Balrath Demesne


Balrath Demesne is a townland in County Meath, Ireland. It is located southwest of the town of Kells. Its population was 36 in 2011. The wall of an ancient chapel and a cemetery remain here, on the grounds of the former estate, Balrath Bury.

Geography

Balrath Demesne is the 54th largest townland in County Meath and has an area of approximately. It falls within the electoral division of Burry, in the civil parish of Burry, and the barony of Upper Kells. To the west are the townlands of Drumbaragh, Springville or Dandlestown, and Balgeeth. Townlands which border it to the east include Barfordstown, Garistown, Irishtown, Rafeehan and Toberultan. Chapelbride is to the north and Ethelstown and Rodstown to the south.

History

In Irish, Balrath translates to bal for "home" and ráth for the "enclosing bank" of a ringfort, which is an ancient dwelling structure found in great numbers across Ireland. A demesne is land used exclusively by the lord of a manor. Balrath also translates as "town of the fort."

Burry parish

Balrath Demesne is within the larger parish of Burry. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837:

Bury chapel and cemetery

Bury was a Catholic chapel-at-ease to Kells on a slight rise on a level landscape, as noted in 1622. "According to Dopping's Visitation the parish church of Bury, dedicated to the Blessed Mary, [mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary], had been a ruin since 1641 and was not enclosed. The church is depicted as a roofed structure on the 1836 ed. of the OS 6-inch map, although described as mere remains."
In 1877, a "license for public worship" was approved for "an iron church" erected by the "late John Nicholson" at Balrath Burry.
Members of the Church of Ireland and the Catholic [Church in Ireland] are buried in the graveyard here. The cemetery predates 1722, the burial year on one of the many headstones that were catalogued in 2012 by the Kells Archeological and History Society. Here lie the remains of Maureen O'Hara's grandfather, a blacksmith and farrier named Batholomew Fitzsimons. She made a ceremonial visit in 2012 at age 92.