Knockerra

You are now passing through Knockerra village. Knockerra Village is technically the only official village in the parish and while it is on the small side, you’d be afraid that if you blink you would miss it, it is quite a hub for the parish. Knockerra Church, Hall, graveyard and school are all a stones throw from each other.

Knockerra church is named after St Senan and the current church replaced the old church which was erected in 1832. A decision was made in the late fifties to demolish the old church, plans were drawn up, Tom Power donated the necessary extra land required, an auction was held to dispose of surplus materials, the old church was demolished and the site was prepared for building. On December 21^st 1959, Most Rev. Dr Rodgers blessed and laid the foundation stone.

Jack Crowley (Tullagower) was the main contractor, and the total cost of the new church came to £35,500. In addition to the paid workmen, much additional voluntary local labour was availed of, for example, in mixing cement for the choir gallery which had to be done manually and completed in one day – Good Friday 1960. On Sunday 30th April 1961, Bishop Joseph Rodgers celebrated Mass in the new church and dedicated it to St Senan. The church can accommodate 550 people. The old church was cruciform in shape whereas the new church is a simple rectangular shape with narrowing at the sanctuary based on the Gothic tradition with high lancet windows.

Knockerra Graveyard

For anyone on the search for details of a grave in the graveyard or a map to help you find a grave please click on the link below:

Knockerra Graveyard

Knockerra Hall

In the 1940s Tom Power converted a shed, which became known as Power’s Hall, into a dancing venue.  Its timber floor was ideal and welcomed by ladies in fine dresses and young men in suits and ties to dance the night away.  They also rented the premises for cookery classes, plays and variety shows, and ‘wren dances’.

Due to the burning of the old school in December 1950, the building was redesigned as a dance hall and by 1955 its doors were reopened.

When dance halls were at the height of their popularity, they came from miles on bicycles and in hackney cars to do waltzes, foxtrots and jives to the sound of the leading bands of the day, i.e. Donie Collins, Mick Delahunty, Maurice Mulcahy, Premier Aces, Tommy Cleary and the Vanguard Six.  There were also plenty of great Irish nights with bands such as The Tulla, Kilfenora, Gallowglass, and Fáinne Oir ceili bands.  Others who performed were Dermot O’Brien, Johnny McEvoy, Danny Doyle and Brendan Shine.

Knockerra in the 1950s and early 1960s was hugely popular with dancers who came from parishes all around and many from further afield. Nostalgic memories were recounted by many and some even met their soulmate there in the “Ballroom of Romance”.

The hall became the venue for all types of meet ups, gatherings, meeting, trainings, shows and plays. Many a young footballer started their winter training here, people stepped onto the stage for the first time, youth clubs kept our teenagers entertained for generations, schools ran their school plays, comedians, musicians, bands, tea dances, parish get togethers – if the walls could talk there would be many many stories. As the only hall in the parish even to the present day there is nearly someone using this facility every day.

St Senan’s school Knockerra

Before the building of the national school in Knockerra, classes were conducted in a schoolhouse where the tennis court is now. Knockerra National School was opened in 1886.  It comprised a boys’ and a girls’ school with a large wall dividing the grounds.  No contact was allowed between the boys and girls sections.  National schools back in the early days depended on chalk and talk by the teacher.  Long desks were in use.  An open fire which depended on the good will of parents to take in turf or timber to keep the inmates warm was the only source of heat. In 1942 it became a mixed school as pupil numbers had dropped in the boys’ school.  The school accidentally burned in December 1951.  Some children relocated to Burrane, Tullycrine and Kilrush Schools and temporary accommodation for classes was provided in Knockerra Church for the remaining pupils.  The school was reopened in 1953 after a temporary repair. While repairs were in progress it was decided to build a new school.  A site was provided by Tom Power just south of the original school and the new building, St Senan’s N.S., opened in 1959. The old school was renovated and became the Parish Hall. While the the numbers have dropped since it opened, and it now functions as a two teacher school, it is still a wonderful facility, with loads of room for the children to play.