Stradbally () 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 Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

(formerly called ''Queen's County'' or ''County Leix''),

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Etymology

Stradbally barony is named after the town of

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, a National Secondary Route, about from Portlaoise. It is a townland, a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish an ...

(literally meaning "one-street town").

Geography

Stradbally is located in eastern County Laois, bounded to the south by Luggacurren, to the east by the

River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...

and to the west by Dunamase.

History

Stradbally barony was anciently known as ''Magh Druchtain'' ("plain of sweetness") and was ruled by a sept of the

Ó Ceallaigh O'Kelly ( ga, i=no, Ó Ceallaigh, approximately ) is the name of a number of distinct septs in Ireland. Most prominent of these is the O'Kelly sept of the Uí Maine. Another sept is that of the kingdom of Kings of Brega, Brega, descended from t ...

. It was also called Farran-O'Kelly ("men of O'Kelly"). According to the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

, in 1394,

James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond (c. 1359 – 7 September 1405), was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland. He acceded to the title in 1382, and built Gowran Castle three years later in 1385 close to the centre of Gowran, making it his usual residence, ...

"mustered a force, and marched into

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

to spoil it; and he burned and spoiled Gailine, and the territory of O'Kelly of Magh Druchtain, and then returned home." It is referred to in the topographical poem ''

Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh ("More knowledge on the entirety of Ireland") is a medieval Gaelic-Irish topographical text, composed by Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín (died 1420). Overview ''Tuilleadh feasa ...'' is both a supplement and a contin ...

'' (

Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín Giolla na Naomh O hUidhrin, Irish historian and poet, died 1420. O hUidhrin is known as the author of ''Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh'', a topographical poem of a kind with Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin's '' Triallam timcheall na Fodla'', of which ...

, d. 1420): ''Ós Muigh Drúchtain an dúin ghil'' ''Ó Ceallaigh an chláir éignigh'' ''as samhail mín an mhuighe'' ''re Tír ttaraidh tTarrnguire.'' ("Over Magh-Druchtain of the fair fortress is

of the

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

-full river, Similar is the smooth surface of the plain to the fruitful land of promise.") Ballyduff was the seat of the Cenél Crimthann, a branch of the Ó hIndreadhain (O'Hourihan). After the

Laois-Offaly Plantation Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, angl ...

, Stradbally came to

Francis Cosby Francis Cosby (1510–1580) was an English soldier and settler in Ireland. He has been implicated in the Massacre of Mullaghmast. Life He was the second son of John Cosby of Great Leake, Nottingham. He settled in Ireland in the reign of Henry VI ...

and was for centuries owned by the Cosby family, including

William Cosby Brigadier-General William Cosby (1690–1736) was an Irish soldier who served as the British colonial governor of New York from 1732 to 1736. During his short term, Cosby was portrayed as one of the most oppressive governors in the Thirteen Co ...

and

Dudley Cosby, 1st Baron Sydney Dudley Alexander Sydney Cosby, 1st Baron Sydney (c. 1730 – 22 January 1774), was an Irish politician and diplomat. Background Cosby was the son of Pole Cosby, of Stradbally, Queen's County, and Mary, daughter of Henry Dodwell. Dudley Cosb ...

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Stradbally barony: *

References

{{County Laois Baronies of County Laois