Clarmallagh Explained

Clarmallagh
Native Name:	Clár Maí Locha (Irish)
Settlement Type:	Barony
Subdivision Type:	Sovereign state
Subdivision Name:	Ireland
Subdivision Type1:	Province
Subdivision Name1:	Leinster
Subdivision Type2:	County
Subdivision Name2:	Laois
Area Total Km2:	176.17
Area Total Sq Mi:	68.02

Clarmallagh is a barony in County Laois (formerly called Queen's County or County Leix), Ireland.^{[1] [2]}

Etymology

Clarmallagh means "Flat land of Maigh Locha [''lake plain'']", referring to Grantstown Lake.^[3]

Geography

Clarmallagh is located in south County Laois, to the south of the River Gully, and to the north of the County Kilkenny border. It contains the lower part of the Erkina River where it drains into the River Nore.

History

Clarmallagh barony was anciently the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Osraige (Ossory).

In the early 12th century, Finn Ua Caellaide ruled Magh Locha (Clarmallagh) separately from the rest of Ossory.

It was ruled by the Ó Faoláin (Phelan).^[4]

It is referred to in the topographical poem Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh (Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín, d. 1420): I Muiġ Laċa na learg teÓ Faoláin, fearḋa an fíneMór an dúthaiġ as díol dáiḃDo lín futha Ó Faoláin("In Magh Lacha of the warm hill slopes is Ó Faolain of manly tribe; Extensive is the district due to them, which the Ó Faolains have filled.")^[5]

Clarmallagh was formerly a part of the Upper Ossory barony, established by 1657; in 1842 it was divided into three cantreds: Upper Woods, Clandonagh and Clarmallagh.

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Clarmallagh barony:

• Abbeyleix
• Ballacolla
• Durrow

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland: Adapted to the New Poor-law, Franchise, Municipal and Ecclesiastical Arrangements, and Compiled with a Special Reference to the Lines of Railroad and Canal Communication, as Existing in 1814-45. 8 July 2018. A. Fullarton and Company. Google Books.
2. Web site: General View of the Agriculture and Manufactures of the Queen's County: With Observations on the Means of Their Improvement, Drawn Up in the Year 1801 : for the Consideration, and Under the Direction of the Dublin Society. Sir Charles. Coote. 8 July 2018. Graisberry & Campbell. Google Books.
3. Book: Carrigan, William. The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory. 8 July 1981. Рипол Классик. 9785879206463. Google Books.
4. Web site: Ó Faoláin - Irish Names and Surnames. Patrick. Woulfe. www.libraryireland.com.
5. Web site: The Topographical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla-na-naomh O'Huidhrin: Edited in the original Irish from MSS. in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, with translation, notes, and introductory dissertations, by John O'Donovan. 8 July 1862. A. Thom.. Google Books.