, image_skyline = File:KilflynnTownland Gortclohy DMarshall2017.jpg , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ireland , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_label = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_mapsize = , pushpin_map_caption = Gortclohy shown within

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 ...

, coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name =

, subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 =

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, subdivision_type2 = Barony , subdivision_name2 = Clanmaurice , subdivision_type3 = Civil parish , subdivision_name3 =

Kilflynn Kilflynn () is a village and a civil parish in north County Kerry, Ireland. It is 11 km north-east of Tralee just off the N69 road from Tralee to Listowel. Etymology The origin of the place name Cill Flainn is unknown. Two suggestions are c ...

, area_footnotes = , area_magnitude = , area_total_ha = 306.28 , area_total_acre = 756.83 Gortclohy ( ga, Gort Cloiche) is a

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 ...

. It is one of sixteen ancient townlands of the

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 ...

and lies centrally in the parish. It touches the River Shannow by the Waterfall, and the northern tip is just clipped by the N69 Tralee-Listowel road. It is largely rural and partly forested.

Archaeology and history

The name is noted in Ordnance Survey parish namebooks as meaning 'field of the stones'. Examples of anglicised spellings are Gurtclughy, Gurtcloughy, Gurtclogha, Gurtcloohy. In 2011,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

s dug a test trench on the site of the realignment of the N69 Tralee-Listowel road, which passes through Gortclohy, evidence of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

an Beaker culture was found, namely tool production waste and charcoal of

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and alder (approximate location using Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system, 29U 491373 623604). A fragment of alder

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

was carbon-dated to between 2132 and 1920 B.C. This is the most northerly evidence of Beaker culture in County Kerry and the earliest evidence of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

activity so far in the parish of Kilflynn. Evidence of later human activity was found in two trenches dug on the same N69 route at Cloonnafinneela. The townland was formerly the property of James Stack, of the Stack family well-known to the area, reflected in the townland name of Stack's Mountain adjacent to Gortclohy. He supported the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

and the

Confederation of Kilkenny Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military ...

in the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...

. This resulted in his land being taken by Cromwell's forces following the Act for the Settlement of Ireland in 1652. In 1666, Henry Ponsonby, a 46-year-old former soldier who fought for Cromwell, was granted the land after the Act of Settlement of 1662. Timothy Tuomey of Gortclohy was a victim of the

Ballyseedy Ballyseedy () is a townland in County Kerry, Ireland. It was historically situated in the parish of Ballyseedy, within the barony of Trughanacmy. The townland contains a number of notable landmarks, including Ballyseedy Wood, a bridge over t ...

incident during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

. On 7 March 1923, Tuomey and eight other Republican prisoners of the Free State army were taken from the

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

in Tralee to Ballyseedy, where a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

had been prepared by two

Dublin Guard The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and then of the Irish National Army in the ensuing Civil War. Foundation In May 1921 the Active Service Unit of the Irish Republican Army's Dublin Brigad ...

officers. In addition to Tuomey, two other prisoners from the Kilflynn civil parish were present,

Stephen Fuller Stephen Fuller (1 January 1900 – 23 February 1984) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1937 to 1943. Early life Fuller was born in Kilflynn, County Kerry, in 1900. He ...

(later to be

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

for North Kerry) and George O'Shea; all had been fighting with the Kilflynn Flying Column. The nine were tied in a standing circle with their backs to the mine which was then remotely detonated.

Bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

s and

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

s followed. The only survivor was Fuller. Tuomey and O'Shea are buried in the Republican plot in Kilflynn.

Representation

Gortclohy is in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish of

Abbeydorney Abbeydorney () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. Located north of the county town of Tralee, the village had a population of 418 as of the 2016 census of Ireland. Abbeydorney falls within the civil parish of O'Dorney. History Abbey ...

, whose

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

is the Very Reverend Denis O’Mahony. The townland is in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

(since 2016), returning five Teachtaí Dála (TDs) to the

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

. The current TDs are John Brassil (

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

), Martin Ferris (

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

), Brendan Griffin (

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

), Danny Healy-Rae (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

) and Michael Healy-Rae (

References

{{coord missing, County Kerry Townlands of County Kerry

Archaeology and history

Representation

See also

References