Gortnahoe: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia

 

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===Penal laws and parish consolidation===

===Penal laws and parish consolidation===

[[File:IMG GortnahooChurch3437.jpg|thumb|The Catholic church in Gortnahoe village was built in 1820]]

[[File:IMG GortnahooChurch3437.jpg|thumb|The Catholic church in Gortnahoe village was built in 1820]]

During the 18th century, the [[Penal Laws]] made it difficult for Catholics to practice their religion and priests were scarce throughout Ireland. The outcome was that in 1743 the parishes of Kilcooley, Buolick and Fennor were amalgamated with Urlingford and Graine. The amalgamation continued until Fr. Michael Meighan became parish priest of Gortanhoe and Glengoole in 1805. It was Fr. Michael Meighan who built a new church in Glengoole in 1815. This was replaced on the same site by the present church which was built in 1976. The present Catholic church in Gortnahoe was built in 1820.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/22204307/gortnahoo-gortnahoo-co-tipperary-south | website = buildingsofireland.ie | publisher = Placenames Database of Ireland | title = Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, Gortnahoo, Gortnahoo, Tipperary South | accessdate = 12 December 2025 }}</ref> Dedicated to the [[Sacred Heart]] and also built by Fr Michael Meighan, this church underwent renovations in 1923, 1974–75 and in 2008. During the renovation in 1923, two skeletal remains were found when the original foundations of the church were dug up. These were believed to belong to those who died in a battle in nearby Ballysloe between the Kings of Leinster and Munster. These remains were reburied nearby.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

During the 18th century, the [[Penal Laws]] made it difficult for Catholics to practice their religion and priests were scarce throughout Ireland. The outcome was that in 1743 the parishes of Kilcooley, Buolick and Fennor were amalgamated with Urlingford and Graine. The amalgamation continued until Fr. Michael Meighan became parish priest of Gortanhoe and Glengoole in 1805. It was Fr. Michael Meighan who built a new church in Glengoole in 1815. This was replaced on the same site by the present church which was built in 1976. The present Catholic church in Gortnahoe was built in 1820.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/22204307/gortnahoo-gortnahoo-co-tipperary-south | website = buildingsofireland.ie | publisher = Placenames Database of Ireland | title = Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, Gortnahoo, Gortnahoo, Tipperary South | accessdate = 12 December 2025 }}</ref> Dedicated to the [[Sacred Heart]] and also built by Fr Michael Meighan, this church underwent renovations in 1923, 1974–75 and in 2008. , the original foundations of the church were believed to belong to those who died in a battle in nearby Ballysloe between the Kings of Leinster and Munster. These remains were reburied nearby.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

At the time of Catholic Emancipation in 1829, the government launched a major enquiry into the provision of education and in that report it is stated that there were twelve schools in the parish, organised and funded in different ways. Nine of them were Catholic schools and three were Protestant schools. It was in 1831 that the Board of National Education was established. Since 1829 there have been several amalgamations, leaving three schools in the parish at Gortnahoe, Ballysloe and Glengoole.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

At the time of Catholic Emancipation in 1829, the government launched a major enquiry into the provision of education and in that report it is stated that there were twelve schools in the parish, organised and funded in different ways. Nine of them were Catholic schools and three were Protestant schools. It was in 1831 that the Board of National Education was established. Since 1829 there have been several amalgamations, leaving three schools in the parish at Gortnahoe, Ballysloe and Glengoole.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Village in County Tipperary, Ireland

Village in Munster, Ireland

Gortnahoe (Irish: Gort na hUamha), also known as Gurtnahoe or Gortnahoo,^[2] is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is on the R689 road, 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Urlingford, County Kilkenny, where the N8 Dublin–Cork road can be accessed. Gortnahoe, pronounced “Gurt/na/hoo” by the locals, is part of the Catholic parish of Gortnahoe–Glengoole.^[3]

According to Placenames Database of Ireland, Gortnahoe is derived from the Irish Gort na hUamha, meaning ‘ploughed field of the cave’ (or souterrain).^[2] Other sources suggest that Gortnahoe derives Gort na hUaighe, meaning the ‘ploughed field of the grave’,^{[citation needed]} and the local school and GAA team use the Gort na hUaighe variant.^[4][5] While there is no evidence of a cave in Gortnahoe, it is possible that the name came from the existence of a former grave.^{[citation needed]}

Evidence of ancient settlement in the Gortnahoe area includes a number of ringforts, a ringwork and bailey structure, and a medieval church and graveyard.^[6]

The latter, in Buolick townland, lies immediately west of a 15th-century castle or tower house.^[7][8][9] The castle’s interior is relatively intact with stairs, murder hole and garderobe structure.^{[citation needed]}

Buolick was a parish as far back as 1291, and the ruined medieval church and graveyard contains a number of medieval tombstones. The church in Buolick also has a residential tower.^[10] During archaeological digs in the 19th century, two large bells were uncovered on the site, these were displayed outside the Archbishop’s Palace in Thurles beside the Cathedral of the Assumption, until the restoration of Holy Cross Abbey, where they were rehung and remain to this day.^{[citation needed]}

Kilcooley Abbey, approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) to the east of Gortnahoe village is a Cistercian abbey which dates from 1182. With the decline of the Celtic monasteries and the arrival of the Cistercians in Ireland in the 12th century, the monastery of Kilcooley was established by the monks from Jerpoint Abbey in 1184.^[11] The monastery continued to prosper until the disestablishment of the monasteries by King Henry VIII in 1539.

