Cloughjordan

Cloughjordan
Cloch Shiurdáin
Town
Cloughjordan

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 52°56′25″N 8°02′08″W / 52.9402778°N 8.0355556°W / 52.9402778; -8.0355556Coordinates: 52°56′25″N 8°02′08″W / 52.9402778°N 8.0355556°W / 52.9402778; -8.0355556
Country Ireland
Province Munster
County County Tipperary
Elevation 380 m (1,250 ft)
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference R9761087713
Cloughjordan village centre
One of three signs around the village showing its name.

Cloughjordan, officially Cloghjordan[1] (/klɒkˈdʒɔːrdən/ klok-JOR-dən, Irish: Cloch Shiurdáin, meaning "Siurdán's stone"), is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Ormond Lower, and it is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe.[2]

The town is situated in the north-western part of Tipperary close to the Offaly border. It is almost equidistant from Nenagh, Roscrea and Birr and is close to Ireland's largest river, the Shannon, and Lough Derg.

Poet and patriot Thomas MacDonagh, a native of Cloughjordan, described it as a place "in calm of middle country".

Unusually for a town of its size (the 2002 Census Records places the population at 431), it has three churches – Roman Catholic (SS Michael and John's, built in 1898), Church of Ireland (St Kieran's, 1837) and Methodist (1875).

The proposed new Dáil constituency of Offaly will incorporate 24 electoral divisions from Tipperary North including Cloughjordan.[3]

History

Developed at the intersection of travel routes between Nenagh, Birr, Borrisokane and Moneygall, the village of Cloughjordan began as an inhabited settlement during the Norman lordship of Ireland of the 13th and 14th centuries when the De Marisco family were allotted land in Ormond under the overlordship of the Butlers by King Henry II. One unit of the De Mariscos (Morris or Morrissey in modern terms) moved into this area, took over the territory and built a stone castle and manor house guarded by a moat surrounding the dwelling.

There is a story which relates that the first De Marisco, who resided here, was a Norman knight who had travelled to the Holy Land to take part in a Crusade against the Saracen invaders. He is said to have brought back a stone from the River Jordan which he built in over the doorway of this castle and it was from that stone that the village got its name – the Stone of Jordan – Clogh Shiúrdáin – Cloughjordan.

Cloughjordan was further developed in the late 17th century by Cromwellian grantees when Colonel John Harrison, an officer in Cromwell's army, was granted an estate of 1,484 acres (6.01 km2) of land around Cloughjordan in payment for his military services. Harrison built a house, now known as Cloughjordan House, at the site of the original Norman Castle of De Marisco and incorporated the old castle into the new building, in which one wall of the castle, about seven and a half feet thick, is still in existence to this day.

Cloughjordan was then remodelled in the late 18th century to include a square in front of the Church of Ireland on the east-west main street.

In 1909 Cloughjordan was one of the first villages in Ireland, after Carlow and Birr, to provide its own rural electrification scheme. The ESB took over the supplying of electricity to the town in 1948.

Transport

Cloughjordan railway station opened on 5 October 1863.[4] It is on the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line, at Ballybrophy it joins the main Dublin-Cork railway line.[5]

A January 2012 national newspaper article suggested that Iarnród Éireann was expected to seek permission from the National Transport Authority to close the line[6] however an enhanced timetable was in force on a trial basis during 2012. The service was again reduced from February 2013.[7]

Ken Daly Bus Hire operates limited minibus services between Cloughjordan and Birr, Nenagh and Roscrea. Each return service operates once a week.[8]

Education

First Steps childcare centre opened in 2010 offering crèche and preschool facilities in the former Macra na Feirme hall on Lower Main Street. Kilruane has a Montessori pre-school. There are two primary schools in Cloughjordan, Number one school is located on Templemore Road, east of the town centre[9] and Number two school, located on Lower main Street, west of the town centre.[10]

There is no secondary education provision in the town: local students travel to schools in neighbouring Nenagh, Borrisokane and Birr or further afield.

The eco-village has a working group known as VERT, the Village Education Research and Training which is committed to running courses based in the eco-village encouraging best practice in sustainable living.[11]

Also with a base in the eco-village is Cultivate,[12] an organisation committed to sustainable living and learning.

