Lorrha (from ) is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

at the northern tip of

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) 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 afte ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is located on a minor road between the R489 Birr to

Portumna Portumna ( - meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with and linked by a bridge to County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shanno ...

road and the N65

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 ...

to Portumna road about five kilometres east of the point where the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

enters Lough Derg. It is also the name of a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

and a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the historical barony of

Ormond Lower Ormond Lower ( Irish: ''Urumhain Íochtarach'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Nenagh. The barony lies between Ormond Upper to the south-east ...

. The civil parish borders Portumna in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

and Birr in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hon ...

History

In 843 a

Norse Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nor ...

expedition led by

Turgesius Turgesius (died 845) (also called Turgeis, Tuirgeis, Turges, and Thorgest) was a Viking chief active in Ireland during the 9th century. Turgesius Island, the principal island on Lough Lene, is named after him. It is not at all clear whether the nam ...

raided Lorrha and the neighbouring settlement of

Terryglass Terryglass () is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The small town is located on the R493 regional road on the north-eastern shore of Lough Derg near where the River Shannon enters the Lough. It is a civil parish in the historical barony o ...

. Close to an historic crossing point of the

, the area has a long history of bridges and ferry crossings. The present Portumna bridge dates from 1911 (opening section replaced October 2008 )

Ecclesiastic ruins

Lorrha has a rich ecclesiastical history evidenced by the ruins within the village. Beside the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Church (c. 1912), at the south of the village are the remains of a Dominican

Friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

founded in the 13th century by Walter de Burgh,

Earl of Ulster The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's elde ...

. To the east of the village stands the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second l ...

on the site of St. Ruadhan's church which was built c. 1000 AD and was itself built on the site of St. Ruadhan's

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

, founded in the 6th century. Remains of two 8th-century

high cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

es stand in the churchyard. The Augustinian Abbey founded in the 12th century by the Order of Canons Regular stands nearby. The carved head over the door is thought to represent the wife of Walter De Burgh. Water for the monastic settlement was supplied from St. Ruadhan's well located south of the road that passes the present Church of Ireland cemetery. Lorrha Priory of St

The Lorrha Missal, a translation of the Latin and Gaelic Missal was transcribed at Lorrha in the 9th century. It is now commonly known as the Stowe Missal.

Annalstic references

See

Annals of Inisfallen Annals ( la, wikt:annales, annāles, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The natur ...

* ''AI707.2 Colmán, abbot of Lothra, rested.'' * ''AI747a.1 Kl. Repose of Dúngal, abbot of Lothra. The slaying of Aed Dub.'' * ''AI780.1 Kl. Repose of Ailill, abbot of Lothra.'' * ''AI809.1 Kl. Coibdenach the learned, abbot of Lothra, ested'' * ''AI1015.10 The vacating of Imlech Ibuir, and the invasion of Lothra.''

Notable buildings

* Lackeen Castle, A Kennedy stronghold occasionally open to the public (built 12th century, rebuilt 16th century). It was here that the Lorrha Missal was rediscovered inside a stone wall in the 18th century. *

Redwood Castle Redwood Castle (also known as ''Egan Castle'' or ''Caislean Choillte Rua'' in Irish) is a Norman castle near Lorrha in County Tipperary, Ireland. The castle was built by the Normans around 1200 AD, and was occupied by them until , when the Mac A ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

(built c. 1200). *

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital o ...

. Small country house (built c. 1840 adjoining earlier structure). *The

features a stained glass window from the

An Túr Gloine An Túr Gloine (; Irish for "The Glass Tower") was a cooperative studio for stained glass and '' opus sectile'' artists from 1903 until 1944, based in Dublin, Ireland. History An Túr Gloine was conceived of in late 1901 and established January ...

studio by Michael Healy depicting ''The Holy Women at the Tomb'' (1918).

Religion

For those residents of a Christian faith Lorrha has both an active Roman Catholic and Anglican church. Lorrha is an

ecclesiastical 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 m ...

in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe The Diocese of Killaloe ( ; ga, Deoise Chill Dalua) is a Roman Catholic diocese in mid-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly. The cathedral church of the diocese is the Cathedral of ...

Sport and recreation

Lorrha–Dorrha is the local GAA sports club. Several well known players have had Lorrha–Dorrha connections, see notable people below. Lorrha is on the route of the Ormond Way which forms part of the Beara-Breifne Way, a long distance walking and cycling trail from 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 its ...

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 ar ...

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 tow ...

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 ...

Representation

Lorrha East and Lorrha West are both in the Dáil constituency of

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...

which incorporates 24 electoral divisions that were previously in the Tipperary North Dáil constituency.

Notable people

* Ruadán mac Fergusa Birn, 6th century founder and first abbot of the monastery of Lorrha. * Cú Connacht mac Dundach, King of

Síol Anmchadha Síol Anmchadha was a sub-kingdom or lordship of Uí Maine, and ruled by an offshoot of the Uí Maine called the Síol Anmchadha (''"the seed of Anmchadh"''), from whom the territory took its name. It was located in Connacht, Ireland. Histo ...

, (died 1006 near Lorrha). *

Martin O'Meara Martin O'Meara, VC (6 November 1885 – 20 December 1935) was an Irish-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life ...

VC (born 1882 in Sharragh, Lorrha), recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. * Martin Charles Reddington (born 1919), retired Irish sportsperson who played hurling for Lorrha-Dorrha GAA. * Liam King (born 1940 in Lorrha) retired Irish sportsperson. * John McIntyre (born 1961 in Lorrha) Irish hurling manager and former player. * James Kenneth Hogan (born 1963 in Lorrha), current Irish hurling manager and former player. * Patrick (Bonner) Maher (born 1989), current Irish sportsperson playing on the Tipperary senior hurling team.

External links

Lorrha Development association

References

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe Towns and villages in County Tipperary Townlands of County Tipperary Civil parishes of Ormond Lower Tourist attractions in County Tipperary