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Spancill Hill or Spancilhill ( Ordnance Survey spelling Spancel Hill for the hill and settlement, Spancelhill for the electoral division; ga, Cnoc Uarchoille) is a hill and adjacent dispersed settlement in County Clare, Ireland. The historic hamlet of Spancilhill was by the fair green, which is still the site of the Spancill Hill Fair, which occurs annually on 23 June. Houses are concentrated slightly south at Cross of Spancilhill, where the R352 road between 
Spancel Hill
Clare County Library website Towns and villages in County Clare
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 ...
to the west and Tulla to the east crosses a local road between Barefield
Barefield or Gortlumman () is a village and townland in County Clare, Ireland. It is located on the R458 road, with the M18 national primary road between Ennis and Gort skirting it.
Barefield is in the Catholic parish of Doora-Barefield pa ...
to the north and Quin Quin may refer to:
* Quin (name), including a list of people with the name
* Quin, colloquially, one of a set of quintuplets, a multiple birth of five individuals
* Quin (Sigilverse), a fictional planet
* Quin, County Clare, a village in County Cla ...
to the south.
Name
The original Irish name was Cold Wood Hill" which was misinterpreted as Spancel Hill" Aspancel
A hobble (also, and perhaps earlier, hopple), or spancel, is a device which prevents or limits the locomotion of an animal, by tethering one or more legs. Although hobbles are most commonly used on horses, they are also sometimes used on other a ...
is a rope used to tie an animal's legs together; the association of the place with a horse fair encouraged the misinterpretation. The hill itself was called Knockrughil on the 1842 six-inch Ordnance Survey map and 1896 25-inch map.
History
Spancel Hill is in the townland of Muckinish, civil parish of Clooney, andbarony 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 ...
of Bunratty Upper
Bunratty Upper is a barony in County Clare, Ireland. This ancient geographical division of land is in turn divided into six civil parishes.
Legal context
Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions of counties and we ...
. The fair had a royal charter from Charles II. Historically, fairs were held on 1 January, 3 May, 24 June, 20 August, and 3 December. In 1913, British and Continental cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
forces bought over 1,000 horses there.
In 1841 the population of the village was 169, in 26 houses. In 1851, after the Great Famine, there were fewer than 20 houses, so its population was not recorded separately from the townland, whose total population had fallen from 278 in 46 houses to 174 in 34. In 1911 the townland population was 72, in 14 houses.
See also
* "Spancil Hill
''Spancil Hill'', or in original spelling Spancilhill, is a traditional Irish folk ballad composed by Michael Considine (1850–73), who was born in Spancil Hill and migrated to the US. It bemoans the plight of the Irish emigrants who so longed ...
", a song written in a traditional Irish folk style by Michael Considine, a local who emigrated to America.
References
External links
Spancel Hill
Clare County Library website Towns and villages in County Clare