. ^ Ellis, Henry 1827. Original Letters Illustrative of British History. Second Series, Volume I. London. pp. 117-122.
  44. ^ "Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers On Ireland". www.dippam.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  45. ^ Gilbert, Sir John T. 1864. On the History, Position and Treatment of the Public Records of Ireland by an Irish Archivist. London, p. 144.
  46. ^ a b Aylmer, Hans Hendrick 1902, 'Rathmore' In Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol.III (1899-1902), pp. 372-381, p. 377.
  47. ^ a b Simington, Robert C. (1962). The Civil Survey for County Kildare A.D. 1654-56. Dublin: Irish Manuscripts Commission. pp. 42–45.
  48. ^ RMP No. KD020-009004: "Description: On an esker at the W-edge of Rathmore village, a former Anglo-Norman borough (KD020-009001-), c. 200m S of the Hartwell River, a small, W-flowing tributary of the River Liffey. According to Bradley et al. (1986 vol. 4, 428-30), while the first direct reference to a castle at Rathmore is not until the 16th century, there can be little doubt that the motte was erected in the late-12th/13th c. A substantial, steep-sided, grass-covered, conical mound (base diam. 46m N-S; summit diams. 17m E-W; 13m N-S; H. c. 15m above base of fosse) is girdled by an inner fosse (Wth 7.5m), a broad, high, outer bank (Wth. 12m at W - 18m at E; int. H 3m at W - 7m at E), and a second, very broad, outer fosse (Wth 17m at W; int D 6m) which has been overlain by a road to the E, a laneway to the S and is quarried away along the N. Long the object of gravel-extraction for road-making and repair (Mayo, the earl of, 1896-99, 113; Hendrick-Aylmer 1899-1902, 380-1) which also resulted in the discovery of burials (KD020-009009-) and an Early Historic bronze bracelet in its environs, the probable bailey immediately N of the motte was noted in 1955 (SMR file) as having been 'laid bare for sand to within a few yards of the motte.' The monument is protected by Preservation Order (No. 17/1956). Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011 Date of last visit: 25 July 1986"
  49. ^ "Down Survey Maps - The Down Survey Project". downsurvey.tcd.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  50. ^ RMP No. KD020-009001 "Description: According to Bradley et al (1986 vol. 4, 422-35), the place name Rathmore derives from 'Rath Mhór', "the big fort", but it's unclear whether this refers to the motte (KD020-009004-) or to an earlier ringfort. Prince John, in a document of 1185-9, confirmed the grant of Rathmore to Gerald Fitzgerald, ancestor of the Fitzgerald barons of Offaly and earls of Kildare, and also granted him a weekly market there. The granting of a charter establishing a borough at Rathmore by Gerald Fitzmaurice before his death in 1203 is confirmed by reference to it in another charter of c. 1220 by Gerald's son Maurice, in which Maurice granted the burgesses the liberties of Breteuil and 96 burgages with their appurtenances at an annual rent of 12d. Of the 96 burgages, 85 were to contain seven acres and a frontage each, and 11 were of a half-acre with frontage. An extent of the possessions of Richard FitzThomas, earl of Kildare, drawn up in 1331, included £19 in rents from the burgesses and tenants of Rathmore. Several long, narrow plots running SW between Main St. and a wide, grassy track running parallel to Main St. and which is shown as a road on a 17th-century map of the village, may preserve some of burgage-plot lines, while others may survive as low earthworks NW of the road between the motte and Segrave's Castle (KD020-009002-). Rathmore's frontier location is illustrated by the fact that in 1355-6, Maurice Fitzgerald, earl of Kildare, was ordered by the King, on pain of forfeiting the manor, to go to Rathmore in person, accompanied by five men-at-arms with armoured horses, 12 well-armed hobelars, 40 archers and other footmen well-equipped, in order to resist the incursions of the O'Broin and their allies. The absence of historical references after the 14th century suggests that the borough declined, but Tirlagh Doyne was listed as its provost in 1608, indicating it was not completely abandoned. Rathmore was said to have been burned by Rory Og O'More, who died in 1577, and partly burned by the O'Byrnes in 1580. The Civil Survey of 1654 notes a 'Manor House or Castle', three other castles, and a mill, all of which were described as waste, and the locations of which (apart from Segrave's Castle) are unknown. (Herity 2002, 56 (165); Mayo, 7th earl of, 1896-9, 112-5; De Burg 1896, 315; Hendrick-Aylmer 1899-1902, 380-81; Fitzgerald 1903-5, 498; Killanin and Duignan 1967, 408; Meagher 1979-80, 118)

    Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy

    Date of upload: 10 June 2011"
  51. ^ Brewer J.S. 1873. Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts Preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth. London. HMSO. pp. 24.
