St. Mary's Church, Kilmore, County Wexford 2.36

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church is the parish church of Kilmore, County Wexford in the southeast of Ireland. The church was built to designs of William Day between 1798-1802 with a tower added in 1889, annexe in 1898, and later vestry in 1935.One notable local tradition is that of carol singing in the church at Christmas time, which has been taking place for over 200 years. The history of the Kilmore carols can be traced from the mid eighteenth century to the present day. They have been sung without a break since they were introduced to the parish by Very Rev. Peter Devereux, who was Parish Priest circa 1751. Some of them were written by Very Rev. William Devereux, P.P., Piercestown, a native of Tacumshane, where he is buried. The remainder were written by Bishop Luke Waddinge of Ferns.In all, there are thirteen carols, eight of which are usually sung during the Christmas period, the first at first Mass on Christmas Day and the last one on Sunday nearest Twelfth Day. The singers consist of six local men and have always included a member of the Devereux family, a tradition that is being continued to the present day. The singers divide into two groups of three and each group sings alternate stanzas.