Bruree
| Bruree Irish: Brú Rí | |
| County Limerick | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | R550305 |
| Location: | 52°25’27"N, 8°39’43"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 541 (2011) |
| Dialling code: | 063 |
| Local Government | |
| Dáil constituency: |
Limerick West |
Bruree is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, on the bank of the River Maigue.
The name of the village os from the Irish Brú Rí, meaning 'Fort of the King' and comes from the nearby ancient royal fortress, the alternative name of which from the earliest times into the High Middle Ages was Dún Eochair Maigue or the Fortress on the Brink of the Maigue Other very old spellings and names include Brugh Righ, and Brugh Ri, being renderings of the same Gaelic words.
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Location
The village of Bruree is on the Maigue river a mile off the main N20 Limerick-Cork road in the south of County Limerick. It is four and a half miles north-west of Kilmallock and twenty-two miles south of the City of Limerick. Neighbouring towns and villages include Kilmallock, Charleville, Effin, Athlacca, Banogue and Ballyagran.
History
A settlement on the River Maigue, Bruree was once a seat and alternative capital of the ancient Kings of Munster. At some point later it came into the possession of the Uí Fidgenti and was their capital until the late 12th century. Before them it may have belonged to the Dáirine or Érainn, being named by Geoffrey Keating as a fortress built by Cú Roí mac Dáire. An early king and semi-mythological ancestor of the Eóganachta and Uí Fidgenti, Ailill Aulom, is then found at the fortress in the Cath Maige Mucrama cycle. The historical Eóganacht king Óengus mac Nad Froích is also found here in one legend.
The village also played a role in the Irish Civil War during the Battle of Kilmallock.
Sport
As in much of County Limerick, the main sport in Bruree is hurling, but Gaelic football and soccer are also played.
The Gaelic Athletic Association club in the parish is Bruree GAA which is a member of the south division of Limerick GAA. The club is mainly concentrated on hurling, but Gaelic football is also played. Bruree have won the County Senior Hurling Championship on two occasions in 1893 and 2006 when they beat Patrickswell GAA in the final. However, the hurlers lost their senior status in 2013 and are currently competing at premier intermediate level.
The footballers of Bruree won the County Junior Football Championship in 2010 and reached the Munster final where they were beaten by St Mary's Cahirciveen of Kerry. They were relegated from the intermediate grade in 2012 and play at the junior grade.
People
Former President of Ireland Éamon de Valera's mother Catherine Coll was from Bruree and he was taken by her family to be raised here. De Valera attended school in the village. De Valera's Cottage is a National Monument in the Knockmore townland. The town has a 'De Valera Heritage Centre'.
Very Reverend Eugene Sheehy was Parish Priest here in the early 1890s and had a huge influence on De Valera, who served as an altar boy in Bruree Church, during that period.
