Kilanerin or Killinierin () is a village in north

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 ...

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 ...

, 4 kilometres west of the N11 road, near the village of

Inch The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...

and approximately 12 kilometres from the town of

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is bypassed by the main N11 road (Ireland), M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the Gorey railway station, railway network along the same route. Local newspape ...

. It lies in the foothills of

Croghan Mountain Croghan Mountain, also known as Croghan Kinsella or Croghan Kinshelagh () at , is the 211th–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 258th–highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Irela ...

, the site of a once-famous gold rush.

History and architecture

The

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 ...

church in the village, St. Peter and Paul's Church, is a

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

structure which was built in 1863. The architects were E. W. Pugin and

George Ashlin George Coppinger Ashlin (28 May 1837 – 10 December 1921) was an Irish architect, particularly noted for his work on churches and cathedrals, and who became President of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. Biography Ashlin was ...

. The Esmonde family of Ballynastragh were major benefactors of the church, and are listed together with other benefactors on a plaque inside the church. Borleigh Manor is a Georgian residence on of land. It is the former residence of

Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series ...

the film star who is best known for his portrayal of Robin Hood. Among the film stars to have spent some time there were

Liz Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

and

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

. Ballynastragh House was the home of the Esmonde family and dates back to the 17th century. It was burned down and destroyed by members of the

anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

on 9 March 1923. It was home to a museum, and the destruction of the documents within it was a loss second only to that which occurred in the

Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...

in 1922. A new house, similar in style, was built on the site in the 1930s and still exists today.

Titania's Palace Titania's Palace is a miniature castle (dollhouse) that was hand-built in Ireland by James Hicks & Sons, Irish Cabinet Makers, who were commissioned by Sir Nevile Wilkinson from 1907 to 1922. Wilkinson's daughter Guendolen claimed to have seen a ...

was for a period kept in Ballynastragh House. IMG LimbrickMemorial1629

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 known as

Kilanerin–Ballyfad GAA Kilanerin–Ballyfad GAA, often called simply Kilanerin, is a Gaelic football, hurling and ladies' Gaelic football club based in Kilanerin (Killinierin), County Wexford, Ireland. History There were formerly three clubs in the parish: Kilanerin ...

. It joins with other small villages such as Ballyfad, Ballythomas and Annagh to form the GAA team. The club competes at various levels in the underage and adult categories within

Wexford GAA The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Wexford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Wexford. The county board is also responsible for the Wexfor ...

. The adult team compete in the

Wexford Senior Football Championship The Wexford Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1886. The 2024 champions are Castlet ...

which they last won in 2008. They also previously competed in the

Wexford Senior Hurling Championship The Wexford Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Pettitt's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford GAA, Wexford County Board of the ...

until their relegation to the Intermediate Championship. Former All-Star Mattie Forde is a player with the club. Other former players include

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

TD Michael W. D'Arcy.

References

{{County Wexford Towns and villages in County Wexford

History and architecture

Sport

See also

References