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In Ireland, a barony ( ga, barúntacht, plural ) is a historical subdivision of a county, analogous to the hundreds into which the
counties of England The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...
were divided. Baronies were created during the Tudor reconquest of Ireland, replacing the earlier cantreds formed after the original Norman invasion.Mac Cotter 2005, pp.327–330 Some early baronies were later subdivided into half baronies with the same standing as full baronies. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Subsequent adjustments of county boundaries mean that some baronies now straddle two counties. The final catalogue of baronies numbered 331, with an average area of ; therefore, each county was divided, on average, into 10 or 11 baronies.


Creation

The island of Ireland was "shired" into counties in two distinct periods: the east and south during the
Anglo-Norman period The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sm ...
(from the 1169 invasion to the early fourteenth century) and the rest in the Tudor conquest of the sixteenth century. "Barony" was used in three overlapping but distinct senses in the early period: * a " feudal barony" was an honour or large
manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...
* a "parliamentary
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
y" was a rank of the peerage of Ireland, giving the right to sit in the Parliament of Ireland * an "administrative barony" or cantred was a unit for taxation purposesNicholls 1996 Over the centuries, these senses diverged, and many administrative baronies have never been associated with feudal or noble titles. Spurious "barony" titles have been sold by using the names of administrative baronies for which there is no corresponding hereditary or prescriptive barony. In counties Louth and
Meath Meath may refer to: General * County Meath, Republic of Ireland **Kingdom of Meath, medieval precursor of the county ** List of kings of Meath ** Meath GAA, including the intercounty football and hurling teams ** Diocese of Meath, in the Roman Cath ...
, the administrative subdivisions were called "baronies" from the beginning, originally as portions given by
Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy (; before 1135 – 25 July 1186), was an Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial land holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Following his participation in the Norman Inva ...
to his vassals. Further south the name "cantred" was used till the fifteenth century. The cantreds declined with the rest of the English colony as its influence retreated to the Pale in the fourteenth century, and when the Tudors and Stuarts revived and extended county government, the baronies which they delimited often bore little relation to the earlier cantreds. Most cantreds corresponded to the ('country') or ('thirty hundred en) of a
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
chief. However, sometimes baronies combined small territories, or split a large one, or were created without regard for the earlier boundaries. In the Norman period most Gaelic chiefs were killed, expelled, or subordinated by the new Norman lord; in the Tudor period, many Gaelic and Hibernicized lords retained their land by pledging allegiance to the Crown under surrender and regrant. Sir John Perrot's commissioners reported 184 "cantreds, otherwise called hundreds or baronies" in 1589; William Petty reported 252 baronies in 1672. Baronies were sometimes subdivided, and occasionally combined. The parts of a subdivided barony were called ''half-baronies'', but had the same legal standing. Some subdivisions came about when new counties were formed, and the new boundary split a pre-existing barony. In three cases, there are adjacent half-baronies in neighbouring counties with the same name: Rathdown ( DublinWicklow), Fore (
Meath Meath may refer to: General * County Meath, Republic of Ireland **Kingdom of Meath, medieval precursor of the county ** List of kings of Meath ** Meath GAA, including the intercounty football and hurling teams ** Diocese of Meath, in the Roman Cath ...
Westmeath), and Ballymoe ( GalwayRoscommon). Subdivision happened especially in the 19th century, when qualifiers "Upper"/"Lower"(/"Middle"), "North"/"South", or "East/"West" were used for the half-baronies. The main basis for this subdivision was the Grand Jury (Ireland) Act, 1836, which empowered a county's
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
to divide baronies of at least and unite baronies totalling at most . An 1837 act relaxed these restrictions for County Fermanagh, where many baronies were split by
Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...
. The baronies of Iveagh, Muskerry, and Connello were each subdivided twice: Upper and Lower Iveagh each have Upper and Lower Halves; East and West Muskerry each have East and West Divisions; the western divisions split from Upper and Lower Connello were named Shanid and Glenquin respectively. When County Tipperary was split into North and South Ridings in 1838, the barony of Kilnamanagh was split into Upper and Lower half-baronies. At the Reformation the parishes for civil purposes were the ecclesiastical parishes of the established Church of Ireland. Originally each parish was usually within a single barony, but less so over time. A townland might be an
exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of a parish, and potentially of its barony; under the Valuation of Lands (Ireland) Act 1836, detached parts of baronies were annexed to an adjacent barony, but not so for parishes. The rationalisation of small ecclesiastical parishes into larger
benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
s sometimes entailed merging the corresponding civil parishes, which might thus cross barony (and county) boundaries.


