HOLYCROSS

In 1868, the parish of Holycross contained the following places:

"HOLYCROSS, a parish and post-office village in the baronies of Eliogarty and Middlethird, county Tipperary, province of Munster, Ireland, 2 miles S.W. of Thurles. It is 2½ miles long by 1½ mile broad. The parish lies in the valley of the river Suir, and is well cultivated. The road from Thurles to Cashel traverses the interior The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Cashel, value with two others, £173, in the patronage of the bishop. The church was built in 1821, by means of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits. The Roman Catholic chapel is united to that of Ballycahill. There is a parish school, and two or three private schools. The principal residences are, Holycross House, Beakstown, Raheen, Prior Lodge, Farney, Whitefort, and Springfield. The village is a poor place, situated in the Middlethird division of the parish. It contains a large distillery, and the Suir is crossed by a bridge here. Holycross Abbey is one of the most interesting ruins in Ireland. It was founded for Cistercians in 1182 by Donald More O'Brien, King of Limerick, on receiving from Pope Pascal a pretended fragment of the true cross. The abbey is still very perfect. It is a cruciform structure, and contains two chapels and a double row of arches with twisted columns, generally supposed to mark the place of sepulture of the monks. The arches supporting the steeple are groined. The entire structure is built of black marble of a durable character. Here is a monument traditionally assigned to the founder of the abbey, but more probably raised over the remains of some of the Desmonds, to which family the abbey was granted at the Dissolution. Fairs are held in the village on the 11th May, 24th September, and 18th October."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018