| Monagea Church
© Monagea church
The present day church in Monagea was built in 1839. The
church is dedicated to the Lady of the Visitation. A short tree-lined
avenue leads up to the church. It is believed that some of the trees in
the avenue were planted about the time that the new church was built,
after the Big Wind of January 6th 1839.
© Cross in grounds
Prior to its completion, this church was damaged on the Night of the Big
Wind. The church was in the process of being built at the time, and it
is claimed that the roof was knocked during this storm. However, according
to the foundation stone building commenced on the 2nd of July 1839. Therefore,
it is possible that the story about the Night of the Big Wind is inaccurate.
The church is built from stone that was brought from the nearby quarry
of Ard na Sligna, which is in the parish of Templeglantine. The cut stone
is at the front of church while the rumble stone can be seen where the
foundation stone is placed in the wall. The roof in the church is very
high.
© Altar in Monagea church
There are four plaques on the back wall of the church. One
plaque commemorates the death of Donal Sheahan from Ballintubbrid, who
was killed in action in 1916 on his way to meet Roger Casement at Banna
Strand. Another plaque tells us that the priests and people of the parish
erected the altar to the memory of John Donovan P.P., who died on July
24th 1860.
© Foundation stone in Monagea church
There is also a plaque to the Sheehy family from Ballintubbrid,
who were from the parish of Raheenagh. They were either landowners or
land agents in west Limerick. They have a tomb in the graveyard in Monagea.
There is also a plaque to Fr John Clifford P.P. who died on August 1st
1880, aged 59. Fr Clifford is buried in the church.
© Stained Glass windows in Monagea church
In the church there is a statue to St Joseph on the left
of the church. Behind the altar there is a statue of the Sacred Heart
on the left and a statue of Mary on the right.
There are two fine stained glass windows of St Patrick &
St Brigid, with a small window of Jesus above them, at the back of the
church, in memory of Catherine and John Hanley. They were given to the
church by the self-styled "Baron of Broadway", John J. Hanley.
The Baron Hanley was a native of the parish who went to America and found
his fame and fortune in the USA. Harry Clarke, who was employed by Fr
Ryan, the parish priest at that time, designed the windows. Clarke also
designed the windows in the Honan Chapel in UCC.
© Statues in Monagea church
In the grounds of the church, there is a cross to the Mission
that was given by the Redemptorists in June 1944.
There is a post-box to the right of the entrance to the
church grounds. This post-box dates back to the time when the postal service
was run by the Royal Mail and bears the symbol of the crown. Today the
box has been painted green. Fr James O'Shea built a large parochial house
in the mid-1860s for the two parishes of Monagea and Templeglantine. After
the splitting of the parish in 1864, Fr John Walsh built a parochial house
in Templeglantine with the assistance of the local landlord.
Buried within the church are:
Fr John Clifford, Parish Priest, Died 1st August 1880, Aged 59
Two other priests were reputedly buried in the church. It
was claimed that Fr John Donovan was buried in the church but no remains
were found when Fr. Costello excavated the alleged site of the burials.
Buried in the grounds of the church are:
Canon C. Mulhane, Dean of Warrington, A native of the parish
Daniel
Curtin, Died on 11th November 1913, Aged 75
Patrick
Ryan, Parish Priest, Died on May 5th 1942
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