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Templenoe

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"TEMPLENOE, or NEW CHURCH, a parish, in the barony of DUNKERRON, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (W.S.W.) from Kenmare, on the road to Sneem; containing 3882 inhabitants. It is situated on the northern shore or estuary or bay of Kenmare, from which it extends towards the base of the mountains of Mangerton and Mac Guillicuddy's Reeks, and is bounded on the east by the river Finihy, and on the west by the Blackwater, both flowing into Kenmare bay. Near the shore are the ruins of the ancient castle of Dunkerron (once the chief seat of the O'Sullivan Mores), which gives name to the barony.
The parish consists chiefly of mountain and bog; about one-sixth of it is under tillage; two-sixths are irreclaimable rocky mountain, affording, however, coarse pasturage; and the reamining three-sixths are capable of reclamation: there are about 130 acres of woodland. Limestone exists on the islands of Cappanacoss and Dunkerron, and on the contiguous shore, and indications of copper are to be seen at Gortamullen; sea-weed collected in the hay is generally used for manure. Some of the inhabitants are employed in fishing and dredging for lobsters. The Spaniards are said to have formerly carried on an extensive fishery in this bay, and there still exist on the opposite shore the remains of several long, low buildings erected by them and bearing the name of "fish palaces".
The parish is in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and is a rectory and vicarage, forming part of the union of Kilcrohane: the tithes amount to £22.6.1¾. The church a small plain building, situated about three-quarters of a mile to the west of the ancient edifice, was erected in 1816, at an expense of £700...
In the R.C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Kenmare: the ruins of the old church have been converted into a chapel." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis (1837)]
 

"TEMPLENOE, a parish in the barony of Dunkerron, county Kerry, province of Munster, Ireland, 1 mile W.S.W. of Kenmare. Sneem is its post town. The surface includes a large proportion of mountain and bog. The parish, which is crossed by the road from Kenmare to Sneem, is bounded on the N. by the river Kenmare, and on the E. and the W. by the rivers Tinitry and Blackwater. There is a police station. Petty sessions are held on the first Wednesday in each month. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, value with Kilcrohane £355, in the patronage of the crown. The church was erected in 1816, partly by means of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits. In the Roman Catholic arrangement the parish is united to Kenmare. There are three schools. Dunkerrin and Dromore are the chief residences. Limestone is quarried at the islands of Cappancus and Dunkerron, and fishing is carried on to a small extent. Here are the ruins of Dunkerron and Cappancus castles."

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Census

Note: The Civil Parish of Templenoe ceased to be used for census purposes in the mid nineteenth century when District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) were introduced.

Templenoe was divided between the DEDs of:

  • Dromore (Cappanacush East, Cappanacush West, Capparoe, Coomnakilla North, Coomnakilla South, Derreendarragh, Dromore, Dromore Old, Gowlane, Lackeen, Maulnagower, Reacashlagh townlands.)
  • Greenane (Derreenfinlehid, Dromcunnia, Gearhasallagh, Graignagower, Greenane, Lacka, Letter, Maulnahorna, Rossacoosane, Slieveaduff townlands.)
  • Kenmare (Gortamullin, Tubbrid townlands.)
  • Reen (Carrig East, Carrig West (nil), Claddanure East, Claddanure West, Derrynafunsha, Dunkerron, Eirk, Reen townlands.)
  • Loughbrin (Bealdarrig, Graignagreana, Bohacullia, Cappa, Coomlumminy, Cooracoosane, Derreeny, Derrygarrane North, Derrygarrane South, Derrylicka, Derrynablaha, Gearha North, Gearha South, Gortacloghane, Gortbrack, Inchinglanna, Maulyneill, Scarteen, Tooreennafersha, Tooreennahone townlands.)

The National Archives of Ireland has scans of the 1901 and 1911 census online:

1901 Census Dromore DED
1901 Census Greenane DED
1901 Census Kenmare DED
1901 Census Reen DED
1901 Census Loughbrin DED

1911 Census Dromore DED
1911 Census Greenane DED
1911 Census Kenmare DED
1911 Census Reen DED 
1911 Census Loughbrin DED

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Church History

The parish of Templenoe was combined with neighbouring parishes at an early period in both the established Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic church.

In the Church of Ireland Templenoe was combined with various other parishes as the incumbent minister changed. From 1678 - 1682 the parish was held with Kilcrohane, reforming a seperate parish in 1682. From 1702 to 1809 it was combined with Kenmare, Tuosist and Kilcrohane. From 1809 to 1875 Templenoe was part of Kilcrohane Union. In 1875 the Union was dissolved, and Templenoe united to Kenmare. In 1924 this became the Union of Kenmare, Templenoe and Kilgarvan. This has since been enlarged to become the Union of Kenmare and Dromod.

The medieval parish church was in Greenane townland, and the ruins of it remain in the burial ground there.

A new Church of Ireland church was built in 1816, in a different location. This church was deconsecrated and became "The Vestry Restaurant" in 1993. After closing and falling into disrepair, it is now holiday accommodation. The airbnb site has some photographs of the church. Since the closure of Templenoe church, the area has been served by the church at Kenmare.

In the Roman Catholic Church by 1819 the parish of Templenoe, Kenmare and Douros had been established. The parish appears to have been renamed Kenmare and Templenoe by 1839. In 1876 the parish was slightly enlarged.

The earliest Catholic chapel was established at the original parish church site, using the north wall of the Medieval chuch as part of the structure. This was abandoned and dismantled when a new church was built, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.

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Church Records

The Church of Ireland registers for the parish of Kilcrohane only survive for marriages for the years 1846-1930. No baptismal or burial records now exist as they were destroyed in the fire at the Four Courts in 1922.

These registers are held at the Representative Church Body Library, Braemor Park, Rathgar, Dublin 14 (reference P.0256.03).

Roman Catholic parish registers for both baptisms and marriages begin on 1st January 1819. There are gaps in the registers, however: births from March 1824 to January 1826 and marriages from July 1838 to January 1839 are missing. The registers remain in the custody of the parish priest, although microfilm copies are at the National Library of Ireland and can be viewesd online from the following link: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0666

 

 

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Templenoe which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for this parish from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

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Maps

A Map showing the Townlands of Kenmare from Rootsweb


These pages are intended for personal use only, so please respect the conditions of use. 


[Last updated 14-Aug-2005 04:49 PM by Laurence Jones.]

You can see maps centred on OSI grid reference V8172373700 (Lat/Lon: 51.903434, -9.719232), Templenoe which are provided by: