Ballinakill Castle — Ballinakill,haywood Demesne

The earliest documenatry references to Ballinakill occur in the late sixteenth century (Urban Survey 1986, 13). In 1570 the lands of 'Ballenekyll' were granted to Alexander Cosby and his wife Dorcas Sydney (12 RDKPRI, 19: no. 1623), a grant which was renewed in 1593 (16 RDKPRI, 238: no. 5825). In 1606 Sir T. Coatch was granted the right to hold a market and fair there (Erck 1846-52, ii, 307). An English colony was established soon after by Sir Thomas Ridgeway (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907-14, 234) and in 1613 the town was incorporated by a charter of James I (Ir Rec Comm 1830, 236). The borough owed its development primarily to the proximity of the ironworks at Kilrush located 1.3 km SE of Ballinakill (Feehan 1983, 378). On his death in 1641 Ridgeway, then Earl of Londonderry, was described a holding the manor of Gallenridgeway alias Balinekill, containing a large mansion or castle, one hundred messuages, a dovecot, two watermills, a fulling mill, an iron-mill (LA030-040), courts leet and baron, three fairs and two markets in the town (Ir Rec Comm 1826, com. Regine : 16 Car I). In 1642 the town was described as 'seated among woods in a place soe watered with springs as afforded the Earle convenience to make many fish ponds neare the Castle hee built there; which hee liekwise fortified with a strong wall, and that with turrets and flankers; besides that the towne since it had been planted was well inhabited, the iron mill there kept many lustie men at work' (Feehan 1983, 377). In 1659 it was still the third most populous town in Co. Laois with a population of 204, one quarter of which were English (Pender 1939). In the eighteenth century Ballinakill was one of the most important fair towns within county Laois and much of its present layout belongs to that period. The corporation and borough of Ballinakill were dissolved at the Act of Union in 1800 (Urban Survey 1986, 14). The present settlement of Ballinakill is arranged around a rectangular square, on which three streets converge. Church Street lies to the N, Bride St. to the W and Stanhope St. to the S. The present configuration of streets, however, is largely the result of 18th century activity. The seventeenth century borough was laid out along the long axis formed by Graveyard St and Stanhope St., with Chapel Lane and Castle Lane running perpendicularly to the E. The Square, Church St. and Bride St. represent an 18th century addition (Urban Survey 1986, 14). There is a well defined burgage plot pattern on the E side of Stanhope St. and the Square but elsewhere it is not so apparent (Urban Survey 1986, 14). There are some stone built houses and sheds on the street front of these plots but they do not have any dateable features. Part of their fabric may be of seventeenth century date but it is impossible to be certain (Urban Survey 1986, 14). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007