Kilshanny ( ga, Cill Seanaigh) 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 ...

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 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 ...

Geography

It is located on the N67

national secondary road A national secondary road ( ga, Bóthar Náisiúnta den Dara Grád) is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national ...

. Today, the village amenities include a pub (Kilshanny House), a primary school (St. Augustine's NS) and the church of St Augustine. Nearby towns and villages are

Ennistymon Ennistymon or Ennistimon () is a country market town in County Clare, near the west coast of Ireland. The River Inagh, with its small rapids known as the Cascades, runs through the town, behind the main street. A bridge across the river leads to ...

Lisdoonvarna Lisdoonvarna () is a spa town in County Clare in Ireland. The town is famous for its music and festivals. Although the music festival was discontinued in the 1980s, Lisdoonvarna still hosts its annual matchmaking festival each September. The pop ...

Kilfenora Kilfenora ( ga, Cill Fhionnúrach , meaning 'Church of the Fertile Hillside' or 'Church of the White Brow') is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. Si ...

Liscannor Liscannor () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland. Geography Lying on the west coast of Ireland, on Liscannor Bay, the village is located on the R478 road between Lahinch, to the east, and Doolin, to the north. The Cliffs of Moher a ...

Lahinch Lahinch or Lehinch ( ''or'' ) is a small town on Liscannor Bay, on the northwest coast of County Clare, Ireland. It lies on the N67 national secondary road, between Milltown Malbay and Ennistymon, roughly by road southwest of Galway and north ...

and

Doolin Doolin () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in i ...

Parish

The parish is part of the

Barony of Corcomroe Corcomroe () is a barony in County Clare, Ireland. It is the southern half of the Gaelic '' tuath'' of ''Corco Modhruadh''. Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions of counties and were used the ad ...

. Kilshanny is part of the parish of Lisdoonvarna/Kilshanny in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora The Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora ( ga, Deoise na Gaillimhe, Chill Mhic Duaich agus Chill Fhionnúrach) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject ...

. Parish churches are ''"Corpus Christi"'' in Lisdoonvarna, "Holy Rosary" in Doolin, "Our Lady of Lourdes" in Toovahera and "Saint Augustine's" in Kilshanny (built in 1893).

Antiquities

In Smithstown townland lie the ruins of Smithtown Castle (also known as Ballingown Castle), a former O'Brien stronghold. An attached house was inhabited until 1837, but has since fallen into ruin. In 1600,

Hugh Roe O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donne ...

stayed here before moving through Kilfenora to "lay waste the countryside around Corcomroe". Honora, daughter of Teige of Smithstown, by marriage became Honora Wingfield, ancestor of the family that held the title of

Viscount Powerscourt Viscount Powerscourt ( ) is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland, each time for members of the Wingfield family. It was created first in 1618 for the Chief Governor of Ireland, Richard Wingfield. However, this creat ...

. The ruined abbey church of Kilshanny is all that remains of an abbey that may have been founded by early Christian

Seanach Garbh Seanach Garbh (died 620) was Abbot of Clonfert. Seanach is the second recorded abbot, including Brendan. Few details of his life appear to be known, and over one hundred years would pass before another abbot was recorded. Events during his lifeti ...

, but is traditionally ascribed to St Cuanna. In 1194, the abbey became subservient to

Corcomroe Abbey Corcomroe Abbey (Irish: ''Mainistir Chorca Mrua'') is an early 13th-century Cistercian monastery located in the north of the Burren region of County Clare, Ireland, a few miles east of the village of Ballyvaughan in the Barony of Burren. It ...

and was dedicated to

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

. Its abbot, Florence, was named bishop of Kilfenora in 1273. In 1302, the church became the parish church of Kilshanny, so the abbey seems to have been dissolved by that point. The abbey properties and rights finally passed to one Robert Kinsman. North door and south window of the church are from the transitional period but the other surviving features, including the triple-light east window, are later. In Ballydeely townland lies a stone mound known as ''Carn Connachtach'' or ''Carn Mic Tails''. It rises to around 8 meters and has a base diameter of almost 100 meters. Legends hold that the mound served as the place of inauguration for the chiefs of Corcomroe. There are also tales that it is the burial mound of a whole army from Connacht. Annals do record a battle nearby in 1573, between factions of the O'Briens, which was won by Teige O'Brien. However, the mound is likely of prehistoric origin and may contain Bronze Age cyst graves. It has not been excavated.

References

External links

Kilshanny at the Clare County Library
{{Civil parishes of County Clare Towns and villages in County Clare Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names Civil parishes of County Clare

Geography

Parish

Antiquities

See also

References

External links