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Tag Archives: Dr. Maccon Macnamara

Corofin commemorates inspirational priest

At a well attended unveiling ceremony held in Corofin on Sunday last Dr Maccon Macnamara, President of Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne officially launched the Fr. Murphy and 40 Shilling Freeholders Memorial at the Creamery Cross. Dr Macnamara praised the actions of Fr Murphy in seeking to extend equal rights to members of the Catholic Faith and said his actions as one of the leaders in the efforts to elect Daniel O’Connell, in the famous Clare Election of 1828, deserve to be remembered. Fr Murphy, a Newmarket on Fergus native, served as Parish Priest in Corofin from 1818 to 1831 and proved his dynamism by building a church in the village in 1822, opening badly needed schools and standing up to a political system which allowed for discrimination against a very significant proportion of the population. When he suffered an untimely death at the young age of 42 he was attended during his final illness by Dr Michael Macnamara, …

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Sculpture in memory of famous 1828 march

A stone sculpture commissioned by Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne and  created by Kilnamona sculptor Michael McTigue has recently been erecdted in Corofin. It is in memory of the famous march of the local forty shilling freeholders, led by Fr John Murphy PP of Kilnaboy Rath and Corofin,  into Ennis in July 1828, in support of Daniel O’ Connell’s election. With the famous Burren terrain depicted in the background, the monument shows Fr. Murphy on his horse and gig followed by the local 40 shilling freeholders carrying tree branches in support of O’ Connell. St. Bridget’s Church, the first architect designed Catholic Church in the Killaloe Diocese since the reformation, built by Murphy in 1822, features in the background. It was here that Murphy made his famous speech in the Irish language to his parishioners seeking their support for O’Connell and Catholic Emancipation. This speech was widely reported both locally and well beyond the area and was witnessed by …

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