Templemore, Clonmore and Killea

Church of the Sacred Heart
Church of the Sacred Heart Templemore
52°47′48″N 07°49′38″W / 52.79667°N 7.82722°W / 52.79667; -7.82722
Country	Ireland
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Founded	1883
Architecture
Architect(s)	George Ashlin
Style	Gothic revival
Administration
Parish	Templemore, Clonmore and Killea
Diocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly

Templemore, Clonmore and Killea is an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The parish includes the town of Templemore and the nearby villages of Clonmore and Killea in County Tipperary.

Churches in the parish are:

On 1 January 1877, the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Dr Thomas Croke, laid the foundation stone for the Church of the Sacred Heart. This Gothic revival church, designed by George Ashlin, is largely intact inside.

"This building has been erected to replace the old parish church, which was ruinous. It is built of dark limestone, with light yellowish freestone dressings. The nave columns are of Aberdeen granite, the remainder of the internal stonework being of local freestone. The width across nave and aisles is 48ft., and the length 120ft. The works are being carried out by day’s work, under Mr. Redmond as foreman. The cost will be about £4,000. The architect is Mr. G. E. Ashlin, Dublin."

The spire was not completed until 1905. It was built on the site of a former residential Erasmus Smith school. The first Mass in it was celebrated by Fr (later Canon) Meagher on Saturday 28 July 1883. The building formerly used as a church, at the south-eastern end of Main Street, was transformed in 1890 into a school and now forms the part of Our Lady's Secondary School situated immediately inside the entrance gate.

The church was designed by George Ashlin, a prolific Irish architect known for building many churches and cathedrals throughout Ireland. It is built in a Gothic revival style on the site of a former Erasmus Smith school. The land was donated by Sir John Craven Carden, Baronet of Templemore. The church is a detached building with a 3-stage tower and spire above the main entrance. The tower features gargoyles, sculpted pinnacles, and an ashlar limestone spire. The pitched roofs are slated with terracotta ridge cresting. There are 8 window bays along each side of the nave. There are 2 side aisles with gabled porches and 2-bay transepts. There is a half-octagonal apse. The sacristy lies to the south east, with a side chapel at the north east.