O'Callaghan's Mills (), also O'Callaghansmills, is a village in

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 ...

, and a Catholic parish by the same name. It takes its name from the

O'Callaghan O'Callaghan or simply Callaghan without the prefix (anglicized from two separate surnames and clans, '' Ó Ceallacháin,'' Munster Clan. ''Ó Ceileacháin,'' Oriel Clan'')'' is an Irish surname. Origin and meaning Munster The surname means desc ...

family, who were large landowners in the area, and a corn and grist mill built by John Coonan on the lands of Cornelius O'Callaghan in 1772.

Geography

The parish of O'Callaghan's Mills, Kilkishen and Oatfield stretches from near Bodyke to near Sixmilebridge. It corresponds roughly to the old parishes of Killuran and

Clonlea Clonlea or Clonleigh () is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. The main settlement is the village of Kilkishen. It is part of the Catholic parish of O'Callaghans Mills. Location Clonlea is in the barony of Tullagh. It is to the north of ...

. The parish churches are St Patrick's in O'Callaghan's Mills, St Senan's in Kilkishen and St. Vincent de Paul's in Oatfield. The village of O'Callaghan's Mills is in east County Clare, about halfway between

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 ...

and Lough Derg. It is on the R466 road, about north of

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 ...

City.

History

The village of O'Callaghan's Mills takes its name from the

family who were large landowners in the area. They were displaced from the Mallow area of Cork in confiscations during the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

in the 1650s when they lost , 20,000 of which was deemed to have been the property of the ruling chief, Donncha O'Callaghan. He and his extended family were transplanted to east Clare, where they obtained land in the barony of

Tulla Lower Tulla Lower (or Tullagh Lower) is a barony in County Clare, Ireland. This ancient geographical division of land is in turn divided into eight civil parishes. Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions ...

. The village of O'Callaghan's Mills records their continued presence.

Parish history

There is a tradition that two priests of the

Congregation of the Mission The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vin ...

, or Vincentians, escaped from the 1651 siege of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

's troops, and for several years ministered to the people of the parish near the present church of St Vincent de Paul in Oatfield. The foundation stone of the present church of St Patrick at O'Callaghan's Mills was laid in March 1839. It was dedicated in March 1840. Major renovations were undertaken in 1979-80. The first church in the old Clonlea part of the parish was probably built at Kilkishen very early in the 19th century. It is mentioned in an 1811 report of a dispute that led to violence over who should sit nearest to the altar. Major renovation or reconstruction was completed in 1865. The St Vincent de Paul church was built around 1830, replacing a thatched chapel. The roof was blown away in January 1839 on the

Night of the Big Wind The Night of the Big Wind () was a powerful European windstorm that swept across what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, beginning on the afternoon of 6 January 1839, causing severe damage to property and several hundred d ...

. The building was then enlarged with the addition of two transepts. In May 1966, Bishop Joseph Rodgers rededicated the church.

Sport

O'Callaghan Mills GAA club has won the Clare county hurling championship on eight occasions. In 1909, the county final was contested by two teams from the village itself: The Fireballs and St Patrick's, with the Fireballs claiming victory. Since their last county title in 1937, the club has finished as runners-up on 7 occasions. The parish hurling team won the County Clare Senior B Championship in 2017. This was the first county title at senior level that the parish had won since 1937.

Notable people

O'Callaghan's Mills was home to former athlete, politician and GAA administrator Tim Smythe (1905-1982). Smythe won a number of middle to long distance competitions, including 10 All-Ireland titles and a World cross-country title in March 1931. He is commemorated by a plaque at the entrance to the Doonaille housing estate beside St Patrick's National School.

References

External links

O'Callaghan's Mills National School Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Callaghans Mills Towns and villages in County Clare Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe