Kilnaboy or Killinaboy () is a village,

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 ...

and

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: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is located in

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

, and as of the 2011 census the area had 347 inhabitants.

Civil parish

Kilnaboy is a parish in the historic Barony (Ireland), Barony of Inchiquin. Its chief town, Corofin, is located on the southern extremity of the parish. It is mentioned with regard to the Papal taxation of 1302-06.

Geography

It is located on the southeastern border of the limestone hills of the Burren and extends both into the lowlands to the south and into the hills to the north. Mullaghmore mountain is close by. There are extensive tracts of bog in the eastern portion of the parish. According to the 1837 survey of Lewis:

"The surface is boldly diversified and embellished with the picturesque lakes of Inchiquin and Tadune, the latter of which is but partly in the parish. The lake of Inchiquin is about 2½ miles in circumference, and is situated at the base of a richly wooded range of hills, forming a fine contrast to the bare limestone rocks in the vicinity."

Most of Inchiquin Lough is located in the parish, except for a small area in the southwest which lies in the parish of

Rath, County Clare Rath ( ga, An Ráth) is a civil parish in the barony of Inchiquin in County Clare, Ireland. Location Rath lies on the R460 regional road between Inagh to the south-west and Corofin to the north-east. It is about northwest of the county to ...

Places of interest

There are over 300 national monuments in the area including Leamaneh Castle and

Cahercommaun Cahercommaun (), sometimes ''Cahercommane'', is a triple stone ringfort on the south-east edge of the Burren area, in Kilnaboy, near the rural village of Carran, in County Clare, Ireland. It was built in the 9th century. Features Cahercommau ...

stone fort. On Roughan Hill there are a number of prehistoric structures including several wedge tombs such as Parknabinnia wedge tomb. Other wedge tombs are located in Tullycommon and Slievenaglasha townlands. Kilnaboy has a medieval church of 11th-century origin, repaired in 1715. The church includes a Sheela na Gig (possible medieval fertility symbol) over the door and a cross on the church gable. There is a

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

nearby. Much of the territory making up the "Burren National Park" is located in Kilnaboy parish, but it extends into other neighbouring parishes. It is sometimes visited by botanists and archeologists. Glanquin house, Kilnaboy was used as an exterior of " Craggy Island Parochial House" in the comedy series ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, includin ...

''. Leamaneh, Inchiquin and Ballyportry castles are located in the parish. Ballyportry is completely restored, while the other two are ruins. Other sites include Cross Inneenboy (a 12th century cross), and

Cashlaungar Cashlaungar (Irish: ''An Caisleán Gearr''), also ''Cashlaungarr'', ''Cashlaun Gar'' or ''Cashlán Gar'', is a stone ringfort (cashel) and National Monument located in The Burren, a region in County Clare, Ireland. Location Cashlaungar is l ...

(a stone ringfort located on the road to

Carran Carran (), also Carron, is a small village in County Clare, Ireland. It is in the Burren region, within a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name. It is notable mainly for being the birthplace of Michael Cusack, the insp ...

Ecclesiastical parish

Kilnaboy is part of the parish of RC Corofin,_Kilnaboy_and_Rath_in_the_Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Killaloe._There_are_three_churches_in_the_parish:_St_Brigid's_(_Corofin),_St_Joseph's_(Kilnaboy)_and_St_Mary's_(Rath,_County_Clare.html" ;"title="Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Killaloe.html" ;"title="Corofin, Kilnaboy and Rath in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe">Corofin, Kilnaboy and Rath in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. There are three churches in the parish: St Brigid's ( Corofin), St Joseph's (Kilnaboy) and St Mary's (Rath, County Clare">Rath).

Notable people

* Kilnaboy is home to the former Minister for defence, Tony Killeen. * Seamus Clancy is the first Clare Gaelic football, footballer to win an GAA All Stars Awards, All-Star award which was achieved in 1992. His brother Colm Clancy also had a role in that Munster championship winning side and their father Donal was one of the selectors. *

Francis G. Neylon Francis G. Neylon (3 July 1921 – 10 December 1983) was an Ireland, Irish Irish flute, flute player (concert flute, piccolo) of Irish traditional music. He was inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Hall of Fame for the Northeast Re ...

, a traditional Irish musician (concert flute, piccolo), was born in Kilnaboy in 1921 in the cottage now known as Tigh Éamoin.CCE Northeast Regional Hall of Fame Inductee: Frank G. Neylon - Concert Flute
/ref> * Michael Sonny Murphy, Ballycashen, Kilnaboy represented Ireland in the 3000 Meter Steeplechase at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic games. He also held many County, Munster and National titles. He died aged 29 in 1936. A 10 mile Road Race is held every year in his memory.(11)

References

External links

Kilnaboy parish at the Clare County Library

''Roughan Hill prehistoric landscape'' in: Burren Landscape and Settlement
{{Civil parishes of County Clare Towns and villages in County Clare Civil parishes of County Clare