Middle Third (
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 ...
: ''An Trian Meánach''; also spelled Middlethird) 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 ...
in
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
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 ...
. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is
Cashel. The barony lies between
Eliogarty
Eliogarty ( Irish: ''Éile Uí Fhógarta'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Thurles. The barony lies between Ikerrin to the north (whose chief ...
to the north (whose chief town is
Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...
),
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 south (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 ...
),
Clanwilliam to the 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 ...
) and
Slievardagh
Slievardagh ( ga, Sliabh Ardach) is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Mullinahone. The barony lies between Eliogarty to the north (whose chief town i ...
to the east (whose chief town is
Mullinahone
Mullinahone () is a village located in the barony of Slievardagh, County Tipperary in Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. , the village population was 499.
Location and access
Mullinahone is situa ...
). It 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 ...
.
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
The history of the barony is also the history of the Kingdom of Munster which had Cashel for its capital. Later, the kingdom would be divided into northern and southern statelets.
Dynasts of Mumhan
The
Éoganacht were a federation of tribes claiming a common lineage and spread throughout Munster. They were noted as kings of Munster from an early period until the rise of the ''Dal gCais'' in the 10th century. The main sub-tribes in the region of the barony were:
* ''Eóghanacht Chaisil'' (Cashel). Septs included O'Callaghan, MacCarthy, MacGillycuddy, MacAuliffe, O'Sullivan.
* ''Éoganacht Beag Chaisil'' (Eoganacht Caille na Manach, in the barony of Kilnamanagh)
* ''Éoganacht Mhór Muman'' (about Knockgraffon, in the barony of Middle Third)
* ''Eóghanacht Airthir Chliach'' (Tipperary town district)
* ''Eóghanacht Durluis'' (in or near Thurles, in the barony of Eliogarty)
''
Dal gCais
The Dalcassians ( ga, Dál gCais ) are a Gaels, Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed des ...
'' dynasty. The
High King of Ireland,
Brian Boru
Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...
, fortified Cashel in 990. Murtagh O'Brien, King of Cashel, in presence of the chiefs and clergy, made a grant in 1101 of the "Rock" with the territory around it to O'Dunan, "noble bishop and chief senior of Munster". In 1127
Cormac III of Munster
Cormac is a masculine given name in the Irish and English languages. The name is ancient in the Irish language and is also seen in the rendered Old Norse as ''Kormákr''.
Mac is Irish for "son", and can be used as either a prefix or a suffix. ...
, King of Desmond, erected close to his palace on the "Rock" a church, now known as Cormac's Chapel, which was consecrated in 1134. By the
Synod of Kells
The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...
, 1152, Cashel became an archiepiscopal see.
There are frequent references to "Tuadh Mumhan" in the Irish Annals beginning in the latter 11th century, but as a separate entity representing all of northern Munster an entry for the year 1118 seems to mark a milestone event. In that year, a treaty at Gleann Maidhir (Glanmire) divided the Kingdom of Munster into northern (Tuadh Mumhan) and southern (Des Mumhan) halves, a division apparently running near the border of modern counties Limerick and Cork. The entry in the Annals for 1118 reads, " A hosting by Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair, king of Connacht, and by Murchadh O Maelsechlainn, king of Temhair, along with him, and by Aed O'Ruairc, into Mumha, as far as Glenn-Maghair; and he gave Des-Mumha to Mac Carthaigh, and Tuadh-Mumha to the sons of Diarmaid Ua Briain, and carried off the hostages of each."
Lordship of Ireland
With this 12th-century division of Munster into two parts,
Thomond
Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenag ...
included the area about the
diocese of Killaloe
The Diocese of Killaloe ( ) may refer either to a Roman Catholic or a Church of Ireland (Anglican) diocese, in Ireland.
Roman Catholic diocese
The Diocese of Killaloe is the second largest Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland.
It comprises the ...
, and additionally encompassed the traditional territories of Úi Fidgeinti, Uí Chonaill Gabra, Eóghanacht Áine, Éile, Corco Mruadh, the tribes of Uaithne (later held by the Síl Cennétich, and much of Eóghanacht Caisel and Ciarraige Luachra.
By the early 13th century, through the encroachment of the Anglo-Norman Butler family and others into eastern Thomond (north Tipperary, east Limerick and south Offaly), part of which came to be known as Ormond or East Munster, the kingdom of Thomond was greatly reduced.
Diocesan history
Various members of the Desmond and Ormond families became archbishops in the succeeding years up to the
English Reformation
The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
. After a vacancy of six years Maurice FitzGibbon (1567–1578) a
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
abbot who belonged to the royal Desmond family, was promoted to the archbishopric by
pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
, but James MacCaghwell was put forward by
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
. Thus began the Anglican religion at Cashel. When the
Penal Laws were sufficiently relaxed, 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 ...
archbishops returned openly to the
see
See or SEE may refer to:
* Sight - seeing
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Music:
** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals
*** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See''
** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho
* Television
* ...
, but changed their residence and ''
cathedra
A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...
'' to
Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...
.
Modern times
When
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 ...
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, Middle Third 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.
Towns, villages and townlands of the barony
Civil parishes of the barony
This table
Database 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 ...
).
Note: while the civil parish of Holycross
Holycross () is a village and civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is one of 21 civil parishes in the barony of Eliogarty. The civil parish straddles two counties and the baronies of Eliogarty and of Middle Third (South Tipperary). It ...
straddles two baronies (Eliogarty
Eliogarty ( Irish: ''Éile Uí Fhógarta'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Thurles. The barony lies between Ikerrin to the north (whose chief ...
and this baraony), the village itself and the abbey are entirely located in Eliogarty.
See also
* List of civil parishes of South Tipperary
Civil parishes in Ireland are based on the medieval Christian parishes, adapted by the English administration and by the Church of Ireland. The parishes, their division into townlands and their grouping into baronies, were recorded in the Down Su ...
External links
* Source given is "Ordnance survey".
References
{{Tipperary-baronies
*