The Whitecross
In a garden belonging to Mr James Halpin of Whitecross, which formerly was owned by the Tiernan family for generations, stands a stone cross. It is about three hundred yards from Whitecross school. Mr John Tiernan’s grandfather took this cross from a field at the back of the school called the Cross field. He took it up with horses and erected it in his garden. Under this cross there are some stones which belong to the Cross. The cross consists of a stone pedestal surmounted by a hexagonal column. Under the base of the cross are some stones belonging to the cross and may probably be the arms. There are no inscriptions on either the cross or the pedestal.
Given by Mr J.Halpin, Whitecross, Julianstown.
To Lee Duffy, Calaristown, Julianstown.
In a garden belonging to Mr James Halpin of Whitecross, which formerly was owned by the Tiernan family for generations, stands a stone cross. It is about three hundred yards from Whitecross school. Mr John Tiernan’s grandfather took this cross from a field at the back of the school called the Cross field. He took it up with horses and erected it in his garden. Under this cross there are some stones which belong to the Cross. The cross consists of a stone pedestal surmounted by a hexagonal column. Under the base of the cross are some stones belonging to the cross and may probably be the arms. There are no inscriptions on either the cross or the pedestal.
Given by Mr J.Halpin, Whitecross, Julianstown.
To Lee Duffy, Calaristown, Julianstown.
St. Mary’s Church of Ireland Parish Church
The current church was constructed in 1770 on the site of an earlier church. One of the special features of this church is that services were never suspended and it was always used as a place of worship. The church has been restored, rebuilt and enlarged. The present steeple and chancel were built through the generosity of the Pepper family in the early part of the 20th century. They also provided a rather elaborate altar. The church also contains seven attractive stained glass windows.
Jamie Moody, 5th class
The current church was constructed in 1770 on the site of an earlier church. One of the special features of this church is that services were never suspended and it was always used as a place of worship. The church has been restored, rebuilt and enlarged. The present steeple and chancel were built through the generosity of the Pepper family in the early part of the 20th century. They also provided a rather elaborate altar. The church also contains seven attractive stained glass windows.
Jamie Moody, 5th class
The Old Mill
The Old Mill is situated in a tranquil setting on the floor of the River Nanny. The Old Mill is a landmark in the centre of the village of Julianstown. In 1684, Stephen Ludlow, a clerk in the High Court of Chancery, was granted the land that included the mill. In 1846, John Moran was listed as the owner and so it became known as Moran’s Mill. As Irish flour businesses began to fail, the mill fell into disuse. In more recent times, the Old Mill was turned into a hotel, but it was destroyed by fire in 2007.
Karl Taafe, 5th class
The Old Mill is situated in a tranquil setting on the floor of the River Nanny. The Old Mill is a landmark in the centre of the village of Julianstown. In 1684, Stephen Ludlow, a clerk in the High Court of Chancery, was granted the land that included the mill. In 1846, John Moran was listed as the owner and so it became known as Moran’s Mill. As Irish flour businesses began to fail, the mill fell into disuse. In more recent times, the Old Mill was turned into a hotel, but it was destroyed by fire in 2007.
Karl Taafe, 5th class
Ballygarth Castle
Ballygarth Castle is an ancient mystical castle located overlooking the River Nanny. It is steeped in history and legend. It is first referred to in 1372. Ballygarth was part of the Netterville family estate until the 1641 rebellion, when it was forfeited to the Crown. The Netterville family were then re-established at Dowth.
In 1660, the Pepper family were given ownership of Ballygarth Castle and its estate by Charles II. The Peppers were a Norman family that had settled in Ardee. After 1690, the Ballygarth estate was again confiscated as a result of the Pepper family supporting James II in the Battle of the Boyne. This was a temporary setback, and the family managed to regain ownership, which then continued in direct line until the death of Colonel Charles Pepper in 1927.
Ballygarth was constructed over a number of separate building phases. The original three-storey tower house her been enlarged over the years, with a line of crenellations and Gothic details added to the windows. On the eve of Oliver Cromwell’s attack on Drogheda in 1649, his army camped on the lawns of the castle.