Peculiar districts

Many towns had a specific royal charter granting them borough status similar to English law. These were originally independent of the baronies, which were rural divisions of the "county at large". By the time of Beaufort's 1792 ''Memoir of Ireland'', this was true of fewer towns. Beaufort distinguishes between baronies and "peculiar districts"; the latter encompassing counties corporate and liberties in the environs of some of the older or larger towns and cities.


Liberties

The liberties listed by Beaufort separately from baronies are those of Kinsale, Mallow and Youghal in County Cork;
Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...
in
County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...
; Kilmallock in County Limerick;
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
and
Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...
in
County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...
; and Wexford in
County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
. Of these, those of Wexford, Mallow, and Youghal are no longer counted as separate from the adjacent baronies. Those of Kinsale, Callen, and Kilmallock are now counted as baronies. A 1791 act dealt with the two in County Londonderry; it made the North West Liberties of Londonderry, together with the city, into a barony, while the liberties on the east bank of the
River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...
were attached to the half barony of Tirkeeran. Similarly, the North East Liberties of Coleraine formed a barony together with the town, while the liberties on the west bank of the River Bann were attached to the separate half-barony of Coleraine. The lands of the
Lordship of Newry Lordship of Newry is a historic barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. List of settlements Below is a list of settlements in Lordship of Newry: City *Newry List of civil parishes Below is a list of civil parishes in Lordship of Newry: *Newry ...
, originating with the
Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
of
Newry Abbey Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, although ...
and passing to the Earl of Kilmorey, were similarly regularised into a barony of County Down and a civil parish of County Armagh.


Counties corporate

There were eight counties corporate: the "County of the City" of each of
Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, Dublin, Limerick,
Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...
, and Waterford, and the "County of the Town" of each of Carrickfergus,
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
and Galway.Clarkson et al, ''Notes on Baronies of Ireland''Hancock 1876 These were excluded from the enclosing "county-at-large" and exercised at a single level the functions which elsewhere were split between county and barony level. Thus, they had "baronial presentment sessions" although they were not strictly speaking baronies. Each such city or town also had a municipal corporation which had parallel authority with the grand jury; however, each county corporate except Carrickfergus included rural "liberties" outside the municipal boundary. The
Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 The Municipal Corporations Act (Ireland) 1840 (3 & 4 Vict. c. 108), ''An Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland'', was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 10 August 1840. It was one of the Municipal Corporati ...
abolished the corporations of Carrickfergus and Galway, while the Counties and Boroughs (Ireland) Act 1840, passed simultaneously, transferred the liberties of the other six counties corporate to the adjoining county-at-large. The transferred area was sometimes assigned to one or more existing county baronies, but sometimes made a barony in its own right. The reduced-size counties corporate continued till the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, at which point each of those of Kilkenny and the three towns was merged with a neighbouring county to form a new administrative county, while the other four counties of cities each became a county borough. Both before and after 1898, where a statute presupposed that a county was divided into baronies, judges sometimes construed it by assuming that each county corporate constituted a single barony.


Historical functions

The various
Plantations of Ireland Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, angl ...
were organised largely by barony. Different categories of English and Scottish settlers were planted in particular baronies in the midlands and Munster. Likewise the "precincts" into which the
plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...
was organised were mostly coterminous with baronies, though some were split or combined. In certain counties after the Cromwellian reconquest,
Adventurers An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...
got lands in half the baronies, with
soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
in the other half. The Irish who had forfeited their lands in those regions were resettled in Connacht and
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
, with each county of origin assigned to particular destination baronies. William Petty's Down Survey of 1655–6 collected statistics and produced maps at barony level to assist the reorganisation. Acts of 1787 and 1792 allowed the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...
to appoint a
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
for each barony, and the county
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
to appoint up to 16 sub-constables. These powers were seldom used and the constables had few powers; they were usually older men nicknamed "old Barnys", with the archetypal "old Barny McKeown". They were superseded by the Royal Irish Constabulary. The cess to pay for roads, bridges, and other public works was set per barony. "Presentment sessions", where petitioners applied for funding for such works, were originally held as part of the county
assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...
, though the costs were paid from the barony cess if the work was of local benefit only. The county grand jury was supposed to have included jurors from each barony, though this did not always happen. From 1819, significantly modified in 1836, baronial presentment sessions were held for these purposes, with a local jury picked by the county grand jury from among the barony's highest rate-payers, according to a complicated formula.Hancock 1876
pp.186–91
/ref> The baronial presentment sessions were a convoluted process, lacking public confidence and marred by allegations of corruption and favouritism. Special emergency sessions were held during the Famine of the 1840s for the
make-work A make-work job is a job that has less immediate financial or little benefit at all to the economy than the job costs to support. It may also have no benefit. Make-work jobs are similar to workfare, but are publicly offered on the job market and h ...
schemes. Several parallel local administrative divisions were formed in the nineteenth century, which were not based on the barony. The Poor Law Unions were established in 1838, each centred on an eponymous town; most new or altered responsibilities were given to them in subsequent decades. These Unions which were divided into district electoral divisions (DEDs) for funding purposes. Petty sessions courts for civil cases and quarter sessions for criminal cases used still another set of land divisions. For each two-seat county constituency in the Irish House of Commons, the election was held in the
county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
, with a separate polling booth for electors resident in each barony or half-baroiny. The single-seat divisions into which the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 split most Irish county constituencies were defined largely or exclusively in terms of the baronies which they comprised; however, in some cases a barony was split parish by parish between two divisions. The 1891 census was the last for which returns were aggregated by barony as well as by Union and DED; the 1901 census used only the latter classification, though it and the 1911 census included the barony in the detailed returns. The 1898 Act replaced the county assizes with an elected county council; at a lower level, the county was divided into urban districts and
rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...
s, each with an elected council. These councils had power to levy
rates Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another Mathematics and science * Rate (mathema ...
and build public works, and the baronial presentment sessions were abolished.


