Balrath

22 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Balrath, from 2,383 m² (0.24 ha, 0.59 acres) to 1,319,605 m² (131.96 ha, 326.08 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 16 neighbouring parcels touch it.

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

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

• 25 Feb 2019Conditional

  construction of milking parlour building with slatted collecting yard/drafting yard with flow channel and concrete yard and all associated site works

  Permission, 1 home · Westmeath County Council, 196042

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 the townland of Balrath.

Recorded monuments

• WM025-002 Ringfort - unclassified
  Description

  Situated on a low rise in pasture with good views in all directions. A pond lies c. 60m to N. Depicted on the revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map as a subciruclar-shaped earthwork. Monument described in 1977 as no surface remains visible. Cropmark of levelled monument barely visible today on Digital Globe aerial photograph. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 03 September 2019

• WM025-003 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on a slight rise, in gently undulating pasture, with very wide views to S, E and W. Bivallate monument described as a roughly circular-shaped area enclosed by an inner bank, an intervening fosse and an outer bank, a gap at SE may represent the entrance. The inner bank is steep on the exterior and is almost reduced to a scarp. There are traces of a wide intervening fosse and a low outer bank, although these are poorly preserved. The interior has a gentle SW-facing slope with traces of cultivation ridges running NNW-SSE. A house site (WM025-003001-) is visible in the centre and a second possible house site (WM025-003002-) is visible in the S quadrant. See attached profile of monument surveyed by the ASI. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 03 September 2019

• WM025-003001 House - indeterminate date
  Description

  Situated on a slight rise, in gently undulating pasture, with very wide views to S, E and W. Within the centre of ringfort (WM025-003----) are vague traces of a rectangular-shaped house site (dims. 7.3m NW-SE; 6m NE-SW) defined by a very slight bank (H 0.3m; approx. Wth 2.3m). There are slight depressions at the upper edge of the bank which are probably due to disturbance. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 03 September 2019

• WM025-003002 Hut site
  Description

  Situated on a slight rise, in gently undulating pasture, with very wide views to E, S and W. In the S quadrant of ringfort (WM025-003----) is a very shallow circular-shaped depression (diam. 4.5m) which may represent vague traces of a hut site. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 03 September 2019

• WM025-004 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on a slight rise, in gently undulating pasture, with extensive views to ESE and S. A pond lies c. 155m to SW. Monument described in 1971 as a roughly circular-shaped area (dims. 43.5m E-W; 39m N-S) enclosed by a bank and external fosse with no clear entrance feature visible. The bank is steep on the exterior and is almost reduced to a scarp and is slightly defaced by livestock in several places. The fosse is wide, shallow and flat-based with steep sides and is best preserved from SSE-S-W. The interior has a gentle E-facing slope and definite traces of cultivation ridges running E-W. A complex of banks, scarps and trenches surround the site, with some of the banks in close proximity. It is difficult to assess whether these represent part of a modern field system which has gone into disuse or whether it is an older system. See attached profile of monument surveyed by the ASI. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 03 September 2019

• WM025-008 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on a slight S-facing slope, in pasture with good views to SSE. Monument described in 1971 as a roughly circular-shaped area (dims 31m E-W; 28.8m N-S) enclosed by an inner bank, an intervening fosse and an outer bank, with a possible entrance at NE. The bank is steep on the exterior and is almost reduced to a scarp. The fosse is wide, steep-sided and flat-bottomed. The outer bank is slight and fragmentary and has remains of stone facing which is best preserved at SSW. A levelled portion of the outer bank makes contact with a very slight and much degraded scarp at ENE and another scarp at WNW. The interior has a gentle SSE-facing slope. See attached profile of monument surveyed by the ASI. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 03 September 2019

• WM025-174 Settlement deserted - medieval
  Description

  Located in a pasture field c. 125m NE of ringfort (WM025-003----). Found as part of an assessment of a nearby tree felling licence application. Series of features/earthworks visible on satellite imagery reminiscent of a deserted settlement with a possible hollow-way, cultivation ridges and small fields.   Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Johnny Ryan, archaeologist, Forestry Service, DAFM   Date of Compilation: 10 November 2025

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. 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).

No address of the register names Balrath with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Westmeath.

Name

Balrath

Area

3,750,508 m² (375.05 ha, 926.77 acres)

Civil parish

Churchtown, and its townlands

Barony

Rathconrath

Electoral division

Churchtown, the unit of the census

Neighbouring townlands

Ballynacarrow, Churchtown, Clontinteen, Croughal, Glascarn, Loughan, Nicholastown

Placenames

Balrath on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. 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.