Iffa and Offa West (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Uíbh Eoghain agus Uíbh Fhathaidh Thiar'') 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 Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is

Cahir Cahir (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Iffa and Offa West. Location and access For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: the Dublin ...

. The barony lies between Clanwilliam to the north-west (whose chief town is

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

), Middle Third to the north-east (whose chief town is Cashel) and

Iffa and Offa East Iffa and Offa East (Irish: ''Uíbh Eoghain agus Uíbh Fhathaidh Thoir'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Clonmel. The barony lies between If ...

to the east (whose chief town is

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

). The area is currently administered by

Tipperary County Council Tipperary County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Thiobraid Árann) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It came into operation on 3 June ...

. The barony is within the geographic remit of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore The Diocese of Waterford and Lismore (Irish: ''Deoise Phort Láirge agus Leasa Móire'' ) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel (also known as Munster) and is subjec ...

Legal context

Baronies were created after the

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 sanc ...

as divisions of

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and were used the administration of justice and the raising of revenue. 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 in specification, such as in planning permissions. In many cases, a barony corresponds to an earlier

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 ...

túath which had submitted to the Crown.

History

As the name suggests, in medieval times the territory of the barony (and its neighbour to the east) was controlled by the Gaelic

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

s of Uíbh Eoghain and Uíbh Fhathaidh. Following the conquest of Ireland by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

, much of the territory was, by royal grant, handed over to the victorious barons.

Feudal history

William de Camville (born about 1142, from Leicestershire, England, died about 1208) married Albreda Marmion (born about 1150) about 1164 when she was just 14 years old. She was the daughter of Geoffrey Marmion. They had a son, Geoffrey de Camville who was born about 1182, in Leicestershire, England. Geoffrey married Felicia (who was born about 1190) about 1206 when she was just 16 years old. He enters Irish records some time prior to his marriage.

Cahir Abbey The Priory of St. Mary in Cahir, known as Cahir Abbey, was a medieval priory of Augustinian Canons regular and is a National Monument located in Cahir, Ireland. Location Cahir Abbey is located north of Cahir Castle, on the west bank of the Ri ...

was in existence by c.1200 when the prior is listed as a witness to one of the documents contained in the register of the hospital of St. John's Dublin. In this, a grant to the hospital by Geoffrey de Camville, the prior John is described as first prior (Primo – Priore) of "Kaherdunesche", which suggests that the priory was a relatively recent foundation at this time. It is the same Geoffrey de Camville who is credited with the foundation of the priory in Cahir. Geoffrey was Baron of both Cahir and Fedamore in Co. Limerick. Having no male heir (the only child of Geoffrey and Felicia being a daughter, Felicia de Camville), the titles to the baronies lapsed. The next time that a "

Baron Cahir 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 knigh ...

" is mentioned is in the mid 16th century when a barony is created for a member of the Butler family –

Thomas Butler, 1st Baron Cahir Thomas Butler, 1st Baron Cahir or Caher (died 1558) was an Irish peer. Biography Butler was the son of Thomas Butler of Cahir and Catherine Power and the great-grandson of James "Gallda" Butler. He was elevated to the peerage of Ireland, on 1 ...

. He was a direct descendant of the Ormond branch of the Butler family, from James, the 3rd Earl. It was his father, the 2nd Earl, who had built

Cahir Castle Cahir Castle ( ga, Caisleán na Cathrach), one of the largest castles in Ireland, is sited on an island in the river Suir. It was built from 1142 by Conchobar Ua Briain, King of Thomond. Now situated in Cahir town centre, County Tipperary, the ...

in 1375 to guard a strategic crossing point of the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

Ardfinnan Castle Ardfinnan Castle, is the sister castle of Lismore Castle and was built circa 1185 to guard the river crossing at Ardfinnan (''Ard Fhíonáin'' in Irish) in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is situated on the River Suir, seven miles west of Clonme ...

was built by order of King John around 1186 to guard another crossing of the

. A bridge was started soon after the castle was completed.

Modern times

When

was split into

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and South Ridings in 1836, Iffa and Offa West was allocated to the south riding. However, the neighbouring barony of Kilnamanagh was split into Upper and Lower half-baronies, being allocated to the north and south ridings respectively.

Features

The barony is set in that part of the

Suir The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

valley where the river makes a 90° turn to the east. The

Knockmealdown Mountains The Knockmealdown Mountains ( ga, Sléibhte Chnoc Mhaoldomhnaigh) are a mountain range located on the border of counties Tipperary and Waterford in Ireland, running east and west between the two counties. The highest peak of the range is Knockmea ...

rise abruptly to the south, forming the border with

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 ...

before they trail off to the lesser peaks of the Kilworth Mountains further west at the

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 ...

border. To the northwest lie the

Galtee Mountains Galtymore or Galteemore () is a mountain in the province of Munster, Ireland. At , it is one of Ireland's highest mountains, being the 12th-highest on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin list, and 14th-highest on the Lists of mo ...

– Ireland's highest inland mountain range. The summit of Galtymore forms the demarkation with

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

Towns, villages and townlands of the barony

Ballylooby Ballylooby () is a village in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Iffa and Offa West, and is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. Location Ballylooby is on the R668 regional road between Cahi ...

Ballyporeen Ballyporeen ( Irish: ''Béal Átha Póirín'') is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The 2016 census recorded a village population of 318. Location It lies in the Galtee-Vee Valley with the Galtee Mountains to the north and the Knockmealdo ...

, Burncourt, Clogheen, Grange, Husseystown

Civil parishes of the barony

This tableDatabase of Ireland – civil parishes.
/ref> lists an historical geographical sub-division of the barony known as 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 ...

(not to be confused with an

Ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

External links

* Source given is "Ordnance survey".

References

{{Tipperary-baronies