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| Powerstown Parish |
| The church was built during the pastorate of Rev. Felix Cleary who was Parish Priest of Powerstown Lisronagh from 1808 to 1815 and the following is the succession of Parish Priests to-date: |
| 1815 - 1852 |
Rev. Maurice Wall |
Powerstown Church |
| 1852 - 1866 |
Rev. John Power (later Bishop) |
| 1866 - 1881 |
Rev. John Crotty |
| 1881 - 1912 |
Rev. Thos. Hannigan |
| 1912 - 1917 |
Rev. Richard Casey |
| 1917 - 1935 |
Rev. Philip Cusack |
| 1936 - 1945 |
Rev. Thomas P. Coghlan |
| 1946 - 1952 |
Rev. Nicholas Power |
| 1952 - 1971 |
Rev. Henry Conway |
| 1971 - 1974 |
Rev. Thos. Tobin |
| 1974 - 1975 |
Rev. Canon Thos. Fitzgerald |
| 1975 - 1981 |
Rev. Thomas Hanrahan |
| 1981 - 1987 |
Rev. Paul Beecher |
| 1987 - 1997 |
Rev. Sean Nugent |
| 1997 - to date |
Rev. Peter Aherne |
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The remains of three priests are interred beneath the North Transcept . We know that Rev. Maurice Wall, mentioned above and Rev. Michael Maxcy, a native of the parish, are buried here. The name of the third priest is unknown but it is likely to have been Rev. Felix Cleary, who built the church in 1810.
Details of the curates who ministered in the parish have been taken from the Parish Registers (commenced 1808) and from The Irish Catholic Directory (commenced 1836), and are accurate only in so far as these sources permit.
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1808
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Fr. James Hally
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1808 - 1814
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Fr. Timothy FlannelY
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1808 - 1815
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Dr. Wm. Howley
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1809 - 1812
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Fr. Doohy
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1810 - 1813
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Fr. P. Quirke
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1811 - 1814
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Fr. J. Ryan
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1812 - 1814
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Fr. Mackey
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1813 - 1815
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Fr. N. Cantwell
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1813 - 1815
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Fr. M. Purcell
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1816
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Fr. J. Hickey
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1817 - 1818
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Fr. John Meany
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1818 - 1821
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Fr. D. Power
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As the Parish Register was not signed between 1821 and 1839, with the exception of the initials J. K. in 1824, details are not available for this period. |
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1831 - 1836
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Fr. Edmund Meagher
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Powerstown Church prior to
reconstruction 1992 |
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1838 - 1839
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Fr. J. Gorman
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1840 - 1841
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Fr. Pierce O'Donnell
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1840 - 1841
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Fr. John Dee
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1840 - 1843
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Fr. Ed. O'Donnell
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1840 - 1846
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Fr. Richard Comerford
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1843 - 1845
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Fr. Wm. Power
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1846
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Fr. Peter O'Connor
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1846 - 1847
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Fr. James Power
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1846 - 1854
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Fr. Patrick O'Donnell
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1848 - 1849
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Fr. M. Walsh
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1850 - 1856
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Fr. Ed. Walsh
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1852 - 1866
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Fr. John Power
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1856 - 1857
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Fr. Wm. Power
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1857 - 1865
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Fr. Patrick Power
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1865 - 1875
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Fr. James Hannigan
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1875 - 1884
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Fr. P. Byrne
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1884 - 1885
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Fr. Patk. Lonergan
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1885 - 1890
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Fr. Andrew Condon
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1890 - 1892
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Fr. Wm. Kelly
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1892 - 1893
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Fr. Thomas Comins
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1894 - 1895
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Fr. Timothy Burke
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1896 - 1898
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Fr. John Gleeson
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1899 - 1900
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Fr. Wm. Ormond
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1901 - 1916
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Fr. Patrick Burke
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1915 - 1916
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Fr. P. F. McGrath
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1917 - 1927
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Fr. Ml. Norris
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1917 - 1942
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Fr. Ml. Ahearne
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1943 - 1946
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Fr. Ml. Guiry
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1946 - 1951
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Fr. Thos. Tobin
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1951 - 1953
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Fr. Thos. G. Smyth
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1954 - 1970
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Fr. Thos. Tobin
(appointed P.P. 1971)
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Fr. Thos. Tobin was the last curate in this parish to-date.
A brief look at the history of the parish shows that the area served by Powerstown church is that of the old parish of Kilgrant with the exception of the areas of the Wilderness and Carrigeen, which were subsumed into the parish of SS. Peter & Paul in the 1970s and 1980s. (These areas are now served by The Church of the Resurrection).
The Civil Survey of 1654 gives the boundary of Kilgrant roughly as follows:
Starting at the River Anner, at Kilgowlroe, that river forms the eastern boundary to its fall into the River Suir: the Suir provides the southern boundary, to the point where it receives the Frenchman's Stream (Shrughnaleamy) at Silversprings: the boundary then goes North to Knockauncourt: then West to Bohereenduff and North again to Rathronan, and then East to the point on the Anner where we commenced.
Kilgrant was one of the seven pre-Reformation parishes which make up to-day's parish of Powerstown Lisronagh, as shown on the sketch hereunder, but the other six parishes had amalgamated long before Kilgrant joined them. Such amalgamations came about because of the scarcity of priests in Penal times, the confiscation of church property and the poverty of the people. |
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Key:
1. Rathronan (in two parts)
2. Kiltegan (Seana Mhaighean)
3. Lisronagh
4. Baptistgrange (in two parts)
5. Donoughmore
6. Mora (Mooretownkirk or Castleblake)
7. Kilgrant (or Powerstown)
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Our most precious link with the old Parish of Kilgrant is a chalice inscribed ''The gift of Edmund Theobald Mandeville Butler to the Parish of Kilgrant A.D 1807 which still forms part of our parish altar plate.
In Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of 1837 the parish is listed as Kilgrant or Powers town and it is described as being 1 13/4 mile (E.N.E) from Clonmel on the high road from that place to Waterford, and the mail coach road from Cork to Dublin: containing 1186 inhabitants.
A Report of the Commission of Public Instruction in Ireland (c. 1834) refers to the name of the parish as "Kilgrant alias Powerstown" and it states that one Mass was held here on Sundays and Holidays and the attendance was shown as 1,000 persons: of course in those days there would not have been pews - just standing room.
However, the parish Baptismal and Marriage Registers, commenced in 1808, state the title of the parish as Powerstown & Lisronagh.
The first church of Kilgrant (or Cill Chronnachtain ¬Cronnachtan's Church) of which the writer is aware was in the old Graveyard at Mylerstown - insignificant remains are still visible there. This church is referred to in the Civil Survey (1654), but it is recorded as being in ruin in 1746 (The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford by Charles Smith).
It is most likely that in the intervening years, until 1810, the area was served by a thatched chapel or Mass House, and local tradition tells us this was so. Also, Canon Power, in his Parochial History of Waterford and Lismore, refers to the fact that a Father McGrath, who ministered in the parish, gave a testimonial in Irish to "a local thatcher who had expeditiously and satisfactorily completed a piece of professional work" for him. Such Mass Houses were very typical places of worship in South Tipperary at that time.
Powerstown church was unveiled in 1993. |
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