Clarmallagh () is a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

(formerly called ''Queen's County'' or ''County Leix''),

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Etymology

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

Geography

Clarmallagh is located in south County Laois, to the south of the River Gully, and to the north of the

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 ...

border. It contains the lower part of the Erkina River where it drains into the

River Nore The River Nore ( ga, An Fheoir ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region of Ireland. The river drains approximately of Leinster and Munster, that encompasses parts of three counti ...

History

Clarmallagh barony was anciently the northernmost part of the

Kingdom of Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...

(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). It is referred to in the topographical poem ''

Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh ("More knowledge on the entirety of Ireland") is a medieval Gaelic-Irish topographical text, composed by Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín (died 1420). Overview ''Tuilleadh feasa ...'' is both a supplement and a contin ...

'' (

Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín Giolla na Naomh O hUidhrin, Irish historian and poet, died 1420. O hUidhrin is known as the author of ''Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh'', a topographical poem of a kind with Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin's '' Triallam timcheall na Fodla'', of which ...

, d. 1420): ''I Muiġ Laċa na learg te'' ''Ó Faoláin, fearḋa an fíne'' ''Mór an dúthaiġ as díol dáiḃ'' ''Do 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.") Upper Ossory map 1797

Clarmallagh was formerly a part of the

Upper Ossory Upper Ossory () was an administrative barony in the south and west of Queen's County (now County Laois) in Ireland. In late Gaelic Ireland it was the túath of the Mac Giolla Phádraig ( Fitzpatrick) family and a surviving remnant of the once ...

barony, established by 1657; in 1842 it was divided into three

cantred A cantred was a subdivision of a county in the Anglo-Norman Lordship of Ireland between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, analogous to the cantref of Wales or the hundred of England. In County Dublin the equivalent unit was termed a serjeant ...

Upper Woods Upper Woods or Upperwoods () is a barony in County Laois (formerly called ''Queen's County'' or ''County Leix''), Republic of Ireland. Etymology Upper Woods barony is named after the forests of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Geography Upper Wood ...

Clandonagh Clandonagh () is a barony in County Laois (formerly called ''Queen's County'' or ''County Leix''), Republic of Ireland. A barony was a historical subdivision of a county; mainly cadastral rather than administrative. Etymology Clandonagh barony ...

and Clarmallagh.

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Clarmallagh barony: *

Abbeyleix Abbeyleix (; ) is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located around south of the county town of Portlaoise. Abbeyleix was formerly located on the N8, the main road from Dublin to Cork. At one point, up to 15,000 vehicles passed along the town' ...

Ballacolla Ballacolla, officially Ballycolla (), is a village in County Laois, Ireland. It sits at the crossroads of the R433 and R434 regional roads, southwest of Abbeyleix Abbeyleix (; ) is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located around south o ...

* Durrow

References

{{County Laois Baronies of County Laois