Oughter Ard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Oughter Ard 'Uachtar Árd' |
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| Town population: | |
| Rural population: | c. 100 |
| Elevation: | 121 m |
| County: | Kildare |
| Province: | Leinster |
Uachtar Árd (or Oughter Ard in the English language) is an ecclesiastical site and graveyard, burial place in 1803 of Arthur Guinness, and former parish, borough and royal manor in County Kildare, nowadays part of the community of Ardclough close to the Dublin border. The round tower and ancient monastery is associated with a nunnery establish circa 600 AD by foundress Saint Briga (feast day January 21), and is associated also with Saint Tarcairteann (feast day December 18). It had a hilltop monastery and round tower burnt by the Dublin Vikings in 995. The 1303 Papal taxation listed it as 'Outherard' and it was also spelled as 'Wochtred' before 1500. Recent research has established the ruined church on the site dates to c. 1350 and not, as previously thought, 1609. As well as Arthur Guinness, Arthur Wolfe, Lord Kilwarden -- the most famous victim of Robert Emmet's 1803 rebellion -- is buried here in the Wolfe mausoleum, a grave that dates to 1650. It was burned several times, including in 1210 by Manx king Godfred Crovan. The site was attached to the St Thomas monastery in Kilmainham after 1210 and the parish united with Lyons in 1541. It was a Royal Manor and Borough in the 1100s and a ruined castle nearby dates to 1300. Plough headlands from medieval times can still be seen in fields adjoining the churchyard. Daniel O'Connell fought a duel with John D'Esterre in an adjoining field in 1815.
[edit] Bibliography
“Annals of Ardclough”, by Eoghan Corry and Jim Tancred (2004). Irish Geography Vol 18 1985 DN Hall M Hennessy and Tadhg O’Keefe Medieval Agriculture and Settlement in Castlewarden and Oughterard pp16-25
