Some history of the churches of Clara and Horseleap parish
Details from the past and the development of the parish of Clara & Horseleap.
| 1400 | The first Church on record was St. David’s Church, Ardnurcher, Horseleap. It was head of a rural deanery. During the Reformation, the church was taken over by the Church of Ireland. |
| 1682/’85 | The church was returned to the Clara Catholic diocese. At a later date, the Church reverted to Church of Ireland. |
| 1770 | Due to the strong presence of the British military forces in Ireland- whose objective, at the time, was to remove all allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church- Mass was celebrated, under cover, in the Erry Hill’s, in defiance of the establishment of the day. |
| 1780 | Mudwalled churches were built in Aughamore, Clara and in Horseleap. |
| 1780 | The Parochial House was reported to have been in bad shape, nothing is known of its location. |
| 1788 | A Church was built on River Street, Clara. The church later became a Parochial Hall and was used as a theatre, the premises is in use today as a Family Resource Centre. |
| 1791 | The Holy Water Font at the shrine to Our Lady, at the entrance to the Church carpark, was inscribed by Rev. James Daly 1791. Records suggest that it was moved from the old church on River Street. Fr. Daly became Parish Priest in 1793. |
| 1815 | The church was enlarged to house the increase in the population of Clara. |
| 1808 | A cruciform church was built in Streamstown, and a few years later the ruin of the church was roofed and used as a sawmill. |
| 1809 | A church built in Horseleap {a plain building}. |
| 1824 | Fr. Barry purchased Chapel Hill, as a site for a new Roman Catholic Church for Clara. |
| 1837 | Progress commenced for building of the church on Chapel Hill. |
| 1850 | The church in Horseleap was renovated. |
| 1846 | Trees were planted on Chapel Hill. |
| 1861 | Fr. Barry PP died. His successor, Fr. Corcoran, abandoned the plan to build a church on Chapel Hill in favour of a site in the town. |
| 1865 | The church in Horseleap was dedicated to Sts. Peter & Paul. |
| 1874 | The foundation stone for the present Roman Catholic Church in Clara was laid by Bishop Nulty of the Diocese of Meath. The Parish Priest at the time was Fr. Corcoram, who was a native of Rahan, who feared that the church would not be completed, due to insufficient finances. The Franciscan Brothers came to his aid and collected money from various sources. Two brothers committed themselves to the “winds and the waves” to collect money in America to assist with the project. |
| 1882 | On the 18th March, Fr. Corcoran died before the church was completed. |
| 1883 | On 14th October, the church was dedicated to St. Brigid. |
| 1886 | On the 28th of March, the High Altar was consecrated by Bishop Nulty. |
| 1929 | On the 29th of October, the completion of the church tower and spire commenced. |
| 1931 | The building of the Church was by now completed and Fr. Bracken was Parish Priest at the time. |
| 1933 | Houses and gardens were bought from William Dillon by Fr. McCullen to make a car park at Clara church. |
| 1935 | The mortuary chapel was erected as a memorial to Fr. Bracken. |
| 1935 | The bell tower was built at Horseleap church. |
| 1950 | The entrance gate and railing were erected at St Brigid’s Church, Clara, at the princely sum of £230. |
| 1954 | On the 8th December, the shrine was built, featuring a statue of Mary Queen of the World. The statue was made Carrara marble at a cost of £120. The total project cost £1065 3s 6d. |
| 1964 | On the 28th June, the last Mass was celebrated in Horseleap church. On the 29th of June, the church was demolished. |
| 1965 | On the 26th of March, the foundation stone for the new Horseleap church was laid by Bishop Kyne. |
| 1965 | On the 5th of September, the new church in Horseleap was consecrated and dedicated and consecrated by Bishop Kyne. The total cost of the church was £35,829 10s 9d. |
| 1972 | The church in Clara was renovated by Fr. Donal Crilly. The old Stations of the Cross were retained. Mass was celebrated in the GAA Centre during the renovations. |
| 1973 | On the 8th of July, the church was reopened. The new altar was consecrated by Bishop John McCormack. |
| 1976 | On the 3rd of June, Fr. Jack Fallon, CSSP, was ordained. The first Ordination to take place in Clara’s church. |
| 1990 | The Franciscan novitiate at St. Anthony’s closed. The order donated their altar to Clara church. That altar is now used as the tabernacle altar. |
| 2000 | Fr. Burke set about another revamp of the church. Mass was celebrated in the parochial hall until the work was completed. |
| 2001 | On the 20th of May, the church was rededicated by Bishop Michael Smith. |
| 2003 | On the 3rd of June, Fr John Hogan, a native of Clara, was ordained for the diocese of Meath. |
St. Brigids Church in Clara was designed by J.J. O’Callaghan who also designed Killarney Cathedral. Clara church is the same design as Killarney Cathedral but on a smaller scale. It was built at a cost of £5,651 16s 2d. The spire and tower cost £9,260.
There are 10 Joseph Gabriel Mayer {Munich} windows in Clara church, and 2 by William Waile’s (an understudy of Mayer’s){Newcastle Upon Tyne}. Stained Glass by Mayer and Co.
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