Dromcollogher, officially Dromcolliher (), is a small town located at the crossroads of the R522 and R515 regional roads in the west of

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

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 part of the parish of

Dromcollogher-Broadford Dromcolliher-Broadford is a parish bordering north Cork in County Limerick, Ireland. There are two villages within the parish, Dromcolliher and Broadford. Dromcolliher (''Drom Collachair'' in Irish) is a small Irish town towards the west of Co ...

(previously known as Killagholehane). It is also very close to the boundary of north

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

. There are many variations of 'Drom'. The locals spell it Dromcollogher, but Drumcolloher, Dromcolloher, Drumcullogher, and numerous other variations can be found. Dromcolliher is the version adopted by the Ordnance Survey, and postal authorities.

History

Dromcollogher was first mentioned in 1160 in the ''

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...

''. Other historical records include references in "Westropp" (1201), Munster Journal (1751), and the population was recorded as 658 in 1831. It is classed as a medieval town by

Limerick County Council Limerick County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Luimnigh) was the authority responsible for local government in County Limerick, Ireland. As a county council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council had 28 elected members. ...

, and the council's 'County Development Plan' lists a number of protected structures in the area. These include the local creamery, courthouse, and the churches of Killagholehane and St. Timothy (now known as St. Bartholomew). This church was built in 1824, by Fr. Micheal Fitzgerald, who purchased the land from a local landowner. It was restored several times, including in the 1950s and 1990s.

Percy French William Percy French (1 May 1854 – 24 January 1920) was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter. Life French was born at Clooneyquinn House, near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher F ...

, the Irish composer, once stayed here and composed the song "''There's Only One Street In Dromcollogher''".

Dromcollogher fire

On 5 September 1926, a timber barn being used as a temporary cinema in Dromcollogher caught fire when a candle ignited a reel of

nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

. Forty-eight people died in this tragedy, always known locally as the Dromcollogher Burning; forty-six of them are buried in a large grave in the grounds of the local church. It remained the worst recorded fire disaster in Irish history until the Betelgeuse incident in 1979 and the

Stardust disaster The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine's Day) 1981. Some 800 people had attended a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injure ...

in 1981, which claimed fifty and forty-eight lives, respectively.

Economy

Dromcollogher was one of the starting points for the Irish Co-Op Movement, with the first Co-Operative creamery being set up here in 1889 on the initiative of

Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of Jo ...

. This protected structure has since been restored, and is now the National Dairy Cooperative Museum. Since 1962, the town has been home to the 'Irish Dresden' pottery factory, which closed its doors in 2009 but re-opened in 2015.

Sport

The local GAA club,

Dromcollogher/Broadford GAA Dromcollogher/Broadford GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) located in the parish of Dromcollogher-Broadford in County Limerick, Ireland. It is a member of the West Division of Limerick GAA. The club has had some successes in the Limeric ...

, won the 2015

Limerick Junior Hurling Championship The Limerick Junior Hurling Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Limerick GAA among the top hurling clubs in County Limerick. The winner qualifies to represent the county in the Munster Junior Club Hur ...

. This was the club's second such championship win since Dromcollogher/Broadford joined forces, with the first being in 1993. In 2008, Dromcollogher/Broadford GAA club won the

Munster Senior Club Football Championship The Munster Senior Club Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition for the champion clubs of each county. It has been organised by the Mu ...

competition, defeating Kilmurry-Ibrackane from Clare at the Gaelic Grounds. Dromcollogher-Broadford Ladies football club was founded in 1999. The club has competed in Munster Junior club semi-finals on 3 occasions, and in 2016, competed in its first Munster Junior club final, losing to Kinsale by 4 points.

Festivals

An annual street festival, the Dromcollogher Carnival, is held in early July. Past events have included street entertainment, parades, live music and a 4-mile run.

References

External links

Information on Dromcollogher Community Projects
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick Towns and villages in County Limerick Fires in the Republic of Ireland 1926 disasters in Ireland