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Firies

FieldValue
nameFiries
native_namega
native_name_langga
settlement_typeVillage
image_skylineFiries, Church of St Gertrude - geograph.org.uk - 266994.jpg
image_captionChurch of St Gertrude
pushpin_mapIreland
pushpin_label_positiontop
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Ireland
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameIreland
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Munster
subdivision_type2County
subdivision_name2County Kerry
unit_prefMetric
population_as_of2022
population_footnotes
population_total573
coordinates

Firies ( officially Fieries; ) is a village in County Kerry, Ireland in the historical barony of Magunihy. It is situated midway between the hub towns of Killarney (14.5 km), Tralee (16 km), Castleisland (16 km) and Killorglin (13 km). It is on the R561 road between Farranfore and Castlemaine. The population at the 2022 census was 573. There are two principal rivers, the Maine and its chief tributary, the Brown Flesk.

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of ring fort, enclosure and holy well sites in the townlands of Firies and Killahane.

In Firies townland, on a rock outcrop approximately 850 meters south of the village, are the remains of a rectangular tower known as Firies (or Fieries) Castle. The ground-floor appears to be occupied by a single chamber which was covered by a rounded vault which is almost entirely fallen. Only part of the walling above ground-floor level survives. This tower house was built by the O'Connors. It is in the townland of Firies, in the parish of Firies, in the barony of Magunihy. It was built in the thirteenth century and it was knocked in the sixteenth century. The small castle has been in ruin for over two hundred years. A number of woods flourished for miles around it. It is from these woods that Firies got its name.

Saint Gertrude's Catholic Church, in Killahane townland, was built .

Education

In 1991, Firies National School moved to a new location beside the church. It is a rural school with, as of 2024, 19 teachers and 8 special needs assistants. As of January 2024, there were over 270 pupils enrolled. The school is involved in the Green Schools Initiative, Discovery Science and the Aistear Programmes.

Notable people

  • Eamonn Casey (1927–2017), Catholic prelate who was bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh from 1976 to 1992, was born in Firies.
  • Donal Daly, former Gaelic footballer.
  • Jack Sherwood, former Gaelic footballer.

References

References

  1. "Sapmap Area: Settlements Firies". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
  2. "Fieries". [[Placenames Database of Ireland]].
  3. "Fieries". Kerry County Council.
  4. (1998). "Record of Monuments and Places - County Kerry". National Monuments and Historic Properties Service.
  5. "Archaeological Survey Database". National Monuments Service.
  6. "Fieries Castle". Dúchas.ie - The Schools' Collection.
  7. "Saint Gertrude's Catholic Church, Killahane, Fieries, Kerry". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
  8. (22 January 2024). "Directory Page - Firies Mxd N S". Department of Education.
  9. "About us".
  10. (13 March 2017). "Obituary: Eamonn Casey". Irish Times.
  11. (27 September 2014). "Building begins on Kerry Food Hub". The Kerryman.
  12. (15 November 2022). "Firies star Jack Sherwood on 'the best year ever with the club'". The Kerryman.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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