St. Ruadans Church — Curraghmore (finnoe Par.)

Medieval parish church of Finnoe (Fionnú/woods?) in the townland of Curraghmore (An Currach Mór/Big marsh) in the barony of Lower Ormond was listed in the ecclesiastical taxation of the Diocese of Killaloe in 1302 (Cal. doc. Ire, vol. 5, 302). Cornelius Chamly (O'Hanly) was assigned the rectory of Fynnerth [Finnoe] which was of the patronage of laymen in 1414 because William O'Hanly held it for more than a year without having himself ordained a priest (Cal. papal letters, vol. 6, 472). The 'Rectory de Fennoh' was described in the Royal Visitation of 1615 as a 'church only in repayre, no chancell' served by Petrus [Peter] Butler, who is described as clerk and reading minister (Murphy 1914, 221). The rectory and vicarage of Finnoe were both in the possession of Peter Butler which was valued at 15 pounds (ibid.). Described in the 1654-56 Civil Survey of Tipperary as the 'churchyard and church of Finnogh' the 'Tythes great and smale of the sd. Parish was worth in the yeare 1640 the sum of thirtee [30] pounds' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 343). The Civil Survey recorded that in the said parish of Finnoe there were 'two plantacon acres of Gleabland belonging to the Viccarage valued in the year 1640 10 sh.[illings] ster[ling] by ye yeare' (ibid.). The glebe land was described in the Civil Survey as 'two acres being situated on ye east close by the church yard of the church of Finnogh lying and being in two plds [ploughlands] of Graigellane and finced round with a ditch and is at present wast' (ibid.). In 1951-2, Finnoe was described as 'There are now no remains of the ancient psh. [parish] church, the site being occupied by a modern Protestant church' (Gleeson 1951-2, 101). A late 18th-century Church of Ireland church built by mason, Peter Stokesberry in 1794 is located in the W quadrant of the graveyard (TN010-020002) which contains eighteenth and nineteenth-century headstones. A medieval punch dressed chamfered stone from the window of the medieval church has been built into the W side of the entrance stile of the graveyard at S. The present church was probably built on the site of the medieval church and fabric from this church may be incorporated into the fabric of the 18th century church and the enclosing graveyard wall (TN010-020002-). A stone plaque visible in the external face of the S wall close to the SE angle of the C of I church has the following inscription; 'Built by me Peter Stokesberry Mason A:D 1794'. See attached photograph of the punch dressed chamfered jambstones. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 10 May 2022