Abbey School

On the E side of Railway Road, S of the River Ara and in the grounds of the Augustinian Friary (TS067-004001-). In 1669 a royal charter granted Erasmus Smith ‘several parcells of abby land, with the old abby, in Tipperary...to hold ye premisses to ye uses of his charity’ (Quane 1960, 41). This charity was the establishment of a free grammar school. Construction of the school began in 1680 when the old abbey was demolished to provide building materials. In 1690 the school was closed as the building was taken over as a headquarters by the Williamite army. The following year the school was burned down. In 1702 a new school was completed (Bourke 1989, 86). This late 17th/early 18th-century building survived for over a hundred years when in 1820 a new school replaced it. The 'Father Humphreys Memorial School' that is present today, opened in 1955, was partly built on the old Abbey School (Quane 1960, 75). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 10 June 2014