Ardfert

Ardfert Ard Fhearta
Village
Fountain at The Square in Ardfert
Ardfert Location in Ireland
Coordinates:52°21′00″N9°41′00″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Kerry
Elevation	78 m (256 ft)
Population (2022)	771
Time zone	UTC+0(WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1(IST(WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	Q782211

Ardfert(Irish:Ard Fhearta,meaning 'the hill of miracles') is a village andcivil parishinCounty Kerry,Ireland. Historically a religious centre, the economy of the locality is driven by agriculture and its position as a dormitory town, being only 8 km (5 mi) fromTralee.The population of the village was 749 at the 2016 census.

Origin

The village's name signifies, according to SirJames Ware,"a wonderful place on an eminence", or as some interpret it,"the hill of miracles."Ardfert has also been considered a corruption of Ard Ert,"the high place of Ert or Erc",so called after the fifth century Irish BishopSaint Erc,who made the place a bishop's seat. Ardfert was written by the Four Masters asArd-ferta,the height of the grave.

History

Ardfert is aparishin theBarony of Clanmaurice,County Kerry, Ireland, anciently in the territory of Ui Fearba/Hy Ferba, of which the O'Laeghain (O'Leyne, Leen or Lane) were once the Gaelic Lords, untilNorman invasion of Ireland.

Ardfert Cathedral

Ardfert is the home of St. Brendan'sArdfert Cathedral,which was destroyed in theIrish Rebellion of 1641,and the birthplace ofSt. Brendan the Navigator,who was educated about the year 500 AD. He founded amonasterythere in the sixth century, but both town and monastery were destroyed by fire in 1089, and again in 1151.

TheNormaninfluence can still be seen not only in thearchitecture,but also in local family surnames such as the Cantillons (Barons deBallyheigue), and Fitzmaurices,and in place names, such as Ballintobeenig, a nearby townland below Mt. Crusline called after St. Aubin.Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Baron Kerryfounded aFranciscanfriary there in 1253, and Nicholas, the 2nd Lord Kerry, built aleperhouse there in 1312. It was the seat of abishopricuntil 1660.

TheCrusaderKnights Hospitallerof the Order of Saint John ofJerusalem(later known as Knights of Malta), also had some rights in Ardfert, although there is a record of a dispute between them and the Franciscans in 1325 about the market cross andpillory.They had already been established in the area in c. 1200 whenMeiler FitzHenry,grandson of KingHenry I of England,and Justiciar of Ireland under King John, established a preceptory at Rattoo under a Fra' William from Dublin.Under the terms of a royal grant inletters patentofJames I of Englandon 6 July 1612, theLord of Kerry(FitzMaurice) could hold courtsbaronand leet.

TheAnnals of the Kingdom of Ireland,recount how in 1601, PrinceHugh Roe O'Donnell,on his way to theBattle of Kinsale,sent some of his kinsmen troops there to reconquer Ardfert,Lixnaw,and Ballykeally for his ally FitzMaurice. En route, he visited and venerated a relic of theTrue Cross(Holy rood) on the Feast of St. Andrew, on 30 November 1601, atHoly Cross Abbey,nearThurles,County Tipperary,which was a rallying point for the defence of religious freedom and for Irish sovereignty. From there he sent an expedition to Ardfert, to win a quick victory and recover the territory of his ally, Fitzmaurice, Lord of Kerry, who had lost it and his 9-year-old son, to Sir Charles Wilmot. The expedition captured Caislean Gearr (Short Castle, of which no trace remains), adjacent to the Cathedral in Ardfert. AnO'DonnellfromTyrconnellremained behind in stewardship to hold it, according to "The Life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell"written byLughaidh O'Cléirigh,circa 1603 in Gaelic.

Tomb of John O'Donnell in the grounds of Ardfert Cathedral

A large tomb in the grounds of the cathedral was built much later by John O'Donnell (1803–1879), the most prominent descendant two centuries later, and whose own direct male descendant was the latePatrick Denis O'Donnell(1922–2005), the Irish military historian. He owned the summit overlooking Ardfert (Mt. Crusline, Ballintobeenig, from where his ancestralO'Donnell of Tyrconnell,under authority of PrinceHugh Roe O'Donnellwould have launched the battle to regain Ardfert for Lord Kerry in 1601). The family seat of John O'Donnell, at Tubrid mentioned bySamuel Lewisin his 1837Topographical Dictionary of Ireland,passed through a female line to the O'Carrolls. The house expanded by John O'Donnell in Tubridmore was listed as an intended "protected structure" in the archaeological monuments section of the draft Kerry County Development Plan 2015–2021.

In the early 19th century, theEarl of Listowel(Hare) wasLord of the Manorand held court every three weeks in Ardfert, through an appointedSeneschal,having bought those rights from the Earl of Kerry, Fitzmaurice.

Ardfert Friary

The area's archaeological heritage includes the medieval cathedral, St. Brendan's, and associated churches, Temple na Hoe (Church of the young Virgin) and Temple na Griffin. Several have these have becomeheritage tourismattractions in the Kerry area due to their central location.The 13th century Franciscan Friary, to the north east of the village, was once an integral part of Ardfert Abbey - not an abbey at all but the name of the Talbot-Crosbie mansion destroyed by fire in 1922 by the IRA.

Five other structures included on theRecord of Protected Structures(RPS) are located in Ardfert; St Brendan's Catholic Church (consecrated in 1855), the Old Gates of the Earl ofGlandore's Demesne, the Talbot-Crosbie Memorial, the Ardfert Parish Room (now a site registered as derelict by Kerry County Council) and Brandon House. There are also many other structures within the village which are not included in the RPS, but are considered to be of considerable architectural and heritage value, such as the Ardfert Retreat Center.Also nearby are the survivingestatewalls which contribute to the character and identity of the village.

