Irishtown

Area

83 m²

Buildings

2 buildings touch it, 136 m² on the ground

Zoning

No zone of a development plan covers it in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply.

Townland

Irishtown

Planning applications on this parcel

No planning application touches this parcel in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 71 recorded monuments.

• WX029-013 Historic town
  Description

  St. Abban is said to have founded an early church at Ros Mhic Treoin (WX029-013012-) but the town was founded by William Marshall probably some time before c. 1200 when the first of many bridges was built. The town grew rapidly and became the port for the Marshall lands in south Leinster, which consisted of most of the counties of Wexford and Kilkenny with large portions of neighbouring territories. The building of the walls c. 1265 is described in a poem (Hore 1900, vol. 1, 58 60), but this probably involved just the digging of the fosse. According to a charter of 1374, it appears that the town was still unwalled (Hore 1900. vol. 1, 202 4). Murage was collected down to 1830, but the most intense period was 1374-1420 (Thomas 1992, vol. 2, 176). New Ross was a great commercial rival of the Royal city of Waterford, and the customs returns 0f 1277-80 shows that it was the busiest port in Ireland (Orpen 1911, 10). However, by the middle of the 15th century it was so much in decline that in 1469 it was sacked by the Kavanaghs. The town was held by the Confederate Catholics in 1642, who destroyed the bridge, but the town was captured by the Earl of Ormond for the King soon afterwards. However, in 1649 the town surrendered without a fight to Cromwell who dismantled the fortifications. The town is situated on a steep slope which runs down to the River Barrow/Nore on its W side. The walls (WX029-013005-) enclosed c. 105 acres running from the river at the N,. up Goat Lane to the Maiden Gate, along the back of properties to the W of Haughton Place, along Nunnery Lane to a mural tower and on to the junction with Neville St. It changed direction here and ran W down the N side of William St. where there is a portion of surviving wall. It crossed the junction with Priory St., and continued towards the river where another tower has been identified (Scully 2010). Rosbercon was an independent borough on the Kilkenny side of the River Barrow/Nore and was probably unwalled. There were gates at North St., the Maiden's Gate to the Irishtown, which still partly survives, Three Bullet Gate at Neville St. and William St., and the Priory or South Gate. Bunnion Gate, at the top of Mary St., is probably a late addition. A wall was provided on the riverside in the 16th or 17th century with may gates onto the quays. The river has been spanned by at least five bridges (WX029-013071-) since the 13th century, from which it derived its name – Ros Pontis villa nova (The new town of the bridge of Ros). There have also been lengthy periods when reliance was placed in ferries. Within the town five church sites are known: St Mary's (WX029-013002-) with considerable remains, St Michael's (WX029-013010-), St Saviour's chapel (WX029-013011-) and the Franciscan (WX029-013008-) and Augustinian (WX029-013009-) friaries. In Rosbercon there was the Dominican friary (WX029-013007-) and the parish church (WX029-013001-). Outside the town is the site of St Stephen's Church (WX029-013006-) and the site of a monastery, possibly a leper hospital (WX029-015----) in the Maudlins. Trinity hospital (WX029-013074-) was established in the 16th century. (Hore 1900, vol. 1, 42 396; Bradley and King 1990, 99-146) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 1 August, 2012

• WX029-013001 Church
  Description

  Described as the 'Convent of Dominicans (Site of)' only on the 1940 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, and situated on a steep E-facing slope. This is the site of parish church of Rosbercon. The church is depicted as a rectangular roofed structure (dims. c. 20m E-W; c. 10m N-S) on the 1839 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, and it is described as in good repair (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 533-4). There are no visible remains of a church at ground level, apart from the N wall with two brick-lined window embrasures incorporated into the N wall of the wedge-shaped graveyard (dims. c. 55m E-W; c. 25-45m N-S) defined by masonry walls. There is a fragment of a medieval graveslab (Wth 0.5-55m; visible H 1.1m; T 0.2m) in a green stone with a fleur-de-lis terminals serving as a grave-marker in the graveyard. An oval bullaun stone (dims 0.5m x 0.35m; H 0.25m plus) of granite with a single basin (dims 0.27m x 0.25m; D 0.1m) is in a flowerbed c. 40m N of the graveyard. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 29 May, 2019

