Kilnamona () is a village and 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 ...

in County Clare,

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 situated north-west of

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

Location

The parish of Kilnamona lies in the

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 ...

Inchiquin Inchiquin ( ga, Inse Uí Chuinn) is a barony in County Clare, Ireland.Placenames Database of ...

, northwest of Ennis. It is and covers . 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 ...

of Soheen is detached from the rest of the parish. The land is partly moorland, partly suitable for farming. Lough Aconnaun is in the west of the parish at an elevation of . The parish is drained by the Shallee rivulet, which runs eastward. The parish of Kilnamona is bounded to the west by the parish of Inagh, to the east by Drumcliffe, to the north by Dysert and to the south by

Inch and Kilmaley Kilmaley ( ga, Cill Mháille) is a village situated west of the town of Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. The name "Kilmaley" came from the Irish language "Cill Mhaile" which translates to Church of (Saint) Maley. Location Kilmaley is in the bar ...

. It is part of the Catholic parish of

Inagh and Kilnamona Inagh and Kilnamona is a parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. It is mostly coterminous with the civil parishes of Inagh and Kilnamona that lie to the west of the county town of Ennis in the ancient barony of ...

Village

Kilnamona has a camogie club. The "Cill na Móna Pitch and Putt" 18 hole course opened for business in 1995. The Catholic church of "St Joseph's" is in Kilnamona.

History

The parish contains the remains of old forts, a church and two castles. The two castles are Shallee Castle and Magowna Castle. The Shallee Castle and lands were in the hands of the O'Brien family but were forfeited to Queen Elizabeth in 1592. Magowna Castle was built by the O'Griffeys who by 1443 held both the rectorship and curacy of Kilnamona. In 1659, there were 480 inhabitants recorded (470 Catholics and 10 Protestants). The population grew rapidly up to the early 1840s, as in the rest of Ireland. In 1831 the population was 1,767. The

Great Irish Famine The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a ...

devastated the population. The population dropped between 1841 and 1851 from 2,321 in 352 houses to 1,487 in 229 houses. By 1861 the population had declined further to 864, and then remained roughly stable for the rest of the century. By 1901 the population had shrunk to 718. According to the 2006 Census, there were 738 inhabitants of Kilnamona. This is an increase from the 699 recorded in the 2002 census. In 1824, 141 children (139 Catholics and 2 Protestants) were being educated in the two hedge schools in the parish. The modern National School was built in 1889. Major renovations were carried out in 2008 and the extension was officially blessed by

Bishop Willie Walsh William "Willie" Walsh (born 16 January 1935) is an Irish former Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Killaloe between 1994 and 2010. Early life Walsh was born on 16 January 1935, the youngest of six children, near Roscrea, County Tip ...

in May 2009.

Notable people

* James Breen (born 1945), councillor and former independent TD *

Mike McTigue Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

(1892–1966), light heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1923 to 1925

Townlands

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 are Ballyasheea, Ballyknock, Ballymongaun, Ballynabinnia, Ballyneillan, Caherbannagh, Clooncaurha, Cloongowna, Cooguquid, Croaghaun, Derroolagh, Islandgar, Kilnamona, Knockacaurhin, Knockatemple, Leckaun, Magowna, Moarhaun, Mweelagarraun, Rushaun, Soheen, Shallee, Tooreen East and Tooreen West.

References

External links

Clare County Library-Kilnamona

History of Kilnamona

Mike McTigue Official Website
{{Civil parishes of County Clare Civil parishes of County Clare