Holiday Homes in County Carlow

Carlow is Ireland’s second smallest county in area, and accordingly has one of the smaller county populations at around 50,000 although this is now rising quickly with the influx of Dublin commuters. It is located inland in the South East, in the province of Leinster, surrounded by Kilkenny, Laois, Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford.

Carlow Town, standing on the River Barrow, is the principal town of the region with a population of some 20,000 people. The town has had a turbulent historic past dating back over many centuries and sights such as the castle ruins and the old courthouse are impressive reminders of times gone by.

It is now the home of the Institute of Technology Carlow, and thus Carlow town has a thriving student population of about 3,000. Due to improved motorway links, the county is now an ideal location for longer distance weekday commuters to the Dublin area. Residents can enjoy the benefits of cheaper prices and semi-rural locations whilst being within one hour’s drive of Dublin city.

Holiday Homes in County Carlow

History

The Carlow area has been settled since before the dawn of time, or c. 6,000 B.C.. The earliest settlers possessed the tools of their time, usually made of flint, traces of which have since been found and preserved. Carlow’s early settlers built monuments around the county which still stand today, like the Browneshill Dolmen which lies 3km east of Carlow town.

The name Carlow comes from its Irish derivative, Ceatharlach, meaning either City of the Lake, or Four Lakes. Traditionally, it’s understood that the Barrow / Burrin confluence in Carlow town took up a large area of land, forming a lake, or, as some believe, four lakes.

Carlow town has undergone significant development over the past 10-15 years. New inner relief roads, housing estates, and shopping centres have dramatically changed the face of the town. In 1994, the first major shopping centre in Carlow opened, and this was followed in 2003 with the opening of the Fairgreen Shopping Centre.

It’s a short walk from one to the other, however when the latter establishment opened many people deserted the main shopping thoroughfare in the town, Tullow Street. While it seems that the number of shoppers on the street is growing, it’s not quite as busy as it was in the 1990s

Carlow County Museum

Carlow Town Council & Carlow County Council in association with the Carlow Historical & Archaeological Society are upgrading and improving Carlow County Museum. This includes the development of a new Museum premises on College Street adjoining the Tourist Office in Carlow town. To facilitate these improvement works the Museum will be closed until further notice.

Carlow is one of thirteen County Museums in Ireland and works closely with the National Museum of Ireland in the area of Archaeological Finds. Significantly when the Museum reopens archaeological artefacts found in Co. Carlow can finally be displayed in the county in which they were found. Last year Carlow County Museum and the Pembrokeshire Museum Service, Wales launched the Cultural X-change website to allow for the exchanging of historic and cultural information relating to both counties.

This innovative project enables people from all over the world to learn about the heritage and culture of both Carlow and Pembrokeshire through an interesting and easy-to-use website. The website covers a variety of history and heritage topics relating to County Carlow using innovative 3D and panoramic photographs to enhance the appreciation.

Carlow Brewing Company

Carlow Brewing Company, also known as O’Hara’s Brewery, is an independent, family-owned business established in 1996 and one of the pioneers of Irish craft brewing. Located in the heart of Ireland’s traditional malt and hop-growing “Barrow Valley” region which has strong historical linkages to the Irish brewing industry, we are proud to have been at the forefront of the new wave of Irish craft brewing for almost 17 years.

Borris House Gardens

“Borris House is a living house and working farm and we are very fortunate to be the 16th generation of McMorrough Kavanagh’s to live in this beautiful setting. Borris is one of the few intact living Irish estates that can trace its history back to Brehon times, and the royal ruling families of ancient Ireland. More importantly and unusually, the estate is still our family home and still contains the majority of its original furniture, paintings, documentary archives and other historic family artefacts.

The house and demesne has undergone much restoration work in the past 20 years but there is still much to do. We have many projects under development that will add to the visitor experience however we cannot achieve this continuous programme of restoration without the generous support of you, our visitors. For this we are very grateful and we thank you for your continued support.”

Sara & Morgan Kavanagh