• WX029-013002 Church
  Description

  Situated on a rise on a W-facing slope within the town of New Ross. The parish church of St Mary's, is within a rectangular graveyard (dims. c. 140m ENE-WSW; c. 55-75m NNW-SSE) defined by masonry walls. It was founded early in the 13th century by William Marshall or perhaps his wife Isabel, and was served by Augustinian canons of St. John’s. Kilkenny. It is thought that it might have become the diocesan centre under Bishop Patrick Barrett (1400-1415) (Gwynne and Hadcock 1970, 101) when the bishop built a castle in Mountgarrett (WX029-011----). According to a Visitation by Thomas Ram, the Protestant bishop of Ferns, in 1615 it was impropriate to Kilkenny, William Campyon was the vicar, and the church and chancel were in repair (Hore 1900-11, vol. 6, 270). Leigh describes St Mary’s as having a tower and steeple in 1684 (Hore, H. F. 1858-9, 452), which fell in 1763 (Hore 1900-11, vol. 1, 93). The nave was completely rebuilt with a new W tower and steeple by 1813 (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 532) and it now occupies most of the area of the original nave and the S aisle. The chancel of the new church was placed in the crossing of the original transept. The church continues in use as a Church of Ireland church, but the N and S transepts and the original chancel survive roofless as a National Monument. It is thought that the chancel is the earliest part (Leask 1940, vol. 2, 85), followed by the S transept, but both of these could be closely contemporary. The chancel (int. dims. 17.6m E-W; 7.7m N-S) has three lancet windows in the E gable, two lancets towards the W end of the N wall and a group of three lancets at the W end of the S wall. There are two smaller lancets at the E end of the S wall over the sedilia. All the windows in the chancel are dressed in Dundry, internally and externally. The inner arches of the embrasures have attached columns with collars. Internally there is a string-course at the base of the eastern windows. There is a round-arched doorway in Dundry in the S wall and a pointed doorway was inserted in the N wall. There is a partially recessed and partially protruding wall monument in the N wall with a trefoil decorated arch dressed with dog-tooth ornament. The N transept (int. dims. 12.9m N-S; 7.6m E-W) survives complete and includes the blocked pointed arch connecting with the destroyed N aisle of the nave. There are three lancets in the N wall dressed in Dundry and granite. There are two lancets in the W wall where a doorway has been inserted. There are four lancets in the E wall, which has external buttresses. There is an incised drawing of a ship on the W wall of the N transept (Brady and Corlett 2007, 332, Fig. 14). The S transept (int. dims. 15.7m N-S; 7.5m E-W) survives complete, with two side-chapels on the E wall connecting under pointed arches with the transept. Two large arches also connected with an aisle on the W side, which has otherwise disappeared, but the arch connecting with the S aisle of the nave is blocked. The side-chapels and the W aisle are lighted with two small lancets in single embrasures, but the S wall of the transept has three lancets. All the dressed stonework is in a green feldspar stone, except the tops of the window embrasues which is in Dundry. A newel stairs in the S transept leads down to an E-W barrel vault with wicker-centring that occupies an area beneath the S end of the transept and its W aisle. This was converted into a 19th mausoleum of the Tyndall family when a doorway with a granite surround was inserted in the S wall. A passage leads from this vault to an inner E-W barrel vault with wicker-centring, which is empty apart from some spoil. The foundations of the pillar separating the W aisle of the S transept from the transept itself is carried into the masonry block between the two vaults. The transepts and the chancel contain over forty pieces of medieval funerary art pre-dating 1700 AD, which is probably the largest collection of this material in the country (O’Mahony 1987). This is a National Monument in state guardianship: No. 443. See the attached aerial view _3 from SW; _4 detail of E window; _9 tomb on N wall of chancel: _79 S doorway of chancel; _84 side-chapels of S transept from E; _129 interior of S transept from SW: _283 exterior from NE The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 2 August, 2012 Amended: 2 Sep. 2013

