Clonlea or Clonleigh () is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, Ireland. The main settlement is the village of

Kilkishen Kilkishen () is a village in southeast County Clare, Ireland. The village is east of Quin and north of Shannon. Demographics According to a report by Samuel Lewis in 1837, Kilkishen had a population of 519. At the 2006 Census the population ...

. It is part of the Catholic parish of

O'Callaghans Mills O'Callaghan's Mills (), also O'Callaghansmills, is a village in County Clare, Ireland, and a Catholic parish by the same name. It takes its name from the O'Callaghan family who were large landowners in the area and a corn and grist mill built by ...

Location

Clonlea is in the barony of Tullagh. It is to the north of

Sixmilebridge Sixmilebridge (), is a large village in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road. Sixmilebridge partly serves as a dormitory village for workers in the ...

. It contains the village of

. The parish is long and up to wide, covering an area of , some of which is covered by lakes. These include Lough Culleaungheeda, Lough Doon, Lough Clonleigh, Clonbrick and Castle-lake. There is a holy well dedicated to

Saint Senán In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

of Iniscathy on the edge of Clonlea lake. The ruins of the old parish church, and the burial ground, are on the southwest shore of Clonlea lake. The old ruin of Stackpoole overlooks the lakes of Pollagh and Mount Cashel. The parish covers 5,355 statute acres as applotted under the tithe act, mostly mountain and bog. The parish contains the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

s of Ballyvorgal (Beg), Ballyvorgal (North), Ballyvorgal (South), Belvoir, Belvoir Demesne, Cappalaheen, Clashduff, Cloghoolia, Clonbrick, Clonlea, Cloonloum Beg, Cloonloum More, Coolistoonan, Derrynaveagh, Enagh (East), Enagh (North), Enagh (West), Glenwood, Gortadroma, Gortnacorragh, Gortnaglearagh, Kilkishen Demesne, Killanena, Killeen, Knockatinty, Knockatloe, Knockatooreen, Lakyle, Mountallon, Oatfield and Teeronea.

History

Clonlea,

Kilseily Kilseily ( ga, Cill tSíle) is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. The main settlement is the village of Broadford. Location Kilseily lies in the barony of Tulla Lower, County Clare. It is to the southwest of Killaloe on the road to En ...

and part of

O'Brien's Bridge O'Brien's Bridge or O'Briensbridge () is a village in east County Clare, Ireland, on the west bank of the River Shannon, in a civil parish of the same name. It is named for the bridge across the Shannon at that point, built by Turlough O'Brien ...

(Trúgh) used to comprise the district of Ui Floinn, the land of the O'Flynns. This sept is little known, but there is a mention in MacGrath's ''Wars of Thormond'' of the battle of Magh Duine around 953 in which Lachtna, uncle of

Brian Boroimhe Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domination of Ireland. Bri ...

, slew three of the O'Flynns. The old burial ground is said to contain the remains of one John Cusack, of Kilkishin Castle, who is said to have earned the hatred of the people by acting as a discoverer of the estates of the Catholic gentry. The first church at Kilkishen was probably built very early in the 19th century. It is mentioned in an 1811 report of a dispute that led to violence over who should sit nearest to the altar. As of 1831 the parish had 3,105 inhabitants. In 1841 there were 3,749 in 579 houses. In 1834 there were 3,274 Catholics and 60 Protestants. There were 60 limekilns, used to make lime to fertilize the soil. The parish was part of the Catholic union of Kilkishen, which also included the parish of Killuran. Each year two fairs were held at Enagh, and three at Kilkishen. Major renovation or reconstruction of the church was completed in 1865. The fair called Enagh O'Floinn was still being held late in the 19th century, although the sept of the O'Flynns had died out more than five hundred years earlier. Today the civil parish is part of the Catholic parish of

, which also includes the old parish of

Killuran Killuran ( ga, Cill Úráin) is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It contains the village of O'Callaghans Mills. It is united with the civil parish of Kilkishen in the Catholic parish of O'Callaghans Mills. Location The parish is in t ...

. It is served by the church of St Senan's in

. In 2017, a previously unrecorded

mass rock Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a Physical object, physical body, until the discovery of the atom and par ...

and altar stone were discovered by a local teenager on the south west shore of the lake.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * Civil parishes of County Clare {{Civil parishes of County Clare