Dromineer The earliest form of the name dating from 1302 was Dromynwyr 4()
is a small village and
townland
A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...
in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is situated on the shores of
Lough Derg on the
River Shannon. The village is located 10 km north of
Nenagh
Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond ...
on the
R495 road. It is a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in the historical
barony of
Ormond Lower
Ormond Lower ( Irish: ''Urumhain Íochtarach'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Nenagh. The barony lies between Ormond Upper to the south-east ...
. Historic documents describe the places as "Dromynnyre".
Features
Home to an ivy-clad ruinous 13th-century
Kennedy tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
, public harbour and other facilities, it is a destination for some tourists, including those interested in boating on the lake. The name Dromineer in Irish is "Drom Inbhir", meaning the back of the ford of the river.
Amenities in Dromineer include a pub with a restaurant, holiday accommodation, a café, a children's playground, a public marina, a private marina and boating clubs.
Dromineer is home to the Lough Derg Lifeboat, which is the
RNLI's third inland lifeboat station and was the first inland station 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 Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. During 2013 the Lough Derg Lifeboat launched 20 times and rescued 33 people.
Buildings of note
In addition to the O'Kennedy towerhouse (ruined), structures listed as being protected by
Tipperary County Council in the area include Dromineer Quay and Canal store. Both of these date from around 1845 (RPS Refs S568 and S569).
Two corrugated iron roofed houses summer houses from the 1920s overlook the lake (RPS Refs S571 and S572).
Dromineer Castle (tower house)
This castle/towerhouse began as a two storey 13th-century hall house and was later converted into a tower house in the 15th/16th century. It was built by the followers of Thomas Butler Esq. in the 13th century. The hall house was originally only two storeys high, but two additional storeys were later added, and vaults added to the ground floor. A base batter is present and can be attributed to the earlier structure. The conversion to a castle/towerhouse has resulted in a rectangular shape to the castle which is 11×15 metres. By 1299, the Cantwell family were tenants, with Thomas Cantwell paying taxes on the castle.
The building then fell into Gaelic hands, and the Ormond O’Kennedys were responsible for the remodelling of the building into a tower house. Many of the windows were modified during the conversion from hall to tower house.
In 1582 the Butler Earls of Ormond re-captured the castle/towerhouse, and the Cantwells returned as tenants until c. 1640.
In the Civil Survey of 1654–56 the castle was described as the "Mannor of Dromineer &c appertaineth a Courte Leete & Courte Barron with all the Rights privileges & immunities belonging to a mannor. Uppon the sd lands stands an old castle, six thatch houses, and fowerteene cottages." The proprietor of the castle in 1640 was John Cantwell, of Cantwells Court, in Kilkenny.
In 1650, the castle was seized by Cromwellian forces and garrisoned. It was returned the Earl of Ormond following the occupation by Cromwell. It was occupied until 1688. The castle/towerhouse fell into ruin in the late 17th century and was sold by the Earl of Ormond in the late 19th century.
A
bawn wall also surrounds the castle in places. Many of the large quadrangular windows are 17th-century features.
Dromineer Church
This church may have been built in the 10th century. The tradition states that the monks from
Holy Island built it.
It is located in the parish of Puckane & Carrig, which consists of a total of 71 townlands and is 18,310 statute acres or approximately 28.6 square miles in extent. The parish has a number of sites that have Early Christian religious associations, including Dromineer. Folklore recalls four places in the parish where Mass was secretly celebrated during the
Penal Days.
The parish was traditionally known as ‘
Monsea
Monsea (''Maigh Saotha'' in Irish) is a civil parish and townland in the Baronies of Ormond Lower and Owney and Arra in County Tipperary, Ireland. Nine of the townlands within the civil parish (including Monsea townland) are located in Ormond L ...
’, ‘Monsea & Kilodiernan’ or ‘Monsea & Cloughprior’. These names reflect its origins because the present parish is an amalgamation of five medieval parishes, Cloughprior, Dromineer, Kilodiernan,
Knigh
Knigh (''An Chnaoi'' in Irish) is a townland and civil parish in the historical Barony of Ormond Lower in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located between Nenagh and Puckaun.
Knigh is in the Dáil constituency of Offaly
County Offaly ( ...
and Monsea. The ruined churches at Dromineer were built in the
Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...
, while those at Cloughprior, Knigh and Monsea were built in the Gothic style of the fifteenth century. The graveyards surrounding those churches are still used for burials and Mass is celebrated in each annually.
Church construction employed exceptionally large blocks of stone. It was extended in 12th century in the Celtic Romanesque style. The west doorway was still standing in the 1830s when John O'Donovan was here. Carvings include dogs' heads with bulging eyes. The church is located in the graveyard adjoining the public house.
Sport and recreation
The local GAA club is
Kildangan GAA
Kiladangan GAA is a Tipperary GAA club which is located in County Tipperary, Ireland. Hurling is the main sport which is played in the "North Tipperary" divisional competitions. The club is centred on the village of Puckane but includes the ...
. Fishing is also a popular activity in the area, both on the lake and the nearby
Nenagh River.
Boating in Dromineer is served by both public and private marinas. The area is home to Nenagh Boat Club, Shannon Sailing Club and the
Lough Derg Yacht Club which is the twenty third-oldest yacht club in the world, and seventh oldest in Ireland having been founded in 1835 and one of two remaining yacht clubs with a fleet of
Shannon-One-Design sailing dinghies, the North Shannon Yacht Club having folded.
Dromineer is on one of the North Tipperary Cycle Routes. The 65 km route starts at Banba Square,
Nenagh
Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond ...
and is listed as a half-day cycle.
The
Lough Derg Way is a
long-distance walking trail between
Limerick City
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
and Dromineer. It is designated as a
National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the
Irish Sports Council
Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...
and is managed by
Shannon Development
Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised a ...
,
Tipperary County Council and Tipperary Integrated Development Company. The trail was reconfigured and relaunched in 2011 with many sections taken off road aided by an investment of €115,000 under the Comhairle na Tuaithe Walks Scheme, which supports landowners to maintain trails that cross their land.
The trail connects with the
East Clare Way at Killaoe.
''Sli Eala'' ("The Way of the Swan" in Irish) is a public walkway between Nenagh and Dromineer. For much of its length it follows the Nenagh River where
mute swans can be seen. The route passes Annaghbeg bridge and
Ballyartella Mills on its way upstream, a spur off the main route leads to
Ballycommon.
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
*
List of civil parishes of Tipperary
Civil parishes in Ireland are based on the medieval Christian parishes, adapted by the English administration and by the Church of Ireland. The parishes, their division into townlands and their grouping into baronies, were recorded in the Down Sur ...
References
{{County Tipperary
Populated places on the River Shannon
Towns and villages in County Tipperary
Townlands of County Tipperary
Sports venues in County Tipperary
Tourist attractions in County Tipperary
Civil parishes of Ormond Lower