Castlepollard
Encyclopedia
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Located in the barony of Demifore, in the civil parish of Rathgarve, it lies west of Lough Lene
Lough Lene
Lough Lene is a lake situated in north County Westmeath, Ireland, between the villages of Castlepollard, Collinstown and Fore....
and northeast of Lough Derravaragh
Lough Derravaragh
Lough Derravaragh is a lough in County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, north of Mullingar between Castlepollard, Collinstown, Crookedwood and Multyfarnham...
and Mullingar
Mullingar
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...
.
Name
The name Castlepollard comes from the name of a castle or fortified manor built by the English Army captain Nicholas Pollard in the early 17th century. The village's official Irish name is Baile na gCros (anglicised Ballinagross), meaning "town of the cross". However, the name Cionn Toirc (anglicised Kinturk), meaning "head of the boarBoar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
", has also been applied to the village. The townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
of Kinturk Demesne covers the southern part of the village.
History
Nicholas Pollard, an English Army captain from DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
shire, arrived in Ireland in 1597 during the Nine Years' War
Nine Years' War (Ireland)
The Nine Years' War or Tyrone's Rebellion took place in Ireland from 1594 to 1603. It was fought between the forces of Gaelic Irish chieftains Hugh O'Neill of Tír Eoghain, Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tír Chonaill and their allies, against English rule in Ireland. The war was fought in all parts of the...
. He fought under the Earl of Essex's command against the Gaelic Irish
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. The order continued to exist after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans until about 1607 AD...
forces. After that campaign, Captain Pollard was settled on land in the Mayne area. Cionn Torc (Kinturk), a lush valley between the lakes, was granted 'in capite' by the aging Queen Elizabeth I to Captain Pollard. He built a small castle at Rathyoung which he called Castle Pollard.
Walter Pollard, first son of Nicholas, married Ismay Nugent of Roscommon. He received a regrant of the desmene during the restoration period following the Civil War and Cromwellian confiscations. The grant was made by charter from King Charles II, and approved by the Irish Parliament. In addition, he was granted a permit for a weekly market and a fair which was held four times annually. The Pollard family was reconfirmed in the manorial title by the edict of William and Mary. Serving as Commissioner for Supplies during the War of the Three Kingdoms, Pollard sat in the Irish Parliament, and became High Sheriff of the county
High Sheriff of Roscommon
The High Sheriff of Roscommon was the British Crown’s judicial representative in County Roscommon, Ireland from 1575 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Roscommon County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and...
in 1692. The family gradually improved the residence and the desmene. They rebuilt the adjoining out buildings and developed the village of Castlepollard. They intermarried with the Dillon family of Ladyhill, the Packenhams, the Duttons, the Tuites, and other landed county families. The descendants of Nicholas Pollard lived here at Kinturk Desmene into the early twentieth century.
The well preserved original village layout is now landscaped in a central triangular green. Surrounded by buildings from the Georgian period, a fine sculpture on the square depicts a scene from the famous locally centred legend of the Children of Lir
Children of Lir
The Children of Lir is an Irish legend. The original Irish title is Clann Lir or Leannaí Lir, but Lir is the genitive case of Lear. Lir is more often used as the name of the character in English...
. A plaque outlines the story in several languages. The setting of the legend is the picturesque Lough Derravaragh
Lough Derravaragh
Lough Derravaragh is a lough in County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, north of Mullingar between Castlepollard, Collinstown, Crookedwood and Multyfarnham...
. There are several ringforts on the surrounding high ground. Two ancient forts are of special archeological interest. Randoon
Randoon
Randoon is a Turgesius Viking fortress located southwest of Lough Lene. The fortress is situated upon a hill in Ranaghan, dominating by its height all other ringforts in the area, and overlooking Lough Lene between the town of Castlepollard and Collinstown. The locally used term fort refers to any...
is located in nearby Ranaghan, south west of Lough Lene
Lough Lene
Lough Lene is a lake situated in north County Westmeath, Ireland, between the villages of Castlepollard, Collinstown and Fore....
