Inistioge Explained

Inistioge
Native Name Lang:ga
Settlement Type:Village
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:Kilkenny
Unit Pref:Metric
Population As Of:2016
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population:285
Population Density Km2:auto
Utc Offset1:+0
Timezone1 Dst:IST (WEST)
Utc Offset1 Dst:-1
Coordinates:52.4833°N -11°W
Blank Name:Irish Grid Reference

Inistioge (; [2]) is a small village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Historically, its name has been spelt as Ennistioge, Ennisteage, and in other ways. The village is situated on the River Nore, 25km (16miles) southeast of Kilkenny. Inistioge is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.[2]

Situated along the River Nore, Inistioge is entered by crossing a 10 arch stone bridge. The village has a tree-lined square and a number of 18th and 19th century homes along the river. Inistioge and its village green have been used as a filming location for a number of films. Inistioge developed significantly during the 18th and 19th centuries as a part of the Tighe families' Woodstock Estate.[3]

History

The earliest recorded reference to Inistioge refers to a battle between the kingdom of Osraighi and an army of Norsemen, recorded as taking place in the year AD 962 in the Annals of the Four Masters.[4]

Due to its location at the lowest point of the River Nore's crossing and the fact that the Osraige fought Olaf Cuaran, King of Dublin, in Inistioge in 964, it is possible that Inistioge was first inhabited by Vikings.[5]

Thomas FitzAnthony received the land grant in 1169, and in 1206 he founded the Augustinian Priory. The priors expanded the community, but Inistioge suffered once the monasteries were dissolved in 1540. In 1566, Sir Edmond Butler was given ownership of the priory's possessions.

James I created weekly markets on Fridays and an annual fair on 13 December after Inistioge was constituted as a town in 1608. The Cromwellians attacked the town in 1649 and eventually took it over.

The 18th and 19th centuries brought new development as the core square of the village became a planned estate village by the Tighe family of the Woodstock Estate.[6]

The parliamentary borough of Inistioge sent two MPs to Irish House of Commons until its abolition in 1801. It was not enfranchised in the United Kingdom House of Commons.[7] [8]

Woodstock Estate

See main article: Woodstock Estate. Inistioge's development was connected with that of the Woodstock Estate, which was constructed by Francis Bindon in the late 1740s for the Fownes family. Prior to the Land Acts, the holdings that made up the Woodstock Estate totalled 21,763 statute acres spread over six counties. Despite being far from the town, the house's significance in the growth of the community is attested to by the primary entrance to Woodstock, the river gate, the lower avenue and lodge, and the almshouses on the square. By the end of the 19th century, there was a concentration of buildings with a large number of two and three storey structures due to the interaction of the steep hill and the earlier medieval walled village design.[5] In the centre of the village square there is a fountain which Lady Louisa Tighe (1803-1900), who spent seventy-five years at Woodstock, erected in memory of her late husband. The base of a cross, erected in 1621 to the memory of Baron David Fitzgerald and his wife, is nearby. The cross itself went missing and is said to have been deliberately destroyed by the Yeoman in 1798. The fountain still stands today, and it is inscribed “Erected by Louisa M. Tighe in memory of her beloved husband A.D. 1879”.[9]

Public transport

The main bus route serving the village is Kilbride Coaches' New Ross - Thomastown - Kilkenny route.[10] Bus Éireann route 374 provides a journey in each direction along the New Ross - Thomastown - Kilkenny route.[11] Bus Éireann and JJ Kavanagh and Sons operate several journeys daily from Thomastown (8.5 kilometres away) to Dublin, Dublin Airport, Carlow and Waterford. Bus services to Rosslare Europort are available from New Ross.[12]

The nearest station is Thomastown railway station (located at) on the Waterford-Kilkenny-Dublin line.

Film

Inistioge, and its village green, has been the scene for a number of films, including Circle of Friends, The Secret Scripture and Widows' Peak.[13] Segments of the Hallmark movie Love's Portrait, released in September 2022, were filmed in Inistioge.[14]

Sport

The Gaelic Athletic Association club Rower–Inistioge GAA has its home ground here. The club has had a number of All Ireland medal-winning players including Sean Cummins,[15] Kieran Joyce,[16] and Eddie Keher.[17]

Notable people

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Inistioge (Ireland) Census Town . City Population . 7 October 2021 .
  2. Web site: Inis Tíog/Inistioge . . logainm.ie . 7 October 2021.
  3. Web site: Hayes . Aisling . 2018-10-10 . Beautiful film village of Inistioge . 2022-12-05 . Visit Kilkenny . en-US.
  4. Web site: Part 6 of Annals of the Four Masters. UCC .
  5. Web site: The History of the Prehistoric Killkenny village of Inistioge . 2022-12-05 . Inistioge . en-GB.
  6. Book: Darley, Gillian. Villages of vision. 1975. Architectural Press. 0-85139-705-0. London. 148. 1921555.
  7. Book: Goodrich, Samuel Griswold . A New Universal Pocket Gazetteer . W. Hyde . 1832. 446.
  8. Book: Carrigan, William . The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory . Roberts Books . 1981. 104.
  9. Book: J., Whyte, Thomas. The story of Woodstock in Inistioge : the fascinating history of a great Kilkenny estate and the restoration of its magnificent gardens : an account inspired by Thomas Whyte of Cappagh (1888-1961) and incorporating his original material and research. 2007. Cappagh Press. 978-0-9556029-0-0. 180469446.
  10. Web site: Kilbride Coaches . 17 May 2021.
  11. Web site: Bus Éireann schedule . Bus Éireann . 17 May 2021.
  12. Web site: Getting to Inistioge . inistioge.ie . 30 January 2014 . 2 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140202193159/http://www.inistioge.ie/140/Getting_to_Inistioge.html . dead .
  13. Web site: This little Kilkenny village has been utterly transformed into a Hollywood film set . Dailyedge.ie . 2 February 2015 . 14 June 2018 .
  14. Web site: Handore . Pratik . Where Was Hallmark's Love's Portrait Filmed? Who is in the Cast? . The Cinemaholic . 9 November 2022.
  15. Web site: Profile: Seán Cummins. Hurling stats website. 25 February 2012. 31 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120531194804/http://www.hurlingstats.com/show_player_matches.php?plrid=983. dead.
  16. Web site: Business as usual for Kilkenny. Kilkenny People. 20 October 2013. 29 December 2014. Trevor. Spillane. 8 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150708051858/http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/sport/gaelic-games/rower-rally-to-land-intermediate-title-1-5606414. dead.
  17. Web site: History. Rower-Inistioge GAA website. 5 July 2013.
  18. Web site: George Brown - Portrait of a Communist leader. 2021-08-04. irelandscw.com.
  19. Web site: Irish Volunteers . . XV International Brigade in Spain . 20 June 2019 .
  20. Web site: Inistioge - Events. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110506041517/http://www.inistioge.ie/17/George_Brown_Weekend_-_June_2011_event.html. 2011-05-06.
  21. M J Crook, The evolution of the Victoria Cross, Midas books, 1975, pp. 73-74.
  22. Web site: Nora's Kitchen - The home of Nora Sands from Jamie's School Dinners . noraskitchen.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20081205021037/http://www.noraskitchen.com/my_story.php . 5 December 2008 .
  23. News: Carolan . Mary . Former District Court president Judge Peter Smithwick dies . 9 March 2022 . The Irish Times . 8 March 2022.