placenamesBallyduff
An Baile Dubh
Ardcullen’s farmstead and the burial ground at Derryco preserve different parts of the rural district beyond Ballyduff village.
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 Baile Dubh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballyduff · English · main form
Place & story
A farmstead grows around a thatched house
At Ardcullen, the architectural inventory records a four-bay thatched house dating to about 1870. Its sash windows have rendered surrounds, while a wrought-iron gate marks the frontage. Nearby outbuildings record later development: a barrel-roofed building of about 1870, a two-storey building of about 1920 and a larger barrel-roofed structure of about 1940. The group preserves several phases of farm construction. [2]
A ruined church above the estuary
Derryco burial ground lies about two and a half kilometres north-east of Ballyduff, beside the tidal Cashen estuary. A 2011 archaeological survey recorded the church’s north, south and east walls. The missing west wall prevented a complete measurement of its length. Narrow windows survive, and a later buttress supports the eastern wall. Burials occupy part of the interior. [3]
The Stack family’s carved memorials
The survey identifies a tomb erected by John Stack in 1722 as the graveyard’s oldest inscribed monument. Within the church ruin, it carries the family’s coat of arms and accompanying lettering. Another tomb, dated 1799, names both Stack and Walsh families. These dated memorials give individual family associations to a burial ground whose earlier origins remain less securely documented. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballyduff. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ardcullen thatched house and farm buildings, record21300907 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Archaeological Survey of Derryco Burial Ground, June2011, KCCG11 · Robert Hanbidge, Headland Archaeology for Kerry County Council
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2014-01-16. How this page was prepared.