The legend of the White Horse of the Peppers has been immortalised in story and later in a play by Samuel Lover, which tells of how the confiscated castle and lands were recovered largely through the saga of a white horse belonging to Ballygarth Castle. A white horse was always kept on the estate as a symbol of their gratitude.
Ballygarth estate is reputed to be the last place in Ireland where oxen were used for ploughing up to 1907. An ox-collar (harness) made by Thomas Oonan of Julianstown is preserved in the National Museum of Ireland.
A Bleach Mill
At the foot of Kilsharvan Hill on the main road from Duleek to Julianstown a laneway called Newhaggard Lane leads to the banks of the Nanny. At the end of the lane on the north bank of the river stands the ruins of the old mill. The mill was used for bleaching linen. It was owned by a Mr. Armstrong who afterwards willed it to a Mr. Owens. Edited by Jamie-Leigh Powell and Jake Kenna Black Written by Eileen Boylan from Ms. AJ Flynn, Shallon |
AN OLD FRIEZE MILL
In a farmyard owned by Mr. Laurence Moore on the banks of the river Nanny stands the ruins of an old mill and mill-race. The mill was formerly owned by a man named Mr. Boyle and it was used for the manufacture of frieze. It is still known as Boyle’s Mill. Edited by Jamie-Leigh Powell and Jake Kenna Black Written by Eileen Boylan. Given by John Kennedy Shallon Julianstown. |
Forge and Sawmills
There was a forge several years ago at Sarsfieldstown and it was adjoining Rothwell’s house. It was owned by a man named Patrick Wiseman. He used to shoe all the horses for Mrs Ennis and the mail coaches stopped here to rest and have their horses shod. Adjoining this forge was a public house known as the Coach Inn. Rothwell’s house now stands in place of the Coach Inn. Here also at Sarsfieldstown was a sawmill. It was owned by Mrs Ennis who lived in Elm Grove House. It was probably worked by steam. There is no trace of it left and now as there are two cottages where the sawmills used to be.
Written By Chrissie O’Brien
Two Old Limekilns
In Julianstown there are two old limekilns. One is on the east side of the Dublin-Drogheda road and on the north side of the river Nanny. The other is on the west side of the Dublin-Drogheda road and on the south side of the river. In those limekilns John Hughes and Thomas Moore burned lime and sold it to farmers around to manure their lands. They quarried the limestone out of the old quarry at the back of the public house in Julianstown. The ruins of the one on the east side of the Drogheda-Dublin road is to be seen yet but the one on the west side is covered up with earth that was taken from the road, when the county council were taking out the turns from Julianstown to Smithstown.
Written by Peter Mc Cann
Edited by Rosalinda Cakraj & Ned Tallon
Supposed Underground Passage
On the main road from Whitecross to Bellewstown there is a moat about mid way which is called the moat of Lisdornan. There is supposed to be an underground passage running from the moat to a place called Finnegan’s Hill about three quarters of a mile to the west of Lisdornan house. The western entrance is on the land of Mr Hoey of Ratholland and the moat is on land of Mr. Ennis of Lisdornan.
By Leo Duffy
Edited By James Hughes & Evan Hughes
On the main road from Whitecross to Bellewstown there is a moat about mid way which is called the moat of Lisdornan. There is supposed to be an underground passage running from the moat to a place called Finnegan’s Hill about three quarters of a mile to the west of Lisdornan house. The western entrance is on the land of Mr Hoey of Ratholland and the moat is on land of Mr. Ennis of Lisdornan.
By Leo Duffy
Edited By James Hughes & Evan Hughes
The Camp Field
The Camp Field in Ballygarth got its name when Cromwell’s soldiers encamped there before the siege of Drogheda. On his way from Dublin to Drogheda he massacred the captives who took shelter in Mooney Mill and it is said that their blood turned the mill wheel and from that it got the name of the Blood Mill.
Written by Eileen Boylan
Edited by Abbie Mahon Morrissey & Tadhg Lenehan
The Camp Field in Ballygarth got its name when Cromwell’s soldiers encamped there before the siege of Drogheda. On his way from Dublin to Drogheda he massacred the captives who took shelter in Mooney Mill and it is said that their blood turned the mill wheel and from that it got the name of the Blood Mill.
Written by Eileen Boylan
Edited by Abbie Mahon Morrissey & Tadhg Lenehan