Geography and development

From the 17th century (possibly 1639) until 1800 the area was aborough constituency.The boroughcorporation(its local council) elected two members of theIrish House of Commons.The borough was disenfranchised by theAct of Union 1800,and from 1801 the area was represented as part of thecounty constituencyof Kerry. Ardfert lostboroughstatus under section 13 of theMunicipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840.It was one of fifty-eight borough corporations dissolved on 25 October 1840. At this time, about a half-mile east of the cathedral, Ardfert Abbey was the home of the Crosbies,Baron Brandon,and contained the ruins ofthe old Franciscan Abbey.They also maintained a well-stocked deer-park and gardens.

In the 20 years between the 1996 and2016 census of Ireland,the population of Ardfert village increased from 648 to 749 inhabitants.

It is located within an agricultural area, surrounded by flat and low-lying land.The main Tralee-Ballyheigueroad bisects the village in an east–west axis, with road width restrictions on the western side of the village. To the north of the village, the Tyshe River traverses the village road network.The village settlement pattern is radial and dispersed and consists of a mixture of single site depth development along radial roads interspersed withhousing estates.Within the core of the village there is a mix of dwelling types of various traditional designs. More modern design predominates in theone-off housingon the radial routes. The development of a centralretailand social node has been constrained to some extent by need to protect historic buildings andmonumentswithin the village.

Economy and amenities

The village provides a number ofgoods and servicesto the local area and surrounding agricultural hinterland.Other developments have increased its role as adormitory suburbforTralee.The village also acts as a convenience stop for tourist and local through traffic.The village is served by social andretailservices, including aGardastation,An Postpost office,health centre, garage, petrol station and a number of retail outlets andpublic houses.In addition there is aRoman CatholicChurch, a school and acommunity centrewith gym and launderette.Planning permissionfor residential development has recentlybeen permitted on the existingGaelic Athletic Association(GAA) grounds, with replacement facilities planned elsewhere on the periphery of the village.

Transport

Ardfert is located on theR551 regional roadfromTraleetoBallyheigue.The village centre is located at a crossroads between the R551 and several local roads. The traffic is increased by the quarry to the north east of the village which generates HGV traffic movements through the village.During the summer months, the situation is exacerbated by tourist traffic to coastal locations.TheTralee-Ballyheigueroad at the northern end of the village sees bottleneck delays in traffic into and out of the village.

Ardfert railway station,on the line fromLimerickto Tralee viaNewcastle West,opened on 20 December 1880. The station closed to passengers on 4 February 1963, and to freight on 2 June 1978.The track was lifted in 1988.

Sport

Gaelic games

Ardfert from the G.A.A. field

Ardfert GAA,the localGaelic footballclub, won theAll-Ireland Junior Club Football ChampionshipinCroke Parkon 19 February 2006 beatingLoughreaofGalway.The club's accomplishments also include winning the 2007All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship,defeatingDerryandUlster ChampionsEoghan Rua,on 10 March 2007 again in Croke Park.

The localhurlingclub isSt Brendan's, Ardfert.They have won theKerry Senior Hurling Championshipon 8 occasions, most recently in 2013.

Other sports

A short livedgreyhound racingtrack was opened in the village on 21 August 1929. The venture run by the Kingdom Greyhound Racing Club and only lasted until Wednesday 25 September 1929. The last race was the Ardfert Stake which was won by Captain Off, the even money favourite. The main reason for the closure was the fact that a larger track calledOakview Park(to the south in Oakview Village) was due to open.

The eventing horse "Village Gossip", ridden between 1976 and 1985 by British team rider Lucinda Green (née Prior Palmer), was born and bred in Ardfert. He completed Badminton Horse Trials on several occasions, placing second in 1978 and was the fastest competitor at the World Three Day Event in Le xing ton, Kentucky, the same year.

See also

• Ardfert (constituency)
• List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kerry)
• List of towns and villages in Ireland

Further reading

• Ardfert in Times Past,Tommy O'Connor, 1999,ISBN0951573616
• Ardfert Church 150: A history of St. Brendan's Church, Ardfert 1855 - 2005,Tommy O'Connor, 2005
• Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) by the Four Masters,from the earliest period to the year 1616, compiled during the period 1632-1636 by Brother Michael O'Clery, translated and edited by John O'Donovan in 1856, and re-published in 1998 by De Burca, Dublin (Volume VI, page 2279).
• The Life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell (Beatha Aodh Ruadh O Domhnaill)by Lughaidh O'Cleirigh. translated with notes by Rev. Denis Murphy, S.J., M.R.I.A., and published by Sealy, Bryers, & Walker, Dublin, 1893 (pages 305–307); also later edition edited by Paul Walsh and Colm Ó Lochlainn. Irish Texts Society, vol. 42. Dublin: Educational Company of Ireland, 1948 (original Gaelic manuscript in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin).
• A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland(Two Volumes), by Samuel Lewis, London, 1837 (see entry onArdfertin Volume I, pages 47–50)
• Discovering Kerry; its History, Heritage and Topography,by T.J. Barrington, Blackwater Press, Dublin, 1976 (pages 252–255).
• Vanishing Kingdoms - The Irish Chiefs and Their Families,by Walter J. P. Curley (former US Ambassador to Ireland), with foreword byCharles Lysaght,published by The Lilliput Press, Dublin, 2004 [ISBN1-84351-055-3&ISBN1-84351-056-1]. (Chapter on O'Donnell of Tyrconnell, page 59).

External links

• Ardfert.ie website