placenamesArdcrony
Ard Cróine
The village, commonly written Ardcroney, retains a medieval church-and-tower complex and Saint Flannan’s, while its former Anglican church survives at Bunratty.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Ard Cróine · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ardcrony · English · main form
- Ardcroney · English · main form · local name
Place & story
The church and adjoining tower
A graveyard behind the village street contains the remains of a church joined to a four-storey tower house. Antonio D’Imperio’s field account records a nave and chancel divided by an arch, an ogee-headed window and the remains of a spiral stair in the tower. He connects the complex with the bishopric of Killaloe and the O’Hogan family. The combination of a religious building and a substantial residence makes this a distinctive element of Ardcrony’s medieval landscape. [2]
Saint Flannan’s and the Big Wind
Saint Flannan’s Catholic Church was constructed in 1838 under Father Corbett. The diocesan history records that the following January, during the Night of the Big Wind, the new roof lost its slates. Repairs added to the parish’s financial burden soon after construction. The cruciform limestone building survived that early setback and remains a separate church from both the medieval graveyard ruin and the former Anglican building. [3]
Later furnishings and the round tower
Extensive renovation in 1978–79 added a bell tower recalling early Irish round towers. The church grounds also received a Mass rock brought from Ballinamurra. Inside, a parishioner donated a baptismal font, ambo and presiding chair sculpted from bog oak and bog yew. These additions brought older materials and objects into a changed setting, giving the nineteenth-century church a visible later history of local gifts and adaptation. [3]
A church moved to Bunratty
Ardcrony’s former Church of Ireland building was relocated to Bunratty Folk Park in County Clare, where it was unveiled in 1998. The Clare heritage survey identifies it by its original village and denomination, preserving the connection despite its new location. This is a different building from Saint Flannan’s: its survival belongs to the history of museum relocation, while the Catholic church continues to mark its original place in Ardcrony. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Tipperary
- Barony
- Ormond Lower
- Civil parish
- Ardcrony
- Coordinates
- 52.93373, -8.17848 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414484 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ardcrony. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Ardcroney church and tower house: visit5June2010 · Antonio D’Imperio, Irish Stones
- Saint Flannan’s Church, Ardcroney · Diocese of Killaloe
- Bunratty Castle: Ardcroney Church entry · John Glynn, Clare Stained Glass / County Clare Heritage Office
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2012-02-13. How this page was prepared.