Ballyhale Shamrocks Hurlers
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Ballyhale () is a
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in the south east of
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 ...
. Located in the south of
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 ...
, south of the city 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 ...
and roughly halfway to
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
city. The sport of
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
is popular in the area, and 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 ...
team of Ballyhale Shamrocks are the most successful hurling club in
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...
history. Local
Kilkenny GAA The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (Kilkenny GAA) () is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its hea ...
hurler Henry Shefflin holds the record for the highest number of All Ireland Senior Hurling medals for a single player. The location is also close to the Mount Juliet golf course in nearby Thomastown. The food brand Glanbia, originally Avonmore, had its roots in a number of member-owned creameries, before becoming a global showcase coop brand for Irish agriculture. Ballyhale is also home to Kiltorcan's Old Quarry. Ballyhale also played a historic role when, in 1832, approximately 200,000 people from four counties gathered in support of those on trial for the 1831 Battle of Carrickshock. The parish of Ballyhale is made up of three areas; Knockmoylan and the villages of Ballyhale and
Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road (Ireland), R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Stoneyford t ...
. The population of the Ballyhale district is 335.


Toponymy

The anglicised ''Ballyhale'' comes from the , states that the name is derived from the Walshes among whom ''Hale'' or ''Howl'' is known to have been a Christian name. However, John Howell is recorded in the barony in 1411, and "''Edmund Howling of Ballyheale''" forfeited the townland of Ballyhale in 1653 and was transplanted to
Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...
. Historically the name have been spelt in a variety of ways including; Howelleston, Ballyhaele, Ballihowell, and Baile Haeil. In 1802 Tighe recorded ballyhale as a small village with "little more than twelve houses", permission of a fair, and a ruin of Roman Catholic chapel. By 1851 the town is recorded as Ballyhale town. By 1985 the post office address was Ballyhale, or Baile Héil. The village gives its name to the wider townland of Ballyhale, and to the ''Ballyhale electoral district'' which is one of 113 in the county.


History


Avonmore Cooperative Federation

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of County Kilkenny Village Creameries amalgamating to create the Avonmore Creameries agricultural brand that eventually emerged from the Federation formed in 1966. The Coop entity went on to become Avonmore Food plc in 1988 and to later join with Waterford Food plc in 1997. It is today known as the global Food giant, Glanbia, one of the world's top nutrition companies with revenues of over €3.5 billion and 5,815 employees. Ballyhale Creamery was founded in 1895, the year after the founding of The Irish Agricultural Organisation Society (IAOS /ICOS today) that began the cooperative movement in earnest in Ireland. In 1995, Ballyhale celebrated the 100th anniversary of their Creamery's founding with a booklet of its history to mark the occasion. The Ballyhale C.D.S. booklet records that a federation of 25 Co-op Creameries originally emerged in January 1965 under the umbrella of Avonmore Creameries Ltd., with their chairman, John Joe Kearns, acting as their representative on the Avonmore Council; where shares were taken in the new entity by the society and that in following years a Ballyragget milk processing factory was built. The first bulk milk collections tool place from 1973, when the amalgamation was formalised. Ballyhale became one of 20 members of Avonmore Farmers Ltd.; the other founding members being Castlehale, Mullinavat, Iverk, Piltown, Carrigeen, Kilmacow, Ballyragget, South Tipperary, Monastarevan, Muckalee, Barrowvale, Kells, Windgap, Brandonvale, Bennetsbridge, Castlecomer, Freshford, Donaghmore and Fennor. In 1966 Ballyhale Co-Operative Creamery Dairy Society Ltd., formed by local farmers, had joined with other small rural co-operative societies from Kilkenny and some neighbouring counties and, together with Unigate Limited support, formed the Avonmore Creameries Federation Realising the benefits of increased scale and greater diversification in the 1960s, they saw the need for an amalgamation of many small, locally focused co-operatives across Ireland. It led to the construction of a new multi-purpose Avonmore dairy plant facility in Ballyragget,
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 ...
, and a Plant they claimed was the biggest food processing facility in Europe at that time. Today that giant global entity is known as
Glanbia Glanbia plc ( ) is an Irish multinational nutrition company that owns several consumer brands that produce products such as food supplements and ingredients businesses. Glanbia is headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland with over 5,500 employees in ov ...
. Glanbia has its origins in the Irish agricultural co-operative movement that evolved over the last century since first Irish Co-operative in 1889, founded by
Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of J ...
. Ireland entered the Common Market in 1970. According to Ballyhale CDS anniversary booklet of 1995, the Coop movement in Ireland, which had begun with one society of 50 members in 1889, had grown rapidly to 67 societies with 3,800 members by 1895 and in 1896 Ballyhale C.D.S. became one of its first 110 societies with 10,000 members. The ICOS organisation now has member co-ops and associated companies with 150,000 individual members, and 12,000 employees in Ireland, a further 24,000 abroad, and combined turnover of €12 billion. And today
Glanbia Glanbia plc ( ) is an Irish multinational nutrition company that owns several consumer brands that produce products such as food supplements and ingredients businesses. Glanbia is headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland with over 5,500 employees in ov ...
has operations in 34 countries and is exporting to more than 100 countries worldwide. Glanbia plc was formed in 1997 out of the merger of Avonmore Foods plc and Waterford Foods plc. Glanbia was ranked by revenue (2010 figures) in the top 100 Cooperatives, No 98 in the world and No 1 in Ireland by the International Co-operative Alliance, the global apex organisation of co-operatives worldwide. According to
Glanbia Glanbia plc ( ) is an Irish multinational nutrition company that owns several consumer brands that produce products such as food supplements and ingredients businesses. Glanbia is headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland with over 5,500 employees in ov ...
Collections in Kilkenny Archives at St Kieran's College, Kilkenny, the Avonmore Coop brand was created through the merger of over 30 Village Creameries that are now included among their archives, and available for public viewing.


