OUGHTERARD, a parish, in the barony of SOUTH SALT, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Rathcoole, on the road from Dublin to Naas; containing 223 inhabitants, and comprising 1075 statute acres. In the ecclesiastical divisions it is not known as a separate parish, but is enumerated as a townland in the parish of Kill, in the diocese of Kildare, the tithes of which are payable to the vicar of that parish. Here are the ruins of a small church, rebuilt in 1609 on the site of a chantry of great antiquity; under the west end is an ancient crypt, now used as the cemetery of the family of Ponsonby, of Bishops-court, in this county. In its vicinity are the remains of an ancient round tower, on a steep hill; the doorway is formed by a circular arch, 10 feet from the ground, and 10 feet higher on the south side is a window of the same shape and dimensions: from the summit is obtained an extensive prospect, including the promontory of Howth.

(Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837); Transcription © Derek Rowlinson, 2005-10. Reproduced from LibraryIreland. We are deeply grateful to LibraryIreland for allowing us to use their transcription.)