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BALLYHIDE

CO. LAOIS · IE

Ballyhide
Baile an Hídigh, Co. Laois

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 06 / 06

Baile an Hídigh · Co. Laois

A townland on the River Barrow at the very corner of Laois, under a 336-metre hill, three kilometres from Carlow town. A place to walk through, not to stay.

Ballyhide is a townland and a scatter of houses in the far south-east corner of Laois, pressed hard against the Carlow border. The River Barrow runs along its southern edge and is the county line; cross it and you are in Carlow. The most built-up part is a small village beside the river where Ballyhide meets the townland of Crossneen. Carlow town, with everything you would actually need, is about three kilometres to the north-east.

The land rises behind it to a 336-metre hill - Rossmore to the locals, Killeshin hill to others, Slieve Margy on the maps - which gives the old barony of Slievemargy its name. At the foot of that hill stands the ruin of a mansion the locals call Rochfort's Castle or the Black Castle, once the seat of the Rochfort family, Anglo-Irish landlords who held much of the ground here until the War of Independence. Griffith's Valuation in the 1850s records a Horace Rochfort holding the land. The house was stripped for salvage materials during the Second World War, and only the stone walls are left.

The point of coming here is the river. The Barrow Way, the towpath walking route, runs along this stretch between Carlow and Milford, and the small canal that rejoins the Barrow nearby - Lanigans Lock, sometimes written Laigans - is a known spot for trout. Most people who live in Ballyhide work in Carlow town or at the Clogrennane lime works a couple of kilometres south-west. There is no pub, no shop, no place to stay. Everything else is in Carlow.

Population

163 (2011 census, townland)

Founded

Townland; name recorded as Ballyhide by 1549, from the Anglo-Norman de la Hyde family

Coords

52.8167° N, 6.9333° W

01 / 06

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The corner

The far south-east corner of Laois, on the Carlow line.

Ballyhide sits in the extreme south-east corner of County Laois, in the historic barony of Slievemargy. The River Barrow forms its southern edge and marks the boundary with County Carlow. Carlow town is about three kilometres north-east.

Walks & outings → 02 The Barrow Way

The old towpath runs along the river.

The Barrow Way, the long-distance walking route along the river towpath, passes this stretch on the Carlow-to-Milford leg. It is a flat grassy track for walking, not a place to buy anything.

Walks & outings → 03 Slieve Margy

A 336-metre hill above the townland.

The settlement lies at the foot of a hill called Rossmore locally, Killeshin hill to some, and Slieve Margy on the maps. Sliabh Mairge means roughly the mountain of gloom. The ruin of a landlord mansion stands at its foot.

Stories & lore →

02 / 06

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

A landlord ruin under the hill

Rochfort's Castle, the Black Castle

The ruin at the foot of the hill overlooking Ballyhide is known locally as Rochfort's Castle or the Black Castle. It was the residence of the Rochfort family, Anglo-Irish landlords who owned much of the surrounding land before the Irish War of Independence; Griffith's Valuation of the early 1850s lists Horace Rochfort holding here. The building was dismantled during the Second World War for salvage materials, and stone walls are all that survive. An internal stair reportedly let people climb to the top until the mid-1950s. It is a private ruin on private ground, not a visitor attraction - read it from the lane, not from inside.

The hill that named the barony

Sliabh Mairge, the mountain of gloom

The hill behind Ballyhide rises to 336 metres and goes by several names - Rossmore, Killeshin hill, and on the maps Slieve Margy. The Irish is Sliabh Mairge: sliabh is mountain, and mairge is the genitive of mairg, gloom or woe, so the name reads as something like the mountain of gloom. It gives the historic barony of Slievemargy its name. The same high ground carries the Romanesque church doorway at Killeshin a few kilometres north, one of the finest carvings of its kind in Ireland.

03 / 06

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

The Barrow Way, Carlow to Milford The towpath walking route follows the river south from Carlow town past Ballyhide toward Milford, a pretty mill-and-locks spot about seven kilometres below Carlow. Mostly flat grassy towpath with some gravel and quiet-road sections. Herons and the odd kingfisher on the water. The honest way to experience Ballyhide.

~8 km one waydistance

2 to 2.5 hourstime

Slieve Margy / Rossmore hill Up onto the 336-metre hill behind the townland for views across the Barrow valley to the Blackstairs. Steep in places and on local and farm ground - mind access and bring boots. Pair it with the carved doorway at Killeshin further along the ridge.

~3 km returndistance

1 to 1.5 hourstime

04 / 06

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

Green, quiet, good walking weather on the towpath.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Still quiet. The river is pleasant and the Barrow Way is at its best.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Clear light over the valley. The towpath is muddy in stretches but walkable.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

The Barrow can rise and flood the low ground. The towpath turns slick. Check conditions before you go.

◐ Mind yourself

05 / 06

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Expecting a pub or a shop

There is none in Ballyhide. The nearest pubs, shops and food are in Carlow town, about three kilometres north-east.

Looking for somewhere to stay

Ballyhide is a walk-through place, not a stay place. Base yourself in Carlow town and walk the towpath out.

Treating the Black Castle as an attraction

It is a private ruin on private land - walls only, no access, nothing signposted. Look at it from the lane and leave it at that.

A long visit

Come for the riverside walk, do the Barrow Way leg, then move on. There is nothing else here, and that is fine.

Getting there.

By car

Far south-east Laois, about 3 km from Carlow town. Approach from Carlow on the local roads through Graiguecullen and the Killeshin side. There is no through-road of any size; it is country lanes.

By bus

No service to Ballyhide itself. Carlow town, 3 km north-east, has the main Bus Éireann routes on the Dublin-Waterford corridor and the train station; Local Link covers the rural roads around Killeshin.

By train

No station. The nearest is Carlow on the Dublin Heuston to Waterford line, about 3 km away.