Kilmuckridge

History

The village is in the civil parish of Kilmuckridge and in the Catholic parish of Litter (from the Irish language Leitir, meaning a hillside). On older maps, the village is sometimes referred to by its older name of Ford, or The Ford. The name Kilmuckridge originally referred to a small road junction about 1.5 km from the main village and site of the Church of Ireland church. This junction was previously the location of the village post office and it is said that when the post office was moved to The Ford, the latter placename gradually declined in use. Nearby Morriscastle was once the site of a castle belonging to a prominent Gaelic family. By the 19th century, this castle was in ruins, and it was demolished in 1936. It was succeeded by a later castle, owned by the Annesley family, the ruins of which can be seen to the south of the roadway. Wells House has a history dating back to the 1600s. The local Roman Catholic church was built in 1796. The Church of Ireland church dates from 1815. The graveyard next to the Church of Ireland church also contains the remains of members of the Catholic Church, with a "sailor's hole" for the bodies of sailors washed ashore. The village also has a historic graveyard at Killincooley with a holy well. Several Kilmuckridge people played a part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, including John Murphy of nearby Boolavogue. Local participants were said to have rendezvoused at a local site known as Hatter's Bridge before proceeding to battle at the Battle of Oulart Hill. There are no listed shipwrecks off Morriscastle but several have occurred in the general area, including the clipper ship Pomona, which ran aground off Ballyconigar in 1859 while en route from Liverpool to New York and sank with the loss of nearly four hundred…