The abbey’s church has two large carved windows on its east and west side, and its chancel contains two stone tombs and a stone altar. One of these tombs is that of the knight Piers Fitz Oge Butler. His tomb records his death as taking place in 1526 and has some carvings of ten apostles on the side of it carved by Rory O’Tunney. The sacristy is entered through a carved archway that has several carvings, including a scene depicting the crucifixion and a mermaid holding a mirror, which was meant to depict vanity.^{[citation needed]}

The stonework at the ruins of Kilcooley Abbey was undertaken mainly by the O’Tunneys,^{[citation needed]} including the tomb of Pierce Butler of Lismolin (who was descended from John Butler of Clonamicklon) and a number of other headstones. The carved slabs of the crucifixion, the abbot, St. Christopher and the mermaid are also examples of their work.^{[citation needed]}

The ruins of Kilcooley Abbey are now within a large country estate.^{[citation needed]} The Kilcooley Abbey estate was historically associated with the Ponsonby-Barker family.^[12] It remained in their ownership until the estate was sold in 2008.^[13] While the private manor house and most the lands at Kilcooley are private property, the abbey remains open to the public.^{[citation needed]}

Fennor, like Kilcooley and Buolick is mentioned in the Papal Taxation lists of 1291. This church is dedicated to the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When Archbishop James Butler visited the parish in 1752, the church at Fennor does not appear to have been in use.^{[citation needed]}

The ruins in Fennor churchyard include the remains of a Church of Ireland church (dating to 1815),^[14] an earlier medieval (Catholic) church and the residence of the priests.^{[citation needed]} A ruined tower house lies to the northeast outside the churchyard.^[15]

During the 18th century, the Penal Laws made it difficult for Catholics to practice their religion and priests were scarce throughout Ireland. The outcome was that in 1743 the parishes of Kilcooley, Buolick and Fennor were amalgamated with Urlingford and Graine. The amalgamation continued until Fr. Michael Meighan became parish priest of Gortanhoe and Glengoole in 1805. It was Fr. Michael Meighan who built a new church in Glengoole in 1815. This was replaced on the same site by the present church which was built in 1976. The present Catholic church in Gortnahoe was built in 1820.^[16] Dedicated to the Sacred Heart and also built by Fr Michael Meighan, this church underwent renovations in 1923, 1974–75 and in 2008. Skeletal remains, found during the digging of the original foundations of the church, were believed to belong to those who died in a battle in nearby Ballysloe between the Kings of Leinster and Munster.^[17] These remains were reburied nearby.^{[citation needed]}

At the time of Catholic Emancipation in 1829, the government launched a major enquiry into the provision of education and in that report it is stated that there were twelve schools in the parish, organised and funded in different ways. Nine of them were Catholic schools and three were Protestant schools. It was in 1831 that the Board of National Education was established. Since 1829 there have been several amalgamations, leaving three schools in the parish at Gortnahoe, Ballysloe and Glengoole.^{[citation needed]}

In the townlands of New Park and Bawnleigh, there is Palatine Street, named after the Palatinate region in Germany.^[18] In the 18th century, Sir William Barker, the landlord in Kilcooley, offered protection and property to families who left the Palatine. The Griffith Valuations of 1850 has record of a Methodist chapel and a Baptist chapel in that area. Descendants of those families still farm those areas and remain members of the Church of Ireland parish.^{[citation needed]} Not far from Palatine Street is a monument, erected in 1817 by William Barker, to commemorate the Duke of Wellington‘s success at Waterloo in 1815.^{[citation needed]}

The local national (primary) school, Gortnahoe National School, operates under the patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Cashel and Emly.^[19] As of 2025, the national school had an enrollment of 143 pupils.^[19] A pre-school (playschool) operates from Gortnahoe’s community hall.^[20] The village’s Catholic church, dedicated to the Sacred Heart, is within the Catholic parish of Gortnahoe and Glengoole and the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.^[21]

The area’s Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club, Gortnahoe–Glengoole GAA, was established in its current form in 1961.^[22] The club has won a number of divisional and county titles,^[22] and won the Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship in 2020.^[23]