Pictures from Nenagh Past

In this post I have decided to post some pictures of historical buildings from Nenagh's past and present giving a brief description of their history and how those buildings have shaped the history of the town and surrounding areas

Of course the oldest and most historical building in Nenagh is Nenagh Castle. Following the Norman invasion in 1169, one Theobald Fitzwalter (also known as Butler) began the erection of this fortress in the opening years of the 13th century, in or about 1215. The Butlers lived in this, their chief stronghold, up to the middle of the 14th century until, owing to an uprising of the local O'Kennedy's, they were forced to leave and thereafter resided in Kikenny

The Keep before the crown was added in 1861. Source, Walkabout Nenagh.

The castle underwent a transformation in 1862 when the battlemented ornamental crown was added. At that time, it was intended that this would serve as the belfry for a new cathedral that was planned for the town. For various reasons, the plans for the cathedral fell through and thirty years after, the beautiful church that we now know as St. Mary's of the Rosary was built.

Another impressive ruin is that of the Franciscian Friary which was founded by the O'Kennedy's less than a century after the Norman Theobald Fitzwalter's arrival. The Annals of Nenagh, which recorded local and national events, were compiled here. The entries cover the period 1336 to 1528. The original manuscript is missing, but a copy of it made some centuries after it was written still survives in the British Museum Library, London. This dominant building is the well-preserved bell tower and gateway of a former Church of Ireland church. The tower has the year 1700 inscribed on a slab just below the capstone on the graveyard side. Inside, attached to the tower, is a roofless mortuary chapel with lancet windows. It is all that remains now of the building which was reconstucted in 1809 and dismantled shortly after the completion of the parish's new Church of Ireland church in 1860.

The burial ground is inter-denominational and is the resting place of many well-known Nenagh citizens. The grave stones have many interesting inscriptions which I will feature in a future post.
One which I found interesting is to a young Ensign and Adjutant, named Neil Murray, who was accidently shot on maneuvers in 1811. It reads as follows:

A Random Shot Consigned Thee To This Grave

Murray, Farewell! Companion True and brave

Thy Laurels Won In Egypt Flourish Here.

My thanks to Local historians and authors Donal and Nancy Murphy for their kind permission in allowing me to use material from one of their many publications, Walkabout Nenagh, and to Ger Lewis for his invaluale help in providing me with other material for this blog.