Naas Town Commissioners minute books 1855-1900 now online
Two Naas Town Commissioners minute books covering the period 1855-1900, the second volume of which contains Naas Urban District Council minutes from 03 April 1900-27 September 1902 have been digitised and can be accessed here. The digitisation of the minute books was supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Commemorations fund 2026.
In 1837 Naas was an incorporated market, post and assize town and parish according to Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary. It contained 4,777 inhabitants, of which 3,808 resided in the town. It was noted as a place great antiquity, which had been the residence of the Kings of Leinster. Following the invasion of Ireland by the English, it was granted by John, Earl of Morton, to William Fitzmaurice, surrounded with a wall and fortified with several castles. In 1569, Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter, which declared that the town of Naas should be a free borough, later confirmed and extended by James I in 1609; the borough was incorporated by the designation of the “Sovereign, Provosts, Burgesses, and Commonalty of Naas.” A new charter was granted by Charles II in 1628. By the charters of Elizabeth and James, the corporation consisted of a sovereign, two provosts, and an indefinite number of burgesses and freemen. The sovereign and provosts were elected annually by the burgesses and freemen, who were elected by the corporation at large. The corporation sent two members to the Irish parliament till the Union when the borough was disfranchised. Nineteenth century reforms of local government led to the establishment of town commissioners under the Lighting of Towns (Ireland) Act 1828 in sixty-five towns; any remaining borough councils were abolished by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840. However, Naas did not seek a charter of incorporation under this Act and remained without any municipal institutions up to 1855.
The Lord Lieutenant decreed that Naas be placed under the 1854 Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act which allowed electors of populous places to choose to establish town commissioners and giving greater powers to town commissioners for the provision of paving, lighting, draining, cleansing, and supplying with water. Nine Commissioners were unanimously appointed at a meeting convened on 05 March 1855, Messrs. James Farrell, Christopher Clarke, John Hickey, Edward Hanlon, Robert S. Hayes, William McEvoy, John Blowney, Patrick Farrell and James Kellett. John Hickey, Esq. was elected the first chairman, John Clinch was appointed Town Clerk, at a salary of £20 a year, and Patrick Lawler, as Inspector of Nuisances, at £10 per annum. Further reforms took place under the 1898 Local Government Act which gave the Town Commissioners the right to be reconstituted as Urban District Councils which came into effect in Naas on 03 April 1900.
