Goresbridge was located in historic
Gaelic kingdom of
Ossory (
Osraige). Following the
Williamite–Jacobite War,
Charles II gave grants of land which had been forfeited by the Roman Catholic owners. Arthur Gore obtained a grant of land, the townland of Barrowmount in parish of Grangesilvia, from
Charles II, and by the end of the 17th century the
Gore family were well established. Goresbridge was named for the family and the
New Bridge built in 1756 by
Colonel Ralph Gore. On the 1846
OSI map of Ireland the village is referred to it as
Newbridge.
Gore's Bridge ''Gore's Bridge'' has nine-arch granite bridge crossing of the
River Barrow between County Kilkenny and
County Carlow. Built in 1756 by
Colonel Ralph Gore the
Earl of Ross. This mid-eighteenth-century elegantly-composed landmark was built using unrefined Carlow granite. It represents an important element of civil engineering and transport heritage and formed a vital link between the two counties.
Battle of Goresbridge The Battle of Goresbridge occurred during the
Irish Rebellion on 23 June 1798 at Gore's Bridge. During the
Wexford Rebellion, and just days after the
Battle of Vinegar Hill, Wexford insurgents attempted to use the Gore's Bridge. The locally stationed Wexford Militia were defeated, they lost their cavalry, twenty eight soldiers were captured, and the rest fled to
Kilkenny. There is a carved granite memorial adjacent to the bridge. ==Transport==