Hacketstown Explained

Hacketstown
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Ireland
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Ireland
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Ireland
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Leinster
Subdivision Type3:County
Subdivision Name3:County Carlow
Unit Pref:Metric
Population As Of:2022
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population:653
Population Density Km2:auto
Utc Offset1:+0
Timezone1 Dst:IST (WEST)
Utc Offset1 Dst:-1
Coordinates:52.8639°N -6.5569°W
Elevation M:166
Blank Name:Irish Grid Reference

Hacketstown ([2] IPA:[ˈbˠalʲəˈhaceːdʲ]), historically known as Ballydrohid, is a small town and civil parish in County Carlow, Ireland, near the border with County Wicklow.

It is located on the R747 road at its junction with the R727. The River Derreen flows westwards just north of the town and the River Derry rises just south of the town.

History

In the early thirteenth century, an Anglo-Norman castle was built on the site where St Brigid's Church sits now.[3]

In the seventeenth century the wealthy Chetham family from New Moston, Lancashire, England acquired lands here. Although they lived mainly in England, a Chetham daughter married into the powerful Irish Loftus family.

Hacketstown was the scene of two battles during the 1798 rebellion. On 25 May 1798, there were several skirmishes in the town. Later, on 25 June, several thousand rebels including Michael Dwyer and his followers, tried to capture the military barracks to take the firearms and ammunition. The fighting lasted for the better course of a day. Most of the houses in the village were destroyed and several hundred rebels were killed during the fighting. The military evacuated the barracks and retreated to Tullow, a nearby town.

Hacketstown has a national school and secondary school, Coláiste Eoin. There is a Roman Catholic church, St Bridget's, and a Church of Ireland chapel, St John's.

William Presley, an ancestor of Elvis Presley, was a resident of the town before emigrating to America over 200 years ago.[4]

In 2011, the US town of Hackettstown, New Jersey, declared a sister city relationship with Hacketstown.[5] [6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Census Mapping – Hacketstown . . . 3 January 2024.
  2. Web site: Baile Haicéid/Hacketstown . . 3 January 2024.
  3. Web site: Hacketstown History . 2020-11-14 . en-US.
  4. Web site: Elvis hails from Hacketstown – Celia Murphy explains further – Ireland's Own. 2020-11-14. en-US.
  5. Web site: lehighvalleylive.com. Steve Novak For. 2011-03-15. Hackettstown, N.J., declares 'sister city' relationship with Hacketstown, Ireland. 2020-11-14. lehighvalleylive. en.
  6. Web site: lehighvalleylive.com. Steve Novak For. 2020-01-23. What's in a name: A New Jersey town's weird Irish connection. 2020-11-14. lehighvalleylive. en.