Hollyford () is a small village 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 in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish of

Kilcommon and Hollyford and Rearcross The parish of Kilcommon and Hollyford is an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. It includes the villages of Rearcross and Kilcommon in County Tipperary and the village of Hollyford in County Tipperary, Irel ...

, in the

Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly ( ga, Ard-Deoise Chaisil agus Imligh) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in mid-western Ireland and the metropolis o ...

, and is in the barony of

Kilnamanagh Lower Kilnamanagh Lower (Irish: ''Cill na Manach 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 Dundrum. The barony lies between Kilnamanagh Upper t ...

. Hollyford lies in a valley running through the

Slieve Felim Mountains The Slieve Felim Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Eibhlinne) are a mountain range in Munster, Ireland. They cover parts of County Limerick and County Tipperary. Historically, the name "Slieve Felim" meant the whole mountainous area between Murroe, Silvermi ...

. It is on the R497 regional road, which runs north–south for 55 km through the Silvermine and Slieve Felim Mountains from

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 ...

Tipperary Town Tipperary Town (; ) is a town and a civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. Its population was 4,979 at the 2016 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical baron ...

History

It was historically known in Irish as ''Áth Bhéal a' Chuillinn'' (anglicised ''Aghbellacullin''), ''Béal a' Chuillinn'' (anglicised ''Bellacullin'') and ''Cluain Mhurchaidh'' (anglicised ''Clonmurragha''). Part of the Cian route

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...

took for his daring attack on the Williamite siege train during the

Siege of Limerick (1690) Limerick, a city in western Ireland, was besieged twice in the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689-1691. On the first occasion, in August to September 1690, its Jacobite defenders retreated to the city after their defeat at the Battle of the Bo ...

is marked out today, as "Sarsfield's Ride", and is now a walking and cycling route. It passes near the village of Hollyford. The O'Sullivan Beara Route, which passes through the village, runs from Castletownbere,

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 ...

for to

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...

. During the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

on 11 May 1920, the IRA attacked the RIC barracks at Hollyford.

Industry

The only industry of any scale in the village today is the sawmill. The surrounding hills are heavily forested on the less productive land with agriculture mainly on the better areas. Hollyford was briefly a location of some copper mining, the mines were mainly worked between 1837 and 1839, and again between 1848 and 1862.

Anglesey Road SAC

Anglesey Road is a special area of conservation (site reference code 002125) along the R497 road just north of the village. It is a small site containing a variety of habitats and species found in unimproved upland grassland within the steep valley of the Multeen, a tributary of the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

. The main threat to the site is agricultural improvement and afforestation. The road was named after the

Marquess of Anglesey Marquess of Anglesey ( cy, Ardalydd Môn) is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a hero of the Battle of Waterloo, second in command to the Duke of Wellington. The Marqu ...

who gave orders to have it built. The Marquess and his retinue were traversing the hill country by horse and carriage when they lost their bearings and sought shelter in the parish priest's house, who provided hospitality with an overnight stay and victuals for their ongoing journey. So impressed by the priest's magnanimity and generosity, the Marquess enquired of the pastor if he could do anything for him, to which the reputed reply was "build us a road". In due course, the Anglesey Line was laid and is still in use through the hills to this day.

Sport

Hollyford's local GAA club is Sean Tracey's GAA and is named after Irish rebel

Seán Treacy Seán Allis Treacy ( ga, Seán Ó Treasaigh; 14 February 1895 – 14 October 1920) was one of the leaders of the Third Tipperary Brigade of the IRA during the Irish War of Independence. He was one of a small group whose actions initiated th ...

, who was born nearby. There is also a Gaelic handball alley in Hollyford which was built in the 1950s and renovated in 1991. The renovation was paid for by local residents, and included the restoration of the handball alley.Irish Handball Alley website.

References

External links

Hollyford - detailed information
(archived)

(archived) {{Authority control Towns and villages in County Tipperary Kilnamanagh Lower