Diocese of Limerick | Heritage Project | Index | Search | Help
History | Churches | Graveyards | Holy Wells | Cross | Townlands | Priests of the Parish
Brief Parish History & Geographical Location
Kilmeedy village, located on the R519 from Ballingarry to Dromcollogher, is situated at a crossroads. Five roads radiate from the village. The name Kilmeedy is derived from the Irish Cill Míde, which means 'the church of St Ita'. Feenagh is a translation of Fíodhnach, which means 'woody place'. The 1584 survey of the lands of the Earl of Desmond contains a number of references to wooded areas in the district. Kilmeedy was a medieval settlement, while the village of Feenagh developed in the late 18th century, growing up around the church of Feenagh.
Feenagh/Kilmeedy became a separate parish in 1841. Originally, it formed part of the large parish of Corcomohide. In 1704, Fr Maurice England was the parish priest of Corcomohide, which embraced the parishes of Drumcollogher, Kilmeedy and Castletown MacEnery and the area of Milford, which is in the neighbouring county of Cork. Around the time of Fr England's death in 1719, this parish was divided into the parishes of Drumcollogher (today the parish of Dromcollogher/Broadford) and Castletown Conyers.
In 1841 the parish of Castletown Conyers was further divided when the parish priest Fr Michael Kiely died. At this point, the parishes of Feenagh/Kilmeedy and Ballyagran/Colmanswell were formed. The first parish priest of Feenagh/Kilmeedy was Fr Edmund Molony in 1842.
The population of the parish is about 900.
The church in Kilmeedy is dedicated to St Ita and is located
in the centre of Kilmeedy village. According to the foundation stone, Bishop
David Keane and Fr David O'Riordan PP blessed the church on October 11 1942.
Inside the church, there is an altar to Our Lady that was donated by James Moore who died in 1978. To the left of the altar there is a statue to the Sacred Heart, while on the right there is a statue to St Joseph. The windows are of a plain design.
Buried in the grounds of the church are:
Patrick Gerard Ryan
Died April 21 1984
Parish Priest 1975 - 1984
Canon James Bluett
Died December 29 1974
Parish Priest 1963 - 1974
Patrick Finn
Died October 25 1962
Parish Priest 1948 - 1962
The church in Feenagh is also dedicated to St Ita. A plaque in the porch of
the church describes the history of churches in Feenagh since the 18th century.
The church in Feenagh was originally a thatched building from the post penal
times. In the late 18th century it was rebuilt and a slated roof was put on
the building. It also acquired its 'T' shape during this renovation.
In 1877, it was renovated again by Fr Patrick Lee PP, at which time the walls were raised, a 'barn' roof was laid with stone parapets and Gothic style windows were fitted. The plaque also gives the details of the formation of the present day parish of Feenagh/Kilmeedy. The church was renovated once again in 1976.
Outside of the church on the left there is a statue to Mary, erected during the Marian Year of 1988. On the right there is a plaque to Mgr. Michael O'Riordan who was from Kilmurry in Feenagh. In 1905 he became the Rector of the Irish College in Rome. Mgr. O'Riordan did much for the cause of the Irish Martyrs, especially Oliver Plunkett. Mgr. O'Riordan died on August 27th 1919. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of his death, this plaque was erected in 1989.
The windows in the porch were donated by Pat Murphy and family
of Tireeg, John Irwin and family of Feenagh, and Margaret Murphy of Gurteen.
On the right of the main body of the church there is a plaque listing the
donors for the baptismal font. Near the altar, there is another plaque that
lists more donors of various articles to the church when it was renovated
in 1976.
The stained glass windows over the altar depict (from left to right) St Anthony, the Crucifixion and St David. David MacMahon of Philadelphia erected these windows in July 1907 to the memory of Hanora Irwin, her brother William and Michael McMahon.
To the left of the altar, outside the sanctuary, there is a statue of the Virgin and Child that was donated by Mr. and Mrs. John Browne of Clogheen in the Holy Year of 1950. Within the sanctuary, there is a statue to St Joseph and to the right of the altar there is a statue of the Sacred Heart.
According to the plaque to the far right of the altar, the sanctuary tiling was erected by David and Mrs. O'Leary Hannigan of Kilbolane Castle in 1907 to the memory of William O'Leary Hannigan, his wife Debora and Miss Eily Mary O'Leary Hannigan. Nearer the altar there is a plaque that states that David MacMahon and the people of the parish donated the marble high altar.
