St. Mary's Church of Ireland Church is the parish church of Kilmore, County Wexford

Kilmore, County Wexford

Kilmore or Killmore is a village and townland in south County Wexford, Ireland, about from Wexford town. Kilmore has a number of claims to distinction, including the tradition of carol singing in the village church at Christmas time, which has been taking place for over 200 years. The history of...

 in the southeast of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The church was built to designs of William Day

William Day (architect)

William Day was an Irish architect and builder active in the southeast of Ireland in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. He was related to architects John Day and Martin Day , both of County Wexford. His only known design was for the replacement St...

 between 1798-1802 with a tower added in 1889, annexe in 1898, and later vestry in 1935.

One notable local tradition is that of carol

Carol (music)

A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character....

 singing in the church at Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 time, which has been taking place for over 200 years. The history of the Kilmore carols can be traced from the mid eighteenth century to the present day. They have been sung without a break since they were introduced to the parish by Very Rev. Peter Devereux, who was Parish Priest circa 1751

1751 in Ireland

-Births:*September - William Hare, 1st Earl of Listowel, peer and MP .*19 October - Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine, soldier in France .*30 October - Richard Brinsley Sheridan, playwright and statesman .-Full date unknown:...

. Some of them were written by Very Rev. William Devereux, P.P., Piercestown, a native of Tacumshane

Tacumshane

Tacumshane is a small village in the southeast of County Wexford, Ireland. It is located 15 km south of Wexford town.-Name:The official name of the village is Tacumshane. In Irish it is called Teach as Sheáin, which means "Seán's House" or literally "House of Seán". The name of the village is...

, where he is buried. The remainder were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge of Ferns

Ferns, County Wexford

Ferns is a small historic town in north County Wexford, Ireland with a population of about 900. It is 16 km from Enniscorthy, where the Gorey to Enniscorthy N11 road joins the R745 regional road...

.

In all, there are thirteen carols, eight of which are usually sung during the Christmas period, the first at first Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

 on Christmas Day and the last one on Sunday nearest Twelfth Day. The singers consist of six local men and have always included a member of the Devereux

Devereux

Devereux is a surname found throughout the French-speaking world and in many other countries. It is of Norman origin, meaning d'Évreux or "from Évreux", a town in Normandy, France...

family, a tradition that is being continued to the present day. The singers divide into two groups of three and each group sings alternate stanzas.