Settlement deserted — medieval in Rattoo

The deserted borough of Rattoo was described in the Urban Survey of Kerry as follows; 'The deserted borough of Rattoo is situated about one mile southeast of Ballyduff, twelve miles north of Tralee and seven miles west of Listowel, on the flat coastal plain of north Kerry. Although it is uninhabited today, Rattoo was the site of an ecclesiastical centre in the Early Historic period and of a borough which was probably founded in the thirteenth century. The placename is a corruption of Rath Tuaidh, or more fully, Rath maigi tuaidh, i. e. the fort of the northern plain. The presence of a round tower indicates that Ratoo was the site of a wealthy early ecclesiastical site, but documentary information on it is very scanty. Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 43) suggest that it may have been an early sixth century foundation associated with Bishop Lughach. It is likely that the church site continued to function into the thirteenth century because it is otherwise difficult to understand why it was chosen by the Anglo-Normans as a borough site. The earliest definite evidence for the existence of the borough is in sixteenth century sources but its be traced to c. 1210, when Meiler Fitzhenry was granted much of north Kerry by King John (Orpen 1911-20, iii, 123; Otway-Ruthven 1968, 86). A hospital dedicated to St. John the Baptist (Fratres Cruciferi) was founded at Rattoo by Saivinus, son of Cynan. Documentary references are scarce throughout the Middle the Ages. In 1597 a burgage in Ratowe, which had belonged to Arrousians, was granted to Trinity College Dublin (17 RDKPRI, 65 no. 6123). The Civil Survey of 1654 noted various lands and tenements in the town and burgagery of Rattoo, which were mainly held by Morris McDaniell (Simington 1938, 498-9). The impression, however, is that the borough had long ceased to function by this date and the census of 1659 gives a population of only six and twelve for the townlands of Rattoo and Burgessland, respectively (Pender 1939, 250). In 1887 it was described by Sir Richard Cox as "a poor inconsiderable village of small note" (de Brún 1972, 40). SITE OF BOROUGH There are no superficial traces of the borough site and it is reasonable to assume that these were in the vicinity of the church and round tower. This area has been tilled for many years and no trace of earthworks is to be expected. DOMESTIC HOUSES Although references to messuages and tenements in Ratoo occur in late sixteenth century documents, such as the grant of six messuages there to Edmund Barret in 1594 (16 RDKPRI, 263: no. 5912), the only reference of any topographical value is that in the Civil Survey of 1654 to "two house Roomes nere the west end of the Church of Rathowe" (Simington 1938, 498-9)' (Bradley et. al. 1987, 82-4). See attached map showing potential area of deserted borough taken from the Urban Survey of Kerry, fig. 39. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 4 May 2022