Overview
For nearly six centuries Emly was a premier Irish diocese, until it merged with Cashel in 1715. That outsized history is the reason to stop in what is now a village of just over 300 people. Emly (Irish: Imleach) sits on the R515 in County Tipperary, 14 km west of Tipperary town, surrounded by rolling farmland. It was Ireland’s Tidiest Town in 2009 and took the Energy Neighbourhoods award in 2013. The graveyard beside St Ailbe’s Catholic Church holds the small stone monument known as St Ailbe’s Cross, traditionally the saint’s burial place.
History
The area was first known as Medón Mairtine, capital of the Mairtine, a branch of the ancient Érainn. After the tribe faded, the Eóganachta dynasty made the site their chief church in early medieval Ireland. Its fame rests on St Ailbe, one of the four great patrons of Irish Christianity. The legend has him born in the late 5th century to the King of Munster, raised by a wolf, then fostered by Britons in Ireland. He studied in Rome, returned a bishop, founded the monastery at Emly and died in 528 AD (feast day 12 September).
The monastery became an episcopal see at the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1118 and stayed a premier diocese until the 1715 merger with the Archdiocese of Cashel. The monastic complex itself was lost at the Reformation, but the graveyard keeps the trace. The plain cross there is 1.43 m tall with a 55 cm wheel-head and leans slightly (7° south, 6° west), and is believed to mark Ailbe’s grave. A second, broken cross nearby (originally 2.11 m) points to later burial traditions.
The present St Ailbe’s Catholic Church, by George Ashlin in the late 19th century, dominates the skyline and replaced an earlier 19th-century building now used as the village hall. Ashlin also designed Emly National School, which marked its centenary in 2010.
What to see
- St Ailbe’s Cross – the early-Irish wheel-head, the slight tilt, and the broken later cross beside it, all in the historic graveyard.
- St Ailbe’s Holy Well – a short walk from the cross, a quiet stone-rimmed spot.
- St Ailbe’s Catholic Church – Ashlin’s façade and interior against the ancient stone outside.
- Emly Emigrant Monument – in the church car park, recording the names of locals who emigrated.
- Four Seasons Park and Environmental Garden – community planting of native flora.
- Emly GAA Club – the flood-lit pitch and covered stand, the hub of village sport.
This is a half-hour stop, not a half-day. The draw is the cross and the well, and the tidiness the village is rightly proud of; there is little here to keep you longer.
Annual events
- St Ailbe’s Feast Day (12 September) – a local pilgrimage and mass at St Ailbe’s Church, often with a small fair in the village centre. Visitors are welcome at the service.
Practical information
- Location: Emly, County Tipperary, on the R515, 14 km west of Tipperary town.
- Access: by car via the R515; Bus Éireann runs between Tipperary and Abbeyfeale, stopping in Emly. Nearest railway station is Limerick, about 45 km away.
- Opening times: the graveyard, cross, well and church are free and open year-round. The church interior is open during daylight and for masses.
- Facilities: parking in the church car park (where the Emigrant Monument stands) and near the GAA pitch. Toilets at the church and the village hall.
- Tips: the graveyard ground is uneven, so wear sturdy shoes. To catch the feast day, come on 12 September.
Nearby
- Tipperary town (14 km east) and the Glen of Aherlow (about 15-20 minutes’ drive) at the foot of the Galtee Mountains.
- Rock of Cashel – about 30 minutes north, a hilltop ecclesiastical site with wide views and medieval stonework.
- Cahir Castle – a 13th-century fortress on the River Suir, about 20 minutes by car.