placenamesBlacklion
An Leon Dubh
Blacklion’s stone landmarks range from a lion plaque dated 1751 to a nineteenth-century barracks and the classical garden architecture of nearby Woodlands.
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 Leon Dubh · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Blacklion · English · main form
Place & story
The lion carved in granite
A wall-mounted granite plaque in Craans bears a lion and the date 1751. The architectural inventory suggests that it probably marked the site of an inn. A photograph published in Carloviana in 1988–89 records the carving before a falling tree displaced it; the accompanying caption says it had subsequently been restored. The surviving sign provides a distinctive physical reference for Blacklion’s name, while its precise original use remains less certain. [2] [3]
The former constabulary barracks
Blacklion’s former Royal Irish Constabulary barracks is a three-bay, two-storey stone building with a projecting porch and hipped roof. The county’s protected-structures record dates it to around 1860 and notes modern replacement windows. Large granite blocks form the walls, porch and chimney stacks, giving this compact building a substantial presence. The site preserves the architectural presence of rural policing within the settlement. [4]
A classical temple at Woodlands
The Woodlands estate near Blacklion contains a small garden temple recorded by Carlow County Council. Five granite Doric columns support an entablature and a dome constructed from rubble stone, with a granite floor beneath. The council dates it to the mid-eighteenth century at the latest and compares it with the temple at Belan in County Kildare, though on a smaller scale. It stands north of the driveway to Woodlands House. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Blacklion. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Carlow architectural inventory search: Craans plaque 10301404 and Blacklion barrack 10301405 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Carlow Miscellany in Photographs: Blacklion, Carloviana 36,1988–89 · William Ellis, Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society
- Record of Protected Structures, CW547, Woodlands temple, page 74 · Carlow County Council, County Development Plan 2022–2028
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-08-12. How this page was prepared.