The 17th century was a turbulent period in Irish history and Taghmon would not escape the vicissitudes of war. In 1652 the village was the scene of a bloody battle between an Irish army under the command of General Duggan and an English Parliamentary force led by Colonel Sadlier. After some initial success for the Irish, the English cavalry won the day and Duggan’s men fled the field in disarray (Hore 1906, 423). Shortly afterwards in 1654 the Civil Survey describes Taghmon as ‘formerly a markett towne incoprtate and hath in the midst of it a fair strong stone Castle indifferent well in repair‘ (Simington 1955, 83). Its position on ‘the road twixt Wexford and Waterford as also twixt Wexford and Rosse‘ was noted (ibid).
The subsequent Down Survey of 1656-58 states that Nicholas Meyler, William Hore, William Sutton and Nicholas Bryan were the main landowners in Taghmon (in 1640), while it also shows the town’s castle as upstanding. The borough appears to have declined after this and was described in 1684 as ‘an ancient corporation governed by a burgarmaster and burgesses. It is now quite waste in manner, there being but a ruinous old castle and a small parish church in repair, and about a dozen cabins and ye ruins of the aforesaid (two) chapels, yet still it sends two burgeses to parliament’ (Hore 1859, 464).
References
Hore, H. F. 1859 ‘A chorographic account of the southern part of the county of Wexford, written Anno 1684: by Robert Leigh, Esq., of Rosegarland, in that county’. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 2, pp. 451-467.
Hore, P. H. 1906 History of the town and county of Wexford : The town of Wexford, with a chapter on Taghmon, and a short notice of Harperstown, the ancient seat of the Hore family, London
Simington, R. C. 1953 The Civil Survey A.D. 1654-1656: County of Wexford. Volume IX, Dublin: Stationery Office
Down Survey mapping Link: http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/down-survey-maps.php#bm=Sheelmaleer&c=Wexford&p=Taghmon
Taghmon Heritage 