St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church is the parish church of

Kilmore, County Wexford Kilmore or Killmore (), locally pronounced 'Kilmoor', is a village in south County Wexford, Ireland, about from Wexford town. Kilmore is in a civil parish of the same name. History The village's English name, Kilmore, derives from the Irish ...

in the southeast of Ireland. Dating to the early 19th century, it has been included on the

Record of Protected Structures Conservation in the Republic of Ireland is overseen by a number of statutory and non-governmental agencies, including those with responsibility for Historic preservation, conservation of the built environment and Environmental protection, conservat ...

Wexford County Council Wexford County Council () is the local authority of County Wexford, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning an ...

History

The church was built to designs of William Day between 1798 and 1802. Later additions include a tower in 1889, an annexe in 1898, and a later vestry in 1935. Some of the later additions are attributed to the architect Thomas Joseph Cullen (1879-1947), with the stained glass in the east window (dated to 1884) attributed to the stained-glass artist Lucien-Léopold Lobin (1837–92).

Choral tradition

A tradition of carol singing, at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, has taken place locally since the mid 18th century. The carols, written in the

Yola language Yola, more commonly and historically the Forth and Bargy dialect, is an extinct dialect of the Middle English language once spoken in the baronies of Forth and Bargy in County Wexford, Ireland. As such, it was probably similar to the Fingall ...

, have been "sung without a break" since they were introduced to the parish by Very Rev. Peter Devereux, who was parish priest . Some of the songs were written by Very Rev. William Devereux, P.P., Piercestown, a native of Tacumshane, where he is buried, while others were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge of

Ferns The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

. In all, there are thirteen carols, eight of which are usually sung during the Christmas period, the first at first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

and the last one on Sunday nearest Twelfth Day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Kilmore, County Wexford Religious buildings and structures in County Wexford Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns Churches completed in 1802 19th-century churches in the Republic of Ireland