placenamesCoolbaun
An Cúl Bán
Coolbaun, also written Coolbawn, is linked to the Castlecomer coalfield and a fatal encounter during the War of Independence.
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
- An Cúl Bán · Irish · main form · validated name
- Coolbaun · English · main form
- Coolbawn · English · main form · local name
Place & story
Coal beneath the valley
Disused workings in Coolbaun Valley exploited thin coal seams within layers of Carboniferous shale. Two near-horizontal mine tunnels and stream exposures reveal this geology, including pyrite in the shale. The Geological Survey’s site report records the valley’s surviving mining structures as evidence of a local industry on which many people depended. [2]
The ambush of June 1921
On 18 June 1921, IRA forces prepared an ambush at Coolbawn against a Crown Forces convoy carrying gelignite to the Wolfhill coal mines. The operation ended disastrously for the attackers: Seán Hartley of Glenmore and Nicholas Mullins of Thomastown were killed, while James Doyle of Graiguenamanagh was badly wounded and captured. Kilkenny Library’s account identifies both the county’s No. 1 Flying Column and Castlecomer’s 3rd Battalion among the forces involved. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Kilkenny
- Barony
- Fassadinin
- Civil parish
- Castlecomer
- Within
- Coolbaun
- Coordinates
- 52.82210, -7.03569 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412349 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Coolbaun. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Coolbaun Valley — Kilkenny County Geological Site Report KK016 · Geological Survey Ireland
- The Coolbawn Ambush — Decade of Centenaries · Eoin Swithin Walsh; Kilkenny Library
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2011-11-24. How this page was prepared.