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| Historical buildings in Ballitore and Calverstown.© Eugene Brennan |
My Sunday cycle this week was supposed to be to Kilkea Castle, but it was 4 pm by the time I set out and I changed plans midway. (Sometimes I make up the route as I go along and let the bicycle decide). Usually on the steep road out of Crookstown heading west towards the Athy road direction, I turn left for Mullaghmast at the top of the hill. I travel cross country to Kilkea this way, crossing the new N78 Athy Link Road at the bottom of Mullaghmast Hill, and then take a right just before the Moone Inn. On Sunday, I took the second turn after the Mullaghmast turn on the Crookstown road. This leads to the Burtown area on the new N78. I travelled a few miles east on the N78, and then exited for Ballitore. In the village I took some photos of the historic Quaker buildings including the Meeting House and Mary Leadbeater's house, now a library and museum. Leadbeater (1758 - 1826 ) was a Quaker and author who lived in the village and documented events during the 1798 rebellion.
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| Mary Leadbeater's house, now a library and museum. © Eugene Brennan |
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| A school established in 1726 by Abraham Shackleton. It's now a Quaker meeting house. © Eugene Brennan |
Next I headed to the outskirts of the village and the location of Ballitore Mill. This a large, ruined structure, built in the early 19th century. An EPA hydrometric station that monitors water level and flow is located on the River Griese, which runs alongside the mill. The Griese in addition to powering this mill also powered a second mill in Ballitore, located down a cull-de-sac in the village. I headed back on the old section of road towards Crookstown. This was the original Carlow road before it was replaced by a wider section several decades ago. It's amazing how the ditches of a road that's no longer used begin to creep inwards and the accumulation of leaves and other debris begin to return it to nature, obscuring the tarmac.
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| Ballitore Mill. © Eugene Brennan |
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| Ballitore Mill. © Eugene Brennan |
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| EPA hydrometric station. © Eugene Brennan |
From Crookstown, I headed back towards Calverstown via Narraghmore Bog. I took the road that runs alongside Crookstown Millview AC's track and then turned off that to pickup up the Narraghmore - Calverstown road. I've always intended to visit Blackhall Castle, and I've passed the entrance multiple times over the decades, so I decided to investigate it on Sunday. A long, wooded lane leads down to the castle, situated in the grounds of an old farmhouse, probably dating to the Georgian period and owned by Jeffrey and Naomi White. The owner, Naomi, and a barking Cocker Spaniel greeted me and Naomi explained some details about the ruin. The four story castle was built by the Eustace family in the 16th century and appears to have a large , impressive fireplace on the fourth floor. Unfortunately half of the castle collapsed in 1999, due to instability in the structure. Naomi told me they had secured a grant to stabilise the structure, but it's a shame the collapse happened before this work could be done. There's also a "Sheela na Gig" carving which was luckily recovered from the rubble after the collapse and is now mounted in a ground floor wall. More information on Blackhall Castle is available on the Irish Historic Houses blog here.
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| Blackhall Castle. © Eugene Brennan | |
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| Blackhall Castle. © Eugene Brennan |
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| Sheela na gig carving. © Eugene Brennan |
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| My cycle route. © Eugene Brennan |
