Brosna () is a village and parish situated in the

Sliabh Luachra Sliabh Luachra (), sometimes anglicised Slieve Logher, is an upland region in Munster, Ireland. It is on the borders of counties County Cork, Cork, County Kerry, Kerry and County Limerick, Limerick, and bounded to the south by the Munster Blackw ...

area of

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It lies from the town of

Castleisland Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Castleisland had a population of 2,5 ...

. The

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Brosna consists of the village and a number of

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

s. It is a mainly agricultural area, supporting two churches, two schools, a post office, and five public houses.

Geography

Brosna is a village in north east County Kerry. A number of Munster rivers have their sources in the parish, including the Clydagh, the Braonach, and the

Munster Blackwater The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater (, The Great River) is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction across Co ...

. The highest point is Mount Eagle. It is in the barony of

Trughanacmy Trughanacmy () is a barony in County Kerry, Ireland. The barony is an obsolete administrative area, having ceased to have any government function since the enactment of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.https://www.logainm.ie/ga/87 In 18 ...

. Crochaun Mountain is above sea level. Brosna lies close to the Cork/Kerry and Kerry/Limerick borders, and neighbouring towns include

and Knocknagoshel in Kerry,

Abbeyfeale Abbeyfeale (; ) is a historic market town in County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Kerry. The town is on the N21 road from Limerick to Tralee, some south-west of Newcastle West and south-east of Listowel and north-east of Tra ...

and

Mountcollins Mountcollins () is a village in the extreme south west of County Limerick, Ireland, barely 100 metres from the border with County Kerry and just a mile from County Cork. The River Feale runs parallel to the village and is fed by the Caher River ...

in Limerick, and Ballydesmond and Rockchapel in Cork.

History

In Samuel Lewis's 1837 ''Topographical Dictionary of Ireland'', Brosna was recorded as having 2168 inhabitants in 18,013 statute acres. The same entry notes that a "large portion of the land consisted of coarse mountain pasture and bog, the greater part of which might be reclaimed". As of the first half of the 19th century, there were 2 private schools in the area, in which approximately 120 children were educated. Lewis also records that the

Whiteboys The Whiteboys () were a secret Irish agrarian organisation in 18th-century Ireland which defended tenant-farmer land-rights for subsistence farming. Their name derives from the white smocks that members wore in their nighttime raids. Becaus ...

(an agrarian organisation involved in "disturbances" in support of tenant farmer rights) were active in the area in the 1820s. The placename of ''Brosna'' or ''Brosnach'' may translate from the Irish for dried wood or fire wood.

Church and well

A thatched church was built about 1800 in the grounds of the graveyard near the present church. The present church of "St Moling & St Carthage" was built in 1868 to designs by architect George Ashlin. This church is in

gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, and built with sandstone rubble walls and limestone ashlar dressings. The church is dedicated to

Saint Moling Saint Mo Ling (614–697), also named Moling Luachra, was the second Bishop of Ferns in Ireland and has been said to be "one of the four great prophets of Erin". He founded a monastery at St Mullin's, County Carlow. Also in the 7th century, St. ...

, and was reputedly built from stone quarried from the lands in Knopoge, with local farmers bringing the stone to the site by horse and cart. Many of the stained glass windows were donated by parishioners. The design of the marble altar is attributed to

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

. The marble altar rails are newer, and were donated by Denis Guiney in 1946, in memory of his parents Cornelius and Julia Guiney. Denis Guiney (1893–1967) was a native of Brosna, and had been a long-term operator of the

Guineys Guineys (), is a chain of Irish department stores founded in June 1971. The chain specialises in homewares, menswear, womenswear and children's clothing. They have 11 stores in Ireland, located in Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Castlebar, Tralee ...

and

Clerys Clerys was a long-established department store on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland, a focal point of the street. The business dates from 1853, however the current building dates from 1922, the original having been completely destroyed in the 1916 ...

stores in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. The church's stone presbytery was also built in the late 1860s. The presbytery was restored in 1998, and a restoration on the church itself was completed in 2010. Also close to Brosna, in the foothills of

, is a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

associated with

. The well is reputedly close to the spot where Saint Moling (c.614–697) was born. The well has been a place of pilgrimage over the years, with visits to the well traditionally occurring every Saturday in May.

Sport

The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA) club, Brosna GAA, is primarily a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club. Established in 1888, the club participates in the North Kerry Senior Football Championship. The club won the 2014–15 All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship.

References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Kerry Civil parishes of County Kerry

Geography

History

Church and well

Sport

See also

References