Ballyhoura Heritage Information Centre

The Ballyhoura Heritage Information Centre is located in Friars’ Gate Theatre. This centre is designed to provide the visitor with a taste of the heritage themes and attractions present in the Ballyhoura Region. The Ballyhoura Heritage Information Centre is unique in that it interprets the heritage themes of the Ballyhoura Region predominantly through the medium of art. The sculptures, paintings and cast aluminium pieces have been created by local artists. The centre houses a collection of books relevant the heritage of the area. A small film library is also present in the centre and films can be viewed by groups on a pre-booked basis. These films include an interview with Eamon DeValera on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, a documentary exploring the opinions of the people of Co. Limerick in relation to the formation of the Golden Vale Co-op and "Secret Sights" plotting social evolution in Ireland in the nineteenth century. In depth information on the heritage themes of the area can be accessed by means of our touch screen digital information kiosk. Information is accessed by heritage theme or by geographic location.

Dominican Priory

The Priory or "Abbey" as it is called locally, was founded in 1291 on land which the Dominicans acquired with Royal consent from John Bluet, who owned property in the town. The Church has a nave (the main part of the Church where the congregation sat) and a chancel (where the altar was sited), both original late 13th century features, while the early l4th century saw the addition of a south transept, a tall bell-tower halfway along the Church's length and an aisle on both the south side of the nave and the west side of the transept.

Kilmallock Town Wall

Kilmallock is a Walled Town with almost seventy percent of the wall standing today. Kilmallock is fortunate in having the line of its defences preserved for almost the entire circuit of the town. It is particularly impressive along the west side of the town where it survives for nearly 600m. Elsewhere it remains to ground level or exists as a low wall rebuilt by succeeding generations. It is evident everywhere, however, as it is incorporated into the property boundaries and a single glance at a modern map of Kilmallock will show the extent of the medieval town. The layout of the medieval streets has also survived relatively intact.

Collegiate Church

This Collegiate Church, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. was built in the 13th century. It was served by a College — a community of clerics, which differed from a monastic community in that it did not follow a monastic rule.

Famine Memorial Park

In July 1839, the Kilmallock Board of Guardians decided to build a workhouse in Kilmallock. This was completed early in 1840 and the first of the destitute, 30 in number, were admitted in March 1841. There was a rapid increase in the number of persons in the workhouse during the Famine Years. Countless famine victims were buried in the workhouse burial ground known as "Bully's Acre". The Famine Memorial Park is a dignified and fitting testimony to their memory. In the centre of the Park stands a tall limestone structure, with a large limestone cross inset in it. It was officially opened by President Mary McAlesse on 9th June 1999. *

Martyrs' Monument

Patrick O'Healy was born about 1545 in Co Leitrim and became a Franciscan, and was educated at the university of Alcalá in Spain. He seems to have spent some time in Rome - perhaps sent there with letters from King Philip II of Spain requesting help from Pope Gregory XIII for an invasion of Ireland. It may have been while he was there that he was made bishop of Mayo in 1576. He spent some time in Paris where he took part in public disputations at the university, amazing his hearers by his mastery of patristic and controversial theology, as well as of Scotist philosophy.

In autumn, 1579, he sailed from Brittany and arrived off the coast of Kerry. Whether aware of it or not, they were seen as part of the invasion force of Spaniards and Italians with James Fitzmaurice Earl of Desmond which had landed at Smerwick harbour. After Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth in 1571 Desmond spent some time on the continent intriguing with King Philip II of Spain and Pope Gregory XIII to make Ireland a kingdom allied under Spain with the Pope's illegitimate son a possible candidate for King. Along with fellow Franciscan Father Conn O'Rourke, who was from the ruling house of Breifne, they were captured at Askeaton and brought to Limerick. Sir William Drury, Elizabethan President of Munster and the Chief Justice offered to promote him if he would take the Oath of Supremacy. He refused, was tried and found guilty of treason.

Kilmallock Union Workhouse

The new Kilmallock Union workhouse was erected in 1839-40 on a seven-acre site at the south-east of Kilmallock. Designed by the Poor Law Commissioners' architect George Wilkinson, the buildings were planned to accommodate 800 inmates. Its construction cost £7,000 plus £1,212 for fittings etc. The workhouse was declared fit for the reception of paupers on 18th February 1841, and received its first admissions on 29th March. The main accommodation block had the Master's quarters at the centre, with male and female wings to each side. At the rear, a range of single-storey utility rooms such as bakehouse and washhouse connected through to the infirmary and idiots' wards via a central spine containing the chapel and dining-hall.

Church of Saints Peter & Paul
Dr George Butler Bishop of Limerick laid the foundation stone of this magnificent Church on 6th July 1879 and it was officially opened in 1889. It is one of the finest examples of Parish Church architecture in Ireland, with its sympathetic adaptations of the outstanding architectural features and decorative motifs from the Collegiate Church and Dominican Priory symbolizing the heritage and continuity of the Christian faith in the parish. Other notable features of the church are the beautiful stained glass windows, the Rose window over the main entrance and the fine stonework.

Blossom Gate
The only surviving gate of the five town gates of Kilmallock, the present structure is probably 16th century. It is in excellent state of preservation and is one of the finest examples of a town gate to be found in the country. In medieval times, the original gate that stood on this site was called Bla Pat; this being a corruption of a bilingual name formed from the Irish word "Bla"—a flower and the French word "Port"—a gate. When both words are combined we get "Bla Port" or "Flower Gate"—hence the name Blossom Gate. *

John's Castle
Built in the 15th Century, the Castle is a fine example of a 'Peel' Tower. It is sixty feet high (20 metres) and is battlemented in the Irish style. The Castle has two wide arched openings on the ground floor and this has led to the suggestion that it was originally a town gate. Primarily a citadel, at other times it was also used as an arsenal during the war against Cromwell, the meeting place of Kilmallock Corporation, a school and a blacksmith's forge. *

Museum and Information Centre
It contains a model of the Kilmallock Norman town with commentary as well as a wide range of artifacts relating to Kilmallock's history. *

Fenian Monument
A Celtic cross was erected by the Lord Edward Fitzgerald branch of the National Commemoration Society in the centenary year of the 1798 Rising. The cross carries the names of the Fenians who fell in the Kilmallock barrack attack of 1867 or who died later of the hardships they endured in prison. *

Church of Ireland, St. Peter and Paul
Built of brick, designed by F. G. Hicks and opened in 1938. It has a very attractive interior. *

House where Aindrias Mac Craith died in 1795
He is widely acknowledged as the last great Gaelic Poet of the 18th century and his pen name—An Mangaire Sugach (The Merry Pedlar)—is well known in the annals of Irish Literature. *

Site of Market Cross
This was the central market area of a Norman town where proclamations and punishments were carried out. The cross was still standing as late as 1777. *

Riverside Park
A Linear Park of three acres beside the Lubagh River, giving magnificent views of the most notable historical buildings in the town eg. the Collegiate Church and the Dominican Abbey. It contains some good old trees and was developed by Limerick County Council in 1995. *

Stone Mansion
One such house survives in Sarsfield Street. The Civil Survey of Limerick 1654 contains a detailed account of all the houses in Kilmallock including Sarsfield Street, then described as High Street. The surviving house is probably 16th century, as one would expect it to have been erected, together with the other cut stone mansions that existed in High Street (Sarsfield Street) in the hey day of the Munster or Desmond Geraldines' power when Kilmallock was the chief town of the Earls of Desmond. *

* Courtesy of Shannon Region Tourism . Photographs, Noel O'Connor.

* See also Options International Tourism Development