  52. ^ "Patent Roll 11 Edward II - CIRCLE". chancery.tcd.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  53. ^ Record of Monuments and Places KD020-009005-
  54. ^ Ronan, M.V. 1941, 'Archbishop Bulkeley's Visitation of Dublin in Archivium Hibernicum, Vol. 8 pp. 56-98, p. 79
  55. ^ "Rathmore - Towns & Villages - Lewis's Topographical Dictionary 1837 - History & Heritage - Kildare". kildare.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  56. ^ "19697 « Excavations". www.excavations.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  57. ^ http://chancery.tcd.ie/document/close/29-edward-iii/41?view=chancery_advanced_search&display=free_text_page&path=search-documents&search=rathmore&regnal_year=All&roll=All&field_year_value[value][date]=&field_year_value2[value][date]= [bare URL]
  58. ^ D'Alton, John (1838), The History of the County of Dublin. Dublin. p. 34
  59. ^ Morrin, James 1861. Calendar of the Patent and Close Rolls of Chancery of Ireland of the Reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth. Volume I. Dublin, p. 34
  60. ^ The encounter was described by Grey in a letter to the King of 4 June 1538:John Kelway, Constable of your Grace's Manor of Rathmore (which Manor bordereth upon the Tooles'), of his own mind, raised certain gentlemen, poor husbandmen, and labourers, and went to parley with one Tirlagh O'Toole, with whom I was at peace; and in the parleying they differed, and the said Kelway chased the said Tirlagh, who took to flight to a certain place, where he had ambushed his kern, and so suddenly turned, and set upon the said Kelway with all his ambushment, so that the said Kelway, and certain gentlemen of the country who were in his company, were constrained to take (refuge in) a small pile called the Three Castles, being upon the borders of the said Tirlagh's country. At which time they slew certain husbandmen and labourers, and a thatched house joining to the same pile put afire, so that the head of the same pile, being covered with thatch, lacking battlement, took fire, and so all burned, so that the said Kelway, and such of the gentlemen as then were with him, were constrained to yield themselves prisoners; and he being in hand with the said Tirlagh O'Toole, him slew cruelly. Assuring Your Excellent Majesty that divers and sundry times I gave monition to all your Constables joining upon the marches, to beware the train of their borderers, and specially to the said Kelway, who, I assure Your Grace, was as hardy a gentleman as any could be.Aylmer, Hans Hendrick 1902, 'Rathmore' In Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol.III (1899-1902), pp. 372-381, p. 375.
  61. ^ Butler Rev. Edward (Ed.) 1849. The Annals of Ireland by Friar John Clyn. Dublin. p. 42
  62. ^ Aylmer, Hans Hendrick 1902, 'Rathmore' In Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol.III (1899-1902), pp. 372-381, p. 379.
  63. ^ Hamilton, Hans Claude (ed) 1867.Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the Reign of Elizabeth 1574-1585. Dublin, p. 253.
  64. ^ FitzGerald, Charles William, Duke of Leinster 1862. The Earls of Kildare and their Ancestors 1057-1773: Addenda. pp. 200-203.
