Influence of the Butler family

Carrick-on-Suir (originally called Carrig Mac Griffin) was formed on an island settlement upstream of Waterford. The town remained as an island until the 18th century when small rivers were diverted to form dry land north and west of the town. The earliest known records of a settlement are dated to 1247, when a charter of 3 fairs per year was awarded to Matthew Fitzgriffin, Lord of the manor of Carrick who was a member of the Cambro-Norman nobility.

By the early 14th century, Carrick Mac Griffin had become home to a prosperous Hiberno-Norman family – the Butlers. The first significant leader of the Butler clan, Edmond Butler (a.k.a. Edmund le Bottilier) was created Earl of Carrick in 1315. However, his son James did not inherit the title. Instead, 7 years after the death of his father, he was created Earl of Ormond in his own right. In 1447, Edmund MacRichard Butler founded the first bridge over the estuary at Carrick-on-Suir. Other notable members of the Butler clan were Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond (a.k.a. Black Tom) who built the Tudor Manor House extension to Ormonde Castle and James the 12th Earl and 1st Duke of Ormond, who founded the town's woollen industry in 1670.

Edmond le Bottiler erected two large, heavily garrisoned castle keeps named the Plantagenet Castle on the north bank of the Suir, just east of what is now Main St. In the 15th century, a four towered castle was erected on the same site, two of which are now incorporated into the Elizabethan Manor House built by Black Tom Butler, c. 1560. The Manor House, where Archbishop Dermot O'Hurley, one of the most celebrated of the 24 Irish Catholic Martyrs, was arrested in 1583, still stands today, having been extensively refurbished by the Irish State in the 1990s and is open to the public.

The town was also the inspiration for the 16th-century song, Cailín ó chois na Siúire mé, which is attested to as early as 1595 and mentioned in William Shakespeare's Henry V as Caleno custure me.

In 1649, the town was taken by English Parliamentarians during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. They captured Carrick by stealth after discovering an undefended gate as part of operations during the Siege of Waterford. Irish troops from Ulster under a Major Geoghegan tried to re-take Carrick but were eventually beaten off with the loss of over 500 killed.

In 1670 the Butlers set up a woollen industry in the town. By 1799, the town enjoyed some prosperity from the woollen industry, fishing, basket weaving and other river-related businesses – the population reached around 11,000 by this point. In that year, a barge capsized on the river near the bride, resulting in the deaths of around 91 people.^[12] Over the next 120 years however, the town suffered from high taxes and levies imposed by the British on the woollen industry, leading to high unemployment, poverty and emigration. The Great Famine also contributed greatly to the depopulation of the town.

20th century

With the coming of Independence and the Civil War, Carrick was initially occupied by the Anti-Treaty IRA until the town fell to the Free State army in 1922. By this stage, industrialisation had reached Carrick with the establishment of cotton factories and a local creamery. Most significant however for the economic development of the town was the arrival of the tanning industry in the 1930s, providing regular, dependable employment in the town for the first time. The local town council also embarked on building social housing projects in an effort to deal with appalling living conditions in the town for those economically disadvantaged. Despite these developments, economic opportunities were limited and poverty widespread – the town saw widespread emigration to Dublin, Britain and further afield especially during the long recessions of the 1940s and 1950s.

The closure of the Pollack & Plunder tannery in 1985 caused immense hardship in the town, as a significant proportion of the population (Carrick's population was roughly 4,000 by this point) were employed there or were dependent on someone who was. Carrick suffered a prolonged recession throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, again leading the population to drop due to emigration – a fate suffered by other small, rural Irish towns during the period. By the late-1990s, the economy of the town was on the upswing – unemployment had dropped, the SRAM bicycle component factory had opened as had numerous small businesses, and the population began to increase again for the first time in two centuries.

Carrick's local infrastructure (in particular health and transport) still remains relatively undeveloped, due to its location on the border of 3 counties (and subsequent lack of political muscle both at county and national level), and the nearby larger towns of Clonmel and Waterford. As of 2006, no large manufacturing operation remains in the town – the SRAM plant closed in 2006, but Carrick continues to prosper economically. The population continues to increase, and the town expands with ongoing significant house building projects. The future of Carrick is likely to be that of a commuter town, servicing those working in Waterford and Clonmel – a role it has been performing for decades.

River Suir

Carrick-on-Suir is the tidal limit of the River Suir. Carrick has a 1-in-50-year flood defence system with quay walls ranging in height from 1.2m to 1.5m. Currently, the walls give protection from flooding caused by high tides. Flooding still occurs along the Glen/Mill River and Markievicz Tce.

Carrick-on-Suir Town Hall

Landmarks

In 1447, a stone bridge was built, now known as the "Old Bridge". A new, more modern bridge (later named after John Dillon) was completed in 1880.^[13]

Carrick's town clock was erected in 1784. A public park was created in the fair green in the 1860s. The fair green is a public open space used for play games and other outdoor pursuits.^[14]

Carrick-on-Suir Town Hall was completed in 1844.^[15]

Churches

There are three Catholic churches. The largest church in Carrick Mór is St Nicholas' church which was built in 1879, replacing an earlier church of the same name built in 1804. In Carrick Beg are the small St Molleran's parish church (parts of which date back to the 13th century) and the larger Franciscan friary. The Franciscan order's presence in Carrick dates back to 1336 with the granting of land for a friary by the 1st Earl of Ormond. However, the suppression of monasteries by Henry VIII led to the closure of the friary. Just prior to the invasion of Ireland by Cromwell, the friars had returned for an 11-year period, before being shut down again and the friars having to go underground to avoid persecution. It was not until 1820 and the onset of Catholic emancipation that the friars were able to fully return and a new chapel was built. The friars served the local community until the lack of vocations to the order led to the order finally leaving Carrick-Beg in 2006.

Before the Irish War of Independence, the Church of Ireland community was relatively substantial. After returning to Ireland from Newfoundland, famous 18th century Bard Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Conmara briefly converted to Protestantism and read aloud an Oath of Abjuration inside the Church of Ireland parish at Carrick-on-Suir.^[16] More recently, however, the former Protestant church on Main Street was abandoned until the late 1980s, but the church building and grounds have both been renovated and now serve as a heritage centre.