Sport

People

Buildings of note

There are several buildings of architectural interest in and around Cloughjordan.[15][16][17]

Recent developments

Festivals

Cloughjordan Festival is an annual celebration of art, sport, music and food held each summer in various venues around the village.[36][37]

Each autumn Cloughtoberfest, a celebration of both Gypsy Jazz and Irish craft brewing takes place. First held in October 2011, it is now an annual event, the 2015 festival was held from 23 to 26 October with concerts in Cloughjordan House.[38][39][40][41][42][43]

A Thomas MacDonagh Week-end was held in May 2014, one year after the opening of the Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre. It is hoped that this celebration of Cloughjordan's connection with MacDonagh will become an annual event.[44]

Awards

In 2012, 2013 and 2014 Cloughjordan won the National Green Community Award.[45]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Placenames Database of Ireland
  2. ↑ Parishes of Killaloe Diocese.
  3. ↑ "Constituency Commission Report 2012 – Waterford – Tipperary – Laois – Offaly – Kildare area" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 14 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "Cloughjordan station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  5. ↑ http://new.irishrail.ie/media/DublinLimerickviaNenagh111.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/iarnrod-eireann-may-close-rail-service-amid-falling-demand-178779.html
  7. ↑ http://www.irishrail.ie
  8. ↑ http://www.mendes.ie/documents/CloughjordanTravelInformation.pdf
  9. ↑ http://www.cloughjordan.ie/primary1/index.htm
  10. ↑ http://findaddress.citizensinformation.ie/service_finder/bycounty/Tipperary/Cloughjordan/Primary%20Schools
  11. ↑ http://thevillage.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122&Itemid=17
  12. ↑ http://www.cultivate.ie/about-cultivate-cultivatecentre-88888953
  13. ↑ http://www.hai.ie/hunts.php?huntid=31
  14. ↑ http://tipptatler.ie/2011/12/champion-comic-entertainer-fergus-costello-in-cloughjordan-festival-benefit/
  15. ↑ An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of North Tipperary, ISBN 0-7557-7444-2
  16. ↑ National Inventory of Architectural Heritage website
  17. ↑ L M. Mounsey (2008), "The Evolution and Architecture of Cloughjordan 1841 to 1901" thesis available for reference in Cloughjordan library
  18. ↑ http://www.cloughjordanhouse.com/
  19. ↑ http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=TN&regno=22304002
  20. ↑ http://www.cloughjordan.ie
  21. ↑ http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=TN&regno=22304001
  22. ↑ http://www.nzeb-opendoors.ie/property?field_property_characteristic_value=All&field_property_type_value=All&field_property_project_status_value=All&field_property_address_locality=Co.%20Tipperary
  23. ↑ http://www.pmnarchitecture.com/PEAR/NO%201%20THE%20VILLAGE.html
  24. ↑ RTÉ News. 15 May 2009 http://www.rte.ie/tv/aboutthehouse/p09_11.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ↑ RTÉ News. 15 May 2009 http://www.rte.ie/tv/aboutthehouse/p09_11.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ↑ nenaghguardian.ie/news-detail.php?article=5IUEU6
  27. ↑ http://www.thevillage.ie
  28. ↑ http://www.thevillage.ie
  29. ↑ http://cloughjordancineclub.ning.com/
  30. ↑ http://www.consultmark.ie/blog/2009/10/07/community-supported-agriculture-a-threat-to-retailers/
  31. ↑ http://www.nenaghguardian.ie/search-articles-detail.php?article=K6RQPO
  32. ↑ http://www.cloughjordan.ie/mainpage/index.htm
  33. ↑ http://www.giyireland.com/
  34. ↑ http://www.coillte.ie/coillteforest/plans/forest_management_plans/progress_on_revising_our_forest_management_plans/tipperary/?tx_r3co086forestsdb_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=TY01&cHash=555b7b1ece
  35. ↑ http://bbgreenway.com/towns/cloughjordan.html
  36. ↑ http://www.tipperarystar.ie/lifestyle/entertainment/cloughjordan-festival-launches-2012-programme-with-barbeque-and-raffle-1-3891840
  37. ↑ http://www.discoverireland.com/us/ireland-things-to-see-and-do/whats-on/listings/?fid=FI_73089
  38. ↑ "Cloughtoberfest | Music Festivals | Cloughjordan". Discoverireland.ie. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  39. ↑ http://www.cloughtoberfest.com
  40. ↑ http://entertainment.ie/festival/Roscommon/Cloughtoberfest/4031.htm
  41. ↑ "Cloughtoberfest | Music Festivals | Cloughjordan". Discoverireland.ie. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  42. ↑ http://www.cloughtoberfest.com
  43. ↑ http://entertainment.ie/festival/Roscommon/Cloughtoberfest/4031.htm
  44. ↑ http://www.macdonaghheritage.ie/dates-for-macdonagh-weekend-announced/
  45. ↑ Nenagh Guardian 26 April, page 7

External links

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