Buried in the grounds of the church is:
Canon Jeremiah O'Gorman
Died January 23 1941
Parish Priest 1925 - 1941
The church ruin in Kilmeedy graveyard is not the original church of St Ita. However, the original church was probably located near this site. According to Spellissy & O'Brien's Limerick - The Rich Land this church was built in 1665 as a Protestant church on the site of an earlier church. By 1837, this church was in a state of disrepair and was restored by the Protestant parishioners of Cloncrew and Kilmeedy.
Within the church ruin there is a tomb to William Hano de Massy of Glinwilliam castle who died on May 23rd 1848, aged 27. Other members of the Massy family are also interred in the tomb.
On the wall of the ruin there is a plaque, which was erected by Daniel Boohan of Kilmeedy to his wife Catherine who died March 11 1870, aged 59. The plaque also mentions his children James, Mary and Michael. At the end of the inscription the letters R.I.P.A. are written.
About 50 yards from the present day church in Kilmeedy, there is a dispensary, which was built on the site of the previous church in the village. No trace of this church remains.
The church ruin in Cloncrew is situated approximately a mile from the main
road. It can be reached using a private roadway. All that remains of this
church are the two gable walls of the building. According to Westropp the
church was dedicated to St. Bartholomew. The first church on this site was
destroyed in a war in 1302. Westropp measured the church as 47 feet by 16
feet. The name Cloncrew is from the Irish Cluain Creamh, which means the Insulated
Meadow, or the Bog Island of the Wild Garlic.
Westropp also mentions churches in the townlands of Kilmurry
and Kilcolman but no trace of these churches remains today.
On the road from Kilmeedy to Feenagh there is a new graveyard called Reilig Naomh Íde, or St Ita's graveyard, which was opened in March 1993.
The graveyard in Kilmeedy is dedicated to St Ita and surrounds a church ruin. The graveyard is kept in good condition. The oldest headstone that we came across dates from 1778 and is to the memory of Mary Creed, who died on April 16th of that year, aged 55. The year 1768 also appears on the headstone but the '7' appears to have been written over the '6',possibly correcting an earlier mistake.
The graveyard in Cloncrew is kept in good condition and most
of the headstones remain standing and legible. The oldest headstone that we
came across was in memory of Thomas Hayes who died on May 20 1767, at the
age of 63. This graveyard is still used for burials. Mass is celebrated annually
here and is well attended by people.
According to Danaher, there are two wells in the parish of Feenagh/Kilmeedy.
In the Feenagh part of the parish there is a well in the townland of Ahaveheen.
The well was called Toberhoran and was situated close to the River Deel. The
well is situated on the lands of Michael Curtin and is overgrown. The well
was rarely visited. The water was believed to cure sore eyes. Danaher states
that the patron of the well is unknown.
In the Kilmeedy part of the parish there is a well in the
townland of Cloonpasteen called Toberbreedia or St Brigid's well. The well
is on the lands of Seamus Murphy. The well is still visited occasionally by
people who take bottles of water from it but no devotions are held at the
well nowadays. Danaher wrote that rounds were still made and the well had
a strong, clear spring in 1955. On our visit to the well, Danaher's description
was indeed correct. Mr Murphy told us that locals call the stream that flows
from the spring Gaffney's river, which eventually becomes the River Deel.
Tradition also claims that the well has never gone dry. The well was usually
visited on February 1st, the feast of its patron. The water was believed to
cure blindness.
On the hill, overlooking the village of Kilmeedy, a large
white cross was erected to commemorate the Holy Year of 1950.
