Killonaghan or Killonahan ( ga, Cill Onchan) 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 authorit ...

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 118,81 ...

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 covers a part of

the Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/ glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burr ...

, a rugged area on the Atlantic coast, and contains the seaside village of

Fanore Fanore () is a small village in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking community, until 1956. Geography Location Lying on the road between Bally ...

Location

The parish is on the west coast of the barony of Burren. It is northwest of

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 ...

. The parish is and covers . The land is mountainous and rocky, as is typical of

the Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/ glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burr ...

, and mostly not suitable for farming. It rises from the sea shore to on Slieve-Elva, on the east boundary. The Caher river, which flows through the parish, enters the sea near

. The river valley exhibits typical Burren scenery and flora.

Antiquities and History

The parish name of ''Cill Onchan'' (Church of Onchu) refers to the patron Saint Onchum son of Blathmac, who was venerated at Rathblacmac in

Inchiquin Inchiquin ( ga, Inse Uí Chuinn) is a barony in County Clare, Ireland.Placenames Database of ...

. His festival was on 9 July and 14 July each year. The church of Killonaghan was in good preservation in 1897. There is the ruin of an older church 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 orig ...

of Crumlin whose style of construction indicates that it is one of the early Christian churches. Traditionally is said to have been built by Saint Columbkill after he left Saint Endeus at Aran. There are many ''cahers'', or stone ringforts, in the parish. There is the ruin of a round castle in the townland of Faunarooska. It is not included in the 1580 list of castles of Thomond. The population in 1841 was 1,369 in 235 houses. The Catholic chapel was united with the Rathborney chapel. In 1847 John McNamara, who owned most of the land at Fanore and was considered a good landlord, applied for government funds to build a National School there. This was not approved. A schoolhouse was finally opened at Fanore in 1887, a single room, with two teachers. A lady taught the younger children up to the age of ten, then the master continued until school leaving at age fourteen. The classroom was cold in the winter, despite having a large fireplace at one end. The children had to take turns to bring cartloads of turf as fuel. Saint Patrick's Church was built in 1870 at the entrance to the Caher river valley. The present school at Fanore was built in 1963. Fanore today is a small seaside village in the parish, with a long beach and a wide area of sand dunes. The village today has a shop, a bar/restaurant and a post office.

Townlands

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 orig ...

s are Balliny North, Balliny South, Ballyelly, Blakes Mountain, Coolmeen, Craggagh, Crumlin, Derreen East, Derreen South, Derreen West, Fanore Beg, Fanore More, Faunarooska, Formoyle East, Formoyle West, Knockauns Mountain and Liscoonera. File:Coast road south of Fanore - geograph.org.uk - 65480.jpg, Coast road south of Fanore on a winter day File:Caher river before Fanore beach - geograph.org.uk - 296896.jpg, Caher river before Fanore beach File:Cowslips at Fanore - geograph.org.uk - 67179.jpg, Cowslips in a field near Fanore

References

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