Kiltorcan Old Quarry

Ballyhale is known locally for its Kiltorcan Old Quarry, a sandstone quarry and a site claimed to be of international importance. It is reputed to be 400 million years old, and known internationally for its discovery of fossil ferns since 1853, some pieces of which are on display in The Natural History Museum (Ireland) in Dublin and
Rothe House Rothe House is a late 16th-century merchant's townhouse complex located in the city of Kilkenny, Ireland. The complex was built by John Rothe Fitz-Piers between 1594 and 1610 and is made up of three houses, three enclosed courtyards, and a larg ...
Museum, Kilkenny. The Quarry was opened commercially in the 1980s. According to by local authorities, in Kilkenny County Council's Plans for Ballyhale, Kiltorcan Old Quarry of sandstone was designated as an "area of specific interest" in 2002.


Battle of Carrickshock

In 1832, the importance Gathering of c.200,000 people at Ballyhale for the trial of those charged in aftermath of The Battle of Carrickshock, otherwise known as the Carrickshock incident, is acknowledged by researcher Gary Owens of University of Huron, Ontario, Canada as having a significant influence on its overall outcome for anti-tithe movement, known as the
Tithe War The Tithe War () was a campaign of mainly nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830 and 1836 in reaction to the enforcement of tithes on the Roman Catholic majority for the upkeep of the est ...
ensuring that the event marked the beginning of the end of tithes in Ireland. Those charged were successfully defended by
Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...
, called the Liberator of the Nation, and who addressed the gathering in Irish. It was the first 'monster meeting' of that time. Such peaceful gatherings were to become the hallmark of the
Young Ireland Young Ireland (, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation (Irish news ...
and Repeal Movement that was founded in 1839 and which peaked with Daniel O’Connell's oration at Tara, 1843, where c.750,000 gathered.
Michael Davitt Michael Davitt (25 March 1846 – 30 May 1906) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule (Ireland), Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's ...
's Museum records show that the
Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún''), also known as the Land League, was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its prima ...
campaigns, co-founded in 1879, followed that path too to ensure that it enabled tenant farmers to be able to own the land on which they worked.


Geography

Ballyhale is in the barony
Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road (Ireland), R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Stoneyford t ...
, and the civil parish of Derrynahinch. The village gives its name to the wider
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 catholic parish. The Catholic Parish of
Ballyhale Ballyhale () is a village in the south east of Ireland. Located in the south of County Kilkenny, south of the city of Kilkenny and roughly halfway to Waterford city. The sport of hurling is popular in the area, and the local Gaelic Athletic Ass ...
is made up of three areas; Knockmoylan and the villages of Ballyhale and
Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road (Ireland), R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Stoneyford t ...
. Ballyhale Electoral Division (an area which extends to several townlands beyond the village) had a population of 366 people as of 2011, representing a 11.2% increase in population from the 2006 census. The 2020 population of the Electoral Division included 179 males and 187 females. The Catholic Parish of Ballyhale is made up of three areas; Knockmoylan and the villages of Ballyhale and Knocktopher. Knocktopher and Knockmoylan are two of the parishes that make up Ballyhale. Ballyhale lies in the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
of United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory, the diocese is in the
ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...
of
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Ballyhale was in the
Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...
of
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
. A small stream flows through Ballyhale before joining the Little Arrigle River in Kiltorcan.


