- Tubrid
Tubrid lies between the towns of
Cahir andClogheen inCounty Tipperary ,Ireland . The site at Tubrid encloses an ancient cemetery and tworuins of local historical significance.Location
From the village of
Ballylooby , take the road towardsCahir . At the first cross-roads (1.5k) turn right and continue for 2.5k. The site is on the left-hand side, just before the bridge.Tubrid Mortuary Chapel
The "Mortuary Chapel at Tubrid", reportedly built in 1644 [O'Reilly, Edward: "Transactions of the Iberno-Celtic Society for 1820. Vol. I-Part. I": 1820: page clxciii: [http://books.google.com/books?id=YZIFAAAAQAAJ&dq=tubrid&lr=&as_brr=1&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0] ] , in what is now the modern Catholic parish of
Ballylooby , is long roofless. The structure shows some evidence of restoration work, notably steel tie-rods securing the gable walls. However, this stabilisation work may be viewed as indicative of the great value vested in it both locally and nationally over many years.Fact|date=April 2008It is of particular historical significance as the burial site of many
Counter-Reformation ecclesiastics including Archbishop Brenan ofCashel , Eugene Duhy (O'Duffy) and most notablyGeoffrey Keating . [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/keat_cunn.html]Over the entrance door to the chapel is a
Latin inscription which translates into English as : [Power, P. :"Waterford and Lismore-A Compendious History of the United Dioceses": Cork University Press, Cork, Ireland: 1937] [p14: Cunningham, B.: "The World of Geoffrey Keating- History, Myth and Tradition in Seventeenth-Century Ireland" Four Courts Press, Dublin : 2004]:"Pray for the souls of Father Eugenius Duhy, Vicar of Tybrud,":"and of Geoffrey Keating, D.D., Founders of this Chapel ; and also":"for all others, both Priests and Laics whose bodies lie in the same":"chapel. In the year of our Lord 1644."
St. John's, Tubrid
On the same site is the considerably larger 19th Century Protestant church, also now roofless and in a deteriorating condition. Completed in 1820, it functioned as the place of worship for the local
Church of Ireland community until 1919, when it was abandoned. [http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=TS®no=22208128] At the time of its construction it was within theChurch of Ireland Diocese of Waterford and Lismore The Catholic community eventually built a new church some 2.5k to the north-west, adjacent to which developed the village of
Ballylooby .Sites of Local Interest
St. Ciaran's Well
There is a
holy well near the site, dedicated to a localSaint named Ciaran, which was in previous times a place of pilgrimage.St. Ciaran is remembered in the name of the church atBallylooby . There was until recent times an annual mass celebrated at this location. However the tradition has started to disappear and the well itself is now mainly dry.Old Protestant Schoolhouse
To the front of the site is the former local schoolhous which was completed soon after the construction of St. John's and is in danger of falling into a dilapidated condition. [http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=TS®no=22208129]
Geoffrey Keating Monument
A commemorative monument was erected to the memory of Geoffrey Keating by the local community in 1990 beside the bridge at nearby Burgess, his reputed birth-place.
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
