Parish of Templeorum – Short Introduction.

The geographical entity that is known as the Catholic parish of Templeorum, since 1720, covers an area of 20,460 statute acres, situated in the southern end of the Anglo-Norman medieval county of Kilkenny. It is part of a much older territorial and political entity that of the former tuatha or small kingdom of Osraighe, in English, Ossory; represented since the laying down of the country's dioceses in c. 1111, as the Roman Catholic diocese of Ossory. Three districts comprise the modern parish, Templeorum, Owning and Piltown/Fiddown. Of the district entities comprising the parish, the Piltown/Fiddown district holds the highest proportion of the combined population of c. some 3,500 people. Next in population size is Owning and the lowest of the three in population density is Templeorum. The decline of farming has had a profound effect on Templeorum which is very rural, whereas in contrast Piltown/Fiddown, in its location on the main road from Waterford to Limerick, some 14 miles from Waterfod city and three from the town of Carrick-on-Suir, it is not solely dependent on agriculture for its growth and sustainability. With the building of the Piltown/Fiddown By-pass in 2002, the district has become urbanised with new private housing estates, new county council estates, new health centre, and in December the opening of its first pharmacy, Mulligan's Pharmacy, beside the health centre.

Extract from talk given by Mary O'Shea 1999.

To read more click on the link to the District of Piltown