Tourism

Ballyhale's main tourist attraction is the
Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...
designed Mount Juliet Golf & Spa Hotel golf course at nearby Thomastown. It was the venue for the 2002 WGC-American Express Championship, and also in 2004 WGC-American Express Championship having previously hosted the
PGA European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
Irish Open on three occasions between 1993 and 1995. Other tourist sites in the area include the medieval Ballyhale Castle & Chapel (also protected since 2002), and two protected ringforts (Rath/ Castle) which are located to the east of the town.


Sport


GAA

Ballyhale Shamrocks GAA Ballyhale Shamrocks is a Gaelic games club located in the parish of Ballyhale in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is a member of the Kilkenny branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Founded in 1972, the club was a amalgamation of three t ...
is 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, having amalgamated with
Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road (Ireland), R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Stoneyford t ...
GAA Hurling Club and Knockmoylan GAA Clubs in 1972. Ballyhale Shamrocks is the most successful hurling club in the
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...
competition's history, having won the championship eight times - won in 2020, 2019, 2015, 2010, 2007, 1990, 1984 and 1981. The List of All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medal winners shows Ballyhale's Henry Shefflin as holder of the Irish record for highest number of All Ireland Senior Hurling medals for a single player (10) with Kilkenny county team – won in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014. Other Ballyhale All Ireland Senior Hurling medal winners were Michael Fennelly as holder eight- 2006 (sub), 2007, 2008 (sub), 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015; T.J. Reid as holder of seven - 2007(sub), 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015; James "Cha" Fitzpatrick as holder of five - in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 (sub) and 2011 (sub); Colin Fennelly as holder of three - 2011, 2012, 2014; Ger Fennelly as holder of three -1979, 1982, 1983;
Liam Fennelly Liam Fennelly (born 1 January 1958 in Piltown, County Kilkenny, Ireland) is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and was a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1981 until 1 ...
as holder of three - 1982, 1983, 1992, Kevin Fennelly as holder of one - 1979 and Richie Reid as holder of one - 1979. Ballyhale Hurlers won the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship on 16 occasions - 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2018. That included four-in-a-row (2006-9)which matched the 66-year-old record held by Carrickshock GAA since their (1940-3) four-in-a-row. Ballyhale Footballers won the Kilkenny Senior Football Championship on 3 occasions - in 1979, 1980 and 1982.


Other sports

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 ...
, an eventing horse ridden by James C. Wofford in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games, was bred by William Dempsey of Ballyhale. The Treacy Clan records show that Ballyhale had a well-known Cricket Team in 1884, quoting M. Barron as promising to be the most distinguished cricketer in the Ballyhale club of the day; when local competitors included teams from
Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road (Ireland), R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Stoneyford t ...
, Kilcurl, Knockmoylan, Hugginstown and Kilmoganny; and that the matches were often played on a cricket ground provided by Langrishes at Knocktopher Abbey. There were over 40 cricket teams in County Kilkenny at the time, reducing to 20 by 1931.


Education

Scoil Phádraig is a mixed
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
located in the southern part of Ballyhale on the R448 road towards Waterford. The old school building was built in 1948 and a new school building was added to this in 1993, with six classrooms. In 2006 the school won a Green Flag for recycling and environmental awareness. Scoil Aireagail, a mixed
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
, is also located in the parish.


Transport


Rail transport

Ballyhale railway station, on the
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
-
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
railway line, opened on 20 May 1853, but finally closed on 1 January 1963.


Bus transport

Ballyhale is a stop on the
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
-
Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...
-
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
-
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...
route 4. There are several daily services on the route. Ballyhale is also served daily by the Bus Éireann Waterford -
Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...
route 73 and on Thursday by the Waterford -
Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road (Ireland), R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Stoneyford t ...
- Thomastown local route number 365.


Notable people


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland *
List of townlands in County Kilkenny This is a list of all townlands (over 1600) in the County of Kilkenny. Each column header is a link to an article explaining it. Townlands written in capitals are towns, villages etc. these correspond with ''xx'' in the area box. ''Muni.'' stan ...


References


Footnotes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * Ballyhale CDS Centenary Committee: The Creamery: 1895-1995 {{County Kilkenny Towns and villages in County Kilkenny