Mooncoin
Encyclopedia
Mooncoin is a town
situated in the far south of County Kilkenny
, in Ireland
, just 10 km from Waterford City on the main Waterford
to Limerick
road. The town has continually received high scores in the Tidy Towns competition.
', which has been adopted as the Kilkenny GAA
(Gaelic Athletic Association
) anthem by Paddy Grace. This is an apt acknowledgement of the village, as Mooncoin (along with Tullaroan
) was one of the leading hurling
teams in the country in the early years of the Gaelic Athletic Association
.
The song was written in the 1800s by a local schoolteacher and poet named Watt Murphy, who met and gradually fell in love with a local girl called Elizabeth, also known as Molly. Elizabeth was just 20 years old, and Watt was then 56, but the difference in age was of no consequence to either of them. Both were intellectual
s, and they would often stroll along the banks of the river Suir
, composing and reciting poetry. However, Elizabeth's father, who was the local vicar
, did not approve of their relationship, and she was sent away to England
. Watt was brokenhearted at the loss of his beloved lady, and wrote this song in her memory.
"How sweet 'tis to roam by the sunny Suir stream,
And hear the dove's coo 'neath the morning's sunbeam.
Where the thrush and the robin their sweet notes combine
On the banks of the Suir that flows down by Mooncoin.
Flow on, lovely river, flow gently along.
By your waters so sweet sounds the lark's merry song.
On your green banks I'll wander where first I did join
With you, lovely Molly, the Rose of Mooncoin.
Oh Molly, dear Molly, it breaks my fond heart,
To know that we two for ever must part
But I'll think of you, Molly, while sun and moon shines
On the banks of the Suir that flows down by Mooncoin...
parish
of Mooncoin has 3 churches, the main parish church in Mooncoin, and two smaller churches in Killinaspick
and Carrigeen.
Mooncoin was the birthplace of Bishop John Walsh (1830–1898) of the Archdiocese of Toronto (1888–1898).
Senior Hurling
Champion
s twelve times, 1888, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1913, 1916, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1936 and 1965. They were also Senior County Gaelic football
Champions in 1886, beating James Stevens (The Village) in a replay
. The most famous and successful GAA player in Mooncoin's history was Richard 'Drug' Walsh
(1878–1958). He won 7 all Ireland medals with Kilkenny and famously captained Kilkenny to three all Ireland finals (1907, 1909, 1913). The only other person to achieve this feat since was Christy Ring
of Cork. There is unfortunately no memorial to Drug or his teammates' achievements in Mooncoin. However, the new Days Hotel in Kilkenny City has named one of its function rooms the 'Richard Walsh' room, in recognition of his incredible achievements.
town of Waterford
, Mooncoin is still firmly part of county Kilkenny. The continued growth in the population
supports numerous business
es.
There are currently two pubs (reduced from three after Howleys closed), three convenience stores and a take-away. Four retails units are situated at the start of the Roseleigh development. One unit is a Chinese Takeaway, another, due to open soon is a barbers, with the other two units still available. It is hoped that one of these will become a tattoo art shop with the latter being a shop for exotic herbs and plants.
(1842–1851) was the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John
in Canada
. Noel Dobbyn was runner-up in the Irish version of mastermind in 2007. James McDonald (1824-1890) and Walter McDonald (1830-1899)
were important pioneering missionary priests in Auckland
, New Zealand
.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
situated in the far south of County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
, in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, just 10 km from Waterford City on the main Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
to Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
road. The town has continually received high scores in the Tidy Towns competition.
Mooncoin in song
Mooncoin has been made famous by the song 'The Rose of MooncoinThe Rose of Mooncoin
The Rose of Mooncoin is a ballad written in the 19th century by a local schoolteacher and poet named Watt Murphy, who met and gradually fell in love with a local girl called Elizabeth, also known as Molly. Elizabeth was just 20 years old, and Watt was then 56, but the difference in age was of no...
', which has been adopted as the Kilkenny GAA
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
(Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
) anthem by Paddy Grace. This is an apt acknowledgement of the village, as Mooncoin (along with Tullaroan
Tullaroan
Tullaroan is a village on the west side of County Kilkenny in the Slieveardagh Hills near the Tipperary border. Tullaroan is also the name of the local civil parish.-Sport:...
) was one of the leading hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
teams in the country in the early years of the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
.
The song was written in the 1800s by a local schoolteacher and poet named Watt Murphy, who met and gradually fell in love with a local girl called Elizabeth, also known as Molly. Elizabeth was just 20 years old, and Watt was then 56, but the difference in age was of no consequence to either of them. Both were intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s, and they would often stroll along the banks of the river Suir
River Suir
The River Suir is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Waterford after a distance of .Popular with anglers, it holds plentiful reserves of brown trout...
, composing and reciting poetry. However, Elizabeth's father, who was the local vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, did not approve of their relationship, and she was sent away to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Watt was brokenhearted at the loss of his beloved lady, and wrote this song in her memory.
"How sweet 'tis to roam by the sunny Suir stream,
And hear the dove's coo 'neath the morning's sunbeam.
Where the thrush and the robin their sweet notes combine
On the banks of the Suir that flows down by Mooncoin.
Flow on, lovely river, flow gently along.
By your waters so sweet sounds the lark's merry song.
On your green banks I'll wander where first I did join
With you, lovely Molly, the Rose of Mooncoin.
Oh Molly, dear Molly, it breaks my fond heart,
To know that we two for ever must part
But I'll think of you, Molly, while sun and moon shines
On the banks of the Suir that flows down by Mooncoin...
Parish Of Mooncoin
The CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Mooncoin has 3 churches, the main parish church in Mooncoin, and two smaller churches in Killinaspick
Killinaspick
Killinaspick is a small village in the south of County Kilkenny, Ireland. Its name is also sometimes spelt Killinaspic, Killnaspic or Kilnaspic....
and Carrigeen.
Mooncoin was the birthplace of Bishop John Walsh (1830–1898) of the Archdiocese of Toronto (1888–1898).
GAA
Mooncoin have been County KilkennyCounty Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
Senior Hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
Champion
Champion
A champion is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition.There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions...
s twelve times, 1888, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1913, 1916, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1936 and 1965. They were also Senior County Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
Champions in 1886, beating James Stevens (The Village) in a replay
Replay
Replay may refer to:*Replay , a replayed match in between two sport teams to decide in case of tie or conflict resulting from scoring, officiating, fouling or other factors...
. The most famous and successful GAA player in Mooncoin's history was Richard 'Drug' Walsh
Dick Walsh
Richard Walsh , better known as Dick 'Drug' Walsh, was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Mooncoin and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the early years of the 20th century. Walsh captained Kilkenny to three All-Ireland titles in 1907, 1909 and...
(1878–1958). He won 7 all Ireland medals with Kilkenny and famously captained Kilkenny to three all Ireland finals (1907, 1909, 1913). The only other person to achieve this feat since was Christy Ring
Christy Ring
Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring , better known as Christy Ring, was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the Glen Rovers club from 1941 until 1967 and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1939 until 1963. Ring is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in...
of Cork. There is unfortunately no memorial to Drug or his teammates' achievements in Mooncoin. However, the new Days Hotel in Kilkenny City has named one of its function rooms the 'Richard Walsh' room, in recognition of his incredible achievements.
Business in Mooncoin
Whilst referred by some to be a small town, or a satelliteSatellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
town of Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
, Mooncoin is still firmly part of county Kilkenny. The continued growth in the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
supports numerous business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
es.
There are currently two pubs (reduced from three after Howleys closed), three convenience stores and a take-away. Four retails units are situated at the start of the Roseleigh development. One unit is a Chinese Takeaway, another, due to open soon is a barbers, with the other two units still available. It is hoped that one of these will become a tattoo art shop with the latter being a shop for exotic herbs and plants.
Famous people
William DollardWilliam Dollard
William Dollard was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and Bishop of Saint John in America, New Brunswick from 1842 to 1851.-External links:*...
(1842–1851) was the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John, New Brunswick
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John, New Brunswick is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Moncton. It was renamed on 15 November 1924.-Ordinaries:*William Dollard...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Noel Dobbyn was runner-up in the Irish version of mastermind in 2007. James McDonald (1824-1890) and Walter McDonald (1830-1899)
McDonald brothers (priests)
The brothers James McDonald and Walter McDonald were Catholic missionary priests and ecclesiatical administrators in early Auckland.-Early life:...
were important pioneering missionary priests in Auckland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland
The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Auckland is one of the two original dioceses in New Zealand. Although formally a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Wellington, both were erected on 20 June 1848...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland