placenamesRathnure
Ráth an Iúir
Rathnure’s church and sporting institutions document a rural community at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Ráth an Iúir · Irish · main form · validated name
- Rathnure · English · main form
Place & story
Saint Anne’s Church
Saint Anne’s Catholic Church was built in 1859–1860 and bears the date 1859. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes a rectangular, single-cell building with granite walls and a slate roof. Cut-granite coping stones and crosses finish the gables. Its masonry and roof details preserve the character of a substantial nineteenth-century parish church, later adapted through the reordering of its sanctuary. [2]
The club’s early successes
Rathnure St Anne’s GAA Club dates its foundation to 1931, with championship participation beginning the following year. The club won the junior hurling championship in 1940. After losing senior finals in 1942, 1946 and 1947, it secured its first senior title against St Aidan’s of Enniscorthy in 1948. Those results mark the emergence of the club as a force in Wexford hurling. [3]
Players and sporting buildings
The club’s own history identifies Nicky, Billy and Bobby Rackard, the Quigley brothers and Martin Codd among its sporting associations. Nicky Rackard Park carries one of those names into the local landscape. The Martin Codd Arena, opened in 2009, provided an enclosed space for hurling. A trophy and meeting room commemorates Syl Barron, linking the club’s buildings with successive generations of players and supporters. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Rathnure. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint Anne’s Catholic Church, NIAH15701819 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Club History, Rathnure St Anne’s · Rathnure St Anne’s GAA Club
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.