Bru Ri - The Seat of Kings.

The village of Bruree is 7km west of Kilmallock on the R.518 road and off the N.20 Limerick - Cork Road at O'Rourke's Cross and is situated on the River Maigue. Bru Ri was the seat of the ancient Irish kings, especially the Kings of Ui Fidhgheinte, an area coterminous with the present Diocese of Limerick, until the end of the 12th Century. Eamon De Valera (1822 - 1975), a former President of Ireland, was "brought up in a labourer's cottage" outside Bruree. His mother was Catherine Coll who came from Bruree. The Colls lived at Knockmore about 2km from the village and the young De Valera, who had been brought back by an Uncle from New York where he had been born, was raised and went to the school in Bruree. The old school house he attended is now open to visitors as the De Valera Museum, with a collection of personal memorabilia. Beside the River Maigue is an old corn mill with one of the largest mill wheels in Ireland. Near Bruree is Tankardstown (Baile Thancaird) on the R.518 road from Kilmallock. Tankardstown is named from a family surname Tankard.