Portroe

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of standing stone, rock art, ring fort and tower house sites in the townlands of Garrykennedy, Lisheenbrien and Lisheentyrone.

The local Roman Catholic church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, was built in 1872. A former Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks, at the top of the hill in Portroe, was built c.1830.

On Loughtea Hill, one of the Arra hills southwest of Portroe, a 20 metre high stainless steel cross was erected in 2002. It was raised to mark the millennium and to replace an earlier cross placed there following the 1932 Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.

Transport

Bus Éireann route 323 serves the village. It travels to and from Limerick and Nenagh.{{Cite web

Community

Organisations based in the Portroe area include Portroe GAA club, an apostolic society, a church choir, a Tidy Towns committee, a youth club, and the Arra Historical & Archaeological Society Representatives of the village also participate in events like Scór, the cultural branch of the GAA. An annual 'vintage day' is held locally to raise money for charity.

The local community hall is used for events, classes and by local clubs. A pre-school lies adjacent to the hall. There is also an old handball alley next to the former primary school in Portroe. The current national (primary) school, Scoil Mhuire, had an enrollment of 128 pupils in 2025.

There is a diving club situated on the outskirts of Portroe in an area called Killoran. The club use an old flooded quarry reaching depths of 39m.

Sport

Portroe GAA is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club. A senior hurling team, representing Portroe, won their first-ever North Tipperary Senior Hurling title in 2012 in McDonagh Park in Nenagh. Liam Sheedy, who played his club hurling with Portroe and inter-county hurling with Tipperary, was twice the manager of the Tipperary hurling team. Portroe also fields camogie teams.

Demographics

As of the 2016 census, Portroe had a population of 461, up from 411 people as of the 1996 census. By the 2022 census, the population was 459.

Notable people

• Alan Kelly, politician
• Declan Kelly, businessperson
• Niamh Kennedy, model
• Sean Kenny, theatre designer
• Gerry O'Connor, musician
• Liam Sheedy, former hurler and manager

References

References

1. "Census Interactive Map - Towns: Portroe - Population Snapshot". Central Statistics Office.
2. "An Port Rua / Portroe". Irish Placenames Commission.
3. (2002). "The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary". Government Stationery Office.
4. "Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Garrykennedy, Tipperary North". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
5. "Dower House, Garrykennedy, Portroe, Tipperary North". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
6. "Lough Derg Way".
7. "Tipperary GAA - Clubs - Portroe".
8. (2011-04-20). "Portroe".
9. (2011-11-26). "Portroe".
10. (4 July 2024). "Portroe Tidy Towns seek new volunteers". Nenagh Guardian.
11. "Youth Work Ireland – Tipperary".
12. "Facebook - Arra Historical & Archaeological Society".
13. (2016-01-19). "Scór".
14. (2022-08-12). "Portroe Vintage & Parish Day".
15. "Services - Preschool Services, Nenagh {{!}} Silver Arch FRC".
16. "School - Portroe N S". Department of Education.
17. "Portroe Dive Centre".
18. (22 October 2022). "Portroe downed by powerful Moycarkey in Junior B final".
19. (April 2016). "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Portroe". CSO.
20. "Portroe (Ireland) Census Town".
21. (5 July 2014). "Tough-talking Tipperary native with sporting pedigree". Irish Independent.
22. (9 November 2024). "Portroe native Declan Kelly establishes Irish base as part of his global network". Nenagh Guardian.
23. (27 March 2017). "Miss Ireland Niamh Kennedy: 'I was just five years old when my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's'". Irish Independent.
24. (October 2009). "Kenny, Sean". [[Dictionary of Irish Biography]].
25. (18 January 2017). "Portroe man Gerry to play at Dublin TradFest". Nenagh Guardian.
26. (30 August 2019). "A proud Portroe welcomes home the two Liams". Nenagh Guardian.