# Ballysimon (Dickson), Co. Limerick: townland, land parcels and planning

Townland in the civil parish of Derrygalvin, barony of Clanwilliam, Co. Limerick; in Irish Béal Átha Síomoin (Dickson).

- Area (Tailte Éireann): 104,075 m² (10.41 ha, 25.72 acres)
- Land parcels (Tailte Éireann): 14 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in it, median 2,103 m² (0.21 ha, 0.52 acres)
- Zoning (national zoning, MyPlan): not in a zoned settlement
- Planning (National Planning Applications): 4 applications since 2010
- Civil parish: Derrygalvin, https://everytownland.com/limerick/parish/derrygalvin.md
- Barony: Clanwilliam
- Electoral division: Ballysimon, the unit of the census
- Census 2022 (Central Statistics Office): 16,540 people lived in 5,566 households in the Ballysimon electoral division. 59% of households owned their home. 52% of homes were built since 2001. 4% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 0% were holiday homes.
- County: Co. Limerick, https://everytownland.com/limerick.md
- Placenames Database of Ireland: https://www.logainm.ie/en/31217
- Townland number at Tailte Éireann: 120419
- Centre: latitude 52.645024, longitude -8.561085 (WGS 84)

## Land parcels (registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann)

14 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Ballysimon (Dickson), from 355 m² to 45,975 m² (4.6 ha, 11.36 acres); 13 neighbouring parcels touch its boundary. Largest first:

- Parcel 1645549: 45,975 m² (4.6 ha, 11.36 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1645549.md
- Parcel 1630919: 18,165 m² (1.82 ha, 4.49 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1630919.md
- Parcel 1643341: 13,643 m² (1.36 ha, 3.37 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1643341.md
- Parcel 1601558: 4,734 m² (0.47 ha, 1.17 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1601558.md
- Parcel 1601208: 2,422 m² (0.24 ha, 0.6 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1601208.md
- Parcel 1670575: 2,383 m² (0.24 ha, 0.59 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1670575.md
- Parcel 1612706: 2,314 m² (0.23 ha, 0.57 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1612706.md
- Parcel 1619653: 1,891 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1619653.md
- Parcel 1601281: 1,382 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1601281.md
- Parcel 1590386: 1,335 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1590386.md
- Parcel 1624484: 753 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1624484.md
- Parcel 1643017: 649 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1643017.md
- Parcel 1650603: 504 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1650603.md
- Parcel 1647965: 355 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1647965.md

## Zoning (national zoning of development plans, MyPlan)

No zone of a development plan covers Ballysimon (Dickson) in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

## Planning applications whose site touches the townland (National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage)

4 applications, newest first.

- 28 Jul 2022, Limerick County Council 22826: Conditional. Retention, 1 home. a building to the rear of existing house, with permission sought to link building to the main dwelling for use as independent living accommodation together with a new waste water treatment system and all associated site works. File: https://eplanning.ie/LimerickCCC/AppFileRefDetails/22826/0
- 2 Sept 2020, Limerick County Council 20862: Conditional. Permission. construction of a two storey extension to the rear of our house. File: https://eplanning.ie/LimerickCCC/AppFileRefDetails/20862/0
- 21 Oct 2019, Limerick County Council 191040: Conditional. Permission. the construction of an extension to existing dwelling house including all ancillary site works. File: https://eplanning.ie/LimerickCCC/AppFileRefDetails/191040/0
- 22 Jun 2018, Limerick County Council 18631: Conditional. Permission. a new vehicular entrance off the Old Ballysimon Road, including alterations to the existing boundary wall and associated site works. File: https://eplanning.ie/LimerickCCC/AppFileRefDetails/18631/0

Applicants are not shown.

## Designated sites (National Parks and Wildlife Service)

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Ballysimon (Dickson).

