Templemore
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| Templemore An Teampall Mór |
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WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
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| Irish grid reference S104720 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Munster | |
| County: | County Tipperary | |
| Population (2006) | 2,255 | |
| Website: www.templemore.ie | ||
Templemore (An Teampall Mór, meaning The Big Church, in Irish) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Since February 1964, the town has been the site of the Garda Síochána College, the centre for training Ireland's police force. [1] In addition the town has a number of small industries and in the past was a market town for the surrounding agricultural region.
The town is situated in the administrative county of North Tipperary and is on the N62 National route which joins Athlone with Thurles and the N8. The market square with its Town Hall in the centre of the town is reputed locally to be the widest in either Ireland or Britain. It backs on to an extensive wooded Town Park and lake. The town is of Georgian style architecture with three storey houses on the main street built by Sir John Carden II, a 19th century landlord.
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[edit] History
Following the burning of the Blackcastle, Carden built a new estate. He built a mansion known as the Priory on the edge of the town. The architecture of the Priory was of Elizabethan era. The priory was a demesne which had a formal garden with paved paths around an artificial lake. They also kept the ruins of the old church and graveyard. These were kept as conversational pieces, which was typical of that time. At the entrance on the Borrisoleigh Road is the gate keepers lodge. After 1860, the Priory was changed to the Abbey. [2]
In 1920 buildings were burnt down by Crown Forces or Black and Tans. The town was the site of the so-called Templemore miracles in the 1920s, when a holy statue purportedly began to bleed spontaneously. This caused Templemore to become a pilgrim town for a short time. Dan Breen - a famous Tipperary IRA freedom fighter, and later a Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary - said he always knew these 'miracles' to have been a nonsense but they did attract many sincere pilgrims at the time.
Near the town is the historic Loughmoe Castle at the nearby village of Loughmore. The local area is quite scenic and there are expansive views from the Devil's Bit mountain close by.
[edit] Transport
Templemore railway station opened on 3 July 1848.[3] Templemore is on the Dublin — Cork Railway Line operated by Iarnród Éireann.
[edit] Education
The local secondary school is Our Lady's Secondary School, a co-educational school for girls and boys. It was formed when the Sisters of Mercy Convent (a day and boarding school) merged with the Christian Brothers School. In addition, there is St Sheelan's College, which has a more vocational focus.
[edit] Sport
[edit] Gaelic Games - Football and Hurling
- The local Gaelic Athletic Association club J.K. Brackens GAA and is named after Joseph Kevin Bracken, one of the founders of the GAA, [4] who came from the town. His son, Brendan Bracken, who was a member of Winston Churchill's government in the United Kingdom during World War II, was born in Templemore. [5] There is also good coarse fishing in the lake in the park. The G.A.A. club was formed in 1991 after Clonmore and Templemore merged.Since then it has not been as successful as the nearby Loughmore.
[edit] Soccer
- The local soccer/association football club is Blackcastle United FC. The club is named after the Black Castle which is located in Templemore Town Park.
[edit] Golf
There is a golf course located at close to the Garda Síochána College just off the Thurles road, which is a nine hole course. Lakeside Pitch-and-Putt club is located beside the lake in the Town Park. It is affiliated to the Pitch and Putt Union of Ireland.
[edit] Twinning
Templemore is twinned with the village of Prémilhat in France and Potenza Picena in Italy. [6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ History of Garda College on Garda website http://www.garda.ie/col/index.html
- ^ History page on official Templemore website maintained by Templemore Town Council http://www.templemore.ie/History.htm
- ^ Templemore station. Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
- ^ Details of GAA first meeting on GAA.ie http://www.gaa.ie/page/the_birth_of_cumann_luthcleas_gael.html
- ^ WinstonChurchill.org http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=128
- ^ Article about twinned towns on Templemore site http://www.templemore.ie/twinning.htm
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