Murroe (), officially spelled Moroe, is a village in

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: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Environs

Murroe is located in the north-eastern part of County Limerick, approximately 15 km 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 2 ...

City and close to the

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 ...

border. Nearby towns include

Cappamore Cappamore () is a small town in northeast County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Location and facilities Cappamore is situated on the R505 regional road, on the ...

and Newport. The village is located on the R506 road. It is surrounded by 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, Silver ...

History

The first Roman Catholic church was erected in Murroe village around 1731. This was replaced by a second church on the main street in 1807. The parish priest in 1808 was Daniel O'Brien. This second church was described as by Samuel Lewis in 1837 “a large and handsome building”. The third and final church was erected in 1905. There were two fairs held in the village (in April and October) from at least 1825. The village expanded in the late 1820s with the arrival of the Anglican Rev. Thomas P. Le Fanu (father of Sheridan Le Fanu) to the neighbouring parish of Abington and Sir Matthew Barrington (1788–1861), 2nd Barrington baronets of Limerick to Glenstal Castle. In 1828, Le Fanu and Matthew Barrington established a dispensary on the main street. In 1926, Glenstal Castle became

Glenstal Abbey Glenstal Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation located in Murroe, County Limerick, Ireland. It is dedicated to Saint Joseph and Saint Columba. The current abbot of the monastery is Brendan Cof ...

monastery and boarding school. Murroe once had eight primary schools in the area. Each of the schools, called Murroe, Clonkeen, Eyon, Kiskiquirk were split into a boys' and girls' school. John Canon Hayes, founder of Muintir na Tíre, was born in Murroe in 1882. He was a priest of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, ordained at the Irish College, Paris in 1913 and died at Bansha, County Tipperary, where he was the parish priest, in 1957. There is a highly decorated modern

High Cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradit ...

, erected in memory of the victims of the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Clonkeen Church was founded as a monastery c. AD 600 Murroe is also situated near an older monastic settlement of Abbey Owney and is home to a number of historical houses and buildings, such as Brittas Castle and Thomond Scout centre.

Amenities

The

Slieve Felim Way The Slieve Felim way is a long-distance trail through the Slieve Felim Mountains in Ireland. It is long and begins in Murroe, County Limerick and ends in Silvermines, County Tipperary. It is typically completed in two days. It is designated ...

, a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

through the Slieve Felim and

Silvermine Mountains The Silvermine Mountains or Silvermines Mountains ( ga, Sliabh an Airgid) are a mountain range in County Tipperary, Ireland. The highest peak of the range is Keeper Hill or Slievekimalta at high. Traditionally, the mountains were deemed to ...

has a trail-head in the village. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...

and is managed by

Shannon Development Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised ...

and

Coillte Coillte (; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, ...

. The gardens and lands of Glenstal monastery are accessible to the public. The Clare Glens wooded area along the banks of the Clare River is located on the edge of the townland towards Newport. Sporting and cultural organisations in Murroe include Murroe Boher Amateur Dramatic Society, the Marion Active Retirement Club, Mulcair Men's Shed, Glenstal walkers, Murroe AFC (situated in Tubber), Murroe/Boher GAA, and Murroe-Boher Scouts. Muintir na Tire Murroe

References

{{County Limerick Towns and villages in County Limerick