## Recorded monuments (Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service)

- LI005-036: Ritual site - holy well, https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CLI005-036----. Holy well dedicated to St. Simon (Ó Danachair 1955, 199) located 50m NE of Ballysimon graveyard (LI013-026002-) and Derrygalvan church site (LI013-026001-). Described in 1955 as following; 'A little well, lined with dry stone, with a small whitethorn bush, 40 yards north of Ballysimon graveyard. Marked "Ballysimon Well" (not in Gothic) on 1925 edition of 6-inch O.S. map. Locally "St Simon's Well" and "All Saints Well". Said to cure sore eyes and bad stomach. No devotions remembered, no tradition survives' (ibid., 202). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 27 November 2018
- LI005-080: Castle - ringwork, https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CLI005-080----. Archaeological test trenching carried out by Fiona Rooney at Ballysimon under licence No. 98E0487 was summarised as following; ' Funded by Limerick County Council, this work involved the investigation of a number of possible sites in advance of the Limerick Southern Ring Road. This site was first identified by Celie O Rahilly during the course of fieldwork for the impact assessment for the road. The area was interpreted as having a series of possible cultivation ridges to the north of the church [LI013-026001-] and graveyard [LI013-026002-] at Ballysimon. From a study of the aerial photographs a possible D-shaped enclosure was identified. Four trenches were excavated, and in two of these the remains of a ditch were revealed, which was 3.5m wide and 1.4m deep. Finds included one fragment of medieval pottery and a fragment of lead, possibly part of a lead mount'(www.excavations.ie). Full excavation of this site was carried out in 1999 by Tony Cummins under licence No. 99E0422 and the results were summarised as following; 'The site is c. 1 mile south of Limerick on the north side of the main Limerick-Tipperary road and is on the west edge of a terrace overlooking a bend in the River Groody. A subcircular enclosure was uncovered at this location during test-trenching by Fiona Rooney (Excavations 1998, 130, 98E0487) before the construction of the Southern Ring Road. This initial investigation revealed an enclosure ditch, which produced a single sherd of medieval pottery. A second trench in the interior of the enclosure demonstrated that it had been disturbed by cultivation activity. A full excavation of this enclosure was carried out from September to December 1999 by the writer. It was also agreed with the client that two 50m-long strips of the road-take would be mechanically stripped to natural on either side of the enclosure in order to investigate the possibility that associated archaeological features existed outside the confines of the enclosure. The enclosure The subcircular enclosure was delimited by a ditch, averaging 4m wide and 1.5m deep, which was absent on the west side, where the enclosure was delimited by the riverside edge of the terrace. The internal area of the enclosure measured c. 35m in diameter, and an entrance causeway was found in the north side of the ditch. There were no extant remains of an enclosing bank, which appeared to have been backfilled into the ditch, and based on the ditch dimensions the bank may have originally been very substantial. Apart from a moderate amount of unhewn limestone boulders recovered from the southern extent of the ditch, there was no evidence to suggest that the bank had been revetted. The ditch contained evidence for two phases of activity. The initial ditch cut (Phase 1) was flat-bottomed apart from a basal gully in the north-east corner. This ditch became infilled with collapsed bank material and backfilled dump material, including animal bones and charcoal-rich deposits. These fills were then cut by a shallower and narrower ditch (Phase 2) that followed the line of the earlier ditch and disturbed the original entrance causeway. After the Phase 2 ditch had been almost completely infilled it was sealed by a redeposited layer of natural subsoil, perhaps originating from remaining bank material that was pulled over the ditch by later cultivation activity. There was no evidence to indicate that the interior of the enclosure had been raised by material upcast from the ditch, as it was lower than the surrounding area, and all of the internal structural features were cut into the natural boulder clay horizon. The foundation slot-trenches of two circular timber huts were uncovered near the centre of the enclosure. These were sealed by the ploughsoil layer, and both huts were disturbed by later cultivation activity. The central structure (Hut A) measured 7.8m in diameter, with a cobbled entrance surface uncovered on the north side of the hut. An earlier hut structure (Hut B), 6.8m in diameter, was uncovered to the north of Hut A. No finds were recovered from Hut B, but it was found to have been disturbed by the construction of Hut A. A large number of post- and stake-holes were uncovered in the area between Hut B and the causewayed entrance, suggesting the presence of another structure in the north end of the site. Also, three small ironworking pits and one cooking pit were uncovered in the interior of the enclosure. Monitoring of soil-stripping to the west and east of the enclosure Two 50m-long strips of land on either side of the enclosure were mechanically stripped to the natural boulder clay. No archaeological features were uncovered to the west of the enclosure, within the river flood-plain below the terrace. A hut structure (Hut C) and small kiln were uncovered to the east of the enclosure, and both of these were excavated. The circular hut was c. 10m to the east of the enclosure. It measured 7.7m in diameter and was of a similar construction to the huts within the enclosure. There was a break in the east side of the delimiting slot-trench, indicating the presence an entrance in this area. A keyhole-shaped corn-drying kiln was uncovered c. 5m to the east of the hut entrance. This was a shallow, stone-lined feature 4.7m long and 2.1m wide. It was orientated north-south, with the bowl at the north end of the kiln and the fire-spot at the south end of the flue. There was no evidence of baffle stones or lintel stones in the flue. A shallow pit, with a charcoal-rich fill, lay 0.7m to the south of the kiln. Artefacts The ditch fills contained occasional