Toomevara, officially Toomyvara (), is a 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 ...

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 ...

. The village is at the junction on the R445 where it meets the R499 regional road. The village was bypassed in December 2010 by the M7 Dublin - Limerick motorway. It is also a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe, and is in the historical

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 ...

Ormond Upper Ormond Upper (Irish: ''Urumhain Uachtarach'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Toomevara. The barony lies between Ormond Lower to the north (who ...

Transport

Local Link Tipperary operates bus service No. 854 between

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

and

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 ...

which stops at Main Street. The service operates seven days a week with three services in each direction.

Sport and recreation

Toomevara GAA club and Toomevara Camogie Club are based in the area. Toomevara is on the route of the Beara-Breifne Way, a long distance walking and cycling trail between the

Beara Peninsula Beara ( ga, Béarra) or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down it ...

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 ...

and

Blacklion Blacklion (; also ''An Leargaidh'') is a border village in west County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated on the N16 national primary road, just across the border from the County Fermanagh village of Belcoo. History The village is within the to ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifn ...

Medieval Toomevara

In the Civil Survey (1654-6) Toomevara is described as 'the sd manor of Tome ye privilege of a Court Leete & a Court Barron, a Fayre twice a yeare, & a markett every Tuesday'. In the centre of the village are the ruins of a possible rectangular church building composed of roughly coursed limestone rubble with a possible priest's chamber at the West end. The wall construction different from that of the nearby priory suggesting a different date for the construction of this building. It may have been a late medieval parish church associated with the village of Toomevara. It is listed in the ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Killaloe in 1302.

Augustinian Priory

Next to St Joseph's Church are the remains of an Augustinian priory dedicated to St Mary which was founded some time after 1140. The site was possibly an earlier monastic centre dedicated to St Donain. The priory was a daughterhouse of Monaincha and appears to have been strongly associated with the ruling O'Meara dynasty. In 1450 the warden pleaded that, on account of poverty, the value being under 16 marks he and his convent could not be decently maintained, nor repair the cloister and other buildings, most of which had been burnt down during wars. Donogh O'Meara was building a castle here in 1541. In 1597 Miler mac Grath was granted the 'site, circuit and precint of the late priory of Thome' with a 'butt of a ruined castle with certain ruined chambers thatched'. At the dissolution the property of the priory of Toomevara is listed as 'one castle, wall and other buildings on the site'.

Gallery

Toomyvara_St._Joseph%27s_Church_Nave_and_Altar_2010_09_08.jpg, Nave and Altar of St Joseph's Toomyvara_Priory_North_Wall_2010_09_08.jpg, North Wall of Toomyvara Priory Toomyvara_Priory_Nave_2010_09_08.jpg, Nave of Toomyvara Priory ToomevaraChurch 4578.jpg, Former Church of Ireland church on Toomevara Main St

References

External links

Toomevara Settlement Plan
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe Towns and villages in County Tipperary