Rathvilly () is a

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 ...

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

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 ...

Etymology

Rathvilly barony takes its name from the village of

Rathvilly Rathvilly () is a village, civil parish and townland in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is on the River Slaney, near the border with County Wicklow and County Kildare, from Tullow and from Baltinglass. It is also on the N81 national sec ...

, which derive from the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

''Ráth Bhile'', meaning " rath of the sacred tree".

Location

Rathvilly is found in north-east

. It contains the rivers

Slaney Slaney is a surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Geoffrey Slaney (1922–2016), British surgeon and academic * Ivor Slaney (1921–1998), England musical composer and conductor * John Slaney (born 1972), Canadian ice hockey player ...

and Derreen. Rathvilly barony is bordered by the following baronies: to the west by

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, ...

; to the south by

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotl ...

; to the north by

Upper Talbotstown Upper Talbotstown () is a barony in County Wicklow, Ireland. Etymology Upper Talbotstown derives its name from Talbotstown village, near Kilbride. Location Upper Talbotstown is located in west County Wicklow, covering much of the Glen of Im ...

; to the east by

Ballinacor South Ballinacor South () is a barony in County Wicklow, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of eight baronies in County Wicklow. It is located in the southern Wicklow Mountains. Its chief town is Aughrim. The barony lies between Ballinaco ...

; to the southeast by Shillelagh; and to the northwest by

Kilkea and Moone Kilkea and Moone () is a barony in County Kildare, Ireland. Etymology The barony takes its name from the villages of Kilkea (''Cill Cathaigh'', "Cathac's church") and Moone (''Maen Colmcille'', "Colm Cille's property"). Location Kilkea and Mo ...

History

In the 5th century, Crimthan, King of Leinster, lived at Rathvilly. The territory was that of the Uí Felmelda Tuaid, a Uí Cheinnselaig sept descended from Feidlimidh son of Enna Ceansalagh and brother of Crimthan. The MacKeoghs here were chief

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

s of the Kings of Leinster. An O'Neill family was cantered here.

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Rathvilly barony: * Clonmore *

Hacketstown Hacketstown (, IPA: �bˠalʲəˈhaceːdʲ, historically known as Ballydrohid (), is a small town and civil parish in County Carlow, Ireland, near the border with County Wicklow. The civil parish extends into County Wicklow. It is located on t ...

*Rathvilly *

Tullow Tullow (; ), formerly Tullowphelim (), is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 5,138. Tullowphelim is the name of both a townland and civ ...

References

{{County Carlow Baronies of County Carlow