CASTLECOMER

In 1868, the parish of Castlecomer contained the following places:

"CASTLECOMER, a parish and market town in the barony of Fassadinin, in the county of Kilkenny, province of Leinster, Ireland, 11 miles to the N. of Kilkenny, and 60 miles from Dublin. It lies in a boggy and hilly country, on the banks of the small river Deen, a tributary of the Nore, and contains the greater part of the Kilkenny coal beds, which have been long worked extensively. The village has one broad and pleasant street, and contains infantry barracks, a market-house, court-house, fever hospital, and a police station. Petty sessions are held fortnightly The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agriculture and working the collieries. Castlecomer is the head of a Poor-law Union, and contains the Union poorhouse. The living is a rectory and vicarage in the diocese of Ossory, value £726 gross, in the patronage of the crown. Besides the parish church, there is a chapel of ease in the colliery district. There are a Roman Catholic chapel and a convent of the Presentation, with the latter of which is connected a large free school for teaching embroidery. There are three schools supported by the proprietor of the estate, of two of which the rector is patronage Next the town is Castle-Comer House, the seat of Charles Butler Wandesforde, Esq., a minor. The grounds are picturesque and wooded, and contain remains of an old castle. Saturday is the market-day. A large butter fair is held weekly during the season. Fairs are held on the 27th March, the 3rd May, and the 21st June."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018