Tiscoffin () is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It lies in the old barony of

Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is in the centre of Gowran, close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course are one kilometre from the centre of ...

, county of Kilkenny, and province of Leinster, roughly ten kilometres east of

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

town. Tiscoffin is reputedly the site of a battle in 1362, where

James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond (4 October 133118 October 1382) was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland. He was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1359, 1364, and 1376, and a dominant political leader in Ireland in the 1360s and 1370s. The son of James B ...

slew around six hundred of the clan of the Mac Murroughs - (

Art Mór Mac Murchadha Caomhánach Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

). Tiscoffin parish is the location of Freestone hill: the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

. During archaeological excavations in 1948 and 1949 led by Dr.

Gerhard Bersu Gerhard Bersu (26 September 1889 – 19 November 1964) was a German archaeologist who excavated widely across Europe. He was forced into exile from Germany in 1937 due to anti-Semitic laws in pre-war Nazi Germany. He was interned on the Isle ...

, a number of important Roman artifacts were unearthed. These included: a decorated bracelet, a possible buckle stud, a strip of decorated bronze and three rings, a copper coin of

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

(c.337 to 340AD), iron needles, a blue glass bracelet, two shreds of later Roman pottery and a small, polished cone. On top of Freestone hill stands an ancient hawthorn tree long held in reverence by the local population. Freynestown townland was the site of the old monastery of St.

Scuithin St. Scuithin (''fl.'' 6th/7th century) also known as Scolan, Scothin or Scuitin, was a medieval Irish saint with strong Welsh connections. Sometime in the 6th century, Scuthin left Ireland to pursue a life of cenobitic monasticism at '' Tyddewi'' ...

from whom Tiscoffin-(Tigh Scuithin) drives its placename. In ''

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...

'', published in 1837, Tiscoffin is described as: :''The parish comprises 7128 statute acres; Culm has been found within its limits, and was formerly worked. It is a rectory, in the Diocese of Ossory, constituting the corps of the prebend of Tascoffin in the cathedral of St Canice, Kilkenny, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The church was built in 1796, when the late Board of First Fruits gave £500 towards its erection, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £308 for its repair.'' :''In the R. C. divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of Gowran, and contains a chapel. About 130 children are educated in three private schools''

Townlands

Tiscoffin civil parish includes the following townlands: *Blanchvilleskill *

Castlewarren Castlewarren (), previously known as Buile (pronounced "Boula"), is a small village in County Kilkenny, Ireland, located some north of the N10 national primary road at Flagmount. The castle site, from which Castlewarren takes its name, is on ...

*Coolgreany *Coolmarks *Coolgrange * Freynestown *Grangehill *Moonhall *Rathcash Little *Rathcash East *Rathcash West *Reevanagh

References

{{County Kilkenny , state=collapsed Civil parishes of County Kilkenny