Main Street, Emly

Area

20,399 m² (2.04 ha, 5.04 acres)

Buildings

29 buildings touch it, 1,931 m² on the ground

Zoning

S5 Social and Public (Tipperary County Development Plan 2022_2028 Settlement Plans) The objective

Townland

Emly

Planning applications on this parcel

No planning application touches this parcel in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 21 recorded monuments.

• TS065-013 Historic town
  Description

  Imleach Iobhair or Emly grew from its origins as an Early Christian monastery, founded by St. Ailbe who died on the 12th of September (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 3, 38-60). According to the Annals of the Four Masters this monastic foundation was pillaged twice and burnt five times between the 11th and 12th century, as well as earlier in 845 (ibid.). Cashel became an archbishopric and much of the territory given to Cashel was at Emly's expense, thus Emly ceased to be one of the wealthier monasteries in Munster (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 77-8, 360). In 1215 the English bishop of Emly was granted permission by King John to hold an annual fair and the bishop's weekly market was not to be disturbed (O'Dwyer and O'Dwyer 1987, 1-29). In 1303 AD a murage charter was granted to the town. In 1505-42 Bishop Thomas Hurley founded a college of secular priests at the cathedral (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 77-8, 360). By 1569 the monastery was united with the see of Cashel, a factor which further precipitated the decline of the monastic town of Emly (ibid.). In 1718 the Catholic bishopric joined with Cashel (O'Dwyer, M and L. 1987, 1-29). In 1303 a charter of murage was granted to the town of Emly and a map dating to 1599 (map of Munster held in T.C.D.) depicts Emly as a walled town with two gates. No physical evidence of this wall survives. In 1622 the Archbishop of Cashel visited Emly where he reported there were two castles, the 'great and the small', one of which had been the residence of the Bishop of Emly. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS065-013001 Ecclesiastical enclosure
  Description

  In the 5th century a monastery was founded at Emly by St. Ailbe. In 1058 the Annals of the Four Masters record that the daimhliag or great stone church and the cloictheach or round tower and belfry of Emly were burnt (Barrow 1979, 190). The monastery at Emly was surrounded by a circular enclosure centering on the main ecclesiastical elements. The outline of this enclosure is preserved today in the road and field pattern S of the present catholic church. The line of the enclosure commences at the road junction in Emly, where the road curves from NW through to SW, a field boundary, meeting the road at the SW, continues the circle to the NW. The western half of this enclosure is not immediately apparent but the river may have acted as the enclosing element on this side and there is no surface remains of the enclosure to the N and E of the town. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 12 May 2014

• TS065-013002 Cathedral
  Description

  According to the OS letters the early cathedral was on the site of the present cathedral (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 3, 39-60), however, other references and the OS 6-inch maps indicate that the pre-1700 cathedral was situated on the W side of the present graveyard. Only some architectural fragments of the cathedral survive in the graveyard. In 1058 the Annals of the Four Masters record that the daimhliag or great stone church and the cloictheach or round tower and the belfry of Emly were burnt (Barrow 1979, 190). By 1607 the cathedral was totally ruined and four years later the clergy and laity of the diocese were ordered to repair it at their own expense. (O'Dwyer and O'Dwyer 1987, 1-16). However, by 1615 only the chancel had been rebuilt (ibid.). A sketch of the buildings drawn in 1680 shows that although the cathedral was roofed a number of monastic buildings to the S were in a ruinous state (ibid.). In the 1827 a new cathedral was built to the S of St. Ailbe's well as indicated on the 1st edition OS 6-inch map, however, this was dismantled in 1877 and the stones were taken to build a church in Monard (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 12 May 2014

• TS065-013003 Ritual site - holy well
  Description

  In the NE quadrant of the graveyard. This is traditionally known as St. Ailbe's well. The circular well is now covered in mass concrete, 0.4m above the ground and 1.92m in diameter. There is a square aperture in the concrete, 0.28m wide, which gives very limited access to the well water. Originally the well was a circular well (int. diam. 1.2m; D 5.2m) with dry stone walling on top of which was placed a cut stone limestone surround of 19th century date. According to the OS Letters(O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 3, 40) the stone shaft of the wall is c. 7m deep. Traditionally this holy well was visited on the feast day of St. Ailbe, the 12th of September. In 1898 the well was still being used to supply the village with water (Long 1898, 173-4). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 12 May 2014

• TS065-013004 Cross - High cross
  Description

  In the SW quadrant of the graveyard. This is traditionally known as St. Ailbe's cross. It is a sandstone imperforate ringed cross, 1.48m high and 0.19m deep, the top arm is 0.32m wide and there is a tapering shaft which is 0.4m wide at the bottom. The head of the cross is 0.57m wide, the side arms are very short, only projecting out 3cm. The west and east faces of the cross differ slightly in that the east face is more of a latin cross while the arms of the west face are thicker and do not have differentiated terminals (Harbison 1992, 87). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS065-013005 Ritual site - holy well
  Description

  In grassland on a W-facing slope of rising ground located 250m NW of St. Aible's graveyard. This well is marked on the latest edition OS 6-inch map as 'site of', however, on inspection it would seem that the well is under a large rock. The rock is partly supported by smaller stones and water appears to be visible through a small gap in the stone. The well (D 0.7m; int. diam. 1.80m) itself appears to be enclosed by a circular dry-stone wall of which three courses are visible with a possible corbelled roof all of which is built with local sandstone rubble. The well appears to have been built at the base of a large rock outcrop of red sandstone (H 1.20m; L 4m; Wth 1.1m). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS065-013006 Graveyard
  Description

  Large rectangular shaped graveyard (dims. 80m N-S; 90m E-W) at the S end of the village of Emly atop high ground with good views in all directions in which was located a church, cathedral, stone cross and holy well, there are many fine examples of 18th and 19th-century headstones within the graveyard. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS065-013007 Church
  Description

  In the centre of Emly graveyard (TS065-013006-), immediately S of St. Ailbes Well (TS065-013003-) there is a church indicated on the 1st ed. OS 6-inch map, to the S of holy well and to the E of the site of the cathedral (TS065-013002-). There is no visible trace of this church at ground level. This may have been a medieval church built from the fabric of the cathedral or it may have been the church which was built in the 19th century. In 1827 a new cathedral was built to the S of St. Ailbe's well as indicated on the first edition OS 6-inch map. However, this was dismantled in 1877 and the stones were taken to build a church in Monard (O'Dwyer and O'Dwyer 1987, 1-29). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS065-013008 Graveslab
  Description

  The base of a medieval floriated graveslab (dims 0.3m x 0.27m x 0.07m) is now incorporated into the N boundary wall of the yard of the RC church at Emly near the E end of the church beside a carved bishops head which has also been incorporated into the boundary wall. The limestone slab is decorated with an incised trefoil pattern with double incised lines which represents the base of a floriated graveslab of 13th/14th-century date. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS065-013009 Architectural fragment
  Description

  Incorporated in the S face of the N boundary wall of the yard of the RC church near the E gable of the church. One of three architectural fragments with carved heads (also TS065-013010- and TS065-013011-) from the former cathedral (TS065-013002-). The capital of an engaged column with carved head and vine leaf decoration of 13th-century date. It is a male head, the facial features of which are eroded, the hair is curled and is denoted by ribbing. It probably formed part of a window, possibly the capital at the springing of the arch of an inner window embrasure. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 13 May 2014

And 11 more.

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands on this parcel.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Download this parcel: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program; GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.