Old St. Mary's Church, also known as St. Mary's

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Church, is a medieval church in

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, Ireland. It is believed to have been built in 1204 by

William de Burgh William de Burgh ( , ; ; –winter 1205/06) was the founder of the House of Burgh (later surnamed Burke or Bourke) in Ireland and elder brother of Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely. William is often given ...

, and was referenced in a letter dated August 1228. The entire over ground 13th-century structure has disappeared, but the remains of an armored knight were found in a vault from that period, under the south aisle, in 1832. The church, as it stands today, was built and added to during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. The church's main features are a 27 ft square, 84 ft high bell tower, the eastern tower house, and ornate 16th-century east and west windows. Major renovations were undertaken on the building in 1805. The tower had, at one time, a wooden spire and belfry, which has not been restored. Crenellated parapets suggest that this was a fortified structure. Cromwell's attack on the town in the mid-17th century cost the church its tower house (today's vestry); the rest of the church was unscathed.

Burials in the church

* James Louis O'Donel, first

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

References

External links

Buildings and structures in Clonmel Fortified church buildings Church of Ireland church buildings in the Republic of Ireland Churches in County Tipperary {{Ireland-church-stub