Owneybeg (, occasionally spelled ''Owenybeg'') is a historical barony in northeast

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, Ireland. Baronies were mainly

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represente ...

rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots diale ...

History

The

Uaithni The Uaithni were a people of early Ireland, who in early medieval times lived in north-eastern County Limerick and the adjoining part of County Tipperary, and had traditions that they once lived west of the River Shannon. Their name derives from a ...

were a medieval

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaeli ...

tribe in the area. In

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

's 2nd century ''

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

'' he mentions the ''Auteinoi'', who lived somewhere around

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. They claimed descent from Uaithne, daughter of the legendary king Eochaid mac Luchta. The

Book of Lecan The ''Great Book of Lecan'' or simply ''Book of Lecan'' () ( RIA, 23 P 2) is a late-medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418 in Castle Forbes, Lecan (Lackan, Leckan; Irish ), in the territory of Tír Fhíacrach, near moder ...

connects Owney to the legendary harper

Uaithne In Irish mythology, Uaithne (, ) is Dagda's harp, or rather the Dagda's harper, according to a number of modern translators (cf. ). Attestations Úaithne figures as the name of Dagda's harper captured by the Fomorians according to the narrative ...

, with his sons Uaithnia, Druithnia and Caínnia being the ancestors of the

, Dál Druithne and Cáenraige. Modern scholars have tried to reconstruct an etymology, with one suggestion being ''Aue-ítha-ini'' ("tribe of the descendants of Íth," a mythological figure whose name means "fat" and is associated with agricultural production.) Owney was divided into Owneytire ("Uaithni-Land") and Owneybeg ("Lesser Uaithni"). Owneytire comprised land around

Newport, County Tipperary Newport (, formerly ) is a town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Owney and Arra. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Newport's population was 2,183. Location Newport is locat ...

, while Owneybeg (also "Uaithne Cliach") was Abington,

Cappamore Cappamore () is a small town in northeast County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Location and facilities Cappamore is 20 km east of Limerick city, on the bank ...

and North Doon. The region was in the Middle Ages part of part of the territory of Éile Uí Chearbhaill and was later ruled by the

Ó Donnagáin Donegan (), most commonly refers to a Gaels, Gaelic Irish people, Irish clan from Munster. The name is diminutive of ''Donn'' which means, "the Dark One", or in modern Irish, "brown", referring to hair colour. The most prominent dynasty were a ...

(O'Donegans). In 1185 King John, Lord of Ireland granted some of Owneybeg to the Norman knight

Theobald Walter, 1st Chief Butler of Ireland Theobald Walter (sometimes Theobald FitzWalter, Theobald Butler, or Theobald Walter le Boteler) was the first Chief Butler of Ireland. He also held the office of Chief Butler of England and was the High Sheriff of Lancashire for 1194. Theobal ...

. It later came into the possession of the Ó Maoilriain (Mulryans) and they held the area until 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 ...

Geography

Owneybeg is in the northeast of the county, containing part of the

Slieve Felim Mountains The Slieve Felim Mountains () are a mountain range in Munster, Ireland. They cover parts of County Limerick and County Tipperary. Historically, the name "Slieve Felim" meant the whole mountainous area between Murroe, Silvermines, Borrisoleigh and ...

. To its north is the Annagh River and Clare River, which form part of the border with

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

List of settlements

Settlements within the historical barony of Owneybeg include: * Glenstal *

Murroe Murroe (), officially spelt Moroe, is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. Environs Murroe is in the north-eastern part of County Limerick, surrounded by the Slieve Felim Mountains. It is around 15 km east of Limerick city and close ...

References

{{reflist Baronies of County Limerick