, and Turgesius
Turgesius
Turgesius was a Viking chief active in Ireland who is said to have conquered Dublin. It is not at all clear whether the names in the Irish annals represent the Old Norse Thurgestr or Thorgísl...
Island, is situated on Lough Lene. Turgesius was a Viking leader who sojourned here with a local lover while on respite from his seafaring. He held sway in Danish Dublin (Dyflin) and Shannon Viking port near Clonmacnoise.
Castlepollard has two churches which serve the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland Christian communities. Kinturk House, the Georgian period Pollard residence, now serves as St. Peter's Centre. It was purchased by the Sacred Heart Sisters from the family in 1935, who added a chapel wing. A hospital designed by T.J. Cullen (1879-1947) was built c. 1935 and was part of "an extensive hospital construction programme initiated during the first decades of the Irish Free State" financed by the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake
Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake
The Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake was a lottery established in the Irish Free State in 1930 as the Irish Free State Hospitals' Sweepstake to finance hospitals, and is often referred to as the Irish Sweepstake...
. The sisters operated a Magdalen Asylum
Magdalen Asylum
Magdalene asylums were institutions from the 18th to the mid-20th centuries ostensibly for "fallen women", a term used to imply sexual promiscuity....
there for many years; the property was sold to Midlands Health Board in 1971.
In the early nineteenth century, the main village and the Pollard family properties underwent a major reconstruction program. The Kinturk Desmene residence and the adjacent town buildings were rebuilt in the classical Georgian style of the period. Some common lands were enclosed. A new Church of Ireland building was erected in the Square, along with the Market House
Market house
A market house or country market is a type of building traditionally used as a marketplace at street level and for public functions on the upper floor....
. Located on the west side of the green, this was the village's major public building and landmark. The quarterly Court of Petty Sessions convened here.
During the War of Independence the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) burned the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC) barracks located on the Mullingar Road. The RIC then moved to the courthouse. In 1921, the IRA began a wave of burnings which targeted United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government offices throughout Ireland. This was a concerted effort to cripple the UK civil service in its day to day administration of the country. It was very successful. The Market House was also torched. Two sitting magistrates were kidnapped by the IRA on their way to the court. The men were held hostage locally, reportedly in a cow byre on the Hill of Moal. Happily, they were released unharmed after forty eight hours, and the village was spared reprisals. The Market House was rebuilt in 1926, and serves as the Town Fire Station.
Recent additions to the built environment include multiple housing estates, the Area Office of the Westmeath County Council, and the Castlepollard Community College's new school building (2004), both on the Mullingar Road.
Commerce/industry
Mergon International, a manufacturer of moulded parts, is one of the main businesses in the town. The town has a good retail base, and is a vibrate commercial centre for North Westmeath, consisting of Filling Stations, Banks, Post Office, Council Buildings, Primary and Secondary schools, a number of Grocery/Newsagent Shops, Hairdressers, Beauty Salon's, Boutiques, Drapery stores, Furniture stores, Pharmacy's and a large Hardware store. Castlepollard also has number of pubs and and is home to the Hotel Castlepollard.Sport
HurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
is the major sporting activity here. Castlepollard have a hurling team, with two hurling clubs nearby, Lough Lene Gaels
Lough Lene Gaels
Lough Lene Gaels is a Gaelic Athletic Association club, based in Collinstown, County Westmeath, Ireland.-Club history:...
in neighbouring Collinstown and Ringtown. Castlepollard has no GAA football club, although Ballycomoyle GAA gaelic football club is situated a few miles outside the village in the townland of Ballycomoyle, which is in the Castlepollard parish.
Castlepollard Celtic Football Club was founded in 2004 when several youngsters approached Steve Owens and asked him to form a team. Steve went about recruiting volunteers and in September of that year three teams where entered in the Athlone & District Schoolboys League. Since then the club has grown every year and in the 2009/10 season fourteen teams were entered in the Longford & District Schoolboys/girls League from Under 7's to Under 16's with nearly 200 members. The club currently uses the pitch on the Finea Road which is used for training, 7-A-Side and 11-A-Side games. The annual 'Summer Blitz' tournament is a popular event and usually takes place in early August. The club colours are red and white striped jerseys, black shorts and red socks. New members are always welcome.
