The neglected ruin of St John’s tucked away as it is down a laneway off Main Street in Newport,, County Tipperary, belies its significance as one of the larger churches built towards the end of the Penal Laws in Ireland. Previous to this church a small mass house has been situated close by, the Penal laws restricted much of the size and scope of Catholic places of worship with many being outdoors or small mass houses. Dr Thomas Cooke was appointed as the parish priest in 1795 and immediately set about the closing of the mass houses in an effort to create a larger church. He attempted to get some land from the local landlord Sir Edward Waller but to no avail so instead sequestered this piece of land which was a swampy dried up river bed. The church was built within two years and is an impressive size considering it was one of the first churches built in Tipperary as the Penal Laws were wound down. The church is cruciform in shape but unusually the nave and chancel were not built at right angles to each other, this was to allow light to come through the windows and fall onto the altar. The female parishioners sat on the left of the aisle with their male counterparts on the right. The church was in use until 1934 until the Church of the Holy Redeemer was built nearby, after that it was used as a community hall and a dance hall until 1980 when a community hall was built. The roof collapsed over the next few years and was entirely removed in 1995 to prevent injury to wanderers.

GPS: 52.71087, -8.40854