Hospital () is a village in east

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

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 also 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 authority ...

in the ancient

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Smallcounty Smallcounty or ‘’’Small County’’’ ( ga, An Déis Bheag) is a historical Barony (Ireland), barony in County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Settlements in the barony include Hospital, County Limerick, Hospital, Herbertstown, Fed ...

. The village's population was 653 as of the 2016 census. The village itself is situated in the

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 origi ...

of Barrysfarm, one of 11 in the civil parish. It lies on the River Mahore, a tributary of the

River Camogue The River Camoge or Camogue (; ga, An Chamóg) is a river in Munster, Ireland, a tributary of the Maigue, which is itself a Shannon tributary. Course The River Camogue rises in County Tipperary near Emly. It enters County Limerick and is br ...

Name

The village acquired its name from the crusading

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

who built the archaeologically significant Hospital Church here before 1215. This church has the remains of three tombs, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. An alternative explanation, from the biography of

Sir Valentine Browne Sir Valentine Browne (died 1589), of Croft, Lincolnshire, was auditor, treasurer and victualler of Berwick-upon-Tweed. He acquired large estates in Ireland during the Plantation of Munster, in particular the seignory of Molahiffe. He lived at R ...

Surveyor General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor ge ...

of Ireland (who was awarded lands in the area by

Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

), is that the village anciently formed part of the parish of Aney, and derived its name from a hospital for

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

, founded in 1226 by Geoffry de Marisco, then Lord Justice of Ireland.

Transport

The "Old Cork Road" from

Limerick 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 ...

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3,740. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains, 12 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Caves, 28 km from Cahir, 50& ...

and

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

(also known today as the R513) passes through the village.

Amenities

In 2002, the village had nine pubs - there are now only three. The village's secondary school was completed in 2000 and, as of 2018, had around 1,000 students. There is also a primary school which was completed in the summer of 2004. Hospital is also home to one of Limerick's ''Youthreach'' schools. The village shares a GAA club (

Hospital-Herbertstown GAA Hospital-Herbertstown is a Gaelic Athletic Association hurling and football club in County Limerick, Ireland, and is based in the South Division. Hospital-Herbertstown competed in the County Senior Hurling Championship in 2011 following the cl ...

) with the village of

Herbertstown Herbertstown () is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, Ireland. It is part of the ecclesiastical parish of "Hospital and Herbertstown", in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Herbertstown is in the centre of the electoral ...

. Former

Limerick GAA The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae Luimneach) or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Li ...

captain Damien Reale is a member of the club. Hospital soccer team was founded in 1881 by Sir P.J. Butler. Formerly known as Hospital Crusaders, today it is called Kilfrush Crusaders. Other recreational bodies include the local tennis and handball clubs. Hospital also has an active Family Resource Centre, located on Knockainey Road. There is a

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...

nearby at Ballinamona. The village celebrated the 800th Anniversary of its foundation in 2015.

Development

In 2006,

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. ...

published a local area development plan for Hospital which laid out plans and proposals for the future expansion of the village.

Notable people

* Roger Utlagh (c.1260–1341), cleric and statesmanMackay, Ronan "Outlawe (Utlagh), Roger" ''Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography'' 2009 *

Jon Kenny Jonathan Kenny (born 12 December 1957) is an Irish comedian and actor who lives in Lough Gur and is one half of the famous Irish comic duo d'Unbelievables with Pat Shortt.

(b.1957), comedian and actor *

Damien Reale Damien Reale (born 17 May 1981) is an Irish hurler who played as a left corner-back for the Limerick senior team. Reale made his first appearance for the team during the 2001 National League and immediately became a regular member of the star ...

(b. 1981), Limerick inter-county hurler *

Liam Reale Liam Reale (born March 16, 1983) is an Irish middle distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. As a younger athlete he finished fourth in 2000 m steeplechase at the 1999 World Youth Championships. He finished eighth in the 1500 m final ...

(b. 1983), athlete * George Cecil Bennett (1877-1963), TD for Limerick 1927-1948 and Senator 1948-1951. resident at Rathaney House (now demolished)

References