Ballycanew

Ballycanew
Baile Uí Chonnmhaí
—  Town  —
Parish hall and church
Ballycanew
Location in Ireland
Coordinates:
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Wexford
Elevation 60 m (197 ft)
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference T146524

Ballycanew (historically Ballyconway, from Irish: Baile Uí Chonnmhaí)[1] is a small rural village in Ireland. It is situated in County Wexford, on the R741 regional road 8 km (5.0 mi) south of Gorey. It has a primary school, Saint Enda's National School. There are two churches. St Moling's is part of the Roman Catholic parish of Camolin and St. Mogue's is part of Church of Ireland Parish of Gorey. The village has two shops: a Daybreak and a Londis.

The Ounavarra river, which passes through the village, has a reputation for great fishing. This picturesque village was once known as Ballyconway. An old Irish name for Ballycanew is 'Baile Gan Uaigh' - Town without a grave.

The earliest reference is 1247 when Theodore de Nevel held lands there. In 1821, the population was 1094, but following the great famine it was reduced to 361.

In the past the Furney family owned a mill, built in 1589 and demolished in 1962. The old creamery was once a thriving industry, with an average of 2.5 million imperial gallons (11,000 m3) of milk supplied per annum. 'Papa Rhodes' restaurant is now situated in the old creamery.

In June 1965, a Bronze Age grave was discovered in the Ballycanew Parish. This grave yielded a slightly damaged food vessel and broken human bones. The exact date of the burial is uncertain but is probably more than 3,000 years old.

References

  1. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland (see archival records)

See also