Tullynally Castle
Two kilometers west of Castlepollard on the Granard Road (Pakenham Hall Street) is Tullynally CastleTullynally Castle
Tullynally Castle is a castle situated some 2km from Castlepollard on the Coole village road in County Westmeath, Ireland. The famous British Army general, Sir Edward Pakenham GCB, was born and raised in the house...
, seat of the Pakenham family, later the Earls of Longford
Earl of Longford
Earl of Longford is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first bestowed upon Francis Aungier, 3rd Baron Aungier of Longford, in 1677, with remainder to his younger brother Ambrose. He had previously represented Surrey in the House of Commons and had already been...
. Also known as Pakenham Hall, the original 17th century fortified house (c. 1655) was remodelled first as a comfortable Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
mansion in the 1730s, then as a huge rambling Gothic Revival castle. Kitty Pakenham (1773-1831) was a friend of novelist Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...
and married Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
.
The Irish National Inventory of Architectural Heritage calls Tullynally a "magnificent sprawling castle, with a picturesque skyline of turrets, pinnacles, battlements and tall Tudoresque chimneystacks... The attention to detail displayed throughout and the quality of the workmanship is outstanding and Tullynally Castle is, without question, a hugely significant structure of national importance." The castle was worked on by many of the most important architects operating in Ireland during the early-to-mid nineteenth-century, including such luminaries as Francis Johnston
Francis Johnston (architect)
See Francis Johnson for English architect of similar name.Francis Johnston was an Irish architect, best known for building the General Post Office on O’Connell Street, Dublin.-Life:...
, James Shiel and Sir Richard Morrison."
A number of other historically significant structures are located on the grounds, including the Gate Lodge which fronts the Granard Road facing Castlepollard. The two-storey limestone building was designed by Shiel (a noted architect of his day and former clerk of Francis Johnston) c.1820 whilst making renovations on the main house. An integral Tudor Gothic-arched carriage arch to the centre of the main body of the building and a single-bay three-storey tower on polygonal-plan (with slight base batter) attached to the north end of the main façade (east) form "a pleasing vista on a main road leading out of Castlepollard from the west and marks the start of a long tree-lined avenue to Tullynally Castle itself." It is currently in use as private residence.
The renown gardens, like the castle, are on a magnificent scale, covering nearly 12 hectares (29½ acres). Terraced lawns around the castle overlook superb 18th century parkland. The adjoining woodland gardens and walled gardens date largely from the early 19th century and encompass a grotto of eroded limestone from nearby Lough Derravaragh and two ornamental lakes. The present owners have added a Chinese garden, complete with pagoda and a Tibetan garden of waterfalls and streams; and a local sculptor has made fantastic woodcarvings in existing roots and trees. The walled gardens have extensive flower borders and an avenue of magnificent 200 year old Irish yews. The gardens are open to the public in the spring and summer.
The current Earl of Longford, Thomas Pakenham, is a noted historian and arborist. He is the chairman of the Irish Tree Society.
Incident
In 1831 a fight broke out between a party of armed Irish Constabulary and a crowd at the Castlepollard Fair. A number of people were seriously injured, and some fatalities were reported. Local sources put the number of casualties as high as thirteen. This incident may have been related to the enforcement of collection orders during the Tithe WarTithe War
The Tithe War was a campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830-36 in reaction to the enforcement of Tithes on subsistence farmers and others for the upkeep of the established state church - the Church of Ireland...
(1831–1836). Spasmodic violence broke out around this time (particularly in Kilkenny, Wexford, and Cork) when the police entered local fairgrounds to enforce seizure orders on cattle for non payment of tithes. Order was finally restored by rescinding seizure orders in 1836. The subsequent revision of the Tithe Act commuted the levy. The Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
was disestablished by the Gladstone government in 1869, and the tithe was abolished.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Market Houses in IrelandMarket Houses in the Republic of IrelandMarket houses are a notable feature of many Irish towns with varying styles of architecture, size and ornamentation making for a most interesting feature of the streetscape. Originally there were three, four or even five bays on the ground floor which were an open arcade. An upper floor was...