Drumcliff, or Drumcliffe, Dromcliffe () 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It includes the village of

Inch The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...

and part of the town of

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') 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 Cou ...

Location

The parish of Drumcliff is in the barony of Islands, and lies on the

River Fergus The River Fergus () is a river within the Shannon River Basin which flows in County Clare, Ireland. The river begins at Lough Fergus in north Clare and flows into the Shannon Estuary. The source is at Lough Fergus in the townland of Kilmore N ...

on the road from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. It is , covering . There are two holy wells in Drumcliff, one dedicated to Saint Kieran in Rathkerry and the other dedicated to Saint Ineenboy at Croaghaun.

History

The townland of Clonroad became the main seat of the O'Briens around 1200. Donogh Cairbreagh O'Brien built a circular earthen fort on the south side of the river, opposite Ennis. Around 1240 he built a large Franciscan monastery at Ennis. Later Turlogh O'Brien built a stone castle near the bridge of Clonroad. It was one of the

Earl of Thomond Earl of Thomond was an hereditary title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created twice for the O'Brien dynasty which is an ancient Irish sept native to north Munster. History and background First creation Under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, K ...

's residences for three hundred years, then was demolished and the stone used to build the house for Mr. Gore, the new proprietor. In 1580 Conor MacClancy had a castle at Inchbeg. In 1831 the population was 12,392, almost all Catholics. Including Ennis, the population was 14,083. The old church was in ruins. The churchyard contained the mass grave of 340 cholera victims. Writing in 1893, James Frost said "The church of Drumcliff is composed of various patchings, made from time to time as the building wanted repairs or the congregation more room. No part of it seems to be of great antiquity except a window on the south wall, and part of one in the east gable." Near to the church there was the remains of an old round tower, still about high. The door is about above ground level, and has a molding round it. The old cemetery contains the Republican plot, for members of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

killed in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

and the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

Townlands

The parish contains the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

s of Ballylannidy, Ballymacaula, Bushypark, Cahircalla (Beg), Cahircalla (More), Claureen, Cloghleagh, Clonroad (Beg), Clonroad (More), Cloonfeagh, Coor, Cragleagh, Cragnagower, Croaghaun, Drumbiggil, Drumcaran (Beg), Drumcaran (More), Drumcliff, Fountain, Gortmore, Inchbeg, Inch More, Keelty, Kilnacally, Kilquane, Knock, Knockaninaun, Lifford, Loughvella, Mahonburgh, Nooaff (East), Nooaff (West), Rathcraggaun, Rathkerry, Shantulla, Shanvogh, Tullagh and Tullassa. The town of Ennis, which also covers parts of the civil parishes of Doora,

Kilraghtis Kilraghtis () is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It covers an area northeast of the town of Ennis, and includes the Ennis suburb of Roslevan, Ennis, Roslevan. Location The parish of Kilraghtis is in the baro ...

and

Templemaley Templemaley () is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It contains the village of Barefield and part of the town of Ennis. Location The parish of Templemaley is in the barony of Bunratty Upper, east of Ennis. It is and covers . Dromore ...

, includes the townlands of Cahircalla Beg, Cahircalla More, Claureen, Cloghleagh, Clonroad Beg, Clonroad More, Drumbiggil, Drumcliff, Lifford, Loughvella and Shanvogh.

Roman-Catholic Church

File:Church-Drumcliff-Cemetery-Ennis.jpg, The ruined church and round tower at the old Drumcliff Cemetery File:Round-Tower-Drumcliff-Ennis.jpg, The remains of the

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 defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...

at the old Drumcliff Cemetery File:Memorial Pam Am Air crash 1948.JPG, Memorial for the victims of the Pan Am crash at Shannon Airport

References

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