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FEDAMORE

CO. LIMERICK · IE

Fedamore
Feadamair, Co. Limerick

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 07 / 07

Feadamair · Co. Limerick

A one-pub farming village south of Limerick, with a great ruined Cistercian abbey a few minutes up the road.

Fedamore is a small farming village in east Limerick, about 13 kilometres south of the city on a minor road off the R511. The 2022 census counted 381 people; the wider parish, spread across the surrounding townlands, runs to roughly eighteen hundred. The land here is good - fertile pasture and tillage - and the village reflects that: a church, two national schools at Fedamore and Carnane, a community hall, a GAA pitch, a single pub, and a handful of housing estates with Irish-language names. It is not a destination. It is a working parish that happens to sit in pretty country.

The name is Feadamair, usually read as the wood of Damar after a local Gaelic chieftain. The medieval bones are scattered through the townlands rather than gathered in the village. There were tower-house castles at Englishtown, Rockstown and Williamstown - the ruins at the last two still stand in fields. The present Catholic church, dedicated to the Beheading of St John the Baptist, was built in 1830 by Fr Timothy MacCarthy and cost about £700, a serious sum then. A Latin plaque inside still names him.

Come here for the quiet and for what is nearby rather than for the village itself. Monasteranenagh Abbey, a few minutes south toward Manister and Croom, is one of the finer Cistercian ruins in Munster and you will usually have it to yourself. Hurling is the local religion - Fedamore took Limerick Senior Hurling Championships in 1912 and 1927, and bred Paddy Clohessy, who won All-Irelands with Limerick in 1934, 1936 and 1940. A pint in the village pub and an hour in the abbey ruins is a complete, honest afternoon. Do not expect more, and you will not be disappointed.

Population

381 (2022 census); the wider parish runs to roughly 1,800

Founded

Medieval parish in the barony of Smallcounty; present church built 1830

Coords

52.5456° N, 8.6050° W

01 / 07

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The village

One pub, one church, a GAA field, and good land all around.

Fedamore sits 13 km south of Limerick city, off the R511 on a low hill in fertile dairy country. The 2022 census counted 381 people. The name is Feadamair, read locally as the wood of Damar, a Gaelic chieftain. This is a place you pass through, not a place that performs for you.

The letter → 02 The abbey

Monasteranenagh, a 12th-century Cistercian ruin near Manister.

Founded around 1148 on the bank of the River Camogue, a daughter house of Mellifont. Church masonry from roughly 1170 to 1220 still stands. It is a quiet, unticketed Heritage Ireland ruin a few minutes south, and the best reason to come this way.

Stories & lore →

02 / 07

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

The Ranch House Bar

The one pub in the parish

Village pub, Williamstown

Fedamore has a single pub, out at Williamstown on the edge of the village. It is the local, plain and simple - the place the parish drinks, talks hurling, marks the GAA results and runs the odd darts night. Do not arrive expecting food, late hours or a craft list; this is a rural Irish bar doing the job rural Irish bars do. Worth ringing ahead if your visit depends on it being open, as country pubs keep their own hours.

03 / 07

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

Cistercians on the Camogue, since 1148

Monasteranenagh Abbey

A few minutes south of Fedamore, on the north bank of the River Camogue near Manister and about 3.7 km east of Croom, stand the ruins of Monasteranenagh - the name reads as the monastery of the fair, or the assembly. It was founded around 1148 by Toirdelbhach Ua Briain, a daughter house of Mellifont in Co. Louth, and went on to found daughter houses of its own at Abbeydorney, Midleton and Holy Cross. The church masonry you walk through dates from roughly 1170 to 1220. Its history is not gentle: the abbey was burned during a military engagement in 1579 in the Desmond rebellions, dissolved soon after, and finally plundered and wrecked in the mid-1580s. Today it is an unguarded Heritage Ireland site - no ticket, no turnstile, just a ruined church in a field. Bring boots and let yourself in.

Two county titles and three All-Irelands

Hurling and Paddy Clohessy

Hurling is what Fedamore is known for in Limerick. The GAA club won the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship in 1912 and again in 1927 - a long time ago now, but the parish has never quite let go of it. These days the club plays junior hurling and junior football. The village also produced Paddy Clohessy, a defender who won All-Ireland senior hurling titles with Limerick in 1934, 1936 and 1940, the era when Limerick hurling was at its height. For a place this small to put a man on three All-Ireland teams is the kind of fact a village keeps. The housing estate Clohessy Park carries the name.

Castles and old graveyards in the fields

The scattered medieval parish

Fedamore's history sits out in the townlands rather than on a single street. There were tower-house castles at Englishtown, Rockstown and Williamstown; the ruins at Rockstown and Williamstown still stand in fields, and abbey remains at Friarstown mark the old parish boundary with Donoughmore. None of this is signposted or set up for visitors. It is the ordinary, unpolished archaeology of an old Limerick parish - the kind of thing you find by knowing it is there rather than by following a brown sign.

04 / 07

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Monasteranenagh Abbey ramble Drive a few minutes south toward Manister and walk the ruined church on the bank of the Camogue. Rough underfoot and unguarded - boots, and watch your footing on old masonry. The best half-hour in the area.

1 km around the ruinsdistance

45 mintime

Village and church loop A short stroll around the village, the 1830 church of St John the Baptist, the GAA field and the old graveyard. Quiet country roads with little traffic, but no footpaths in places, so keep to the verge.

2 kmdistance

30 mintime

05 / 07

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The dairy country greens up and the abbey field dries out. Good light for the ruins, and the roads are quiet.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Long evenings make the abbey detour easy to fit around a longer Limerick itinerary. Hurling season in full swing if you want a club match.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Crisp, clear days and the harvest in. The abbey ruins are at their most atmospheric with low autumn sun.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days and the abbey field can be wet and muddy. The roads are fine; the ruins less so. Boots essential.

◐ Mind yourself

06 / 07

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Expecting a tourist village

Fedamore is a working farming parish with one pub and a church, not a heritage stop dressed up for visitors. Come for the quiet and the abbey nearby, and judge it on those terms.

Relying on public transport

There is no train, and the only bus is a TFI Local Link service that runs a couple of days a week into Limerick. To see Fedamore and Monasteranenagh you need a car. There is no real way around it.

Confusing Fedamore with Lough Gur

Fedamore is sometimes mentioned in the same breath as the Lough Gur archaeology, but the lake and its visitor centre are a good drive southeast, over near Bruff and Holycross. They are a separate trip, not a walk from the village.

Getting there.

By car

From Limerick city head south for about 13 km, picking up the R511 and turning onto the minor roads to Fedamore. Roughly 20 to 25 minutes. Monasteranenagh Abbey is a few minutes further south toward Manister and Croom. A car is the only practical way to see both.

By bus

No Bus Eireann service through the village. TFI Local Link runs a limited service between Fedamore and Limerick on a couple of days a week only - useful for locals, not for a day trip. Plan on driving.

By train

No railway station at Fedamore. The nearest mainline services are at Limerick (Colbert) station, about 13 km north, on the routes to Dublin Heuston and the Cork line via Limerick Junction.