DISCOVER CLASHMORE
IT'S ALL HERE...
"Historically this is,after Ardmore, the most important parish of the Barony.." Cronan who was the patron of Clashmore is better known locally as St. Mochua and is remembered most by a holy well in his name... |
“...Fair Star, offspring of victory,
glowing mass of gold, bright pillar,
Cronan holy, without reproach,
white sun of Clais Mor"
[Calendar of Oengus]
glowing mass of gold, bright pillar,
Cronan holy, without reproach,
white sun of Clais Mor"
[Calendar of Oengus]
The Little Pets of St. Mochua
"When St. Mochua knelt to pray
Each morning at the break of day
There always was about the house
A rooster, fly and little mouse
Three willing slaves to serve him well
And share his solitary cell
The rooster every morn would crow
And waken him for matins, though
When he slept too sound to hear
The mouse came forth and nipped his ear
And though he never had a clock
The mouse would call him or the clock
And if he had to leave a book
From out some dusty hidden nook
A fly, with patience and with grace
Would sit for hours and mark the place"
[John Irvine]
"When St. Mochua knelt to pray
Each morning at the break of day
There always was about the house
A rooster, fly and little mouse
Three willing slaves to serve him well
And share his solitary cell
The rooster every morn would crow
And waken him for matins, though
When he slept too sound to hear
The mouse came forth and nipped his ear
And though he never had a clock
The mouse would call him or the clock
And if he had to leave a book
From out some dusty hidden nook
A fly, with patience and with grace
Would sit for hours and mark the place"
[John Irvine]
Unidentified Family walking up
Chapel Lane, Clashmore pictured
around 1900
| "A Wealth of History... " |
Historically this is, after Ardmore, the most important parish of the Barony of the Decies, and like almost all parishes attached to important pre-invasion foundations, Clashmore is of large extent. St. Mochua (or Cronan), a disciple of St. Carthage of Lismore, is the patron saint of the village and founded the monastery and church of Clashmore in the 7th century. Another landmark of the area is the Old Distillery (pictured on left) which is situated on the River Greagagh at the end of Clashmore Village. This was built by the 12th Earl of Huntingdon, Lord Hastings and was run by the Dennehy family who presided at Laurentum House. At it's peak this distillery produced approx. 20,000 gallons of whiskey annually and had an adjoining house which had a secret cellar where illicit whiskey was stored to avoid excise duty, but was constantly raided by excise officers, which on one occasion led to the workers releasing 1,000's of gallons of whiskey into the river and rumour has it that the cattle that drank from the river later that day were all drunk! The Old Still ceased production around 1840. A notable fortress of the area was the 10th century O'Heeny Castle, reputedly built by a person named Sineach Ruadh. Local Seanachai's tell that the Castle of Ballyheeny (it was really a stronghold of the Earls of Desmond ) was owned by an O’Heeny woman who, for her fortune, left a daughter an old horse’s skin and as much land as it would cover or enclose. The quick witted lady cut the hide up into thin strips of which she made a rope long enough to enclose the townland of Ballyheeny, which thereupon became her property, all 381 acres of it! You might think that the village of Clashmore was a very different place over a hundred years ago but it had a lot of similarites, some of which can be seen in the following map of the village from the turn of the 19th Century. The Old Distillery was exactly as it is today and is marked as "Chimney" on the map, as is the Old Protestant church which is now the Heritage Centre. Also there were four pubs on the street and two shops similar to the Main Street of the present day, aswell as a Dispensary which was behind the present Grotto, and has changed location a few times since. Some of the buildings which are no more would be the Court House which was where the present Mace shop is located and a Police Constabulary which was beside it on the other side of the arch. An enterprise which was far more common in those times of course was a Blacksmiths and one was located where Mrs. Lenane now lives, aswell as a few others scattered around the parish. The only other peculiarity to be seen on this map was a Handball Alley which was located behind the present Old Still Bar, and this was a very popular sport amongst the local athletes at the time.
 Taking pride of place at the top of Clashmore Village is what was the old Protestant Church (pictured middle left) of the parish, now serving as Clashmore Heritage Centre. An abbey was founded on this site by Mochua when he built his monastic settlement here in the 7th century, and later became the property of Sir Walter Raleigh at the dissolution of the monasteries in 1602. The present structure was built in 1818 from a public gift of £800-15-4 1/2, with the last minister being a Rev. Carroll who lived at the Glebe House. In 1927 the roof was taken off to avoid paying tax on the property and transferred onto the church in Ardmore. But the structure has since been renovated, by the Clashmore Enterprise Group led by Davy Foley, to the beautiful building we see today. Another point of interest in this parish is the so-called Lios or Rath. There is a large Rath in the townsland of Kilmore... “A remarkable ecclesiastical antiquity, which has remained hitherto practically unnoticed, stands on the north boundary of Kilmore Townsland. This is a great earth-work, the largest and best preserved of its kind in the County. On its outer edge, an embankment, twenty feet high by twenty feet thick, is surrounded by an excavated trench or moat several feet deep in sections, and waterfilled towards its eastern end. Its name and local veneration show that our earthwork is of Christian association. Probably the enclosure was originally a chieftain’s dun, surrendered later to the Church..." [History of the Dioceses of Waterford and Lismore]
There are also many lios’s in this parish in the area of Creggs, Knockaneris & Coolbagh. In some of these, especially in Creggs, the surrounding ditch and fence are in good state of preservation.Apparently there is an underground passage in the Cregg's lios which leads far into the surrounding district. There is no opening here now though. All these may be seen if one travels along the road leading from Creggs Cross Roads up past Dower’s farm, and back to Clashmore by the Kilmore Road. There is also a lios in Ballysallagh, beneath which a long subterranean passage was discovered some years ago. The place is closed now and there is now nothing of any special interest. "The parish of Clashmore is bounded on the north by the Ph. of Aglish, on the east by the ph. of Ardmore, on the south by the sea, and on the west by the Blackwater and Youghal Bay. The village and surrounding district are very low lying, as the name Clais Mor --- The great hollow or trench --- implies; elsewhere the land is rather hilly, especially on the coastal district and round Ardsallagh...." An extract from 'The Topographical Survey of Clashmore', 1942 [Source: Waterford County Museum] ...for full survey on PDF please click here  (This is a large file and Adobe Reader must be installed to view it)
|
or praying at St. Mochua's Well in his name. This well is located only a short distance from the village but there is a legend that states that the well was situated where the old creamery was, but when a woman washed dirty clothes in the well, it mysteriously dried up next day and reappeared where it is now!
Sadly the Saint and all his household were murdered by either
a hostile band of locals or by pirates in the year 631AD