Information about Ballybrit Castle
Information from O'Donovan's Field Name Books
Irish Form of Name:
[Ballybrit means] Britt’s town
Other Forms of the Name with authority source (if provided) in italics:
Ballybrit Castle Popular name
The walls of this old castle are still standing and in good preservation. It appears to have been a place well calculated for defence, the walls are 5 feet thick and the stones well fitted. Height about 45 feet, the ascent is by winding stairs of cut stone, partly broken down – no information could be obtained as to what time it was erected or by whom founded.
Central of Ballybrit townland, E. of parish. Not occupied.
Information from the Ordnance Survey Letters:
The Ordnance Survey Letters are letters between John O'Donovan and his supervisor, Thomas Larcom, regarding the work of compiling the Field Books. These letters provide further discussion on many of the places listed in the Field Books.
References to this place can be found in the following letter.
Information From Joyce's Place Names
Translation according to P. W. Joyce:
Ballybritt in Galway and King's Co.; Britt's town.
What is a townland?:
A townland is one of the smallest land divisions in Ireland. They range in size from a few acres to thousands of acres. Many are Gaelic in origin, but some came into existence after the Norman invasion of 1169
Information From Maps
Original OS maps at the Ordnance Survey of Ireland website.
(Click on place name to view original map in new window.)
This link is not a link to the townland that you are currently researching; however, if you follow this link, you will see a search box near the top of the page which you can use to search for your townland.
Having followed this link, you will see several expandable links - each link has a plus sign on its left - on the top left of the page. Expand 'Base Information and Mapping'. Now it is possible to select the maps that you wish to view by clicking on the checkbox that is on the left of each map; this list includes the original Ordnance Survey maps.
You can select more than one map and you can use a slider to make one map more transparent than another. This allows you to view what features were present or absent at different points in time.
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Information from the National Monuments Service.
(This information will display in a new window.):
You can use this link to view a map of archaelogical features.
This link brings you to a website wherein you will have to search for your townland.
If you notice any inaccuracies with any of the above, please e-mail
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