placenamesClara
Clóirtheach
A surviving Quaker building records another side of the Goodbody family’s association with Clara.
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
- Clóirtheach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Clara · English · main form
Place & story
The meeting house on Tullamore Road
The former Society of Friends’ meeting house stands in Erry, Maryborough, on Tullamore Road. The architectural inventory dates it to 1867. A projecting entrance with a triangular pediment organises its modest, single-storey front. Round-headed windows retain branching timber glazing bars, while dressed limestone and curved iron entrance railings give the approach particular distinction. This religious building belongs alongside Clara’s factories in understanding the nineteenth-century town. [2]
From worship to music
In a talk delivered to Ireland Yearly Meeting in 2004, architectural historian David Butler identified Clara’s meeting house as a Goodbody family foundation. He recorded its use by Clara Musical Society as a meeting room. His dated observation provides evidence of a later community use while leaving the building recognisable, rather than implying that its original congregation continued unchanged. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Clara. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Clara Society of Friends’ Meeting House, NIAH14802017, surveyed28September2004 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- In and Out the Meeting House, talk deliveredIrelandYearlyMeeting2004; published13August2009 · David M. Butler, Religious Society of Friends in Ireland
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.