Kilfinane is the highest town in Limerick, the name coming from the Gaelic word 'Cill Fhionain' meaning "the church of Fionain". The Kilfinane moat stands approximately 130 ft high and is surrounded by three great ramparts. The Fitzharris family occupied the area in Norman times and the ruins of a Roche castle is also contained within the town. The Fitzharris family was disposed of their lands during the Cromwell invasion and they were given to Robert Oliver. The Oliver's laid out the modern town around the town square and they are the family responsible for the Palatines in the area of Ballyriggan wood with place names such as Palatine Wood and Palatine Rock. In 1798 Captain Charles Oliver executed Patrick "Staker" Wallace of the United Irishmen.

In the past Kilfinnane was a prosperous market town with a thriving Flourmill and a centre of the local flax industry. Kilfinane today is a busy town with a lot of urban renewal. The Education Centre opened by Co. Limerick V.E.C. It offers educational courses to all ages as well as a cultural activities. it has beautifully laid out gardens and grounds. Ballyhoura Failte Ltd. and Ballyhoura Development are also situated in the town.

A short distance outside the town, past Cush Earth Works, an archealogical site on the slopes of Slievereagh, you will find Ballinvreena and Glenbrohane. Ballinvreena Community holds traditional cross road dances every Sunday night during the summer months. Glenbrohane has a pre-emancipation church which is still in use. During the 20th century a small gold brooch was found in the area and is now located in the National Museum in Dublin.

Clan Name

Kilfinnane is part of the ancestral home of the Roche in Ireland and forms a stage of the Beara-Breifne Greenway which is based on the historic march of O'Sullivan Beara in 1603.

Greenways Festival 2003

Kilfinnane is talking part in the Greenways Festival in summer 2003 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the legendary 1603 march of O’Sullivan Beara from the Beara Peninsula to the Breifne area. Click here for info on the events