Knockjames Church

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Church of St. James, Derryulk Middle, Tulla, County Clare.

The Church of St. James which is informally known as Knockjames Church is located within the townland of Derryulk Middle, in the parish of Tulla, County Clare. The church was built in the early 1880s when some of the land was partitioned from the holding of the Clancy family at Entry 6 in the Primary Valuation of Ireland. At the time that the church was built, the land was owned by William Mills Molony, but occupied by the Clancy family. It was listed in the Kiltannon Revision Books of 1879-1884 as being located at Entry 6 (b) an exempt chapel and yard with no value and no measurement of area given. It was Fr. James Bowles, the previous Parish Priest of Tulla who made possible the building of Knockhames Church. He left £500 in his will specifically for the building of the church in that location. Fr. John Hayes, the Parish Priest who succeeded him, fulfilled his bequest. The chapel was built locally by a number of men living in the area including the Burkes, Clancys, Dooleys, Harrisons, Hogans, Leamys, Littletons, Lynches, Meehans, McInerneys, McNamaras, Powells, Quigleys, Ryans, Torpeys and Walshes. The first Mass was held at Knockjames Church on 28 March 1884. The Church has served the community since continuously with christenings, marriages and funerals in addition to weekly Mass.

The chapel was also associated with the local school which was located several hundred feet along the road in Affick townland. (See Building Chronicle for Knockjames School).
Knockjames Church was a popular place for neighbours to gather after Mass and news was often exchanged and stories told on those mornings. In addition, Clancy’s Shop would open on Sunday after Mass so that neighbours could buy what supplies they might need. (See Building Chronicle for Clancy’s Shop).
During the War of Independence, the Black and Tans were seen around Knockjames Church gathering up some of the young men to make a road by force. Liam Mellowes was also a visitor to the Knockjames area where he hid out in a booley hut in nearby Baloughtra for almost 5 months.
The church underwent an extensive renovation in 1980 when Fr Pat Malone was Parish Priest. It was also at that time that the Mass Rock which is located several miles away was also reopened to commemorate Mass Rock gatherings in the parish. The renovations did not alter any of the original building.
Today, the Sunday Mass is held at 9:30 am every Sunday morning where a loyal following continue to worship here from not only within the area, but also further afield.

Jane Halloran Ryan, Tulla Reaching Out Volunteer

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Further reading: The Diocese of Killaloe: An Illustrated History by Ciarán O'Murchadha