| English Name | Irish Name | Meaning |
| Ahadagh | Áth an Dá Each | The ford of the two steeds |
| Ahaveheen | Áth an Bheithín | The ford of the small birch |
| Ballinruane | Baile an Ruáin | The town of the red place |
| Bohard | An Bhoth Ard | The high hut |
| Callahow | Caladh Abha | By the river |
| Cloncrew | Cluain Creamha | Meadow of the ramsons |
| Clooncrippa | Cluain Coirbthe | Meadow of the violation |
| Cloonlara | Cluain Lára | Meadow of the mare |
| Cloonpasteen | Cluain Páistín | Meadow of the little children |
| Cloonroosk | Cluain Rúsc | Meadow of the marshes |
| Drominacreen | Dromainn an Chrainn | The ridge of the tree |
| Feenagh | Fíonach | Woody place |
| Garbally | An Gearrbhaile | The short town |
| Gortalassa | Gort an Leasa | The field of the enclosure |
| Gorteen | An Goirtín | The small field |
| Gortmore | An Gort Mór | The big field |
| Gortnagluggin | Gort na gCloigeann | The field of the skulls |
| Highmount | An Mullach Ard | The high summit |
| Kilcolman | Cill Cholmáin | The church of Colmán |
| Kilmeedy | Cill Míde | The church of Míde |
| Kilmurry (Archer) | Cill Mhuire | The church of Muire |
| Kilmurry (Bog) | as above | |
| Kilmurry (Lane) | as above | |
| Lisheensheela | Lisín Síolaidh | The small enclosure of Celia |
| Pallas | An Phailís | The palisade |
| Year | Parish Priest | Curate(s) |
| 1842 | Edmund Molony | |
| 1843 | Edmund Molony | James Enright |
| 1844 | Edmund Molony | James Moore |
| 1845 | Edmund Molony | James Moore |
| 1846 | Edmund Molony | James Moore |
| 1847 | Edmund Molony | James O’Riordan |
| 1848 | Patrick Benson | James O’Riordan |
| 1849 | Patrick Benson | James O’Riordan |
| 1850 | Patrick Benson | |
| 1851 | Patrick Benson | R. Somers |
| 1852 | Patrick Benson | William Toumey |
| 1853 | Patrick Benson | William Toumey |
| 1854 | Patrick Benson | William Toumey |
| 1855 | Patrick Benson | John Reeves |
| 1856 | Patrick Benson | John Reeves |
| 1857 | Patrick Benson | John Reeves |
| 1858 | Patrick Benson | John Reeves |
| 1859 | Patrick Benson | M. Cregan |
| 1860 | Patrick Benson | M. Cregan |
| 1861 | Patrick Benson | M. Cregan |
| 1862 | Patrick Benson | M. Cregan |
| 1863 | Patrick Benson | C. P. Kenny |
| 1864 | Patrick Benson | John Fitzgerald |
| 1865 | Patrick Benson | John Fitzgerald |
| 1866 | Patrick Benson | Patrick Lee |
| 1867 | Patrick Benson | Patrick Lee |
| 1868 | Patrick Benson | Patrick Lee |
| 1869 | Patrick Lee (Adm.) | J. Canty |
| 1870 | Patrick Lee (Adm.) | J. Canty |
| 1871 | Patrick Lee | Edmond Tracey |
| 1872 | Patrick Lee | Edmond Tracey |
| 1873 | Patrick Lee | Edmond Tracey |
| 1874 | Patrick Lee | John Ryan |
| 1875 | Patrick Lee | John Ryan |
| 1876 | Patrick Lee | John Ryan |
| 1877 | Patrick Lee | John Ryan |
| 1878 | John Conway | Michael Mulcahy |
| 1879 | John Conway | R. O’Kennedy |
| 1880 | John Conway | R. O’Kennedy |
| 1881 | John Conway | R. O’Kennedy |
| 1882 | John Conway | R. O'Kennedy |
| 1883 | John Conway | R. O’Kennedy |
| 1884 | John Conway | John O’Donnell |
| 1885 | John Conway | Patrick O’Donnell |
| 1886 | John Conway | Patrick O’Donnell |
| 1887 | John Conway | Patrick O’Donnell |
| 1888 | John Conway | Patrick O’Donnell |
| 1889 | John Conway | Patrick O’Donnell |
| 1890 | John Conway | E. O’Leary |
| 1891 | John Conway | E. O’Leary |
| 1892 | John Conway | E. O’Leary |
| 1893 | John Conway | George Culhane |
| 1894 | John Conway | George Culhane |
| 1895 | John Conway | George Culhane |
| 1896 | John Conway | George Culhane |
| 1897 | John Conway | George Culhane |
| James Carroll | ||
| 1898 | John Conway | James Carroll |
| 1899 | Thomas Liston | James Carroll |
| 1900 | Thomas Liston | James Carroll |
| 1901 | Thomas Liston | D. Brosnahan |
| 1902 | Thomas Liston | Edward Fitzgerald |
| 1903 | Thomas Liston | Edward Fitzgerald |
| 1904 | Thomas Liston | Edward Fitzgerald |
| 1905 | Thomas Liston | Patrick Ryan |
| 1906 | Thomas Liston | Patrick Ryan |
| 1907 | Thomas Liston | Patrick Ryan |
| 1908 | Thomas Liston | Patrick Ryan |
| 1909 | Thomas Liston | Patrick Ryan |
| 1910 | Lawrence Curtin | Patrick Ryan |
| 1911 | Lawrence Curtin | Patrick Ryan |
| 1912 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1913 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1914 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1915 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1916 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1917 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1918 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1919 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1920 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1921 | Lawrence Curtin | James Carroll |
| 1922 | Lawrence Curtin | William J. Carroll |
| 1923 | Lawrence Curtin | Patrick Lyons |
| 1924 | Lawrence Curtin | Patrick Lyons |
| 1925 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | Patrick Lyons |
| 1926 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | J. O’Regan |
| 1927 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | Thomas O’Sullivan |
