Ardpatrick, County Limerick

Ardpatrick (Irish: Ard Pádraig, meaning 'Patrick's height')[1] is a small village in County Limerick, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the north slopes of the Ballyhoura Mountains, on the edge of the Golden Vale. As of the 2006 census, the electoral division of Ardpatrick which contains the village, had a population of 398.[2]

Ardpatrick
Ard Pádraig
Village
Road junction and pub in Ardpatrick village
Road junction and pub in Ardpatrick village
Ardpatrick is located in Ireland
Ardpatrick
Ardpatrick
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52.3413°N 8.5252°W / 52.3413; -8.5252
CountryIreland
ProvinceMunster
CountyLimerick
Dáil ÉireannLimerick County
Population
 (2006)
 • Total398
Eircode routing key
V35
Dialling code063

In an area which was anciently known as Tulach na Féinne (Hill of the Fianna),[3][4] the village comprises a small number of houses around a Roman Catholic parish church. At the south end of the village is a memorial garden and tourist information. Each summer there is a 3-day, "Festival na Fianna". The Greenwood, just to the south of the village, gives access to walking trails across the countryside.

History
Ruins of early ecclesiastical site above the village

On the hill above the village is the site of a 5th-century monastery and round tower or cloictheach, now in ruins. Legend tells of a peal of 7 silver bells which once hung in the tower. The monastery was reputedly founded by St. Patrick himself,[5] and is surrounded by earthworks probably far more ancient.

From the hill can be seen Castle Oliver, a 19th-century mansion built by the Oliver Gascoignes, an Anglo-Irish family. Its stained glass windows, which feature the life of St. Patrick, have since been restored.

The local parish church, Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic church, was built in 1835 and renovated in the 1920s.[6] Ardpatrick was formerly joined with neighboring parish Kilfinane.

Common surnames

According to the censuses of 1901 and 1911, common surnames in Ardpatrick included: Murphy, O’Sullivan, McCarthy, O’Connell, Walsh, Ryan, Barrett, Fitzgerald, Hayes, Sullivan, Carroll, Dunworth, O’Donnell, O’Shea, Clery, Lyons, O’Brien, Bourke, Connell, Quillinan, Tobin, Treacy, Burke, McGrath, O’Leary.

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Ard Pádraig / Ardpatrick". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  2. "CSO.ie - 2006 Census - Preliminary Report (Table 4 page 61)" (PDF). Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2009.
  3. Hayes O'Grady, Standish. Acallam na Senórach, Colloquy of the Ancients. p. 20.
  4. Westropp, T. J. (1922). "The "mound of the Fiana" at Cromwell Hill, Co. Limerick, and a note on Temair Luachra". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (36): 68–85. JSTOR 25504223.
  5. Westropp, T.J. (1905). "A survey of the ancient churches of Co. Limerick". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (25C): 327–479.
  6. "Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Sunville Upper, Ardpatrick, Limerick". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
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