Castlecomer
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Castlecomer Caisleán an Chomair
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| Town | |
 Castlecomer
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| Coordinates: 52°48′22″N 7°12′36″W / 52.806°N 7.210°WCoordinates: 52°48′22″N 7°12′36″W / 52.806°N 7.210°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Kilkenny |
| Area | |
| • Town | 30.5 km2 (11.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 2,293 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | S532731 |
| Website | www |
Castlecomer is a former coal mining town in north County Kilkenny, Ireland, located in the province of Leinster. The town is positioned at the meeting of N78 and R694 roads about 16 km (9.9 mi) roads north of Kilkenny city in the southeast of the island of Ireland.
At the 2011 census, by the Central Statistics Office, the 30.5 square kilometre Electoral District area of Castlecomer had a population was 2,293, with a population density of 75.2 persons per square kilometre. This saw a decrease of 4.5% from the 2006 figure of 2,407 persons. The Castlecomer rural area has a population of 8,484.
Castlecomer rural area has an area of 23,417 hectares. The town is part of the Castlecomer Plateau. The upland plateau area that surrounds it forms a discrete area. It is bounded on the east by the River Barrow, the west by the River Nore and dissected in the centre by the River Dinnin. The name Castlecomer comes from the Irish ‘Caislean an Chumair’, which means ‘the Castle at the confluence of the Waters’, the "waters" referring to the rivers Deen, Brocagh and Cloghogue while the "castle" refers to the castle built by the Normans in 1171 on the mound opposite the gates to "Castlecomer Demesne".
The earliest record of a settlement at Castlecomer dates from circa 1200 when William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke erected a motte and castle east of the existing bridge. The ruins of an ancient Norman Castle exist close to where the Rivers Dinin (Dinan), Brokagh and Cloghogue meet. Until the 16th century, Castlecomer or comer as it is locally called was the home of the O’Braonáins. In 1635 Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford planted an area in Co.Kilkenny with six hundred Yorkshire men. Christopher Wandesforde was granted an area round the present town of Castlecomer. Castlecomer and the surrounding area was owned by the Wandesforde's until the present century. The town was laid out in the 17th century by Christopher Wandesford who also established Castlecomer Demesne. The town developed from wealth generated from the mining resources of the immediate area. The town acted as a principal market town for North Kilkenny and as an ‘estate village’ for the Castlecomer Demesne of the coal mine owners; the Wandesforde family.
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Wikipedia