placenamesBurren
Boirinn
The County Down village’s recorded history links a nineteenth-century church with the development of one of Ulster’s successful football clubs.
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
- Boirinn · Irish · main form · validated name
- Burren · English · main form
Place & story
Building St Mary’s
St Mary’s Church was built between 1829 and 1833 under Peter Murphy, administrator of the larger Clonallon parish. The Hall family provided an acre for the church and burial ground, together with a financial contribution. Michael Keenan’s parish history records Murphy publicly acknowledging the gift in the Newry Examiner in November 1830, when worship at Burren was still taking place outdoors. Major alterations followed in 1939–40, and another restoration ended with rededication in May 2004. [2]
A separate parish in 1984
Burren had its own church long before it became an independent parish. St Mary’s Clonallon was established on 25 January 1984, as the former Clonallon parish was divided around Burren, Mayobridge and Warrenpoint. James Woods, previously curate at Burren, became its first parish priest. The distinction matters locally: the church’s history reaches back to 1833, while the parish organisation familiar today dates from the late twentieth century. [2]
The club’s early years
St Mary’s GAA club was formed in 1924, won a junior county title in 1930 and, after disbanding during the 1940s, reformed in 1949. Its first senior county title came in 1966, the year its main St Mary’s Park field opened. The club’s history links this breakthrough with a strong younger generation that had won three successive minor titles between 1958 and 1960. [3]
All-Ireland success
The 1980s brought Burren’s best-known football achievements. Tommy McGovern captained the club to the All-Ireland title in 1986, defeating Castleisland Desmonds in the final. A second title followed in 1988 against Clann na nGael. The club’s account places those victories within years of county and Ulster success, and remembers the dedication of players, mentors and volunteers. Paddy O’Rourke, another Burren player, later captained Down to the 1991 All-Ireland county title. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Down
- Barony
- Iveagh Upper, Upper Half
- Civil parish
- Clonallan
- Coordinates
- 54.12533, -6.25606 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1413223 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Burren. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Parish of St Mary’s, Clonallon: Burren · Michael Keenan; diocesan parish history reproduced by Lisburn.com
- St Mary’s Burren: Club History · Brian McAvoy, St Mary’s GAA Club Burren
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2019-10-08. How this page was prepared.