placenames.ie
Townland

Ballymurphy

Baile Uí Mhurchú

Local school records trace changing premises and funding, from an early three-storey building to the school opened in 1961.

Recorded locationBallymurphy52.57156° N · 6.85879° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ie

The name

bailetownland, town, homesteadÓ

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

  • Baile Uí Mhurchú · Irish · main form · non-validated name
  • Ballymurphy · English · main form

Place & story

A school above the village

Tom Doran’s 1997 history describes Ballymurphy in 1803 as a village of twenty-four houses with a church and a three-storey school. The teacher occupied the top floor. His account also places earlier schools in the surrounding countryside, showing that the village building belonged to a wider pattern of local educational provision. [2]

People & connections

Matthew McCabe’s school in 1824

An 1824 school return, reproduced in Carloviana, names Matthew McCabe as teacher at Ballamurphy. Sixty pupils attended that summer. The stone-and-mud schoolhouse belonged to a farmer, and McCabe’s annual income was recorded as £10. The school was supported by fees. [3]

The school opened in 1961

Scoil Naomh Pádraig dates its official opening to 1961. The school stands in the centre of Ballymurphy and describes itself as a Catholic mixed primary school under the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin’s patronage. Its account records later classroom additions and outdoor playing facilities, continuing the village’s educational role in new premises. [4]

Geographic information

Place type
Townland
County
Carlow
Civil parish
Saint Mullin's
Coordinates
52.57156, -6.85879
Mapped area
0.37 km²
Logainm ID
3562 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Ballymurphy. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. Ballymurphy, Tom Doran, Carloviana1997,p89 · Tom Doran, Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society
  3. Schools of Carlow:1824return reproduced in Carloviana2007 · Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society
  4. Scoil Naomh Pádraig: school history and premises · St. Patrick’s National School, Ballymurphy
  5. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.