Clara () is a

Catholic Parish In the Catholic Church, a parish ( la, parochia) is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is t ...

in the

Diocese of Ossory (Roman Catholic) The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory ( ga, Deoise Osraí) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin. ...

: also one of the

Civil parishes in Ireland Civil parishes () are units of territory in the island of Ireland that have their origins in old Gaelic territorial divisions. They were adopted by the Anglo-Norman Lordship of Ireland and then by the Elizabethan Kingdom of Ireland, and were f ...

. Both parishes are located in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Clara Catholic Parish

The Catholic Parish of Clara in the Diocese of Ossory was created ''c''1852 from the old Catholic parish of

Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is located in the centre of Gowran close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course is located one km from t ...

. Clara church Parish consists of the Civil Parishes of: :Clara, Blackrath (upper), Blackrath (lower), St. Martin's and Tiscoffin.

Clara Civil Parish

The civil parish may consist of around one thousand inhabitants, and is situated three miles east of

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

city. Clara civil parish consists of the following townlands: :Ballynamona - Baunmore - Churchclara - Clara Upper - Clarabricken - Clifden or Rathgarvan - Clohoge - Coneygar - Eagleshill - Kilmagar - Kingsland - Scart. Clara Castle - geograph

Notable Places and People

Saint Colman's church is situated at the centre of the parishes and

Saint Colman Colmán or Colman is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Medieval Irish people * Colmán Bec (died ''c''. 585), Irish dynast * Colmán mac Cobthaig (died ''c''. 622), Irish king * Colmán mac Lénéni (died ''c'' ...

is considered the patron saint of Clara. St.Colman's church is actually located just within Rathgarvan townland and not the neighbouring townland of Churchclara, wherein lie the remains of the old church of Clara. *St.Colman is a very popular Saint's name in Ireland. The Martyrology of Donegal lists ninety six saints of this name and the Book of Leinster records no less than two hundred and nine. In addition there seems to be some confusion in ancient texts between Colman (Colmanus in Latin) and Columbanus. Clara is also home to

Clara Castle Clara Castle is a tower house (''caiseal'') located in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Location Clara Castle is located about east of Kilkenny City, near one of the headwaters of the Nore. History Clara Castle was built in the late 15th/early ...

, a five-storey tower house built in the fifteenth century by the Shortall family.

Sport

The civil parish is home to the

Clara GAA Clara GAA ( ga, CLG Chláraigh) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club situated in the small parish of Clara in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Focused mainly on hurling and camogie, the dominant sports in the county, Clara's greatest achievements to ...

club, which has produced some famous inter-county hurlers such as

Jim Langton James Langton (18 January 1918 – 18 April 1987) was an Irish hurler who usually played as a left wing-forward for the Kilkenny senior team. Born in Gowran, County Kilkenny, Phelan first played competitive hurling whilst at school in Kilke ...

, Paddy Prendergast,

Lester Ryan Lester Ryan (18 April 1959 – 6 June 2020) was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder at club level with Clara and at inter-county level with the Kilkenny senior hurling team. His brother, Harry Ryan, and his nephew, Lester Ryan, were ...

and Harry Ryan. One of the team's milestones in sport came in 1986, when they won their first Senior Hurling Championship. More recently, they won the 2013 Senior Hurling Championship.

References

External links