Ballyragget
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| Ballyragget Béal Atha Raghad |
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| Province: | Leinster | |
| County: | County Kilkenny | |
| Population (2006) | 1451 | |
| Website: www.kilkennycoco.ie/eng/ | ||
Ballyragget (Irish: Béal Atha Raghad) is a small town with a population of 1,451 people in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located 18 km (11 mi) north of Kilkenny on the N77.
Béal Atha Raghad means 'Mouth of Ragget's Ford'. The name 'Ragget' is Anglo-Norman in origin, and denotes a once-prominent Norman landowner Richard le Ragget who held these lands in the early part of the 13th century.
Older names of the settlement include 'Donoughmore' (Irish: Domhnach Mór 'Large Church') and an even more ancient 'Tullabarry' (Irish: Tualach Bare) - the name of a Celtic or possibly pre-Celtic tribe which held their seat in the vicinity. There is some debate as to the meaning of Donoughmore. The very first Journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society "Old Kilkenny Review, Number 1 (1946–1947). January 1948" has an article about Ballyragget and its environs and states the belief that Domhnach Mór means Big Sunday and relates to the fact that thousands of people congregated at the now ruined church in Donoughmore for its opening on a Sunday and the name stuck.
Ballyragget is the birthplace of Mabel Esmonde Cahill, a champion tennis player who in the nineteenth century won the U.S. Open and held the singles, doubles and mixed titles for 1891-92.
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[edit] Location
The River Nore flows beside the town, which nestles in a wide alluvial valley between the Castlecomer Plateau and several hills to the west, including 'Knockmannon' and 'The Ballock'. The Nore passes by one of the most significant ancient sites in North Kilkenny 5 km (3 mi) south of Ballyragget at Rathbeagh. The statistical Ballyragget Geographical Area is recorded by the CSO as containing 26.67 km².
To the north lies the town of Durrow in County Laois, to the south the River Nore flows on towards Kilkenny City.
The town itself is dominated by a large medieval keep, fallen into disrepair, and its adjoining walls. This tower dates roughly from the time of Queen Elizabeth I. A large Catholic Church also sits on a rise overlooking the town's central square.
[edit] Demographics
Statistics available from the Central Statistics Office of Ireland show that Ballyragget's population had reached 1,451 persons in the 2006 census. The figures show that there was a 14.1% increase in population from 2002 to 2006. The Ballyragget Electoral Area contained 15,417 people in 2006. These figures correspond to a section of North Kilkenny, including Castlecomer, Freshford and Urlingford.
The majority of residents in Ballyragget are nominally Roman Catholic, although there are minority Protestant and non-religious populations.
[edit] Local economy
Agriculture and the Agri-Food Industry are the largest employers, with the large Glanbia factory across the river dominating the town's industry for the past forty years. The plant at Ballyragget is the largest multi-purpose integrated dairy plant in Europe, and Glanbia plc can trace its roots to the Avonmore co-operative founded in Ballyragget in the 1960s.
A large percentage of the town's residents are employed in the services sector in nearby Kilkenny City and in Carlow, with some also commuting to Dublin.
[edit] Politics
Local politics is at present dominated by Fine Gael and Labour, with four of the five local authority seats having gone to those parties in the 2004 local elections. Fianna Fáil retains strong historical support in the region however, and local politics is best described as conforming to the 'Civil War' cleavage common to many other rural towns in Ireland.
At national level, Ballyragget, as part of the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency, is represented by 5 Teachtaí Dála in Dáil Eireann. The current representatives, who were elected on the 24th May 2007 for a five year term, are:
- Bobby Aylward (Fianna Fáil)
- Phil Hogan (Fine Gael)
- John McGuinness (Fianna Fáil)
- M.J. Nolan (Fianna Fáil)
- Mary White (Green Party)
Ballyragget is represented along with the rest of the Ireland East constituency by three MEPs in the European Parliament. They are:
- Liam Aylward (Fianna Fáil - UEN)
- Avril Doyle (Fine Gael - EPP)
- Mairead McGuinness (Fine Gael - EPP)
[edit] Ballyragget today
The town is currently undergoing a significant expansion as a large number of new homes, along with shops and other services, have been constructed in its environs.
[edit] See also
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