the Rectory of Castlecomer, were granted to the Corporation of Kilkenny. There are monuments to Wandesford, Butler and Price families throughout the church. Previous notable rectors of the parish include Dr Robert MacCarthy, a former Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, and the Venerable Andrew Orr, current archdeacon of the Ossory end of the United Dioceses of Cashel, Ferns, and Ossory. The present rector is the Rev Patrick G. Burke. Economy Agriculture Agriculture employs 100 people in the Castlecomer district. The area's 60 farms range between 10 and 100 hectares with a total of 2003 hectares being farmed. There are 4451 cattle and 768 sheep, and farming is done with grassland machines, tillage machines, tractors, winter feeding and milking equipment. Specialist farms include beef production, dairy and mixed grazing livestock. Coal-mining heritage Mineral resources include deposits of anthracite coal, shale and fireclay and have been exploited for several hundred years. Until 1969, coal mining was the key economic activity in Castlecomer and the surrounding areas. Mining began in the mid 17th Century with the extraction of iron ore. Huge areas of oak woodland were cleared to feed the smelting furnaces. Coal deposits were found beneath the shale and these were to form the basis of the coal mining industry in the area which lasted for over 300 years. In the mid 17th century, Christopher Wandesforde, from Yorkshire was invited to Ireland by the Lord Lieutenant and granted a large estate in Castlecomer which included the Castlecomer coalfield. The Wandesforde family was responsible for the opening up of a number of coal seams (The Old Three Foot Seam, The Jarrow Seam and The Skehana Seam). The Leinster Coalfield is centred on Castlecomer and extends into counties Laois and Carlow. The coal seams were often quite narrow but the coal itself was very high-quality anthracite with a low sulphur content. Castlecomer coal was sold within a twenty-mile radius of the collieries and the coal was transported by horse and cart. Over time, several important plant and animal fossils have been discovered amongst the shale quarries of Castlecomer. Miners faced harsh working conditions and struggled against the mine owner. Some miners formed secret societies, trade unions, republican and indeed even communist organisations. Manufacturing Later brick production using shale deposits from the local landscape was a key activity and employer with the Roadstone company Ormonde Brick Ltd. who were a leading producer of