Foundation and development Saint Mocheallóg (literally 'Mo - Ceallach - Og' meaning 'my young Ceallach') built a church in the area in the early 7th century, and the town's name derives from the Irish
Cill Mocheallóg meaning "the church of Mocheallóg". This saint also established a hermitage or a small community of monks on
Inisvickillane, one of the
Blasket Islands off the coast of
County Kerry. In St. Kieran's College,
Kilkenny, an ancient statue of Mocheallóg was venerated, depicting him as a bearded man with a monk's
cowl. The town was of considerable importance in the late medieval period, ranking as one of the main urban areas in Ireland at the time. The
Collegiate Church of St Peter and St Paul was built by 1241. Kilmallock was located in a position of some strategic importance, and in consequence the town frequently became a target during times of war. In 1571, Kilmallock was sacked and burned by the forces of
James FitzMaurice FitzGerald during the
First Desmond Rebellion. 's depiction of the 1584 execution of Archbishop
Dermot O'Hurley. The 1579 hanging of fellow
Irish Catholic Martyrs Bishop
Patrick O'Hely and Friar Conn Ó Ruairc at Kilmallock is shown in the background. After being betrayed by the
Rebel Earl of Desmond and captured after being secretly smuggled back to Ireland from France and put ashore at
Corca Dhuibhne,
Irish Catholic Martyrs Bishop
Patrick O'Hely and
Friar Conn O'Rourke were hanged under orders from
Lord President of Munster Sir
William Drury outside one of the gates in the walls of Kilmallock on 13 August 1579. Their bodies were allowed to remain suspended from the gallows for fourteen days. Both priests were
beatified by
Pope John Paul II in September 1992. Seventy years later, during the
Irish Confederate Wars, the
Dominican Priory of Kilmallock was attacked and destroyed by a
Parliamentary Army under
Lord Inchiquin in 1648. Its ruins are the best known historic landmark of Kilmallock. The local cemetery is the burial place of the noted 18th-century
Munster Irish poet
Andrias Mac Craith. Better known as
An Mangaire Súgach, his best known poem is "Slán le Máigh", a
Sean nos song in praise of the entire Maigue valley when he was temporarily exiled from it. The house where he died still stands at the bottom of Wolfe Tone Street near the
River Loobagh. The house known as () ("The Poet's House") has information panels about the poet at the doorway. The town also has a small museum depicting the historic past of this once fortified Geraldine town.
20th century During the
Battle of Kilmallock, the town saw bitter fighting in July 1922 during the
Irish Civil War, when it was held by
anti-Treaty IRA forces under
Liam Deasy and eventually taken by
Irish Army troops under the command of General
Eoin O'Duffy. This battle was one of a number of events which contributed to the dissolution of the short-lived
Munster Republic. As part of a brief sectarian campaign in July 1935, arsonists burnt the
Church of Ireland building to the ground, causing damage costing thousands of pounds. ==Amenities==