History of Keadue Area
Keadue Church; “Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary”. This Church is the Parish Church of Kilronan and is a real building gem. It was built between 1860 and 1884. The stonework was and still is simply superb. The contractor was a Mr. Barker. The Parish Priest was Canon Michael Broder. The names of those who cntributed to the building fund are inscribed very lavishly in “The Golden Book of Kilronan”.
The Catholic Church at Keadue was dedicated by Most Rev Dr Woodlock, Bishop of Ardagh on Sept 8th 1865. It was renovated and re-styled under Very Rev J.P. Masterson in 1981 at a cost of £81,000. In March 2009 major repairs and enhancment of the Church was completed. The church grounds are very well maintained by the Village Tidy Towns committee. The village has been very sucessful in the national tidy town’s competition and has won the overall title on two occasions in 1993 and again ten years later in 2003.
Kilronan Abbey and St Lasair’s Well
Kilronan Abbey and St Lasair’s Well have been very instrumental in fostering the growth of Christianity in this area over the past 1,500 years. St Ronan and Lassair set up the first religious establishment here in the fourth century. The parish derives its name from the old abbey. The present building, of course, does not go back that far.
It probably dates from about the fourteenth century. The cemetery on the Abbey grounds is at least as old as the building. The Abbey is now a ruin and is in danger of collapsing. Ivy , the weather and ill treatment over the centuries have taken their toll. It is still, though, a place very much revered by the whole community and somewhere to go alone and whisper a prayer to the Almighty for our selves and for all our ancestors who lie at rest in this holy ground.
St Lasair’s Well is a place of pilgrimage where huge numbers of pilgrims gather for the annual Patron each September. There we have the special Mass and prayers for all the dead. Many come to drink the sparkling water from the holy well , try to ease aching backs by crawling under the old altar stone and maybe “do” the special pilgrim stations.
St Lassairs grave is on the hill above the well. Over the centuries emigrants from Ireland brought St. Lassair’s clay with them to the U.S.A., Canada, Australia etc. to bring blessings on them in their new life in a strange land.
Kilronan Credit Union
Kilronan Credit Union started in 1972 and has prospered slowly but surely over the years. Its office “Credit Union House” was formerly the Courthouse and later was used as a pig sty. The Credit union have transformed it into a fine building in the centre of the village. The area covered by the Credit Union takes in the whole parish of Kilronan and the neghbouring sub-parish of Drumboylan. The project is a separate autonomous Corporation owned and controlled by its own membership with a Board of Directors and a Supervisory Committee to manage its affairs. The combined savings of the members create a pool of cash from which loans are advanced for provident and productive purposes.
St. Ronan’s Hall
St. Ronan’s Hall is built on the site of the former Keadue Church. It is one of the most used community halls in the general area. Every night there is some kind of community activity or meeting. There is Bingo, Badminton, Youth Club, Development Association Meetings, Drama, Music Classes, Traditional Dance Classes etc.
The O’Carolan International Harp Festival
The O’Carolan International Harp Festival in August of each year commemorates Turlough O’Carolan ( 1670 -1738 ) who was the last and best known of the traditional Irish Bards. He is the best known internationally of all Irish musical composers. He specialised in Harp music. The festival brings many thousands of harp music enthusiasts to Keadue each August. Linked to the festival is a very successful Summer School of Irish music, song and dance. Visit the website at O’Carolan Harp Festival Website.
