 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Murroe" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Murroe Irish:Maigh Rua | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Main Street | |
  Murroe Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:52°39′N8°24′W / 52.650°N 8.400°W /52.650; -8.400 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Limerick |
| Elevation | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,432 |
| Irish Grid Reference | R727555 |
Murroe/məˈruː/ (Irish:Maigh Rua, meaning 'red plain'),[2] officially speltMoroe, is a village inCounty Limerick,Ireland.
Murroe is in the north-eastern part of County Limerick, surrounded by theSlieve Felim Mountains. It is around 15 km east ofLimerick city and close to theCounty Tipperary border. Nearby towns includeCappamore andNewport. The village is on theR506 road.
The first Roman Catholic church was erected in Murroe village around 1731.[3] This was replaced by a second church on the main street in 1807. The parish priest in 1808 was Daniel O'Brien.[4] This second church was described as by Samuel Lewis in 1837 “a large and handsome building”.[5] The third and final church was erected in 1905. There were two fairs held in the village (in April and October) from at least 1825.[5][6]
The village expanded in the late 1820s with the arrival of the Anglican Rev. Thomas P. Le Fanu (father ofSheridan Le Fanu) to the neighbouring parish of Abington and Sir Matthew Barrington (1788–1861), 2ndBarrington baronets of Limerick to Glenstal Castle. In 1828, Le Fanu and Matthew Barrington established a dispensary on the main street.[3] In 1926, Glenstal Castle becameGlenstal Abbey monastery and boarding school.
Murroe once had eight primary schools in the area. Each of the schools, called Murroe, Clonkeen, Eyon, and Kiskiquirk, were split into a boys' and girls' school.[7]
John Canon Hayes, founder ofMuintir na Tíre, was born in Murroe in 1882. He was a priest of theArchdiocese of Cashel and Emly, ordained at the Irish College, Paris in 1913 and died atBansha, County Tipperary, where he was the parish priest, in 1957.
The village contains theMurroe Memorial Cross, a War of Independence memorial in the form of a decorated modern Celtic high cross. It was erected in May 1923 to commemorate the men of the east Limerick and Mid Limerick brigades of theIrish Republican Army who lost their lives in theIrish War of Independence. It is believed to be one of the first such large-scale memorials erected in the State after the war.[citation needed]
Clonkeen Church was founded as a monastery c. AD 600, is located approximately 4.4 km (2.7 mi) west of the village
Murroe is also situated near an older monastic settlement ofAbbey Owney and is home to a number of historical houses and buildings, such as Brittas Castle and Thomond Scout centre.[citation needed]
TheSlieve Felim Way, a 43 kilometres (27 miles)long-distance trail through theSlieve Felim andSilvermine Mountains, has a trail-head in the village. It is designated as aNational Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of theIrish Sports Council and is managed byShannon Development andCoillte.[8]
The gardens and lands of Glenstal monastery are accessible to the public.
TheClare Glens wooded area along the banks of theClare River is located on the edge of the townland towardsNewport.
Sporting and cultural organisations in Murroe include Murroe Boher Amateur Dramatic Society, the Marion Active Retirement Club, Mulcair Men's Shed, Glenstal walkers, Murroe AFC (situated in Tubber),Murroe/Boher GAA, and Murroe-Boher Scouts.[9]
