Johnstown, County Kilkenny
| Johnstown Baile Sheáin
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|---|---|
| Town | |
 Johnstown
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | Kilkenny |
| Elevation | 137 m (449 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 472 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | S300664 |
Johnstown (Irish: Baile Sheáin), historically known as Coorthafooka[1] (Irish: Cúirt an Phúca), is a small town in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Bypassed in December 2008 by the M8, the town lies at the junction of the R639, the R502 and the R435 regional roads. It is the home of the Fenians GAA hurling club. Situated 121 kilometres (75 mi) from Dublin and 131 kilometres (81 mi) from Cork, it lies in the agricultural heartland of the southeast.
The village of Johnstown is over 200 years old and was once part of the barony of Galmoy. It was laid out in the early 1700s by the Hely family of Foulkscourt Castle: they were descended from Sir John Hely (died 1701), Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.
Contents
Public transport
Route 828 operated by M & A Coaches on behalf of the National Transport Authority provides a daily journey each way to/from Cullohill, Durrow, County Laois, Abbeyleix and Portlaoise. There is no Sunday service. Bus Eireann's Expressway service between Dublin and Cork ceased to serve Johnstown on 30 June 2012.[2]
Places of interest
- Ballyspellan Spa Well, A mineral spa visited by Dean Jonathan Swift in 1728. A poem[3] praising the medicinal qualities was penned by Thomas Sheridan and a retort was produced by Jonathan Swift. In 1806[4] a Viking age brooch was found in Ballyspellan[5] and is currently on display in the National Museum of Ireland
- Fertagh,[6] A 6th Century Round tower situated 3.5 km northeast of the village and associated with St Ciarán of Saigir. It was attacked by the Vikings in 865
- Foulkscourt Castle,[7] A Norman-era tower house northwest of the village
People
- J.J Delaney, hurler
- Pat Delaney, hurler
- P.J. Delaney, hurler
- Clare Dowling,writer
- Billy Fitzpatrick, hurler
- Sir John Hely, judge and landowner
- Ger Henderson, hurler
- John Henderson, hurler and inter-county Manager
- Pat Henderson, hurler and inter-county Manager
- Ailis Holohan, international rower, winner of the lightweight sculls at Henley Women's Regatta in 2000[8]
- Ethel Colburn Mayne, writer
- Nicky Orr, hurler
- P.J. Ryan, hurler
- Ronan Tynan, tenor and 1984 & 1988 Paralympic athlete
See also
Further reading
- ↑ Placenames Database of Ireland
- ↑ http://buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=251#July_1
- ↑ http://sources.nli.ie/Record/PS_UR_059182
- ↑ http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectId=83129&partId=1
- ↑ http://www.museum.ie/en/list/artefacts.aspx?article=e5501687-07db-4fe8-913e-616a1f125962
- ↑ http://www.roundtowers.org/fertagh/index.htm
- ↑ http://www.geograph.ie/photo/2495691
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Fertagh Parish
- Diocese of Ossory
- Fenians GAA
- Balief Castle on Flicker
- Edward Law - Kilkenny History - Miscellaneous Houses
