placenamesRathaspick
Ráth Easpaig
At Churchtown, the former parish church and archaeology beside the road junction preserve evidence from different stages of Rathaspick’s history.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Ráth Easpaig · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Rathaspick · English · main form
Place & story
The church at Churchtown
Rathaspick Church carries an 1823 date stone, while the architectural inventory dates its design and construction to 1824. Supported by the Board of First Fruits, it has a rectangular nave and a three-stage western tower. Obelisk-shaped pinnacles rise above stepped battlements, and pointed windows give the otherwise compact building its Gothic character. The inventory attributes the design to John Meason of Wexford rather than presenting that attribution as certain. [2]
Craftsmanship inside the building
The church interior recorded by the inventory retains a stone-flagged central aisle, raised timber floors and a spiral staircase in the western vestibule. Marble monuments include work signed by the sculptors Thomas Kirk of Dublin and Thomas Fagan of Sallystown. The building was renovated in 1865, repaired in 1967 and closed in 1971; adaptation to another use followed in 1984. Those successive changes form part of the building’s history alongside its original ecclesiastical purpose. [2]
Archaeology at the road junction
Roadworks at Rathaspick in 2001 revealed medieval features on both sides of the junction beside the church. Excavation recovered pottery from a southern cut whose limited exposure prevented its identification as either pit or ditch. Another ditch contained a blue glass bead. More extensive linear features lay north of the road. Clare Mullins suggested a possible moated complex extending beyond the excavated ground, while stressing that the investigation offered only a limited view of it. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Rathaspick. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Rathaspick Church, Churchtown, Rathaspick ED:15704223 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- 2001:1315: Rathaspick, Wexford · Clare Mullins, Excavations.ie
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.