Effin

Effin Eifinn
—  Parish  —
Effin Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°21′53″N 8°38′53″W / 52.36472°N 8.64806°W / 52.36472; -8.64806Coordinates: 52°21′53″N 8°38′53″W / 52.36472°N 8.64806°W / 52.36472; -8.64806
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Limerick
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
– Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	R607277

Effin (Irish: Eifinn, meaning "place of St Effin") is a parish, partly in the barony of Costlea, but chiefly in that of Coshma, in the county of Limerick. It is located 1¾ miles from Kilmallock, on the R515, the road to Charleville. The current population of the parish is approximately 1,000.

History

Effin comes from the name of an Irish Saint St. Eimhin, pronounced Effin. According to Lewis, in the RC divisions, it was united with Kilbreedy minor, and Kilquane in 1837.^[1] In the past the local seats in the area belonged to J. Balie, and R. Low Holmes. Balie lived in Newpark, and Holmes in Maidenhall.^[2]

Chalice

There is a silver chalice still in use in Effin which bears the following inscription: Aegidius Hiffernane et Eleanora Gibbon et Cornelius Hiffernane Aegidii filius me fieri fecurunt 1633.^[3]

Sightseeing Attractions and businesses

Church

Father David Nagle built the present church of Effin in 1835-6. On his death in 1847, he was buried in the church. The church was renovated in 1981. There is a statue of the crucifixion on the right-hand side, at the entrance to the church, donated by Michael Rea.^[4]

On the opposite side, there is a shrine to Our Lady. A plaque within the church states that Denis McNamara donated the altar.

Canon Hayes Hall

There is a parish hall that was built by the people of the parish in the 50's. It was built in memory of Canon Hayes who died during the building of the hall. There is a biography on the hall celebrating 50 years.

Graveyard

According to Lewis, when Effin was united with Kilquane and Kilbreedy minor, there were two small chapels in the parish, one at Effin, the other at Kilbreedy. Kilbreedy Minor church was badly ruined by the late 1830s. Only the middle and side walls of the choir remained.^[5]

Kilquane church was a brown sandstone church erected at the foot of Cahir Hill. By 1840 little remained of this ancient structure. Another church, Kilbigly church had disappeared by 1840.^[6]

Wells

Lady's well is located in the townland of Effin. It is about 3–4 miles from the public road and it is accessible through the roads of the forest. The well is in a circular mound. Danaher wrote that the well is within a ring fort and that the overflow of water from the well was used as a water trough for cattle.

At the well there is a statue of Our Lady and there are also medals and rosary beads left at the well. The well is well kept and people still visit the well regularly. The water from the well is believed to cure many ailments. There are no organised devotions there now, although it is still regarded as a Holy Well.

Lady's Well and Toberacran ceased to be pilgrimage sites by 1840. Toberacran, in the townland of Gortnacrank derived its name from Tober a Chrann, the Well of the Tree.

St Bridget's well in Kilbreedy townland was no longer a pattern site in 1840. It was a small clear pool, roughly lined with stones. One large stone was set on edge beside the well. It was formerly very popular especially for the cure of sore eyes.

Danahar mentions another well in the parish, Toberreendoney. However, the location of this well is no longer known. Danaher refers to two other wells in the parish namely Tobernea and Toberbansha but did not believe that they were Holy Wells.

Field

There is a GAA sportsfield with changing rooms, stand.

Pubs and shops

There is one shop in Effin. The owner of the shop also owns a pub. There are 3 Pubs, Barrets, Normans and the Harp, all famous for the singsongs, craic and hospitality.

Effin Creamery

There is a creamery in Effin. The Effin cheese is made in the creamery. Long ago the local farmers brought their milk to the creamery.

Landscape and Location

The Parish lies in the heart of the Golden Vale, Munster's rich dairyland. Intensive dairying is carried on here. The Ballyhoura Hills which separate Limerick from Cork are at the Southern end of the Parish.

Population

The current population of the parish is approximately 1,000.^[7]

Placenames

English	Irish	Translation
Ballincarroona	Baile an Charrúnaigh	townland of Carrúnach
Ballymacshaneboy	Baile Mhic Sheáin Bhuí	townland of the son of Seán Buí
Ballyshonikin	Baile Sheoinicín	townland of Seoinic
Ballyvoodane	Baile Uí Bhuadáin	townland of Ó Buadáin
Brickfield	Baile an Bhaoilligh	townland of Baoill
Commons	An Coimín	Common (land)
Effin	Eifinn	place of St Effin
Garranekeagh	An Garrán Caoch	the blind grove
Garryncoonagh North	Garraí an Chuanaigh Thuaidh	garden of Cuanach
Garryncoonagh South	Garraí an Chuanaigh Theas	garden of Cuanach
Garrynderk North	Garraí na Deirce Thuaidh	garden of the cave, hollow
Garrynderk South	Garraí na Deirce Theas	garden of the cave, hollow
Gortacrank	Gort an Chrainn	field of the tree
Graiganster	Gráig Anstair	hamlet of Anstar
Leagane	An Liagán	the standing stone
Newpark	Cliathach	enclosure made of hurdles
Tobernea Middle	Tobar Naí Láir	well of the infant
Tobernea East	Tobar Naí Thoir	well of the infant
Tobernea West	Tobar Naí Thiar	well of the infant

Garrienderk

Garrienderk or Garrynderk (Irish: Garraí na Deirce)^[8] is a small settlement in , Ireland. It is near Charleville and the border with County Cork and; sitting on the Charleville to Kilmallock road.^[9] It is within the parish of Effin.

Garrienderk church was built in the 19th century and is dedicated to Saint Patrick.^[10]

Education

The present Effin National School was opened in 1941. It is a four teacher Rural School in south County Limerick. The current principal is Anne-Maria Murphy. There is approximately over 100 students in the school.

Sports

GAA

There is a GAA sportsfield with changing rooms, stand. In 2010 Effin Hurling team got their first ever county-final. They also got to the Munster final.

Famous Hurling members from this club are from the Quaid Family.

• Nicky Quaid
• Ned Rea

Infrastructure

Transportation

The school bus picking up students that go to Charleville, stops in Effin every school morning and drops the students of in the evening.

References

1. ^ http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin/textEffin.htm
2. ^ http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin.htm
3. ^ http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin.htm
4. ^ http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin.htm
5. ^ http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin.htm
6. ^ http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin.htm
7. ^ http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin.htm
8. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
9. ^ "Garrienderk". Irish Roadside. http://www.irishroadside.com/garrienderk.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 
10. ^ "Garrienderk church". Effin Churches. http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org/Effin/chGarrienderk.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland