Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is one of 12 baronies in County Kilkenny. The size of the barony is . There are 12
civil parishes
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. ...
in Galmoy. While it is named after the village of Galmoy, today the chief town of the barony is
Urlingford
Urlingford () is a town, as well as a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish within the barony of Galmoy. It is located in the north west of County Kilkenny, along the boundary with County Tipperary, in Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
A ...
. Galmoy barony lies at the north-western corner of the county between Fassadinin to the east (whose chief town is
Castlecomer
Castlecomer (Irish: ''Caislean an Chumai'' meaning "the castle at the confluence of the waters") is a town in the north of County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is positioned at the meeting of N78 and R694 roads about north of Kilkenny city. At th ...
), and Crannagh to the south (whose chief town is Freshford). It is surrounded on two sides by counties Tipperary to the west and Laois to the north. The M8 Dublin/Cork motorway bisects the barony. It is situated from
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
city and from Cork city. Galmoy is currently administered by
Kilkenny County Council
Kilkenny County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Chill Chainnigh) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kilkenny, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible f ...
. The barony was part of in the historic 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 o ...
(''Ossory'').
History
The name of Galmoy, in Irish ''Gabhalmhaigh'', means "plain of the Branch, or Ghabhal" ( River Goul). The barony was part of in the historic 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 o ...
(''Ossory'') and was the territory of the Ua Bróithe clan. According to O'Heerin's Topographical Poem (1420) at the time of the
Norman invasion
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
the area was the territory of the clan called the Ua Bróithe (O'Brophy) of Mag Sédna.
In a 1247 feodary, Stephen Archid kneholds 2 knights' fees in Ganelomey (also known at the time as Gauleme) in the Calendar of Patent Rolls. In the 1324 feodary, Raymond le Ercedekne, son of Richard, held the lands of Gavelmoy, in the barony of Galmoy. Galmoy was recorded in the
Down Survey
The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist, William Petty, in 1655 and 1656.
The survey was apparently called the "Down Survey" by Petty, either because the results were set down in maps or because the s ...
(1656), the 1840 Ordnance Survey Map and on Griffith's Valuation (1864).
The main landholders in the barony were the Butlers. The
Viscount Galmoye
Butler ( ga, de Buitléir) is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormond ...
Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye
Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye, otherwise Viscount Galmoy, (21 March 1652 – 18 June 1740) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman. He was descended from the 10th Earl of Ormond. He was the son of Edward Butler, 2nd Viscount Galmoye and Eleanor White ...
). The O'Brophys and Archdeacons were based in Galmoy. It had been established by 1672.
In the 18th century County Kilkenny consisted of the Liberties of Kilkenny, and of Callan, and the baronies of Galmoy, Lower Ossory, Fassadinig, Cranagh, Shellilogher, Gowran, Kells, Knocktopher, Ida, Igrin, Iverk and Ibercon. By the 19th century these were restructured into the baronies of Callan, Crannagh, Fassadinin, Galmoy, Gowran, Ida, Iverk, Kells, Knocktopher, and Shillelogher. It was in the Poor law union of Urlingford.
Geography
The county is subdivided into 12 baronies These include Kilkenny in the centre of the county, and clockwise from north of the county, Fassadinin, Gowran, Ida,
Kilculliheen
Kilculliheen ( ga, Cill Choilchín) is a civil parish, electoral division and barony in Ireland, on the north bank of the River Suir across from the centre of Waterford City. Historically, it has been transferred several times between the coun ...
,
Iverk
Iverk () is a barony in the south-west of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The size of the barony is . There are 15 civil parishes in Iverk. The chief town today is Piltown. The N24 crosses the barony.
Iverk lies at the south-west of the county, wi ...
,
Knocktopher
Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford to the north, and Ballyhale to the south. It was formerly situated on ...
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 ...
Urlingford
Urlingford () is a town, as well as a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish within the barony of Galmoy. It is located in the north west of County Kilkenny, along the boundary with County Tipperary, in Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
A ...
Ballyragget
Ballyragget () is a small town on the river Nore in the north of County Kilkenny in Ireland. Ballyragget is on the N77 north of Kilkenny. As of the 2016 census, it had a population of 1,082 people.
Toponymy
The name 'Ragget' is Anglo-Norm ...
, and the population centres of Crosspatrick, Galmoy, Gattabaun. Galmoy is made up of 12
civil parishes
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. ...
of
Erke
The erke (alternatively erque, coroneta, or quepa) is a large labrophone (lip reed) instrument native to the Gran Chaco of Bolivia, northern Chile, and Argentine Northwest.
Construction
The erke is composed of two or more lengths of cane joi ...
Urlingford
Urlingford () is a town, as well as a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish within the barony of Galmoy. It is located in the north west of County Kilkenny, along the boundary with County Tipperary, in Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
A ...
townlands
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 ...
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
diocese of
Ossory
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 ...
and the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
Norman invasion of Ireland
The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...
as subdivisions of counties and were used for administration. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they have been administratively obsolete since 1898. However, they continue to be used in land registration and specification such as in planning permissions. In many cases, a barony corresponds to an earlier Gaelic túath which had submitted to the Crown.
See also
*
Barony (county division)
A barony is an administrative division of a county in Scotland, Ireland, outlying parts of England and historically France. It has a lower rank and importance than a county.
Origin
A geographic barony is a remnant from mediaeval times of the are ...
List of baronies of Ireland
This is a list of the baronies of Ireland. Baronies were subdivisions of counties, mainly cadastral but with some administrative functions prior to the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.
Final list
The final catalogue of baronies numbered 33 ...