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
Baile Uí Chléireacháin· Irish · main form · validated name
Ballyclerahan· English · main form
Clerihan· English · main form · local name
Place & story
St Michael's of 1820
St Michael's Catholic church dates from 1820, a period when Catholic communities were building more substantial places of worship before emancipation in 1829. Its traditional T-shaped plan brings the nave and transepts together at the sanctuary. A simple bellcote rises over the entrance, and tall pointed windows give the building a Georgian Gothic character. One window retains timber sash work with interlocking Y-shaped glazing bars. Inside, marble wall monuments, stained glass, plaster ceiling roses and a classical reredos preserve the work of several different crafts within a modest rural church.[2]
School beside the church
Clerihan's original national school stood within the church grounds. The school's own history records that it burned down and was replaced in 1944. Another new building followed in 1996 as educational provision changed. These successive sites connect generations of local children with the same village institutions, while marking the practical need to replace damaged or outgrown accommodation. The 1944 and 1996 buildings belong to distinct phases of development after the first churchyard school. The modern school's account preserves that sequence without assigning an unsupported date to the fire.[3]
A village sporting record
Clerihan GAA's published record includes South Tipperary under-sixteen hurling and minor football titles in 2011, with the teams also reaching their county finals. An under-twelve side won South and county honours in 2015. Further under-twelve hurling successes followed with South and county championships in both 2019 and 2020. These dated results record a sustained local effort in coaching and participation across different age groups and codes. Alongside church and school, the club provides another setting in which village generations have worked and gathered together.[4]
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
Ballyclerahan — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
Ballyclerahan, South Tipperary — Census town, CSO 2006 report
2002–2006: census town
678people · 2006
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Ballyclerahan, South Tipperary — Census town, CSO 2006 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Ballyclerahan, South Tipperary
Published census settlement populations
862people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
View population figures
Ballyclerahan, South Tipperary — census population
Interior of Saint Michael's Church, Ballyclerahan illustration: based on a BallyClerihan: St Michaels Church interior by David Frith (Wikidee123). AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
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