Aghinagh
Civil parish in County Cork, Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aghinagh (Irish: Achadh Fhíonach) is a civil parish in the historical barony of Muskerry East in County Cork, Ireland.[1] Located to the east of the town of Macroom, the civil parish is approximately 38 square kilometres (15 mi2) in area,[2] and contains the villages of Ballinagree, Bealnamorive, Carrigadrohid and Rusheen.[3][4]
Name
While the Placenames Database of Ireland does not record a specific derivation for the modern Irish name of the parish, Achadh Fhíonach, a late 19th-century entry in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society suggests that the name derives from Achadh Eidhneach meaning "ivy-covered field".[5]
Aghinagh is also the name of an electoral division,[1] former Church of Ireland parish[6] and Catholic parish in the area.[7]
Built heritage
The Church of Ireland church in Aghinagh, now in ruins,[8] was built in the early 1790s.[9] Constructed on the site of an earlier church,[10] the surrounding churchyard contains a number of gravestones which have been dated to at least the mid-18th century.[11] A spring near the churchyard, marked on some maps as Toberatemple (from Tober an Teampaill meaning "well of the church"), is "considered a holy well".[10]
Aghinagh House, also known as Ashton House, is a former rectory in Caum townland within Aghinagh. The Georgian building was constructed c. 1810.[12] 19th century maps of the area label the house as "Ashton" or "Aghinagh Rectory".[13] It was formerly the home of Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, who lived there until his death in 1963.[14] The house was later the residence of the horse-trainer Fergie Sutherland (1931–2012),[15] until it was sold in 2023.[16]
Notable people
- Adrian Carton de Wiart (1880–1963), highly-decorated military officer who lived at Aghinagh House and is buried in of Aghinagh churchyard.[17]
- Boetius MacEgan (c. 1600–1650), Bishop of Ross and member of Irish Confederacy who was killed at Carrigadrohid by Cromwellian forces and reputedly buried in Aghinagh.[18]
- Fergie Sutherland (1931–2012), horse-trainer who also lived at Aghinagh House.[15]
