placenamesHollyford
Áth an Chuilinn
Hollyford’s history reaches from a surviving mine chimney to the recollections of Volunteers and the career of local-born TD Phil Shanahan.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Áth an Chuilinn · Irish · main form · validated name
- Hollyford · English · main form
Place & story
A chimney from the copper industry
A limestone chimney at Reafadda survives from the Hollyford copper mines. Built around 1850, it has a circular plan and a sharply tapering outline. The national architectural inventory draws attention to its unusually squat appearance compared with other mining chimneys in South Tipperary. The structure is a surviving industrial landmark from the period when copper extraction brought a different kind of work to this rural district. [2]
The barracks that resisted surrender
Volunteer William Hanly recalled the attack on Hollyford’s RIC barracks in his later Bureau of Military History statement. Fire consumed much of the building, but the police took shelter in a substantial stone porch that would not burn. Hanly described the attackers withdrawing in daylight as ammunition ran low and reinforcements became a concern. The garrison did not surrender during the assault, although the police were withdrawn from Hollyford soon afterwards. [3]
Phil Shanahan, from Hollyford to the First Dáil
Phil Shanahan was born at Hollyford in 1874 and later established a Dublin public house on Foley Street. He served in the Jacob’s factory garrison during the 1916 Rising and was interned afterwards. In the 1918 election he defeated Alfie Byrne in Dublin’s Harbour Division and became a member of the First Dáil. After his political career and business declined, Shanahan returned to Foilmacduff, Hollyford, in 1928. He died in November 1931. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Tipperary
- Barony
- Kilnamanagh Upper
- Civil parish
- Toem
- Coordinates
- 52.63500, -8.10710 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 67211 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Hollyford. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Hollyford Copper Mines: register 22204501 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Witness statement WS 1368, page 9 · William Hanly, Bureau of Military History
- Biographical Note — Phil Shanahan, Hollyford and Dublin · Seán Hogan, People, Politics and War, 12 March 2025
- Credit union building, Hollyford, County Tipperary illustration: based on a Hollyford, County Tipperary by Sarah777. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.