Tuamgraney,
County Clare,
Ireland.
Phone: 061 921351
Although Boru is predominantly associated with his native Killaloe, Tuamgraney has the benefit of an inimitable connection with the famous High King. The Annals of Four Masters records that "In 1012 Brian Boroimhe repaired the church of Túaim Gréine and its cloigteach at this time". Local tradition informs us of Brian being a frequent visitor to the ancient church since his childhood. This folklore and the fact that Brian’s brother Marcán was abbot of the monastery in Tuamgraney further illustrate the links between this historic building and the High King of Ireland. The fact that the doorway he used then, which was built c 950 and to this day remains unaltered allows visitors to literally walk in the footsteps of the great Brian. This leads the visitor into the only remaining preserved building in the country with a recorded association with Brian Boru. The church’s continued use today by the Church of Ireland makes it also the oldest church in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales still in use. We now seek to appropriately reflect this unique association with Ireland’s greatest son through the Brian Boru, Emperor of the Irish exhibition.
The East Clare Heritage profile
East Clare Heritage was formed in 1989 as a not for profit voluntary group, with the primary objective of protecting, promoting and ultimately creating access to the vast heritage of East Clare. Just two years later, President of Ireland, Mary Robinson opened the East Clare Heritage Centre at St. Cronán’s 10th Century Church. Since then, the committee have published 11 editions of the acclaimed historical journal ‘Sliabh Aughty’, six publications on local history and many other heritage projects dedicated to the promotion of heritage in East Clare. Another significant project undertaken by us, Cathsaoireach, was the restoration of a famine graveyard in Tuamgraney in the mid 1990’s. It stands as a memorial to the thousands who were buried here during the Irish Famine and is also a testament to the dedication of a committed group of volunteers. We have continued against the odds to keep the heritage centre open on a seasonal basis for almost 15 years and recently become a sponsor of a FÁS scheme to support this major cultural initiative.
As well as holding an impressive series of lectures on subjects like Biddy Early, Robert Emmet and Life in Celtic Ireland, East Clare Heritage has recently organised a variety of cultural workshops at the centre throughout the year to engage schoolchildren with their local heritage. The community has also enthusiastically received one of our most recent initiatives, a series of Irish language classes at the centre. This all forms part of the committee’s outreach policy of providing an educational as well as a recreational resource for both the locals and visitors to East Clare.
East Clare Heritage, since its inception in 1989 has been extremely active in facilitating both intellectual and physical access to the heritage and history of East Clare. Given their voluntary capacity the committee have achieved extraordinary success in promoting the importance and creating accessibility to the heritage of East Clare.
The East Clare Heritage Company is a totally voluntary
and community based Company dedicated to giving a future to our past. The
Company was formed in 1989 and within three years a 10th century church at
Tuamgraney, County Clare was re-furbished for use as a Heritage Center. In 2002 East Clare Heritage Company received charitable status. The
President of Ireland Mary Robinson officially opened the Center in June 1991. At the dawn of the 21st century and starting the second
millennium, the history of this church reaches another milestone. Built in the
first Millennium, about the year 950 A.D, it has survived in a remarkable
condition and justly claims to be the oldest church in continuous use in Ireland, England,
Scotland and Wales. This proud tradition is being maintained and service is
held here on the last Sunday of each month throughout the year. The East Clare Heritage Group have a unique leasing agreement
with the Church Authorities which has helped in no small way in preserving this
ancient and priceless gem of Celtic Architecture. Its west doorway is a marvel
of early Christian Church Architecture and has been described as the finest
surviving specimen of the primitive type in our Island. The massive old red
sandstones used in its construction are of immense proportions and defy rational
reasoning. The Church is built on the site of an earlier monastery
founded by St. Cronin in the 7th century. The monastery was raided by
the Vikings in 886 and again in 949.Cormac Uí Cillín, the Abbot of Tuamgraney,
re-built the Church and erected a Round Tower, prior to his death in
964 A.D.Although no trace of the Round Tower remains, it has the distinction of
being the earliest of which there is a written record. The great Brian Boru,
High King of Ireland 1002-1014 repaired the Round tower and re-edified and
enlarged the Church. It is a wonderful experience to walk through the same
doorway as this great monarch did one thousand years ago. The Building is the headquarters of our Company and
operates as a visitor center during the summer months.It houses a folk museum
and so preserves for posterity the knowledge of a way of life that is fast
disappearing or has already disappeared. It portrays the everyday activity of
our ancestors, the crafts, and the household utensils, the implements in common
use in the farmyard, the workshop, the fields and the bogs. Their struggle to
make a living for themselves and for us is written in the tools and implements
they left after them. 
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