Partial History of Hollyfort
(Irish: Ráth an Chuilinn, meaning ‘ringfort of the holly’) This interpretation of Rath an Chuilinn is probably incorrect and it most likely means Ringfort of the Cullen (sept). The Cullens were a Celtic tribe that became established in many parts of Ireland but most notably in Wexford and Wicklow in the pre-Christian period.
As the census of Ireland in 1841 stated there were 17 houses in Hollyfort. So we know from that information that the houses were built prior to 1841. It is probable that some kind of village existed in the 18th century when planters were brought in by the main landowners of the district, namely the Wingfields. The villages were built to provide housing for the estate workers and they were built in clusters to provide security. The army barracks were provided for additional security. By 1851 Hollyfort’s houses were owned by the Gowan family of Mount Nebo.There is an important article about Hunter Gowan’s 6th son Ogle Robert Gowan in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography which can be accessed online at the following address. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/gowan_ogle_robert_10E.html
In the 1851 Census of Ireland it was noted that there were only ten people living in 2 houses whereas in 1841 there were 67 people living in 17 houses. So the Famine of 1845-48 had a devastating impact on the population. The people may not have died but 57 people moved into Gorey or emigrated but most likely they went to the ‘workhouse’ in Gorey. We do not know the names of those people.
The Griffith Valuation of the late1850s tells us that the population had increased from that of the census of 1851. The tenants were Mary Dundall, John Tunstead, Michael Hussey, Hannah Redmond, Simon Neal, Michael Hodgins, John Doyle, Thomas McDonnell, Margaret Siggins , Eliza Murray, Laurence Donnelly, Richard Gillies and Jane Brennan. Some or all of these may have had families.
Mount Nebo estate was a leasehold property occupied by the Gowan family. It included the district of Hollyfort and the landlord of the entire area was at one time Lord Powerscourt whose family – the Wingfields – had been owners of a huge tract of land called Wingfield that embraced much of North County Wexford and South Wicklow. For more information about the Gowans see https://www.dib.ie/biography/gowan-john-hunter-a3556
Henry Atkins sublet a house and 118 acres from the Gowans in 1851 and William Rickaby lived in the gate-lodge to the farm. Other notable landlords in the area were Websters, Kennedys, Rams, Hattons and Brophys.
St. John’s Church of Ireland church, was built in 1813 It was Repaired in 1821 and “Improved” in 1852. It was restored in 2004
The school was probably built after 1831 with the Establishment of the National School System in Ireland though I think I saw a reference to an earlier time.
On the 21st of August 1920 the RIC barracks in Hollyfort was burned by the Crannford company of the IRA. It had been vacated by the police earlier that month on the 14th and was one of many barracks burned or sabotaged in the county during the period to ensure it could not be reoccupied. This reduced the capacity of the British authorities to operate in the area, while increasing that of the IRA. The building had been let to the RIC for a yearly fee of £28 since 1892. After it was burned the owner was awarded £800 compensation.
From their inception in the 1690s in Ireland Army Barracks were a new and innovative undertaking in the international military world and a crucial logistical component of the expanding British empire. The army barracks built around Ireland from the 1690s through to 1921 – small, large and middling – were all a crucial part of an imperial military machine while also being home, homestead and training-ground for 100,000s of Irish, Welsh, Scottish, English and other soldiers and their families over more than two centuries.
I don’t know when the Barracks was first built in Hollyfort.
In 1831, the Board of Public Works (Ireland) was set up. It had a wide range of public duties including the building of roads and bridges. The Irish Board of Public Works took over the grants scheme for newly built roads in 1832 and by 1848 was responsible for the administration of 1,600 kilometres (990 miles) of roads.
In other areas, notably in County Wexford and County Wicklow, military roads were built to help secure British military control over remote areas. The Military Road through County Wicklow was begun in 1800 and completed in 1809.[33] The R115 is part of the Military Road for its entire length.