Cappagh, County Limerick

Cappagh ("Ceapach" in Gaelic) is a small parish in West Limerick, Ireland. It is surrounded by the parishes of Askeaton (to the north), Rathkeale (south), Croagh (west) and Coolcappa (east). The patron saint of the parish is St. James. The parish was previously known as Connellow and Nantenan.

The parish has no public house, no post office or no shop, one of the few parishes in Limerick to be without any of these amenities.

Parish organisations

*The Gaelic Athletic Association football club- the current chairman is Edmund Madigan (Note: the parish hurlers play with neighbouring hurling club Croagh/Kilfinny and vice versa)
*The Cappagh Gun Club
*The Handball club (the current chairman is Tony Hayes)
*The Irish Countrywomens Association (ICA).
*The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association (PTAA).

There is also a Local Community Authority group in operation in the parish, where members are elected from different areas of the parish.

Parish buildings and lands

There are numerous public and historic buildings in the Parish:
*Three churches:
**St. James's Church which is used today by the Catholic Church. The current parish priest is Fr. Michael Wall.
**Nantenan Church and Cemetery. The church is not open to the public anymore and was used by both the Catholic and Anglican Churches at different stages in time. The cemetery is also mixed and is still open to the public. Adjacent to the church grounds is St. James's well.
**The Embury Heck Church. This church is for members of the Methodist community in the parish. The Methodist community (Palatines) originated from Palatine in Germany, and were granted refuge in Ireland by the English Crown in the 18th century, due to oppression in their homeland. They were expert farmers and are still farmers in Cappagh today.
*Cappagh Castle, which was built by the Normans. In the mid 20th century the castle was used for as a playing venue by the local handball club. The castle is now on the land of the Barry farming family and is not open to the public.
*The local primary school, St. James's National School, has been in existence for over a century and is run by the Catholic Church. It has recently been extended to due to growing population size. The current principal is Cyril Madigan.
*The Parish Community Hall is owned by the Parishioners.
*There is a handball alley, which is situated beside the hall.
*The local GAA field was purchased in 1997 and is fully playable, but has not yet been officially opened.