Ballyragget () is a small town on the

river Nore The River Nore ( ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland. The river drainage basin, drains approximately of Leinster and Munster, that encom ...

in the north 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 ...

in Ireland. Ballyragget is on the N77 road, north 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 ...

. As of the 2016 census, it had a population of 1,082 people.

Toponymy

The name 'Ragget' is Anglo-Norman in origin, and denotes a once-prominent

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

landowner Richard le Ragget who held these lands in the early part of the 13th century. Older names of the

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

include Donoughmore (or Donaghmore; "large church") and the even more

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

Tullabarry () - the name of a

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic or possibly pre-Celtic tribe which held their seat in the vicinity. There is some debate as to the meaning of Donoughmore. The very first issue of the ''Journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society'' (January 1948), which has an article about Ballyragget and its environs, states a belief that ''Domhnach Mór'' means "big Sunday" and relates to the fact that thousands of people congregated at the now ruined church in Donoughmore for its opening on a Sunday and the name stuck.

History

The settlement of Ballyragget originally formed at a fording-point on the

River Nore The River Nore ( ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland. The river drainage basin, drains approximately of Leinster and Munster, that encom ...

at this location. Originally named after the 13th century Anglo-Norman landowner Richard le Ragget, Ballyragget was later held by Mountgarret family. The town is dominated by a large

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

keep (known as Ballyragget Castle). It is five storeys in height and surrounded by a court or

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional s ...

which has round defensive towers in each of four corners. A moat originally surrounded the keep and bawn, but now this can only be seen outside the north wall. This tower was renovated in the late 15th century, and contains a late 16th century inscribed stone which commemorates

Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret (c. 1562 – 1602), was the son of Richard Butler, 1st Viscount Mountgarret and Eleanor Butler.Burke, John (1832). ''A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, ...

. Much of the town streetscape was laid out by George Butler and his grandson Robert Butler around the town's square in the mid-17th century. A large mid 19th-century

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church sits on a rise overlooking the town's central square.

Geography

The

flows beside the town, which nestles in a wide alluvial valley between the Attanagh Plateau and several hills to the east, including 'Knockmannon' and 'The Balla boys'. The Nore passes by one of the most significant ancient sites in North Kilkenny south of Ballyragget at

Rathbeagh Rathbeagh () is a townland and hill on the River Nore in the parish of Lisdowney near Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, Ireland. The Irish language name is ''Rath Beithigh'', meaning "rath (ringfort) of the birch trees". It is located in an ancient ...

. The statistical Ballyragget Geographical Area is recorded by the CSO as containing . To the north lies the town of Durrow in

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, to the south the River Nore flows on towards Kilkenny City. The town is located in the

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 ...

of the same name which is in the

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 Donoghmore in the ancient

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Fassadinin Fassadinin (), sometimes written Fassadining, is a Barony (Ireland), barony in the north of County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of 12 baronies in County Kilkenny. The size of the barony is . There are 19 Civil parishes in ...

Demographics

Central Statistics Office reports indicate that Ballyragget's population increased by over 30% in the 20 years between the 1996 census and the

2016 census of Ireland The 2016 census of Ireland was held in 2016. It was organised by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and reported a total population of 4,761,865, or a 3.8% increase since the prior 2011 census. This was the lowest recorded population growth r ...

, from 803 to 1,082 inhabitants. The

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

which surrounds the town had a population of 1,451 in the 2006 census. The majority of residents in Ballyragget are nominally

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, although there are minority

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and non-religious populations. IMG Ballyragget1808x

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and the agri-food industry are the largest employers, with the large

Tirlán Tirlán (known as Glanbia Co-operative Society Limited from 1999 until 2022) is an Irish dairy Cooperative, co-operative based in Kilkenny, Ireland. Its catchment area mainly covers the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East and Midland Region, ...

factory across the river dominating the town's industry for the past forty years. The plant at Ballyragget is the largest multi-purpose integrated dairy plant in Europe, and both Glanbia plc and Tirlán can trace their roots to the Avonmore

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

founded in Ballyragget in the 1960s. A percentage of the area's residents commute to work (or education) some distance from the town.

Education

Ballyragget is served by Ballyragget National School was opened following the amalgamation of and in August 2018. There is no secondary school in the town.

Politics

At national level, Ballyragget, as part of the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency, is represented by five Teachtaí Dála in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

. At a local level, the town is within the administrative area of

Kilkenny County Council Kilkenny County Council () is the local authority of County Kilkenny, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning ...

People

Mabel Cahill Mabel Esmonde Cahill (2 April 1863 – 2 February 1905) was an Irish female tennis player, active in the late 19th century, and was the first foreign woman to win a major tennis tournament when she won the 1891 US National Championships. Early ...

, a champion

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player who won the U.S. Open and held the singles, doubles and mixed titles for 1891–1892, was born in Ballyragget