THE MIDKNIGHT GARDEN: KNIGHTS OF THE RED ORDER

A drive across beautiful countryside and pretty villages bought us to the vibrant and bustling town of Tipperary

Friday 9th June. Day Eleven: St Mary’s Church. Tipperary: Tipperary was very vibrant and colourful; a busy bustling town with lots going on, lots to see and full of people. Before going to the church we had a walk along the high street, found a clasic no frills pub and had a lovely pub lunch. I always find it so refreshing in Ireland to discover and explore all the little independant shops, often full of local produce and craftmanship. I am sure there must be big retail areas somewhere, but the places we went to or drove through had all kept their own indentity and no sign at all, of the big boring retail shops that we have in England which make each town and city centre exactly the same – so bravo Ireland!

<click to view each photo>

Tipperary Town (Irish: Tiobraid Árann, meaning ‘well of the Ara’- a reference to the river Ara that flows through the town) is a town and civil parish in County Tipperary with a population of 4,979 at the 2016 census. The town gave its name to the County Tipperary. The town had a medieval foundation and became a population centre in the early 13th century. It’s ancient fortifications have disappeared, often dismantled to be reused in new buildings. It’s central area is characterized by a wide streets radiating from the principal thoroughfare of Main Street. Two historical monuments are located in the Main Street. One is a bronze statue of Charles Kickham (poet and patriot). The other is the Maid of Erin statue, erected to commemorate the Irish patriots, Allen, Larkin and O’Brien, who are collectively known as the Manchester Martyrs. The Maid of Erin is a freestanding monument; erected in 1907, it was relocated to a corner site on the main street in 2003. It is made of carved limestone. A woman stands on a base depicting the portraits of the three executed men. The portraits carry the names in Irish of each man. She is situated on stone-flagged pavement behind wrought-iron railings, with an information board. The choice of a female figure as the personification of Ireland for such a memorial was common at the time. It is a naturalistic and evocative piece of work, made all the more striking by the lifelike portraits of the executed men. (see photos above)

The town was the site of a large military barracks of the British Army in the 50 years before Irish Independence and served as a military hospital during World War I. During the War of Independence, these barracks were a base for the Black and Tans and on 30 September 2005, the newly refurbished Memorial Arch of the barracks was unveiled in a ceremony in the pressence of dignitaries. However, given the notoriety of the place in the folk memory, few townspeople attended. The Arch is the only remaining porch of what was the officers’ mess and has panels mounted bearing the names of fallen members of the Irish Defence Forces. The Arch was renovated and maintained by the Tipperary Remembrance Trust. We were later given a private tour of this area along with other important sites. (see photos to follow)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipperary_(town)

St Mary’s Church: We did think that yet again, we would be unable to gain access to this church even though the doors were open allowing us to wandered inside, only to be met by the raised tones of the rector informing us that no, were were not allowed in, as he was having some sort of meeting in the church. So thus we had resigned ourselves to a stroll around the graveyard, where i did take some lovely shots of the old iron works depicting fleur-de-lys. It is the oldest graveyard in town with over 1000 recorded burials and the oldest landmark. The grave of Christopher Emmet grandfather of the Irish patriot Robert Emmet is located in the grounds as is the grave of Ellen O’Leary Poet, and sister of the Fenian John O’Leary is also located in the grounds. There has been a military connection with St Mary’s as far back as the 1780’s when it was a garrison church. There are nine Commonwealth war graves and 11 other military related graves dating 1880 – 1920. All very interesting but not really what we were there for, however a chance encounter at the church gates with the new rector, with a different mindset, assured us that yes, we could go in and that he would give us a personal tour of the church and of many interesting areas nearby. Sadly not a lot of info on the internet on the church, so i will let the photos speak for themselves….

http://homepage.eircom.net/~tipperaryfame/stmarys.htm

Although we were lucky and very kindly were shown some of the older and more interesting treasures within the church, they were not actually Craft related, but obvioulsy all well loved <click to view>

As mentioned above, we were very lucky to have been taken on a surprise private tour of relevant and historical sites around Tipperray, ending with a lovely visit to a very old ancient church site, complete with sacred well. But also on this occasion we were visited by one of the ‘watchers’, keeping tracks on us no doubt, for we are never alone, especially as Craft people and obviously our tracks and purpose on this earthly plain is always very closely monitored.

A military arch, old workhouse and barracks, bear tesitiment to different times. The Hills of Tipperary, keep a timeless watch holding onto their secrets and asignations from other times. An imposing modern statue, seems to hold silent court over the etherial essence of the glen. An ancient site and holy well, will keep the secrets of the day…. <click to view>

Grail Bloodline Connectios:

• John Fordham. 1858 – 1932 Collooney, Sligo. He had a particular interest here. (3 x GGF)

St Mary’s Church. Blessington: So after a little drive, again through pretty towns and villages, past mountains and countryside we arrived at Blessington, which on this occasion would prove to be a very short visit. Sadly the church was shut with all gates locked and chained, so we could not even stroll around the graveyard. So i did the best i could in respect of photos…

Blessington: historically known as Ballycomeen (Irish: Baile Coimín, meaning ‘town of Comyn’, from the Irish surname Ó Coimín), is a town on the River Liffey in County Wicklow, near the border with County Kildare. Evidence of Bronze Age activity in the area is demonstrated by the spectacular Blessington gold lunula now in the British Museum. Blessington was previously called Munfine, and in the Medieval period was part of the lordship of Threecastles. Construction of Blessington House was begun in 1673 and afterwards St Mary’s Church in Blessington, which was completed in 1683. The main road of the town is an example of a planned improvement of towns and villages associated with estates in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Since the turn of the 21st century, Blessington’s population has increased substantially, more than doubling from 2,509 at the 2002 census, to 5,010 by the time of the 2011 census.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blessington

St Mary’s Church: is situated in Market Square, in the middle of the town. It was built around 1683, having been financed by Archbishop Boyle. While most of the church was rebuilt in the 19th Century, the tower of this old church remains at the west end. The original church, from 1683, was later altered to the design by Joseph Welland (transepts, north aisle). The church is well known in the bell-ringing community for housing the oldest complete set of bells in Ireland. The six bells date to 1682, and were cast by James Bartlet, who was the master founder of Whitechapel at that time. The money for these was also given by Archbishop Boyle. They are still rung twice a week, for Sunday morning service and on Saturday nights, for ringing practice. The cemetery is located within the grounds of St. Mary’s Church, Blessington and four of the graves are for the crew of an RAF Hampden bomber, whose plane crashed near Blessington in April 1941.

The church is a detached six-bay single-storey Church of Ireland Church, built c.1680 but extended in later years. The church is constructed in rubble granite. The three-stage bell and clock tower is finished in roughcast render and a has a castellated parapet with tall pinnacles. The sheeted front door has decorative strap hinges and is set within a small gabled porch projection to the north side of the tower. Window openings are generally pointed-arched and are frequently arranged in pairs; glazing is leaded. The pitched roof is finished in natural slate and has cast-iron rainwater goods. The church is slightly set back behind a low rubble wall with wrought-iron railings and matching gates. This well preserved early 19th-century church is set at approximately forty five degrees to the road; this dramatic siting adds much interest to the streetscape – and that is as much as I could garner from the internet for you all, seeings we could not really get near to the church.

Grail Bloodline Connections:

• King Niall, 342 AD. (46 x GGF) The beginning and origin of the Neville Surname.

More to come: A rainy last day awaited us as we left our Irish digs to return home, but on the road to the ferry many more adventures awaited…..

“The Keeper of Scrolls” 25th November 2021

<moon.willow@ntlworld.com>