Ballyfarrell
Ballyfarrell-
Baile Uí Fhearghaill , (O'Farrell's town)
533 acres
In
the south are the ruins of an old church.The Coal Gap ;cutting
through the sand ridge on the Cloghan road,was made for the convenience
of those drawing coal from Kilkenny to Banagher and Athlone. During
the War of Independence there was a skirmish here with the British
forces.There were no casualties on either side.
Before the Cromwellian confiscation Ballyfarrell formed part of
the estate of Neal Molloy of Pallas.
The church mentioned was that built by the Cully Friars during
the reign of king James (1685-1690) and was never roofed In the
course of time most of the stones of this church were drawn away
,including the head of the stone statue, known as the Cully Angel,
which had been inserted above the door. It was taken by a man
named Jordan who placed it in the gable of a house he was building
at the Black Lion , and when that house was demolished about 1938,
it was taken to the curate’s house in Mountbolus, where it remained
until it was inserted in the altar at the Mass Rockin Chapel Hollow.Only
part of the east gable and the north wall of the church now remain |
Bunakeeran
Bunakeeran- Bun a Chaorthainn (Bottom of the
rowan / mountain ash) 643 acres
Three quarters of the land here is bog and the rest is suitable
for tillage and pasture.
Bunakeeran formed part of the great wood of Firceall and before
the Cromwellian was owned by James Griffin an Irish Catholic. |
Bunaterin
Bunaterin
- ( Bun a’T’r’n. ) Bottom of the little district,
or mouth of the stream called Teerin. 258 acres
A third of the area, to the north east
is bog and brushwood and the remainder is farming land.
This area also formed part of the great wood of Firceall. After
the Cromwellian confiscation Charles Molloy managed to retain
Bunaterin until it was sold with the rest of the estate in 1703. |
Coolanarney
Coolanarney ( Cúl an Áirne ) corner or angle
of the sloes. 428 acres
The west of this area is bog, the rest is farming land. In olden
times the centre of the area contained three small orchards.
Coolanarney formed part of a greater area called Cullymore.
A school was first built here in 1886. |
Cully
Cully ( Coillidh ) a wood - 417
acres
The north of the area is bog and the remainder is tillage and pasture
with a small orchard in the centre.
Before the Cromwellian confiscation the land was owned by Cossney
Molloy and afterwards by Sir Rob Booth and William Sands. The slight
remains of Cully castle are on the right hand side of Cully lane.
The ruins of the Friars’ abbey are near the Rahan border to the
north end of the area. The Friars had a farm of land attached to
the Friary and according to tradition the field to the front was
known as “Bishop’s Meadow” because it was in that field the Bishop
confirmed the children of Killoughy during Penal times. |
Curraghmelia
Curraghmelia
( Curragh Míolach) moor
of the midges - 217 acres.
The east section contains an ancient fort; the west Lough Curraghmelia
and the remainder is tillage and pasture.
This townland was part of the great estate of Neil Molloy of Pallas. |
Derrymore
Derrymore ( Doire Mór ) great oak wood 726 acres
The north is bog ,the centre contains a small orchard,the south
end has a great house Derrymor House, the west a corn mill and
the erst is tillage and pasture.Derrymore was part
of Cullymore. The oat mill was owned by a Protestant family (Fenamore
) who are said to have sheltered the Cully Friars during Penal
times. There was a drop of 12 feet in the mill race; and the gear
wheels which weigh about three tons and are all in one piece,
came from Mountmellick where they were cast. The gears and mill
stones are still on the site. The stream flows towards the bosna
river, and the bridge over it on the Cloghan road is known as
Barony bridge as it separates the baronies of Ballyboy and Garrycastle.
Derrymore
House had a stone dated 1641 , built into the pier of the entrance
gate. This stone was said to have come from the Cully Friary.
The stone can now be seen at the Blueball pub. |
Glasshouse
Glasshouse ( An Teach Gloine)
This townland to the east of Ballyfarrell was so called because
of a glass works which was operated here in the 1700’s to 1800’s |
The Idle Corner
The
Idle Corner
This crossroads on the main Tullamore / Kilcormac road got its name
during the tragedy of Famine Times.
