Historical Sites in Baltinglass

Using the interactive map below, you can browse historical points of interest in Baltinglass town.

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Below, you can see larger versions of the images embedded in the map.

Aldborough Bridge Built by the 1820s, and possibly decades earlier, this three-arch bridge is now the only structure in the area bearing the name of the Earls of Aldborough.
The Pinnacle Neolithic passage grave on the summit of Baltinglass Hill, excavated and much altered in the 1930s.
The Courthouse Built in the 1810s to replace the old courthouse and bridewell in Mill Street, this has served a courthouse for almost two centuries. Below it are some of the cells of the bridewell that once adjoined it. It was extensively damaged in a possible arson attack in 1920, during the War of Independence.
Jennie Wyse Power's birthplace Born here as Jennie O’Toole in 1858, she moved to Dublin as a child. She was one of Ireland’s earliest female political activists. During the Land League days she returned to the area as an organiser for the Ladies’ Land League. After her marriage to John Wyse Power she continued to take an active part in politics. She was elected to the Senate in 1922. Further Reading: From Parnell to de Valera: A Biography of Jennie Wyse Power 1858-1941 (Tallaght, 1991)
Plaque on the wall of Baltinglass Library to commerate General John Thomond O'Brien, who was born in Baltinglass in 1786.
Baltinglass Library The front of this building, dating from the 1810s, was originally the bridewell (or gaol) attached to the Courthouse, with the exercise yard behind. The bridewell closed in 1883. The building housed Stratford Lodge School for over a decade and the exercise yard was used as a handball alley. In 1900 Baltinglass Town Hall was opened here as a centre of entertainment funded by the community. Later it served as a cinema, a storehouse, a badminton hall and a heritage centre. The information panels from the heritage centre are still on display in the Library.
McAllister Monument This monument, unveiled in 1904, commemorates the 1798 rebellion. It depicts Sam McAllister, a Presbyterian from Antrim who deserted the Antrim Militia and fought with the Wicklow rebel Michael Dwyer. McAllister was killed at the Derrynamuck Ambush.
Old Boy's School This school opened in the 1890s and served as the Boys’ National School until 1959, when it was replaced by St. Pius X National School (now incorporated in Scoil Naoimh Iósaf) on the Kiltegan Road opposite Parkmore.
Boardwalk (Town Park) From the boardwalk can be seen this section of the old railway embankment with the gateway for access between fields on either side of the tracks. The branch line of the Great Southern & Western Railway reached Baltinglass in 1885, linking the town to Dunlavin and Naas, and joined the main line at Sallins. In 1886 the final stretch (to Tullow) was opened. Trains travelled from Tullow right in to Kingsbridge (now Heuston) Station in Dublin. The line was permanently closed in 1959.
Baltinglass Outdoor Education Centre The building on the left of this picture was erected as Baltinglass Creamery, which opened in 1931 as part of Slaney Valley Co-operative Creameries, Ltd.. The building on the right was erected as Baltinglass Vocational School (‘The Tech’), opening in 1935. Later the creamery building was purchased for extra classroom space and the middle section was added, linking the two older buildings. In 1982 the premises was vacated when ‘The Tech’ moved to its new home, Scoil Chonglais on the Kiltegan Road opposite Parkmore. Years later the old premises became the VEC’s Educational Resource Centre, now called the Outdoor Education Centre.
Site of Whitehall House Built by the Derinzys in the late 18th century; later occupied by the Palmers and finally the Butlers. One of the Butlers led a party of migrants to South Africa circa 1820.
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic parish church Built in the 1840s & 1850s with later additions. The tower was added with granite from Lord Aldborough’s balloon house in the late 19th Century.
Tower in St. Joseph’s Graveyard This tower was built originally during Penal Times as a bell tower to summon parishioners to Mass in the church adjacent to it. The site of the church is now the lower part of the graveyard beyond these gates. Further Reading: ‘The Tower in the Graveyard’ by Paul Gorry, The Baltinglass Review, 2009 - click here to read.