Modern existence

While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units". Baronies continue to be used in
land registration Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, a ...
, and specification such as in planning permissions. For example, the form for registration of a freehold property includes a schedule "To contain description of the property, giving area, townland, barony and county, or, if in a city or urban district, the street or road and city or urban district". Barony boundaries have remained essentially unchanged since 1898. An exception occurs when land is reclaimed from the sea, whereupon the maritime boundary of the coastal land units will be extended accordingly. For example, a 1994
statutory instrument In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation. United Kingdom Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom. National government Statutory instrument ...
extended the boundary of the Barony of Arklow, along with the boundaries of the county ( Wicklow), the district electoral division (Arklow Rural), the civil parish ( Arklow), and the townlands (Rock Big, Rock Little, and Money Big). The Local Government (Ireland) Act also caused a number of county boundaries to be modified, with the result that a number of baronies now cross county boundaries. This can cause confusion to genealogy researchers, who may be unable to find an area referred to as being in a particular county in 19th century sources in the modern county. Most markedly, the entire territory of the small barony of Kilculliheen was moved from
County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...
to
County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...
. Likewise in 1976, when suburbs of Drogheda were transferred from County Meath to County Louth, barony boundaries were not adjusted. The marginal relevance of baronies means many people have no idea which barony they live in. However, some remain a focus for local patriotism. Some public houses and older provincial hotels bear the name of the barony in which they are located; likewise some clubs of the Gaelic Athletic Association, for example
Carbury Carbery or Carbury may refer to: ;People: * Brian Carbury (1918–1961), New Zealand fighter ace * Douglas Carbery (1894–1959), British soldier and airman * Ethna Carbery (1864–1902), Irish writer * James Joseph Carbery (1823–1887), Irish Dom ...
(County Kildare), Castlerahan, and Kilmurry Ibrickane. Four of the six regional divisions of
Cork GAA The Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Contae Chorcaí) or Cork GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cork and the C ...
are named after baronies corresponding to major parts of their respective areas: Carbery, Duhallow, Imokilly, and Muskerry.


List of baronies

The final catalogue of baronies numbered 331. A figure of 273 is also quoted, by combining those divided into half-baronies, as by East/West, North/South, or Upper/Middle/Lower divisions. Every point in Ireland is in precisely one of the listed divisions. However, the municipal area of the four cities with barony status in 1898 has extended since then into the surrounding baronies. Prior to 1898, the baronies around Dublin City were shrunk according as they ceded land to the expanding city; but there is now land which is both within the current city boundaries and within one of the pre-1898 county baronies. Notably, the Barony of Dublin, created in 1842, is almost entirely within the city, although still separate from the Barony of Dublin City.


See also

* Barony (country subdivision) * List of Irish local government areas 1898–1921 * Townland


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *
Vol. I: A–CVol. II: D–MVol. III: N–Z


External links

{{Commons category, Baronies of Ireland

includes large JPGs of the county maps from Robert Lloyd Praeger's copy of ''Philips' Handy Atlas of the Counties of Ireland'' (c.1880) with baronies clearly differentiated by colour and border.
Barony Map of Ireland
by Dennis Walsh (archived)

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

including shapefiles for baronies; from the Central Statistics Office, Ireland Legal history of Ireland Ireland