finds such as animal bone, medieval pottery and iron nails. Finds from the interior of the site included medieval pottery sherds (both local and imported), dating to AD 1250-1350, a quernstone fragment and a stone mortar. Saintonge pottery sherds were uncovered in the fill of the Phase 2 ditch and in Hut A, the latest structure in the enclosure. The quernstone and stone mortar were both recovered from the make-up material of the cobbled entrance to this hut. The shallow pit to the south of the corn-drying kiln produced a sherd of locally produced medieval ware of a similar type to the sherds recovered from within the enclosure. No finds were recovered from the Phase 1 ditch fills or from Hut B, although it is intended to submit charcoal from both features for dating. Preliminary conclusions This enclosure has been interpreted, on the basis of its finds, morphology and siting, as a medieval ringwork. Later cultivation activity has transformed the morphology of the site, but it was clearly a subcircular enclosure delimited by a substantial ditch crossed by a causewayed entrance on the north side. The ditch was absent in the west side, where the enclosure was delimited by the edge of the terrace. The soil profile in the ditch was also disturbed, but the presence of redeposited natural subsoil towards the base and top of this feature indicated that the enclosure was once delimited by a bank that has since become levelled. The artefactual evidence recovered from the enclosure shows that it was occupied in the late 13th/early 14th centuries. The enclosure is to the north of the site of a 14th-century church [LI013-026001-], currently in use as a graveyard [LI013-026002-], and the two sites may have been contemporary. This position of the enclosure, on the edge of a river terrace and close to the site of a medieval church, is indicative of a medieval ringwork. The artefactual assemblage supports such an interpretation. The artefacts and features uncovered at Ballysimon suggest that this was a settlement site, with the occupants living in circular timber huts and carrying out their own ironworking and grain processing in what appears to have been a defended farmstead. The absence of the bank means that it is difficult to assess the precise defensive nature of the site. The evidence from the ditch and interior of the enclosure indicates that the occupation
- LI005-100: Kiln - corn-drying, https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CLI005-100----. On a ridge above marshy ground 50m S of the Groody River. An archaeological excavation discovered a previously unrecorded kiln site 5m E of a contemporary hut site (LI005-101----), these features were identified outside and 10-15m E of an earthen Ringwork Castle (LI005-080----) in advance of the construction of the Limerick Southern Ring Road (Bermingham et al. 2013; Collins & Cummins 2001). The stone lined base of a keyhole-shaped corn-drying kiln was recorded (dims. 4.7m L x 2.1m W). It was orientated N-S, with a bowl or drying chamber at the N of the kiln and a fire–pit at the S of the flue. The top of the flue and kiln were removed by later activity. A shallow pit filled with charcoal-rich clay was identified 0.7m to the S of the kiln where a sherd of early Anglo-Norman pottery was recovered. Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan Date of upload: 15 July 2020
- LI005-101: Hut site, https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CLI005-101----. On a ridge above marshy ground 50m S of the Groody River. An archaeological excavation discovered a previously unrecorded medieval barn or hut site 10m E of a contemporary earthen ringwork castle (LI005-080----) and 5m W of a contemporary corn drying kiln (LI005-100----). The sites were discovered in advance of the construction of the Limerick Southern Ring Road (Bermingham et al. 2013; Collins & Cummins 2001). The circular hut site (LI005-101----) was 7.7m in diameter and was defined by a shallow slot trench encircling the internal floor of the building. The entrance was identifiable as a break in the east side of the slot-trench. The structure was morphologically very similar to the hut sites excavated within the ringwork castle (LI005-080----) and dates from c. AD 1200-1400. It was later interpreted as a barn by the excavator. Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan Date of upload: 15 July 2020
- LI013-026001: Church, https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CLI013-026001-. Depicted standing in the N quadrant of Ballysimon graveyard (LI013-026002-) on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map though there is now no surface remains visible of a church here. This was the medieval parish church of Derrygalvan. Ballysimon Well (LI005-036----) located 50m to NE. According to Westropp (1904-5, 365) this church was referred to in 1291 as Derigavun, as Dalgarvun in 1302 and as Derighealvain in 1410 when it was dedicated to St. Nicholas (Dec. 6th); its rectory was granted to John, Abbot of Wethnia (Abington/Abbey Owney LI014-014002-), under the name of "The Church of the Blessed Virgin" in the 15th century; the church is depicted on the 17th century Down Survey map and fragments were still evident in 1840 (ibid.). In 1840 the Ordnance Survey described the church remains as following; 'Small fragments of the walls of a Church are visible among the luxuriant weeds in this burial ground, but they are not so distinct as to give one any idea of the extent or characteristics of the building' (OSL 1840, 9). Compiled by: Denis Power Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 27 November 2018
- LI013-026002: Graveyard, https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CLI013-026002-. Situated immediately NE of a minor road, in gently undulating pasture. The graveyard is still used. It is enclosed by a wall (H 1m), partly of dry-stone construction and partly mortared. The focus of the graveyard is a sub-oval embankment (H 1.3m) which slopes sharply down to S, SW and E, an which slopes more gently down to W, N and NE. Most of the graves are oriented ENE by WSW, but there is a cluster in the N part of the yard which are oriented E-W. The earliest monuments date from the 18th Century and are upright limestone slabs. According to Westropp (1904-5, 365) the remains of Derrygalvan Church (LI013-026001-) stood in the graveyard up to around 1840. Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 26 March 2013

Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

## Architectural heritage (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage)

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands in the townland of Ballysimon (Dickson).

## Ground and risks (Radon Risk Map of Ireland, EPA; Landslide Susceptibility Classification and LiDAR, Geological Survey Ireland)

- Radon: at the centre of the townland of Ballysimon (Dickson), about 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home: https://www.epa.ie/environment-and-you/radon/radon-testing/#d.en.82887
- Landslides: The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately low, low, partly inferred.
- Terrain model: LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_1022, https://gsi.geodata.gov.ie/downloads/LiDAR/OPW_NASC/OPW_1022.zip (ZIP).
- Flooding: the flood maps of the Office of Public Works, https://www.floodinfo.ie/map/floodmaps/, linked only: their licence does not allow re-use.

LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

## Downloads

- DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings, for a drawing program: https://everytownland.com/limerick/ballysimon-dickson.dxf
- GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map: https://everytownland.com/limerick/ballysimon-dickson.geojson
- KML, for Google Earth: https://everytownland.com/limerick/ballysimon-dickson.kml

## Homes sold (Residential Property Price Register)

No address of the register names Ballysimon (Dickson) with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Limerick: https://everytownland.com/limerick.md

## Neighbouring townlands (National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann)

- Ballysimon: https://everytownland.com/limerick/ballysimon.md
- Ballysimon (Staunton): https://everytownland.com/limerick/ballysimon-staunton.md
- Ballysimon Commons: https://everytownland.com/limerick/ballysimon-commons.md
- Milltown: https://everytownland.com/limerick/milltown-121547.md
- Peafield: https://everytownland.com/limerick/peafield.md

A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address; old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.

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Everytownland reads the registered freehold land and the statutory boundaries of Tailte Éireann, the national zoning, planning file and heritage records of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Residential Property Price Register. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee; this site names no owner. A price is the price recorded for a past sale, not a valuation.

Sources: Cadastral Parcels Freehold, Townlands, Civil Parishes, Baronies, Electoral Divisions and Buildings, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0; national zoning of development plans (GZT, MyPlan) and National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0, applicants not shown; designated sites, National Parks and Wildlife Service, CC BY 4.0; Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service, CC BY 4.0; National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, CC BY 4.0; Residential Property Price Register, Property Services Regulatory Authority, re-used with the source acknowledged.

- Page: https://everytownland.com/limerick/ballysimon-dickson
- In JSON: https://everytownland.com/api/townland/limerick/ballysimon-dickson