Bruff () is a town in east

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, in the midwest of

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 ...

, located on the old

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

–

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

road ( R512). The town lies on the

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

river, with two bridges in the town itself. The horseshoe lake of

Lough Gur Lough Gur () is a lake in County Limerick, Ireland between the towns of Herbertstown and Bruff. The lake forms a horseshoe shape at the base of Knockadoon Hill and some rugged elevated countryside. It is one of Ireland's most important archaeo ...

is nearby. The town is in a

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 ...

and

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 the same name.

Name

The town's official name in Irish is ''An Brú'', historically written as ''Brugh''. Older spellings in English, dating from 1200 onward, include Brun, Bruun, Bruin, Brugh, Browe, and Broff, Brown, Braun, Braff, Bruno, Bruneau, and An Bru’ because of its close association with the Anglo-Norman De Lacy family. The town's name was also rendered in Irish as ''Brú an Léisigh''; it is believed that a modern name for the town, ''Brú na nDéise'', is a corruption of this name that was popularised from the early 1900s on.

History

Historical artefacts found around the area date back to the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, with various buildings up to the early Christian era still extant. In the sixteenth century, Bruff was granted to the Standish family, from whom it passed by inheritance to the Hartstonge Baronets, and ultimately to the

Earl of Limerick Earl of Limerick is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, associated first with the Dongan family, then with the Pery family. It should not be confused with the title Viscount of the City of Limerick (usually shortened ...

. The town was the site of heavy fighting in the

Battle of Killmallock The Battle of Kilmallock took place between 25 July and 5 August 1922 in County Limerick, Ireland. It was one of the largest engagements of the Irish Civil War. It consisted of ten days of fighting in the countryside round Kilmallock in Coun ...

during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

. Near the Catholic Church, there is a large statue of Sean Wall, commander of the East Limerick

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

and chairman of Limerick County Council until his death on 6May 1921 during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. The former seat of the

O'Grady family The O'Grady family, also styled O'Grady of Kilballyowen, is one of Ireland's noble families and surviving Chiefs of the Name. Their title is ''The O'Grady'' in English and ''Ó Gráda'' in Irish. Naming conventions History They belong to the ...

, Kilballyowen, is near Bruff. Bruff is also the hometown of the American missionary and bishop

John Joseph Hogan Bishop John Joseph Hogan (May 10, 1829 – February 21, 1913) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Joseph in Missouri (1868 to 1880) and the first bishop of the Diocese ...

(1829–1913). The US President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

was a descendant of the Fitzgeralds of Bruff. His daughter,

Caroline Kennedy Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American author, diplomat, and attorney who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to Australia, United States ambassador to Australia from 2022 to 2024. She previously serv ...

, visited the town in 2013.

Sport

The town has

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), Pitch & Putt, hockey, soccer, and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

clubs. The rugby club, Bruff R.F.C., is the home club of John Hayes, the Ireland rugby union international. The GAA club,

Bruff GAA Bruff is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Bruff, County Limerick, Ireland. The club was founded in 1887 and fields teams in both hurling and Gaelic football. Honours * Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship The Limeri ...

, won the

Limerick Intermediate Hurling Championship The Limerick Intermediate Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association for the third tier hurling teams in County Limerick, Ireland. The series of games are play ...

in 2014. Bruff is also home to

Limerick F.C. Limerick Football Club was an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland who played in the League of Ireland and currently have teams competing in the underage National League of Ireland. The first Limerick Football Club was founded ...

's Kirby O'Sullivan Sports, Social and Business Park.

Development and economy

Bruff town has been classified as a satellite town of Limerick City. Expansion plans for the town were laid out in the development plan published by

Limerick County Council Limerick County Council () was the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council had 28 elected ...

in 2012. Ard Scoil Mhuire, the only secondary school in the town, has been closed down, its former campus is now home to the Kirby O'Sullivan Sports, Social and Business Park. There are several

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, restaurants, shops (including a Eurospar and

Centra Centra is a convenience shop chain that operates throughout Ireland. The chain operates as a symbol group owned by Musgrave Group, the food wholesaler, meaning the individual shops are all owned by individual franchisees. The chain has three ...

), a pharmacy and a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

in the town.

Tourism

Bruff's Cultural and Arts Society organises an Annual Summer Festival, an event held annually since its inception in 2006. It includes the Morning Star Rose Competition and the Morning Star Escort Competition (since 2008). The Sean Wall Committee organise a "

Bloomsday Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Joyce's 1922 novel ''Ulysses (novel), Ulysses' ...

in Bruff" festival every year on 16 June. A number of murals have been painted on the walls of buildings in the town. Accommodation in the town is provided in what used to be the old AIB Bank, known as "The Old Bank", which had also served as the Garda station in the town.

People

James David Bourchier James David Bourchier (18 December 1850 at Baggotstown, near Bruff in County Limerick – 30 December 1920 in Sofia, Bulgaria) was an Irish journalist and political activist. He lived in Sofia from 1892 to 1915. Bourchier was an honourable m ...

(1850–1920), journalist, Balkans correspondent of

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

* Paul Browne (b. 1989), hurler * George Clancy (1881–1921),

Mayor of Limerick The Mayor of Limerick is the head of the local government of the Limerick, City and County Limerick, County of Limerick. It is a directly elected office with a five-year term. Following the 2024 Limerick mayoral election, John Moran (Mayor of Li ...

* George Clancy (b. 1977), international rugby union referee. * John Crimmin (1859–1945),

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient *

Marie Curtin Marie Claire Curtin (born 7 August 1985) is a former professional footballer who played for Republic of Ireland women's national football team. Curtin played for several clubs in the Women's National League (Ireland), Women's National League, i ...

(b. 1985), Republic of Ireland women's international footballer * Seán Finn (b. 1996), hurler * Anthony O'Riordan (b. 1966), hurler

References

External links

Visit Bruff
(archived 2024) {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick Towns and villages in County Limerick Townlands of County Limerick Civil parishes of County Limerick