Rearcross or Rear Cross () is a village in the

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 ...

of Reardnogy in

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 the R503

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Regional Road The term regional road (or route) is used in a number of places to designate roads of more than purely ''local'' but less than ''national'' strategic importance in a country's highway network. It is used formally and officially in reference to: *R ...

, in the

Slieve Felim Mountains The Slieve Felim Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Eibhlinne) are a mountain range in Munster, Ireland. They cover parts of County Limerick and County Tipperary. Historically, the name "Slieve Felim" meant the whole mountainous area between Murroe, Silv ...

. It is in 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 ...

parish of Kilcommon and Hollyford and Rearcross, in the

Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly ( ga, Ard-Deoise Chaisil agus Imligh) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in mid-western Ireland and the metropolis o ...

, and also in the historical barony of

Owney and Arra Owney and Arra ( Irish: ''Uaithne agus Ara'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Newport. The barony lies between Ormond Lower to the north (whos ...

Rearcross Church

Rearcross Church was designed by a Swiss architect for a Wesleyan congregation. It was a temporary structure situated in

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

and used by the mining community there. During the 1880s the community at Rearcross had to walk quite a distance to hear mass in the absence of a local church. At the time, diocesan funds were heavily committed to finishing the cathedral in

and with resources stretched the bishop dispatched the local priests on fund-raising drives to America. The parish priest in Rearcross, Fr. William J. McKeogh, on one such expedition succeeded in raising the sum of £4,400 in America while other priests returned with less. In the meantime, Fr. McKeogh somehow heard of the church in Northumbria, where the mining industry was going into decline. In 1887 he arranged to buy the church for £440, had it dismantled, imported to Limerick and transported by the local farmers of Rearcross to its present location. The site was donated by the Hogan family. The steps were built at the expense of the landlord, Lord Barrington, by his workmen from

Glenstal Abbey Glenstal Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation located in Murroe, County Limerick, Ireland. It is dedicated to Saint Joseph and Saint Columba. The current abbot of the monastery is Brendan Coffe ...

. The church is unique, having corrugated tin walls (the iron having been used during the Second World War) and roof, three galleries, a stained glass rose window in each gable and representations of two saints not usually the objects of Irish devotion - St. Thomas Aquinas and St. William. The names coincide with the first names of the priest donors. The church was renovated at the cost of €90,000 .

People

* Austin Flannery, priest

External links

Rearcross Church
- Buildings of Ireland

References

{{County Tipperary Owney and Arra Towns and villages in County Tipperary

Rearcross Church

People

External links

See also

References