Firies ( officially Firies; ga, Na Foidhrí) is a village in
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
, Ireland in the barony of Magunihy. It is situated midway between the hub towns of Killarney (14.5 km), Tralee (16 km), Castleisland (16 km) and Killorglin (13 km). It is on the
R561 road between
Farranfore
Farranfore () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. It lies on the N22 road approximately midway between Tralee (10 miles or 17 km) and Killarney (9 miles or 15 km) and on the railway line connecting the two towns.
Farranfor ...
and
Castlemaine. The population at the 2016 census was 558.
[ There are two principal rivers, namely the Maine and its chief tributary, the Brown Flesk.
]
Education
In 1991, Firies National School moved to a new location beside the church. It is a rural 16 teacher school with 5 special needs assistants. There are currently 273 pupils enrolled. It is actively involved in the Green Schools Initiative, Discovery Science and the Aistear Programmes.
Firies Castle
On a rock outcrop 855 meters south of the village is the fragmentary remains of a rectangular tower. The ground-floor appears to be occupied by a single chamber which was covered by a rounded vault which is almost entirely fallen. Only part of the walling above ground-floor level survives.
Firies Castle was built by the O’Connors. It is in the townland of Firies, in the parish of Firies, in the barony of Magunihy and in the county of Kerry. It was built in the thirteenth century and it was knocked in the sixteenth century. It was a very small castle. It is in a ruin with over two hundred years. Numerous woods flourished for miles around it. It is from these woods that Firies got its name.
Notable people
*Bishop Eamonn Casey
Eamonn Casey (24 April 1927 – 13 March 2017) was an Irish Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh in Ireland from 1976 to 1992. His resignation in 1992, after it was revealed he had had an affair with an American woman, ...
, Irish clergyman.
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
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Towns and villages in County Kerry