Placenames Database of Ireland
The Placenames Database of Ireland (), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, ...
. Retrieved 19 April 2014. or Ballyclough () is a small village outside
Mallow, County Cork
Mallow (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately thirty-five kilometres north of Cork (city), Cork City. Mallow is in a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name, in the Fermoy (barony), barony of Fermoy. ...
, Ireland. The name Ballyclogh has its origins in the past abundance of stone quarries in the area. The village is in a
townland
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
and
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 ...
of the same name. Ballyclogh is part of the Cork East Dáil constituency.
The village has a
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...
, built by the Barry family (or Mac Robert-Barry). In 1641 it was forfeit to the Purdon family, who produced a number of politicians, including Sir Nicholas Purdon (died 1678) and his grandsons
Bartholomew Purdon
Bartholomew Purdon (–1737) was a County Cork landowner and a long-serving member of the Irish House of Commons. He was also a Justice of the Peace and served as Deputy Lord Lieutenant of County Cork for many years. He was High Sheriff of Co ...
and
Henry Purdon
Henry Purdon (–1737) was an Irish barrister, politician and Law Officer of the early eighteenth century. He sat in the Irish House of Commons and held the Crown office of Third Serjeant.Hart p.179
Purdon was born in County Cork, to a junior ...
. While it was surrendered to the Williamites in 1691, the Purdons later regained possession of the tower house. It was largely destroyed by fire soon afterwards, before being renovated during the 19th century. It is now in ruins.
The village today has a public house, a local grocer, a community centre, a playground, a funeral chapel and a Catholic church. Ballyclogh has a rich history of farming; Ballyclogh Creamery was founded in the early 1900s and grew to join forces with Mitchelstown Co-op to form Dairygold Co-Op.
The Rev
Samuel Hayman
Samuel Hayman (27 July 1818 – 15 December 1886) was a Church of Ireland minister, and an antiquarian.
Life
Hayman was the eldest son of Matthew Hayman of South Abbey, Youghal, County Cork, and his wife Helen, third daughter of Arundel Hill of Do ...
(1818–1886) noted that when first mentioned in 1291 it was called "Labane" – meaning the "fair district", and acquired the name Ballyclogh when the local castle was built by the Barry family in 1591. Another 19th-century antiquarian, the Rev JF Lynch, wrote that "''Ballyclogh is named Lathbán in taxation of 1302, and in taxation of 1306 is named Lachbán, and this 'Lathbán' or 'Lachbán' is given as 'Lavan' by Lewis, who names this parish 'Ballyclough or Lavan". An area close to village centre still goes by the name 'Lachbán' - (pronounced Ly-bawn), just west of the 'Smithfield' area and approximately 400 metres from the castle.