History
Gowran was a place of importance prior to the Norman invasion and a royal residence of the Kings of Ossory, sometimes recorded as the Kings of Gowran. King Robert the Bruce with his army of Scots and Ulstermen took the town in 1316. James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde built Gowran Castle in 1385 close to the site of the present castle and town walls were erected circa 1415. King James I made Gowran a parliamentary borough in 1608.
The town, under the command of Colonel Robert Hammond, surrendered to Oliver Cromwell on 21 March 1650 following a siege. Colonel Hammond was a cousin of Cromwell's. The soldiers of the garrison accepted Cromwell's offer of quarter for their lives and handed their officers over to the Parliamentarians. Cromwell ordered the execution by firing squad of all but one of the officers; a priest captured in the castle was hanged.
In 1688 James II granted A Charter of Incorporation to the town and of 18 burgesses listed, six were Kealy's. A Magdelan hospital was built outside the walls circa 1578 "For the relief of poor leprous people".
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