Historic town

The National Monuments Service's description

Great Island was an island (dims c. 2.5km N-S; c. 800m E-W at S to 1.8km E-W at N) in the N-S River Barrow/Nore, but the channel (Wth c. 500-600m) on the NE and E sides has long silted up. It was granted by Dermot Mac Murrough to Hervey de Montmorency in 1169 and was known as Herveys Island, or from the 15th century, as Dubarry’s Island. It was the centre for a large manor, the accounts of which survive for the 1280s and 1290s when the burgh of the island produced 100-110 shillings, suggesting that it had that number burgesses. Beer was brewed, there was a mill and a common oven. There were ferries across the river to Ballinlaw, Co. Kilkenny and across the channel to the Wexford mainland. Millstones were manufactured by the burgesses, perhaps at locations further down the estuary at Ballyhack (WX044-031----) if not at Templetown WX049-018----). Repairs to a castle with a moat are recorded, and nails, slates and lead were used in repairing the roof. The unlocated water-mill (WX039-093----) was also repaired at this period.

There are occasional references to the settlement in the 15th century and ‘diverse burgesses’ are recorded in 1537 (Hore 1900-11, vol. 3, 227) but it seems to have been defunct thereafter. However, two castles and a leper house are mentioned in a partial survey in 1607-08 (ibid. 229). The site of the town is not known but it may have been on the W side of the island, close to a collection of earthwork enclosures, one of which (WX039-028001-) is a ring-work castle, perhaps Hervey’s work, although the large moated site (WX039-019----) might also have formed the centre of the manor (Barry 1977, 89-90). The area known as Loughtown on the NW edge of he Island is also a possibility. (Hore 1900-11, vol. 3, 197-231; Bradley and King 1990, 81-5)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 28 January, 2013
Amended: 4 November 2021

References

Barry, T.B. 1977 Medieval moated sites of south-eastern Ireland. British Archaeological Reports, British Series 35. Oxford.

Bradley, J. and King, H. 1990 Urban archaeological survey - county Wexford. Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.