St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church is the parish church of

Kilmore, County Wexford Kilmore or Killmore (), locally pronounced 'Kilmoor', is a village and townland in south County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, about from Wexford town. History The village's English name, Kilmore, derives from the Irish language, Iri ...

in the southeast of Ireland. Dating to the early 19th century, it has been included on the

Record of Protected Structures Conservation in the Republic of Ireland is overseen by a number of statutory and non-governmental agencies, including those with responsibility for conservation of the built environment and conservation of the natural environment in Ireland. Con ...

Wexford County Council Wexford County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Loch Garman) is the authority responsible for local government in County Wexford, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hous ...

History

The church was built to designs of William Day between 1798 and 1802. Later additions include a tower in 1889, an annexe in 1898, and a later vestry in 1935. Some of the later additions are attributed to the architect Thomas Joseph Cullen (1879-1947), with the stained glass in the east window (dated to 1884) attributed to the stained-glass artist

Lucien-Léopold Lobin Lucien-Léopold Lobin (March 26, 1837 – 1892) was a French stained glass artist and painter. Lobin was a student of H. Flandrin. Lucien worked under his father Julien-Léopold Lobin at the family glass works and studio in Tours, France. Tog ...

(1837–92).

Choral tradition

A tradition of carol singing, at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

, has taken place locally since the mid 18th century. The carols, written in the

Yola language Yola, historically the Forth and Bargy dialect, is a revived Anglic language once spoken widely in the baronies of Forth and Bargy in County Wexford, Ireland. It is thought to have evolved from Middle English, which was brought to Ireland dur ...

, have been "sung without a break" since they were introduced to the parish by Very Rev. Peter Devereux, who was parish priest . Some of the songs were written by Very Rev. William Devereux, P.P., Piercestown, a native of

Tacumshane Tacumshane () is a small village in the southeast of County Wexford, Ireland. It is located 15 km south of Wexford town. Name The official name of the village is Tacumshane. In Irish it is called ''Teach Coimseáin'' (House of Seán). Th ...

, where he is buried, while others were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge of

Ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

. In all, there are thirteen carols, eight of which are usually sung during the Christmas period, the first at first

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

and the last one on Sunday nearest Twelfth Day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Kilmore, County Wexford Religious buildings and structures in County Wexford Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns Churches completed in 1802 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland