placenamesIrishtown
An Baile Gaelach
Irishtown, on Clonmel's western side, preserves a parish history expressed in St Mary's church, its benefactors and the Franciscans who once lived in the district.
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
- An Baile Gaelach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Irishtown · English · main form
Place & story
From a thatched chapel to St Mary’s
St Mary's parish history traces its Irishtown place of worship to a thatched chapel on the site from 1660. Plans for the present church were agreed in November 1836, and the completed building was blessed by Bishop O'Brien on 12 October 1856. Its construction drew stone from Kilmacomma and Mullinahone. The parish itself had divided in 1836, when SS Peter and Paul's became a separate parish elsewhere in Clonmel. [2]
Gifts in stone and plaster
Local benefactors helped furnish the new church. A legacy from Irishtown resident Nicholas Cott's estate in 1854 funded the stucco ceiling. William Hudson provided the high altar, designed by George Goldie and completed in 1867. Its materials included Portland stone, Aberdeen granite and marble from Cork and Connemara. The belfry followed in 1885 and the portico in 1890, showing how the church continued to develop long after its first blessing. [2]
The Franciscans in Irishtown
The Irish Franciscans' own account places members of the order in Irishtown after the Restoration of 1660. During the eighteenth century they assisted the parish clergy in the parish church. Their Irishtown residence was one stage in a longer, disrupted Clonmel history: the order later recovered its old friary site and reopened it for Catholic worship in 1828. The distinction matters locally, because the later friary buildings belong to a separate site from St Mary's. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Irishtown. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- History: St Mary’s Parish Irishtown, Clonmel · St Mary’s Parish, Clonmel
- Clonmel: former friary history · Irish Franciscans
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.