Durrow, County Laois
Encyclopedia
Durrow is a small town located in south County Laois
, Ireland
. Bypassed by the M8 motorway
on 28 May 2010, the town is located on the R639 road
at its junction with the N77
. The river Erkina flows through Durrow and joins the River Nore
about 1.5 km east of the town. The town takes its name from the Irish (Darmhagh Ua nDuach - the oak plain [in the territory] of Ui Duach).
The year 2008 is a celebration of 300 years of Durrow. Many local events have been organised to celebrate the culture and heritage of Durrow. The local community website contains details of all events as well as reports. Activities in Durrow, past and present are continually recorded in a popular Facebook page.
There are numerous religious settlements in the area which date back to the 6th century. While the monastery founded by St. Fintan on the banks of the Erkina is perhaps the best renowned, documented evidence exists for other such establishments at Dunmore, Clonageera, Dereen, the Course wood, Tinweir, Ballinaslee, Tubberboe and Newtown.
The coming of the Normans in the 12th century sounded the death knell for many of these Early Christian settlements and the lands were subsumed (despite heated objections from the Earls Marshall, who wanted it for themselves) into the Manor of Durrow - an Episcopal Manor for the Bishops of Ossory. Indeed, it was this development that sowed the seeds for the establishment of the town of Durrow as we now know it. In 1245, Geoffrey de Turville
, the Bishop of Ossory
from 1244 to 1250, was granted permission from the King to hold a yearly fair at this manor for six days beginning on St. Swithin’s Day and a weekly market on a Thursday.
After the Reformation, the manor passed into the ownership of the Duke of Ormond and was eventually released on 19 February 1708 to “William Flower and his heirs, forever”. It was under the patronage of Flower and his descendants, the Lords Ashbrook
, that the present town developed and prospered.
operates an expressway service between Dublin and Cork which calls at Durrow, whilst Aircoach
operate a similar service that also calls at Dublin Airport.
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Bypassed by the M8 motorway
M8 motorway (Ireland)
The M8 motorway is an inter-urban motorway in Ireland, which forms part of the road from the capital - Dublin - to Cork city. The 149 km motorway commences in the townland of Aghaboe, County Laois and runs through the counties of Kilkenny, North Tipperary, South Tipperary and Limerick,...
on 28 May 2010, the town is located on the R639 road
R639 road
The R639 road is one of Ireland's regional roads. Once designated the N8 national primary road , it was reclassified in stages as the R639 following the progressive opening of sections of the M8 motorway, which rendered the single carriageway N8 redundant as a national primary road...
at its junction with the N77
N77 road (Ireland)
The N77 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It links the N10 national primary on the ring road south of Kilkenny, County Kilkenny to the N8 national primary road at Durrow in County Laois.-Upgrades and Extensions:...
. The river Erkina flows through Durrow and joins the River Nore
River Nore
The River Nore is a long river located in south-east of Ireland. Along with the River Suir and River Barrow, it is one of the constituent rivers of the group known as the Three Sisters. The river drains approximately of Leinster. The river rises in the Devil's Bit Mountain, North Tipperary...
about 1.5 km east of the town. The town takes its name from the Irish (Darmhagh Ua nDuach - the oak plain [in the territory] of Ui Duach).
The year 2008 is a celebration of 300 years of Durrow. Many local events have been organised to celebrate the culture and heritage of Durrow. The local community website contains details of all events as well as reports. Activities in Durrow, past and present are continually recorded in a popular Facebook page.
History
The earliest recorded church in the village was in 1155. Evidence from the Archaeological Survey carried out by the O.P.W. in 1995, suggests that this area has been visited, if not inhabited, since as early as the Bronze Age. An urn-burial found on the lands of Moyne Estate dates roughly to the same period as those found at lronmills and Ballymartin (900-1400 B.C.) Fulachta Fiadh (early cooking sites) have been identified at Aharney and near Ballacolla. The numerous ring forts and other enclosures which dot the landscape point to a more permanent, if dispersed, settlement of the land by the Celts (500B.C.- 500A.D.).There are numerous religious settlements in the area which date back to the 6th century. While the monastery founded by St. Fintan on the banks of the Erkina is perhaps the best renowned, documented evidence exists for other such establishments at Dunmore, Clonageera, Dereen, the Course wood, Tinweir, Ballinaslee, Tubberboe and Newtown.
The coming of the Normans in the 12th century sounded the death knell for many of these Early Christian settlements and the lands were subsumed (despite heated objections from the Earls Marshall, who wanted it for themselves) into the Manor of Durrow - an Episcopal Manor for the Bishops of Ossory. Indeed, it was this development that sowed the seeds for the establishment of the town of Durrow as we now know it. In 1245, Geoffrey de Turville
Geoffrey de Turville
Geoffrey de Turville was an English-born cleric who was Bishop of Ossory and briefly Lord Chancellor of Ireland.He was probably a native of Turville in Buckinghamshire. He is first heard of in Ireland in 1218 in the entourage of Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin...
, the Bishop of Ossory
Bishop of Ossory
The Bishop of Ossory is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics.-History:The diocese of Ossory...
from 1244 to 1250, was granted permission from the King to hold a yearly fair at this manor for six days beginning on St. Swithin’s Day and a weekly market on a Thursday.
After the Reformation, the manor passed into the ownership of the Duke of Ormond and was eventually released on 19 February 1708 to “William Flower and his heirs, forever”. It was under the patronage of Flower and his descendants, the Lords Ashbrook
Viscount Ashbrook
Viscount Ashbrook is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1751 for Captain Henry Flower, 2nd Baron Castle Durrow. The title of Baron Castle Durrow, in the County of Kilkenny, had been created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1733 for his father William Flower...
, that the present town developed and prospered.
Climate
A new weather station broadcasts from Durrow providing real time data. Click Here for Current Data The station was set up in May 2008. It is a Davis ProVantage 2 station and monitors temperature, rain, wind, wind direction, humidity and atmospheric pressure.Transport
Bus EireannBus Éireann
Bus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...
operates an expressway service between Dublin and Cork which calls at Durrow, whilst Aircoach
Aircoach
Aircoach is a Republic of Ireland based subsidiary company of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup. It provides airport bus express coach services from Cork, Greystones, Bray, South Dublin and Dublin City Centre to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus service for airport car parks...
operate a similar service that also calls at Dublin Airport.
See also
- Castle DurrowCastle DurrowCastle Durrow is a country house in Durrow, County Laois Ireland, built between 1712-1716 by Colonel William Flower as a family home. The house was built in the pre-Palladian design and formal gardens that was popular in the 18th century and is considered one of the finest country houses in Laois...
- List of towns and villages in Ireland