  65. ^ RMP KD020-009002- "Description: At the N end of Rathmore village, c. 450m NE of a motte and bailey (KD020-009004-). According to Bradley et al. (1986 vol. 4, 425-7), this may be the 'castle' recorded in the 1654 Civil Survey as belonging to Sagry of Cabragh. The remains comprise a small, rectangular, two-storied, barrel-vaulted structure (int dims L 3.5m NW-SE; Wth 2.5m) built of uncoursed limestone with dressed granite and limestone quoins, and incorporated at the SW end of a possible late-17 century house (KD020-009003-). Large, opposing, round-arched openings, almost the width of the building, occur in the NW and SE walls, the latter now blocked-up. Corbels indicate the presence of loft under the vaulted ground floor ceiling. A blocked opening at the S end of the NE wall gave access next door, immediately to the N of which a mural staircase, lit by a loop now blocked by the adjoining house, gives access to a first floor chamber, which has been substantially altered, but was lit by square-headed windows in the SE and SW walls, by a small, splayed window in the NW wall, and by a second small, splayed window in the SE wall. A blocked ope in the NE wall gave access to the adjoining building. Access to the now destroyed second floor was via a mural stairs, also in the NE wall. (Hendrick-Aylmer 1899-1902, 381) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011 http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,696181,719950,7,3 Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  66. ^ RMP KD024-011---- "Description: In a farm yard in level pasture. According to Tickell (1960, 370), the castle ‘was acquired by a William Eustace in 1535’, while O’Neill and Clarke (1954, 13, 1954, LXVII) say that Col. Edward Wogan lived there in the 17th century. A very poorly preserved and densely ivy clad, three storied, rectangular structure of which only the W wall (L c. 8m) and the W portion of the S wall (L c. 4m) survive. Built of thin flags, small blocks and roughly squared quoins, with a very slight base batter on the W wall. Three plain, flat-arched windows survive in the W wall; two at ground-floor and one at first-floor level. A modern single story, concrete shed is built against the S wall. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 11 June 2012" http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,693058,716176,7,7 Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  67. ^ RMP KD025-005: "Description: Although not recorded on any edition of the OS mapping, Taylor's Map of County Kildare (1783) shows a castle in this area. In tillage at the SW foot of a steep hill. In 1986, during clearance works in a field known locally as 'Castle Field', a hoard of pewter plates, a medieval tile, portions of two cauldrons and an undated token were found (NMI file). While no visible surface trace of a castle survives, the finds suggest it may have stood in this general area. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 23 July 2012" www.archaeology.ie
  68. ^ House of Commons 1833. Abstract of answers and returns under the Population Acts, 55 Geo. III. Chap. 120. 3 Geo. IV. Chap. 5. 2 Geo. IV. Chap. 30. 1 Will. IV. Chap. 19. Enumeration 1831. p. 28.
  69. ^ House of Commons 1836 [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] Poor inquiry (Ireland). Appendix (C.)--Parts I. and II. Part I. Reports on the state of the poor, and on the charitable institutions in some of the principal towns; with supplement containing answers to queries. Part II. Report on the city of Dublin, and supplement containing answers to queries; with addenda to appendix (A.), and communications. Supplement to Appendix E: p. 61.
  70. ^ 1852. Census of Ireland 1851: part I, area, population, and number of houses, by townlands and electoral divisions: County of Kildare.Thoms.p. 63.
  71. ^ "Rathmore (Kildare)". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  72. ^ "West Cork Arts Centre/Sutherland Building Additional Images: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". www.buildingsofireland.ie. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  73. ^ "Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, Eadestown, County Kildare: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". www.buildingsofireland.ie. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  74. ^ Map of part of the lands of Rathmore, Barony of north Naas and County Kildare. Surveyed August 1823. Names of some tenants shown. Scale 20 perches to an inch. National Library of Ireland. Longfield Map Collection
  75. ^ "Ordnance Survey of Ireland". Archived from the original on 29 August 2012.
  76. ^ "Ordnance Survey of Ireland". Archived from the original on 29 August 2012.
  77. ^ a b "Ordnance Survey of Ireland". Archived from the original on 29 August 2012.
  78. ^ A Map of the County of Kildare, Lieutenant Alexander Taylor of His Majesty’s 81st Regiment 1783. Royal Irish Academy 1983.
  79. ^ 1853. Primary Valuations for the Poor Law Union of Naas, parish of Rathmore, pages 153-157, 197.
  80. ^ "Rathmore National School - Scoil Chéile Chríost, Rathmore, Naas, Co Kildare, W91 VK46". Rathmore National School. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  81. ^ "Home - Rathmore Hall". Rathmore Hall. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
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