Kilfintinan ( ga, Cill Fhiontanáin) is 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 ...

. It is part of the Catholic parish of

Cratloe Cratloe () is a village in County Clare, Ireland, situated between Limerick and Shannon in the mid-west of Ireland. It is possible that the name derives from ''Croit-shliabh'' meaning "hump-backed hill", referring to Woodcock Hill. The present ...

Name

The name ''Cill Fintinan'' would mean "Church of Fintinan", but there is no known Irish Saint Fintinan. The name is therefore thought to come from ''Cill Fionn tSeanain'', or "Church of the fair Senan".

Location

The parish is in the barony of

Bunratty Lower Bunratty Lower is a barony located in County Clare, Ireland.Placenames Database of Ireland
- Barony of Bunratty Lower ...

, and contains a small part of the town of

Sixmilebridge Sixmilebridge (), is a large village in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road. Sixmilebridge partly serves as a dormitory village for workers in the ...

. It contains the village of Cratloe. It extends south from this town to the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

. The parish includes two small islands of Grass and Graigue in the Shannon. The road from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

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 ...

crosses the north of the parish. It is and covers .

Antiquities and history

The old church of Kilfintinan in 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 Ballybrohan was almost entirely demolished by 1897. The church of Cruachán in the townland of Brickhill was in reasonably good condition. It was large, and surrounded by a large graveyard. There was another graveyard called Cill-an-bothair in the Ballyliddane townland, but no trace of a church. An old

cromlech A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh ''crom'', "bent"; ''llech'', "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English, the first being an ...

in very good condition stood near the Cruachán ruins. There was another nearby, but it had been demolished. On the hill called the Leacht, near the cromlechs, there was the grave of an unknown Irish chieftain from pre-Christian times. As of 1837 the ruins of the castles of Cratloe, Cratloe Kail, and Ballintlea were still visible. The Ballintea castle is not found in the 1580 list of castles. In the mid-18th century there was a shortage of Catholic priests in the region. The parish of Kilfintinan was therefore merged with part of the parish of

Killeely Killeely ( ga, Cill Liaile) is a civil parish that lies partly in County Clare and partly in County Limerick in Ireland. Location Part of the parish lies within the north liberties of the city of Limerick, but most lies in the barony of Bunrat ...

, forming what is now known as the parish of Cratloe after the village of that name. The population in 1841 was 2,633 in 424 houses. At that time there were two Catholic chapels.

Townlands

The parish holds the

s of Ballinphunta, Ballintlea North, Ballintlea South, Ballybroughan, Ballyliddan East, Ballyliddan West, Ballymorris, Ballyroe, Brickhill East, Brickhill West, Calluragh, Cappanalaght, Carrowmore, Carrownerribul, Castlequarter, Cratloe, Fortwilliam, Gallowshill, Garryncurra, Gortnanool, Heathmount, Island, Knockroe, Laghile, Mountievers, Moyhill and Portdrine.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * {{Civil parishes of County Clare Civil parishes of County Clare