Emly


Emly or Emlybeg or The Marsh is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.
It is situated on the R515 Regional Road which goes west from Tipperary Town to Abbeyfeale, County Limerick. Emly lies 14 km west of Tipperary town and had a population of 278 in the 2002 census. The parish, which includes the surrounding countryside, has a population of about 1,000.

History

Ancient times

The yew tree references pre-Christian history of Emly. Emly is one of the oldest centres of Christianity in Ireland and pre-dates the coming to Ireland of the National Apostle, St. Patrick. Up until the early Middle Ages Emly was the premier diocese in the south of Ireland. St. Ailbe is patron saint of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Tradition tells us that he preached Christianity in Munster before the arrival of St. Patrick, and he is also associated with the founding of a monastery at Emly, which remained a Cathedral city until the 16th century. The Protestant cathedral functioned with a Chapter until the mid-19th century, when it was dismantled and its materials sold for construction purposes.
The site of Emly was in ancient times known as Medón Mairtine, as it was the capital of an Érainn people called the Mairtine. After their apparent diappearance from the Irish landscape, the powerful Eóganachta are later found using the site for their chief church in early historical times.

St. Ailbe's church

The large Catholic St Ailbe's Church was built in the 1880s and replaced the older church which is now used as the village hall.

Monastery

Emly was the site of a monastery founded by Saint Ailbe, which became famous for its school.
Emly was established as an episcopal see in 1118 by the Synod of Ráth Breasail. In the Catholic Church, the diocese was merged in 1715 with the Archbishopric of Cashel, its former Metropolitan. The merged entity is today known as the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. In the Church of Ireland, the diocese, having formerly been united with Cashel, is now part of the United Dioceses of Limerick, Ardfert, Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, Kilmacduagh and Emly.

Annalistic references

See Annals of Inisfallen
The village shop on the main street is the main amenity available, whilst a smaller store exists on the outskirts of the village on the Tipperary road, which also has a petrol and diesel pump.
There are five licensed premises in the village, three of which have regular opening hours. One of the pubs also has a function room where weekly discos are held on Saturday nights, which generally draw in a sizeable crowd from the surrounding areas.
Emly GAA club is centrally located, with a large GAA pitch with a covered stand running its full length near the National School. The pitch recently acquired floodlighting.

Transport

Emly railway station opened on 1 January 1880 and closed on 9 September 1963.

Community awards

In September, 2009 the village won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition. In 2013, Emly came first in Ireland in the Energy Neighbourhoods competition. The community achieved a 37% reduction in home energy consumption.

People