St. Munchin's Parish

St. Munchin's Parish Paróiste Mhainchín
Civil parish
The Treaty Stone in Limerick
St. Munchin's Parish Location in Ireland
Coordinates:
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Clare
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)

St. Munchin's Parish (Irish: Paróiste Mhainchín) is a civil parish that lies partly in County Clare and partly in County Limerick in Ireland, including the center of the city of Limerick. It takes its name from Saint Munchin, the first Bishop of Limerick. According to tradition its church was the first cathedral of the diocese of Limerick, built in 561 AD.

Location

The parish lies partly in County Limerick and partly in County Clare. In County Limerick part of the parish is in the borough of Limerick and part in the barony of Pobblebrien. The part in County Clare is in the barony of Bunratty Lower. The parish is 3 by 2.5 miles (4.8 by 4.0 km) and covers 246 acres (100 ha) in the borough of Limerick, 1,511 acres (611 ha) in Pobblebrien and 2,827 acres (1,144 ha) in Bunratty. The parish is divided into two parts by the intervening parishes of St. Nicholas and Killeely. The part of the city on King's Island is mostly in the parish.

Antiquities

The old church of St. Munchin's is said to have been built in 561, and to have once been the cathedral of the diocese of Limerick. Saint Munchin, the first Bishop of Limerick, is supposed to have been buried in the churchyard. According to tradition the church was burned by the Danes. There is an ancient stone near the north end of Thomond bridge called the treaty stone, since this is said to have been where the Treaty of Limerick was signed in 1691.

King's island has the remains of an old Dominican friary. A nunnery was established nearby, and in 1837 the nuns taught girls at no charge in an attached school. The Church of Ireland built a church in 1827 near the site of the old church with a square tower surmounted by pinnacles. A layer of ashes was found under the foundation of the old church, which may confirm the story of the earlier burning. As of 1841 the total population was 4,593 in 537 houses.

Townlands

The Bunratty section includes the townlands of Ballycannan East, Ballycannon North, Ballycannan West, Cappateemore East, Cappateemore West, Glennagross, Gortgarraun, Knockalisheen and Mountgordon.

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