Piltown also has a unique place in English history as it was the only place on the island of Ireland to see a battle in the Wars of the Roses.
In the Battle of Piltown (1462) Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, on the side of the House of York, defeated the Butlers of Kilkenny, fighting for the House of Lancaster, resulting in more than 400 casualties for the Butlers.
Local folklore claims that the battle was so violent that the local river ran red with blood, hence the names Pill River and Piltown (Baile an Phuill - Town of the blood).

From the early eighteenth century up until the late 1930s, the main landlords in Piltown and its surrounding area were the Ponsonby dynasty, Earls of Bessborough.
The family seat was Bessborough House, just outside Piltown, built in the 1740s for the 1st Earl.
The house was gutted by fire in February 1923, during the Irish Civil War.
However, it was rebuilt in the late 1920s for The 9th Earl of Bessborough, who served as the 14th Governor General of Canada in the early 1930s.
The 9th Lord Bessborough sold the house in the late 1930s.
Bessborough House now forms the main part of Kildalton Agricultural College.
Piltown also has a unique place in English history as it was the only place on the island of Ireland to see a battle in the Wars of the Roses. In the Battle of Piltown (1462) Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, on the side of the House of York, defeated the Butlers of Kilkenny, fighting for the House of Lancaster, resulting in more than 400 casualties for the Butlers. Local folklore claims that the battle was so violent that the local river ran red with blood, hence the names Pill River and Piltown (Baile an Phuill - Town of the blood).
From the early eighteenth century up until the late 1930s, the main landlords in Piltown and its surrounding area were the Ponsonby dynasty, Earls of Bessborough. The family seat was Bessborough House, just outside Piltown, built in the 1740s for the 1st Earl. The house was gutted by fire in February 1923, during the Irish Civil War. However, it was rebuilt in the late 1920s for The 9th Earl of Bessborough, who served as the 14th Governor General of Canada in the early 1930s. The 9th Lord Bessborough sold the house in the late 1930s. Bessborough House now forms the main part of Kildalton Agricultural College.
Piltown