Bruree/RockhillCommunity Council

Bruree Church

The church in Bruree was built in 1925. Fr John Breen at that time was parish priest. It was officially opened on April 26th of that year and is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The church was built using limestone that was brought from nearby Tankardstown.

The foundation stone is to the left of the main door of the church. The inscription on the stone states that the man who built the church was Jeremiah J. Coffey from Midleton in Cork. The architect was a Mr. Hynes from Cork. The stone was laid on December 8th 1922.

Inside the church, to the right of the altar is a statue to St. Joseph and the infant and an altar to the Virgin Mary. To the left of the church altar, there is an altar to the Sacred Heart. There are also two stained glass windows that were donated by Ed. Fitzgibbon, in memory of his wife Nano and his Aunt Margaret.

A small section of the altar rails still remains in the church. Miss Mary Dunworth donated the altar rails. Nearby, in the left transept of the church, there is a Mission Cross that was donated by Nano and Katie Byrnes from Bruree in August 1929. The cross was given in memory of their parents and sisters.

Mr. & Mrs Carroll from Forteast erected the altar. Behind the main altar there is a large stained glass window that is divided in three sections. The window depicts (from left to right) the Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart and St Joseph. These windows were donated by (from left) Catherine Carroll in memory of her husband John, and Brigid Lyons in memory of her husband Cornelius and Brigid Cahill in memory of her husband Michael.

Above these, there is a round stained glass window that was given by J. J. Byrnes in memory of his wife and his son in 1926. The window shows the figures of St. Patrick and St. Brigid. Llew Conway gave the round stained glass window above the door of the church in memory of his mother Norah Byrnes Conway.

Before 1925, the church in Bruree was called St. Munchin's and was built in 1842. This church, situated beside John Moloney's Bar, is still standing and is now under the ownership of the HSE. The church was previously owned by Billy & Jim O’Connor of The Starlight Showband, which was used as a dancehall and for travelling theatre companies for a number of years. The old holy water font from this church is now in the De Valera Museum and Bruree Heritage Centre. 

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Bruree/Rockhill Community Council

Rockhill/Bruree
Co. Limerick,
Ireland.