Brawny () is a barony in south–west

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

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. It was formed by 1672. It is bordered by

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to the west. It also borders two other Westmeath baronies: Kilkenny West (to the north–east) and Clonlonan (to the south-east). The largest centre of population in the barony is the town of Athlone.

Geography

Brawny has an area of . The barony contains a small part of the southern end of the second largest lake on the River Shannon,

Lough Ree Lough Ree (), translated to English as ''King's Lake'' or ''King Lake'', is a lake in the midlands of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon af ...

. It also includes part of the eastern half of the Shannon as far as Long Island to the south. The River Shannon is the longest

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

at . Several significant roads pass through the barony. The M6, a motorway forming part of the N6

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national primary road, the N55 national secondary road connecting Athlone to Cavan and the N62 connecting the M6 to the M8. A railway line carrying several of the national rail company Iarnród Éireann's intercity services also passes through the barony.

Civil parish

The barony is unusual in Ireland in having a single civil parish - St Mary's - that comprises the entire barony.Civil parishes of the barony of Brawny.
'' The Placenames Database of Ireland'' Retrieved 7 June 2015 It should not be confused with an Ecclesiastical parish of the same name.

Towns, villages and townlands

* Athlone, a large town on the River Shannon. * Ballykeeran, a small village located on the N55 road near Glassan. * Coosan, a small village and townland on the banks of

. There are 62 townlands in the barony of Brawny.

Places of interest

Moydrum Castle is a ruined gothic-revivalist castle in the area. It was completed in 1814 and destroyed by fire in 1921.

References

External links

Map of the barony of Brawny
at openstreetmap.org
Barony of Brawny, County Westmeath
at townlands.ie {{County Westmeath Baronies of County Westmeath