placenamesUsk
Uisce
A vanished fortified residence and an early description preserve parts of this small Kildare parish’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
- Uisce · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Usk · English · main form
Place & story
The lost fortified house
A recorded monument at Usk marks a house shown on county maps in 1752 and 1783. An archaeological assessment reproducing the monument record notes that local people called its ruins a castle in 1837. Later mapping showed only its site. The record suggests a fortified house, rather than confidently identifying a medieval tower house. [2]
Fairs on the Baltinglass road
Writing in 1837, Samuel Lewis placed Usk on the road from Kilcullen towards Baltinglass. He recorded fairs on the Thursday before 12 May and on the first Thursday and Friday in October. He also noted a skirmish near Redgap during the 1798 rebellion, without giving further details of the engagement. [3]
Connections with Dunlavin and Narraghmore
Usk's Church of Ireland rectory and vicarage belonged to the Dunlavin union and prebend in Lewis's account. Its tithe income was a little over £77. The Catholic parish organisation followed a different connection: Usk formed part of the Narraghmore district. These overlapping affiliations placed the small civil parish within larger church territories. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Kildare
- Barony
- Narragh and Reban East
- Coordinates
- 53.05543, -6.75750
- Mapped area
- 7.14 km²
- Logainm ID
- 1248 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Usk. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Usk soil waste recovery facility EIAR, Appendix12-A, monumentKD032-020 · Dunlavin Land Restoration Limited, archaeological assessment reproducing National Monuments Service record
- Uske, East Narragh and Rheban, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland,1837 · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-10-29. How this page was prepared.