| 1928 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | Michael Leahy |
| 1929 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | James Bluett |
| 1930 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | Ed. McCarthy |
| 1931 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | Ed. McCarthy |
| 1932 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | J. Leonard |
| 1933 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | J. Leonard |
| 1934 | Jeremiah O’Gorman | J. Leonard |
| 1935 | Canon Jeremiah O’Gorman | J. Leonard |
| 1936 | Canon Jeremiah O’Gorman | J. Leonard |
| 1937 | Canon Jeremiah O’Gorman | John Godfrey |
| 1938 | Canon Jeremiah O’Gorman | John Connors |
| 1939 | Canon Jeremiah O’Gorman | John Connors |
| 1940 | Canon Jeremiah O’Gorman | Patrick O’Dea |
| 1941 | Canon Jeremiah O’Gorman | Patrick O’Dea |
| 1942 | David Riordan | Patrick O’Dea |
| 1943 | David Riordan | Patrick O’Dea |
| 1944 | David Riordan | Maurice Crowley |
| 1945 | David Riordan | Maurice Crowley |
| 1946 | Robert Dunworth | Maurice Crowley |
| 1947 | Robert Dunworth | Maurice Crowley |
| 1948 | Robert Dunworth | Maurice Crowley |
| 1949 | Patrick Finn | Maurice Crowley |
| 1950 | Patrick Finn | Maurice Crowley |
| 1951 | Patrick Finn | Maurice Crowley |
| 1952 | Patrick Finn | Maurice Crowley |
| 1953 | Patrick Finn | Maurice Crowley |
| 1954 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1955 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1956 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1957 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1958 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1959 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1960 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1961 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1962 | Patrick Finn | David Wall |
| 1963 | James Bluett | David Wall |
| 1964 | James Bluett | David Wall |
| 1965 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1966 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1967 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1968 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1969 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1970 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1971 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1972 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1973 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1974 | James Bluett | Ronald Costello |
| 1975 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| 1976 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| 1977 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| 1978 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| 1979 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| 1980 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| 1981 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| Bernard McNally | ||
| 1982 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| Bernard McNally | ||
| Edward Looby (Adm.) | ||
| 1983 | Gerard Ryan | Ronald Costello |
| Edward Looby (Adm.) | ||
| 1984 | Gerard Ryan | Edward Looby (Adm.) |
| Joseph D. Griffin | ||
| 1985 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1986 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1987 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1988 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1989 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1990 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1991 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1992 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1993 | Edward Looby | Joseph D. Griffin |
| 1994 | Canon Edward Looby | Cornelius Collins |
| 1995 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 1996 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 1997 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 1998 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 1999 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 2000 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 2001 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 2002 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 2003 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 2004 | Peadar de Búrca | Cornelius Collins |
| 2005 | Brendan Murphy | Peadar de Búrca |
| 2006 | Brendan Murphy | Peadar de Búrca |
| 2007 | Brendan Murphy | Peadar de Búrca |
The list of Priests from 1704 to 1836 is compiled from information gained
in Begley's History of the Diocese of Limerick Vol. III page 598. The remaining
years are compiled from the Catholic Directories. Information contained in
a directory of any given year refers to what happened the previous year. For example
if a priest is recorded in the 1954 directory as being in a particular parish,
this would mean that he was actually there in 1953.
History | Churches | Graveyards | Holy Wells | Cross | Townlands | Priests of the Parish
Feenagh-Kilmeedy Parish Home | Back to Top
Diocese of Limerick | Heritage Project | Index | Search | Help
Website by Lúnasa Design