Ballyhack ()
is a small village located in the south-west of
County Wexford
County Wexford () 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. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
, in
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 ...
, on the eastern shore of the
Waterford Harbour
Waterford Harbour () is a natural harbour at the mouth of the The Three Sisters (Ireland), Three Sisters; the River Nore, the River Suir and the River Barrow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is navigable for shipping to both Waterford and N ...
, which is the estuary of
The Three Sisters
History
The village contains a 15th-century
Norman castle or
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 ...
, which belonged to the
Knights Hospitallers
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...
and was built around 1480, though it is thought the site's use was initially as a Preceptory, as far back as the 12th-century.
The castle was occupied by Cromwellian forces during the
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...
, and was later used as a transportation point for those displaced by the
Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
The Act for the Settling of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against Irish civilians and combatants after the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest. British historian John Morrill wrote that the Act and a ...
. It is from this association that the phrase "Go to Ballyhack" was coined.
The castle is open to the public, having been partially restored, and displays objects relating to the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
, the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
, and medieval monks. Some the features of the castle that are on view are its dungeon,
murder-hole
A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime ...
, effigies and oratory.
The castle is a
National Monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...
, in state care, number 516.
Name
Ballyhack has been represented in Irish as and . The derivation is believed to be from the Irish word for stable, , and meaning town, village, home or settlement. Thus Ballyhack would mean the place or town of the stable.
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Amenities
The village contains a shop, a pub, an old schoolhouse, and a small quay for fishing boats.County Waterford
County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...
), over the broad estuary of The Three Sisters.
There is also a cemetery located on a height near the edge of the village, which is located on the site of the former Ballyhack Church (Saint James's). The church was closed in the late 1800s, and demolished at some point before 1902. A point of interest in the graveyard includes a record of a Laurence Power, who supposedly died in 1836 at age 170.
Sport
The local Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
club is St James GAA, which plays in the Intermediate grade of the Wexford Championship. The local soccer team is Duncannon FC.
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{Authority control
Towns and villages in County Wexford
National monuments in County Wexford