Settlement Type: | Village |
Ardpatrick | |
Native Name: | Irish: Ard Pádraig |
Native Name Lang: | ga |
Pushpin Map: | Ireland |
Pushpin Label Position: | right |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Ireland |
Coordinates: | 52.3413°N -8.5252°W |
Blank Name Sec1: | Irish Grid Reference |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Ireland |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Name1: | Munster |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Limerick |
Subdivision Type3: | Dáil Éireann |
Subdivision Name3: | Limerick County |
Unit Pref: | Metric |
Area Code Type: | Dialling code |
Area Code: | 063 |
Postal Code Type: | Eircode routing key |
Postal Code: | V35 |
Ardpatrick [1] is a small village in County Limerick, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the north slopes of the Ballyhoura Mountains, on the edge of the Golden Vale. As of the 2006 census, the electoral division of Ardpatrick which contains the village, had a population of 398.[2]
In an area which was anciently known as Tulach na Féinne (Hill of the Fianna),[3] [4] the village comprises a small number of houses around a Roman Catholic parish church. At the south end of the village is a memorial garden and tourist information. Each summer there is a 3-day, "Festival na Fianna". The Greenwood, just to the south of the village, gives access to walking trails across the countryside.
On the hill above the village is the site of a 5th-century monastery and round tower or cloictheach, now in ruins. Legend tells of a peal of 7 silver bells which once hung in the tower. The monastery was reputedly founded by St. Patrick himself,[5] and is surrounded by earthworks probably far more ancient.
From the hill can be seen Castle Oliver, a 19th-century mansion built by the Oliver Gascoignes, an Anglo-Irish family. Its stained glass windows, which feature the life of St. Patrick, have since been restored.
The local parish church, Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic church, was built in 1835 and renovated in the 1920s.[6] Ardpatrick was formerly joined with neighboring parish Kilfinane.