Mountrath — Dysartbeagh,mountrath (maryborough West By.)

Situated on E side of the Mountrath River. Historic town that was established in 1620 when Emanuel Downing along with other English families mainly from Suffolk purchased the Lordship of Mountrath from a member of the Cosby Family (SMR File, Loeber 17/03/1995). In 1628 Sir Charles Coote obtained a grant 'of two weekly markets and two fairs, and established a very extensive linen and fustian manufactory, which in the war of 1641, together with much of his other property here, was destroyed' (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 395). In this granted he was licensed to hold 'a Tuesday and Saturday market, and two fairs, on the Thursday before the feasts of St. Philip and Jacob [May 3rd], and All Saints [November 1st]' (Lodge 1789, vol. 2, 65). In the 19th century fairs were held here on February 17th, May 8th, June 20th, August 10th, September 19th and November 6th (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 396). By 1659 it was the largest and most important settlement in the county. Several buildings are marked on the Down Survey (1655-6) map. The outline of possible town defences (LA017-033004-) are visible on the E side of the town on a map of Mountrath drawn by Thomas Moland in 1730 (NLI n.3947, p.3618). On the W side of Shannon Street, a two storey house (LA017-033001-) with a massive chimney stack crowned by diagonally placed flues probably dates to the seventeenth century. The foundry house, formerly a Quaker's Meeting House, on W side of Bridge Street formerly known as Coote Street possibly incorporates an earlier seventeenth century house (LA017-033002-) (information from R. Loeber). The Quakers Graveyard (LA017-033005-) is located at the N end of the Main Street on the W side. A 17th century tradesmen's token identifies Nicholas Ragget as a 'marchant [of] Mountrath' (Smith 1836-69, vol 4, xlv) The town was situated on high ground overlooking the river which protected it on the western side, the early town appears to have been centred around a triangular shaped green that was later widened to form the modern square in the centre of the town. Mountrath was a market town and received its grants of fairs and markets in 1628 (Feehan 1983, 391). Its market house stood right in the centre of the town, it no longer remains. A map of Mountrath dating from 1730 shows the outline of possible defences (LA017-033003-) on the east side of the town, a projecting line of boundary on the extreme E side of the town on the current edition of the OS 6-inch map may follow the original line of the town defences (SMR File R. Loeber 1995) The town square is a trapezoidal shaped area, its centre was formerly occupied by an eighteenth century markethouse which also functioned as a courthouse and now has been replaced by a roundabout. There are a group of houses on the W side of the Market Square which may be late 17th century in date. These buildings were described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage [NIAH] in 2002 as a 'Group of three terraced two-bay two-storey houses with dormer attics, built c.1700. Individually renovated, c.1890, with ground floors remodelled having shopfronts inserted. Double-pitched roofs, gabled to dormer attic windows, with replacement fibre-cement slate, nap rendered chimneystacks, partly rebuilt in brick, and cast-iron rainwater goods' (NIAH 2002-). Leading off to the south of the market square in Shannon Street there are the remains fo a 17th century houses too the rear of a hosue facing onto Shannon Street. At the N end of Shannon Street on the W side there is a two storey, probably seventeenth-century house with a massive chimney stack, crowned by diagonally placed flues, Internal features include running timber beams on both floors (SMR File R. Loeber 1995). The foundry house, formerly a Quaker's meeting house, at the W side of Coote St. near the bridge was built in 1715 by Gershon Boat (SMR file, R. Loeber 1995). According to local information, Telford's hardware shop, O'Rourke's butchers and the supermarket, all located on the E side of the main street, are 'old houses' (SMR File R. Loeber 1995). Another house which may date from the late 17th century is lcoated at the N end of the W side of Main Street and was described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage in 2002 as a 'Terraced five-bay two-storey house, built c.1710, with integral carriageway to centre. Renovated, subdivided and extended to rear, c.1870, comprising two-storey returns to accommodate use as two separate houses. Renovated, c.1925, with shopfront inserted to ground floor to right. Extended to rear, c.1995' (www.buildingsofireland.ie). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007