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History of Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
Journey back in time to Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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ABOUT THE PLACE
About Thomastown
Thomastown (Irish: Baile Mhic Andáin), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number of historical landmarks in the vicinity.
The town was founded in the 13th century on an important crossing point by an Anglo-Norman mercenary from Wales, Thomas FitzAnthony, replacing the earlier Irish settlement of Grennan (Irish: Grianán, Sunny Place). It is from FitzAnthony that Thomastown was named.
Milling, with mills powered by the waters of the River Nore, was the principal industry in the town until the early 1960s. The mills were Pilsworth's Mills. At one stage there were 12 water-powered mills, for grain and cloth, working in the parish. The last working mill in Thomastown closed in 1963. This mill is now the site of Grennan Mill Craft School.
For centuries there was an important boat trade to carry produce to and from the port of New Ross. It went into decline at the end of the 18th century. wikipedia
The town was founded in the 13th century on an important crossing point by an Anglo-Norman mercenary from Wales, Thomas FitzAnthony, replacing the earlier Irish settlement of Grennan (Irish: Grianán, Sunny Place). It is from FitzAnthony that Thomastown was named.
Milling, with mills powered by the waters of the River Nore, was the principal industry in the town until the early 1960s. The mills were Pilsworth's Mills. At one stage there were 12 water-powered mills, for grain and cloth, working in the parish. The last working mill in Thomastown closed in 1963. This mill is now the site of Grennan Mill Craft School.
For centuries there was an important boat trade to carry produce to and from the port of New Ross. It went into decline at the end of the 18th century. wikipedia
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VINTAGE THOMASTOWN
Thomastown Nostalgia: Vintage Photos, Ads, and Postcards
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
Artwork
Thomastown Abbey, 1792
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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Church of the Assumption
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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Convent of Mercy
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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Jerpoint Abbey
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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Market St.
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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Mill
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Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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River Nore
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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View of Thomastown
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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Mount Juliet
Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland
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Dangan
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IRELAND - Irish Ancestry: Leprechaun Revelations Mug - Why I Love Gold!
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LOCAL HISTORY
Discover Thomastown: History, News, Travel, and Stories
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In 1650 the town was attacked by Oliver Cromwell. Grennan Castle was laid siege to by Cromwell's army and after two days the defending forces surrendered.
1837 Thomastown
"Thomastown", an incorporated market and post-town, (formerly a parliamentary borough), and a parish, in the barony of Gowran, county of Kilkenny, and province of Leinster, 21 miles (N.) from Waterford, and 59 (S.S.W.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road to Waterford; containing 3054 inhabitants. This place, situated on the river Nore, and on the southern border of the county, was anciently called Grenan; it took its present name from Thomas Fitz-Anthony Walsh, Seneschal of Leinster, one of the earliest English proprietors in Ireland, who built a castle here, and made the town a free borough. By the Irish it was called Bally-Mac-Andom, signifying "Fitz-Anthony's town;" and from its situation at the head of the navigable channel of the Nore, it became at an early period a place of considerable trade and an important military station; it was surrounded with walls, and most of its buildings were castellated. The present town, in 1831, contained 527 houses, most of which are neatly built. ...
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Thomastown is connected to the Irish railway network on the Dublin-Waterford railway line via Kilkenny. Thomastown railway station opened on 12 May 1848.
1868 - County Kilkenny, Ireland
"COUNTY KILKENNY, an inland county in the province of Leinster, Ireland, bounded on the N. by Queen's County, on the E. by Carlow and Wexford, on the S. by Waterford, and on the W. by Tipperary. Its greatest length N. and S. is 46 miles, and greatest breadth E. and W. 24. It comprises an area of 796 square miles, and contains a population, by the census of 1861, of 124,516. According to Ptolemy it was originally inhabited by the Brigantes and Caucoi, and it subsequently became part of the kingdom of Ossory. In 1247, when Leinster was divided among the daughters of William, Earl of Pembroke, Kilkenny was allotted to his third child, Isabella, and through her descended to the earls of Ormonde. Its early history was occupied in struggles between the houses of Ormonde and Desmonde. In the rebellion of 1641 Kilkenny fell into the power of the Irish. At the accession of William III. most of the leading county families, the Graces, the Walshes, the Butlers, the O'Shears, &c., revolted,...
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1895 - Thomastown
Thomastown, or Ballymacan'don, a town of Ireland, co. and 84 miles S.S.E. of Kilkenny, on the Nore. Pop. 1202. It has beautiful remains of an abbey, a large chapel, a branch bank, and flour-mills.
The last working mill in Thomastown closed in 1963.
GENEALOGY IN THOMASTOWN
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Updated: 11/8/2025 12:02:57 PM
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