One of the Government Relief schemes was the building of the road
between Garbally and Mountbolus. Desperate half-starved people flooded
into the area, often in the vain hope of getting employment in the
construction of the road. These poor people gathered at the crossroads
each day in the hope that they might be chosen for work if others
were too weak. Since that time this crossroads has been known as
the Idle Corner |
Killooley
Killooley (Cill Uailleach) The church of the howlings
1347 acres
Killooley contains
four detached bogs. In the centre is Killooley Hall , with some
plantings around it and the ruins of Killooley Castle. An ancient
fort stands near the road leading from Kilcormac to Tullamore.
According to tradition, the castle mentioned above was
built by the O’Molloys and the ruins which still remain show it
to have been an extensive building with towers at the corners.
The church which is referred to in the place name has not
been discovered in any ordanance survey map but local tradition
places the church near Killooley Hall.
The fort is on the verge of the main road, on the north
side about 200m from the Garbally border.
It is known as Kinnarney’s fort or the “Hill if the Crying”
and it was regarded with some fear by the old people because of
the cryings and wailings that were said to come from it. “I heard the crying and the wailing in the
evening time when I was a youngster”, said a Killooley man. “That was in the year 1897 and the whole neighbourhood
was out on the road listening to it. The old people said that
they had heard it before,and they believed it was supernatural.
I certainly never heard cries like them before or since from man
or beast. The association of the name Kinnarney with
the fort is probably very old-for Kinnarney means “Steward of
church lands” Furthermore
it may be that the crying believed to come from the fort gave
the church and townland its very unusual name.
Near the N.W. border are the ruins of a school built by
Richard Gamble of Killooley Hall, for his tenants and in which
his daughter taught. It
was boycotted by the Catholics. |
Kilmore
Kilmore
(Coill Mhór) 182 acres
The east is brushwood. It has a turlough or winter lake and the
rest is tillage or pasture. On the Down’s Survey map Kilmore is not mentioned
as a townland- it formed part of the Great Wood of Firceall, 1020
acres which was ownedbefore the Cromwellian Confiscation by john
and Terence Coghlin and James Griffin and afterwards was granted
to Lord Fitzharding , Charles Molloy , Sir William Petty and the
Hollow Blade Company. |
Mount Pleasant
Mount
Pleasant a fancy name 677acres
This townland includes the seat of the last O ‘Connor Faly.
Maurice O’Connor was the eldest son of Col. John O’ Connor,
who is said to have been the head of the O’Connor clan of ancient
Offaly, and was killed at the Battle of Aughrim (1691) fighting
for King James. In the centre is Mount Pleasant House, with some
planting around it. Maurice became a Protestant and went to England
where he made his fortune at the English Bar and bought property
in England including a place called Mount Pleasant. Returning to
Ireland he eventually settled in the old mansionof the Molloys in
Cappangarron and renamed it Mount Pleasant. His grandson, Maurice
Nugent O’Connor built the new mansion in 1804 and inscribed on the
roof “This house was built by Maurice Nugent O’Connor, heir to the
principality of Ofelia” |
Pallas
Pallas ( Pailís Uí Mhaolmhuaidh) O’Molloys palace 120 acres.
Also contains Pallas Lake ;the western part of which is deep and
the east is shallowand overgrown with rushes.
Contains old church ruins. The Blue Ball public house is at the
crossroads. In the north is Pallas House and in the centre are the
ruins of Pallas old castle and a small pool called Marlowe’s Hole.
All the land is tillage or pasture.
Pallas was the stronghold of one of
the leading families of the O’Molloys.
However Neal Molloy lost this land in the Cromwellian Confiscation
and it was granted to John Hallam, Sir William Petty and Arthur
Ardagh. Pallas House was
in its day a very fine building. The cut-stone surrounds of the
doors and windows, together with those of Mount Pleasantwer removed
some years agoto build porches to the old church in Killeigh. The ancient fort of the O’Molloys was at the
west end of the lake surrounded by two dykes. On a road map of 1777
the pub from which the area got its present name is shown at the
S.W. angle of the cross. Inns ,as hotels wer called in those days
usually had a sign rather than a name over their doors and that
chosen by the innkeeper in Pallas wasa ball painted blue and suspended
from a pole , and so his inn was known by its sign -The Blueball.
Also on the map of 1777 there is a church shown at the Cross,
while in the map of 1912 shows the same church in ruins and on the
opposite side of the road the Police barracks. There was a school
in Pallas in 1824. Pallas was a noted fishing lake in the 19th.century.
About 1963 The Fisheries Trust Took over Pallas Lake and
by Netting, trapping and poison removed most of the pike and perch
and restocked it with brown and rainbow trout.The Trust has continued
to re-stock it each year.
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