• WX029-013005 Town defences
  Description

  The town of New Ross is situated on a steep W-facing slope which runs down to the River Barrow/Nore. The walls enclosed c. 105 acres and they were commenced c. 1265 according to a poem which describes the different trades working in digging the fosse on different days, with the ladies working on Sunday (Hore 1900-10, vol. 1, 58-60). However, according to a charter of 1374, New Ross appears to be still unwalled (ibid, 202 4). Murage was collected down to 1830 but the most intense period was 1374-1420 (Thomas 1992, vol. 2, 176). The town wall ran from the river at the N, up Goat Lane to the Maiden Gate, the only survivor of four original gates. Only one side of the entrance passage with a portcullis niche and evidence of groin vaulting survives. The gate was conserved in 2012 when extraneous fabric was removed and the original structure secured with a lime mortar. The work was archaeologically monitored (E004449) by N. Gregory but no medieval material was encountered in any ground works (excavations.ie 2012:631). From there the wall ran along the back of properties to the W of Haughton Place, and along Nunnery Lane to a mural tower. This is a semicircular tower of mortared shale surviving to two storeys (H c. 5m). Each storey had three windows and the first storey had four smaller slot windows while the ground floor has one. Archaeological testing (95E00086) connected with a drainage scheme identified part of the fosse outside the town wall close to the tower (McCutcheon 1996). From this tower the wall continued on SW to the junction of Neville St. Here it turned W and proceeded down William St. where there is a preserved section of town wall (L 8.5m; H c. 5m) on Jones' Hill or Lower William St. which may extend in either direction under modern walls. Archaeological testing (E004572) in 2014 by C. McLoughlin of an earthen bank (Wth c. 2m; H 0.8m) on top of the wall and W of the high preserved section demonstrated that the bank was nineteenth century in date and overlying a section (L 29m) of the town wall (Wth c. 2.5m; H up to 2.8m) which was then conserved (excavations.ie 2014:450). Archaeological testing (03E0764) along Priory St. from the junction with Cross Lane to the junction with William St. produced evidence of structures or features at about 10 points, including a lengthy deposit of compact stony brown clay with charcoal and slate inclusions that might be a street surface, a large pit and what might be a section of wall (L 3m; H 0.3m) from the South Gate around the junction of Priory St. and William St. (McLoughlin 2003). The wall crossed the junction with Priory St., and continued towards the river where another tower has been identified (Scully 2010). Archaeological testing (E004572) and reconstruction during 2015 of a section of wall at Goat's Lane demonstrated that the wall was of nineteenth century date but it was built on an earlier wall (Wth 0.75m) of probable medieval date (McLoughlin 2016; excavations.ie 215:329). According to a map of 1649 a wall had been built on the quay with between three and seven gates by that date (Thomas 1992, vol. 2, 177). Rosbercon was an independent borough on the Kilkenny side of the river Barrow/Nore that was probably unwalled. There was a gate at North St., and the Maiden's Gate led to the Irishtown. The Bunnion Gate was at the top of Mary St. while the Three Bullet Gate, also known as the Bewley or Aldgate, was at the junction of Neville St. and William St. The Priory or South Gate was at the junction of Lower William St. and Priory St. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 2 August, 2012 Amended: 30 November 2020

• WX029-013007 Religious house - Dominican friars
  Description

  Described as the site of the Dominican abbey only on the 1839 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, and situated on the flood-plain of the N-S River Barrow/Nore with the stream c. 50m to the E. A Dominican friary known as St. Mary’s was reputedly founded in 1267 by the Graces or Walshes. It was dissolved in 1539 when it was described as a church with a belfry, a dormitory, a cemetery and four chambers, together with St. Saviour’s chapel (WX029-013011-) (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 229), but this last is not proven and the chapel was a possession of Dunbrody abbey (WX039-030001-) at the Suppression. A late 18th century print (Flynn 1981, Pl. 2) shows a nave and chancel with a tower, destroyed aisles and a N transept, and Lewis (1837, vol. 2, 553) describes a crossing tower and a wall with five arches and ten windows, but doubt must be cast on the validity of both (Manning 1998a, 125). There are no visible remains of it at ground level, but archaeological monitoring of a drainage pipe (95E0086) identified a wall from the friary and burials associated with it (McCutcheon 1996). Further excavation (00E0828) to secure the site for pile-supported development did not disturb any medieval deposits (McCarthy, M. 2002). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 7 August, 2012

