[7] It was a vibrant town, with about 27 dwellings, a court house, woollen mill, a tannery, a brewery, and reputedly 14 taverns.

Newtown Jerpoint lasted at least into the 17th century, but eventually declined, perhaps from the loss of its bridge and the re-routing of the road.

The bones of Saint Nicholas, who inspired the legend of Santa Claus, were believed to have been buried in Newtown Jerpoint in the 12th century.

The grave's stone slab is carved with the image of a cleric with the heads of two knights behind each shoulder, said to be those of the two crusaders who, so the story goes, brought Nicholas's remains to Ireland.

[citation needed] In a papal bull dated 1191, Pope Celestine III created the parish of St. Nicholas in Dublin.