Borris-in-Ossory (, or the '

Burgage Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...

Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...

') is a village in west

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 ...

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 ...

, close to the Tipperary border and the M7 motorway.

Features

The village has facilities such as a school, churches, community hall, convenience retail outlets and a number of service businesses. The village centre comprises Main Street and includes retail, commercial, institutional, educational and residential functions. Landmark buildings include the Hiberno Romanesque Church of Ireland church of St. Mark, built c.1870, with round tower style bell tower, St. Canice's Church (

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 ...

), the Ossory of Borris-in-Ossory, and former courthouse. The renovated O’Brien Hall is used as a meeting place for the village's Youth Club and other activities.

Transport

Roads

The village is on the

R445 road The R445 road is a regional road in Ireland. The route is a non-motorway alternative route to the N7/ M7 motorway between Naas and Limerick, and at 170 km it is one of the longest regional roads in Ireland (longer than most national roads). ...

between the towns of

Mountrath Mountrath () is a small town in County Laois, Ireland. The town lies on the R445 midway between Dublin and Limerick, exactly 96.5 km (60 mi) from both cities. The town was bypassed by the M7 motorway in 2010, leading to a significant ...

(13 km east along the R445) and

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2022 it had a population of 5,542. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Crónán of Roscrea, Saint Crónán of Roscrea, p ...

(12 km west). During 2009 a motorway junction was constructed to the south of the village in preparation for the westward extension of the M7 motorway. The M7 bypassed the village on 28 May 2010 at Junction 21.

Buses

The village is served by inter-urban bus links to Dublin, Limerick,

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

and

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, ...

, and a town link service connects nearby towns and villages. Long-distance bus passengers were once familiar with Borris-in-Ossory because it served as a refreshment stop, typically 15 minutes at a time.

Rail

Ballybrophy railway station Ballybrophy is a railway station in the village of Ballybrophy, County Laois, Ireland, halfway between Borris-in-Ossory and Rathdowney in the Barony of Clandonagh. The station is an exchange point for passengers on Dublin to Cork services ...

is located approximately 5 km south of the village. The station is on the main Dublin-Cork railway line at its junction with the

Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line The Limerick–Ballybrophy line is a railway line connecting the city of Limerick with in County Laois. The line diverges from the Limerick to Limerick Junction railway line at Killonan Junction and continues in a north east direction with f ...

Education

Convent of Mercy National School currently has five classrooms and is currently preparing plans for a new eight classroom school extension. The school was built in 1965.

Religion

Churches in the area include St. Canice's (Roman Catholic) and St. Mark's (Church of Ireland), which are both on Borris-in-Ossory's main street.

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 ...

(GAA) club is

Borris-in-Ossory GAA Borris-in-Ossory GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the village of Borris-in-Ossory, County Laois, Ireland. The club colours are red and white and the club grounds are called O'Keefe Park. Formerly, primarily a hurling club, Borris-i ...

. The Gaelic playing fields are located 1.5 km to the east of the village. The amenities include a playing pitch, dressing and meeting rooms. In 2011, the village's GAA club team and the nearby Kilcotton team were amalgamated into one team. Local soccer club
Grange United FC
also cater for the Borris-in-Ossory area. The playing fields are located in nearby village Killasmeestia. The club was revived in 2023 and currently participate in the NTD&L.

People

Christy O'Brien Christopher "Christy" O'Brien (11 March 1933 – 7 March 2022) was an Irish hurling, hurler who played as a full-forward for the Laois GAA, Laois senior team. Born in Borris-in-Ossory, County Laois, O'Brien first arrived on the inter-county s ...

(1933–2022), inter-county hurler * Brian Stanley (b. 1961), politician * J.J. Sheridan (1951–2014), concert pianist, was born in Borris-in-Ossory.

References

External links

Official Borris in Ossory NS WebsiteGrange United FC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borris-In-Ossory Towns and villages in County Laois