Borris, County Carlow

Borris An Bhuiríos
Town
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Carlow
Area
• Town	3.74 km2 (1.44 sq mi)
Elevation	53 m (174 ft)
Population  (2006)
• Urban	1,011
• Rural	926
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	S733503

Borris (Irish: An Bhuiríos, formerly Buirgheas Ó nDróna) is a small town on the River Barrow, in County Carlow, Ireland. It lies on the R702 regional road.

Borris commands panoramic views of the neighbouring countryside with Mount Leinster and the Blackstairs Mountains to the east, and the Barrow Valley to the west. It is the home to Borris House, the ancestral home of the MacMurrough Kavanaghs.

The town has one of the oldest golf courses in Ireland as well as a 16-arch limestone viaduct (the 16 Bridges) built in 1860 and designed by William le Fanu. It has a mixed national school and vocational school (colloquially known as "The Tech" or "BVS"), a Roman Catholic church, seven public houses, three take-aways, and three convenience stores (Cosgraves/Costcutters, O'Sheas/Centra and Borris Service Stn.).

The Old School closed in 1980 and has been used by different community groups including Scouting Ireland, which has a branch of Scouts, Cubs and Beavers there. It also houses CRISP (Carlow Rural Information Services Project). Recently a branch of Carlow County Library has opened in the Old School.

Between the Library and CRISP, there is a Tourism Information Point.

Borris House caters for weddings and other functions such as poetry readings (Seamus Heaney) and concerts (Mary Coughlan, Mundy) and held "Christmas at the Castle" in December 2011. It played host to the National Country Fair in 2012 and will do so again in 2013.

History

The MacMurrough Kavanagh dynasty, former Irish Kings of Leinster, are central to this picturesque town of old stone buildings. The family still live at Borris House in the town centre. Built in Tudor style, the house is open to groups by prior arrangement.

Main Gate to Borris House on Borris Main Street

The town prospered in the late 1800s as Arthur MacMorrough Kavanagh, the landlord of the time, developed a sawmill and a thriving lace-making industry. He also instigated the building of the graceful 16-arch viaduct, situated at the lower end of the town, which was intended to carry the now defunct Great Southern and Western Railway line between Muine Bheag and Wexford. Borris railway station opened on 20 December 1858, closed for passenger traffic on 2 February 1931 and for goods traffic on 27 January 1947, finally closing altogether on 1 April 1963.

Housing developments: Lodge Court, Woodlawn Pk. Oak Tree Court, Station Road.

Famous people

• Olivia O'Leary, journalist, writer and current affairs presenter
• Pat Byrne, winner of the first series of The Voice of Ireland, mentored by Bressie

Borris Main Street

Sports and clubs

Borris is home to Mount Leinster Rangers GAA Club, which was founded in 1988 with the amalgamation of 3 parish teams: Borris, Ballymurphy and Rathanna. In 2006 the club won its first senior hurling championship, beating St. Mullins in the final, and repeated the achievement again in 2007, beating the same opposition in the final. The club has most recently gone on to win its 1st ever Leinster Intermediate Championship Title beating Celbridge in the Final which was played in Newbridge. Following a semi-final victory over Robert Emmets (London), the club approached their first All-Ireland final with anticipation. This was a heroic battle against Middleton Na Fianna from Armagh in Croke Park, with Rangers claiming their first ever All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Title in a thrilling game, finishing 1-13 to 1-11.

3rd Carlow Borris Scout group was founded in 1983 and has won the national camping competition (Smythe Cup) on 3 occasions.

See also

• List of populated places in the Republic of Ireland