Map - Castlecomer

Castlecomer (Irish: Caislean an Chumai meaning "the castle at the confluence of the waters") is a town in the north of County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is positioned at the meeting of N78 and R694 roads about 16 km north of Kilkenny city. At the 2016 census of the Central Statistics Office, the town's population included 1,502 people.

The town has been associated with the coal mining industry since the 17th century, and is part of a discrete area called the Castlecomer Plateau. It is bounded on the east by the River Barrow, the west by the River Nore and dissected in the centre by the River Dinnin.

The anglicised name Castlecomer comes from the original Irish Caislean an Chumai which means "the castle at the confluence of the waters", the "waters" referring to the rivers Deen, Brocagh and Cloghogue while the "castle" refers to the Norman castle built in 1171 on the mound opposite the gates to "Castlecomer Demesne".The town is located in the townland of the same name which is in the civil parish of the same name in the ancient barony of Fassadinin.

The earliest record of a settlement at Castlecomer (or Comer as it is sometimes known locally) is from circa 1200, when William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke erected a motte and castle east of the existing bridge. The ruins of an ancient Norman Castle exist close to where the rivers Dinin (Dinan), Brokagh and Cloghogue meet. Until the 16th century, Castlecomer was the home of the Ó Braonáins.

Iron mining began in the area during the late middle ages; from the 17th century onwards, this was complemented (and later surpassed) by coal mines. From 1637, the town was built, initially by, and as accommodation for, 600 settlers from Yorkshire, England. These settlers had been recruited by Christopher Wandesforde, who originated from Kirklington and had acquired Castlecomer Demesne with the cooperation of the then Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Wentworth (later Earl of Strafford). The Yorkshire settlers were recruited for their skills in ironwork, weaving, pottery, and forestry. Wandesforde laid out the town and established a forestry plantation on Castlecomer Demesne, before his death in 1640. According to local tradition, Wandesforde modelled the layout and architecture on an area in Italy named "Alsinore" (possibly the island of Asinara, sometimes known as Asinare or Alsinara, off Sardinia). In addition to accommodating the new industries and their employees, Castlecomer was to become the principal market town for North Kilkenny.

Much of Castlecomer and the surrounding area was owned by members of the Wandesforde family until the 21st century. Castlecomer House, the family home of the Wandesfordes, stood on the opposite side of the Athy-Kilkenny road (now the N78). The building was said to have been on a grander scale than the original Wandesforde residence in Yorkshire, and to have been a testament to the fortunes of the Wandesfordes in Ireland. The original house, which was reportedly built in 1638, was burned down during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The second Castlecomer House was built on the same site in 1802 at the behest of Lady Anne Ormonde. The house itself was described as being more imposing than its predecessor. It was reputedly notable for its castellated, Gothic revival style, including 365 windows (i.e. one for each day of the year), large porchway and the Wandesforde coat of arms displayed prominently on the outside. The approach to the residence included a sweeping avenue, and a bridge over a moat (formed by diverting river waters). By the mid-1970s, the house was no longer occupied and had fallen into disrepair; most of the building was demolished in 1975. However, the property's main entrance and avenue, as a well as a lodge building survived.