• WX029-013008 Religious house - Fratres Cruciferi
  Description

  A priory of Fratres Cruciferi was founded c. 1195, probably by William Marshall. They were expelled during the 13the century after one of the brothers murdered a townsman. As a result of the expulsion the town was placed under a papal interdict that was not lifted until 1435 (Hore 1900-11, vol. 1, 94-7). By 1295 their property had passed to the Franciscans who had been in the town from c. 1256. The Franciscan house was known as the priory of St. Saviour’s, and some of the duty paid by ships in the port were awarded to it. The friars ensured that their house was enclosed within the walls. At the Suppression in 1541 the church and kitchens were ruinous but there was a cemetery and two small gardens. The friars were finally driven out in 1558 and the last of the buildings removed in 1732. The Franciscan priory was located in the Priory Lane/ Priory St. area and some grave covers, now at St Mary's (WX029-013002-), were recovered from the site. Archaeological testing (07E0968) produced no archaeological material, but did identify part of the town wall (Scully 2010). (Hore, 1900, vol. 1, 94-9; Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 215, 257) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 2 August, 2012

• WX029-013009 Religious house - Augustinian friars
  Description

  Augustinian Friars were established in New Ross in the late 13th or early 14th century. Traditionally, it is thought to have been founded by William de la Roche in 1320, but they were in the town before that date (Hore 1900, vol. 1, 100), and it is suggested that Gilbert de Clare may have been the founder (Butler 1976, 81-2). In 1484 the New Ross house adopted the Observant reforms. It was suppressed in 1540 when the priory consisted of a church, belfry, hall and other buildings, and a cemetery. The exact location is uncertain but it is thought to have been on South St., where St Michael's Theatre now stands. Some dressed stonework from it was in an entry to a yard on South St. but it cannot be traced now. The Augustinians returned to New Ross in the early 18th century, and from 1725 began to establish themselves on High Hill where they built a church in 1836 (Butler 1976, 94-8). (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 301; Butler 1976, 80-90; 94-101) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 2 August, 2012

• WX029-013010 Church
  Description

  St Michael’s church is regarded by Hore as the original parish church of New Ross but this is unlikely as the earliest reference to St Michael's chapel is in 1370 when the advowson, or the right of appointing clergy, was granted to the Abbey of Dunbrody (WX039-030001-). It was served by Jesuits c. 1625-70. The site is uncertain but it is believed to be on Michael St., and became the site of a cavalry barracks in the 18th century. The barracks is commemorated in Barrack Lane, and the site is now occupied by St Joseph's National School. (Hore 1900-11, vol. 1, 100-02, 198) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 2 August, 2012

• WX029-013011 Hospital
  Description

  St Saviour's church (WX029-013074-) was close to the site where Thomas Gregory founded a Hospital of the Holy Trinity probably in the middle of the 16th century, although the first charter is dated 1587 when it is granted the chapels of St. Michael’s and St. Saviour’s. The hospital is on the site now occupied by the Trinity Houses on South St. These were built in 1772 as part of the charity which continued down to the present. Archaeological testing (97E0250) in the vicinity failed to reveal anything other than a pit (WX029-013013-) (Sullivan 1998). (Hore 1900, vol. 1, 80 84, 267-8; Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 355) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 2 August, 2012

• WX029-013012 Church
  Description

  St. Abban or Abán, a nephew and a disciple of St. Ibar or Iobharof Begerin (WX038-004001-), founded a monastery at Ros Mhic Treoin, one of his many foundations. He made many visits to Rome where he was ordained a bishop. He died in 630 and was buried at his church at Adamstown (WX031-023001-) (Ó Riain 2011, 51-2). New Ross was one of his foundations and St. Evin or Éimhín was said to be buried there. It appears to have been located inside the N gate and St. Evin’s chapel is marked on a map of c. 1700 (Hore 1900-11, vol. 1, 46-8, 51). Capt. William Ivory acquired extensive property in Wexford under the Cromwellian settlement, including a large part of the Liberties of Ross. In 1661 he settled in ‘the Mansion House commonly called the Abbey’ inside the N gate. His grandson, John Ivory Talbot endowed a school in 1713 in the ‘Manor House of John Ivory commonly called the Abbey’. It was rebuilt in 1791, and the school continued in use down to the 20th century (Quane 1950). The site is in the general area of the YMCA building. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 2 August, 2012

And 61 more.

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands on this parcel.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. 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).

Ground and risks

Radon

About 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

No susceptibility class on the 1:50,000 map; parts are made ground.

Terrain model

LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_2520 (ZIP).

Flooding

The flood maps of the Office of Public Works: floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency; Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland; both CC BY 4.0. 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.

Download this parcel: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program; GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map; KML, for Google Earth.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. 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.