The barony of Callan () is a barony in the west of

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The barony is in size. It is one of 12 baronies in County Kilkenny. Unusually for a barony, it contains only two

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

which together comprise 65

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 ...

s. The chief town is

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

. The barony is bordered by the baronies of Shillelogher to the north (whose chief town is Bennettsbridge) and by Kells to the south (whose chief town is Kells). The N76 road bisects the barony. Notable features include

Callan Motte Callan Motte is a motte-and-bailey and National Monument in Callan, Ireland. Location Callan Motte is in the centre of Callan, north of the Kings River, west of Upper Bridge Street and east of the N76. The eastward facing base of the Motte is ...

and

Callan Augustinian Friary The Callan Augustinian Friary () is an Augustinian friary situated in Callan, Co Kilkenny, Ireland. It is known locally as the "Abbey Meadow" and is located to the north-east of the town, on the banks of the Kings River. The new Augustinian ...

. Callan was an early medieval

cantred A cantred was a subdivision of a county in the Anglo-Norman Lordship of Ireland between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, analogous to the cantref of Wales or the hundred of England. In County Dublin the equivalent unit was termed a serjeant ...

within the shire of Kilkenny, and part of the historic kingdom of

Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...

(''Ossory''). Today it is part of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

diocese of Ossory and the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second l ...

diocese of Cashel and Ossory. Callan is currently administered by

Kilkenny County Council Kilkenny County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Chill Chainnigh) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kilkenny, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

Etymology

The barony, town, and liberties, of Callan, take their name from the river Callainn, now the King's River. The name in Irish, ''Callainn'' (pronounce Colling), comes from the Irish ''cala'' or ''caladh'' meaning, " callow land", and this refers to long coarse grass which grew in summer along the river bank after being waterlogged all winter.

History

The barony was part of in the historic

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

kingdom of

(''Ossory'') and the territory of the Ua Glóiairn clan of Callann. According to O'Heerin's Topographical Poem (1420) at the time of the

Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

the area was the territory of the clan called the Ua Glóiairn of Callann. The Ó Glóiairn (O'Gloran) were chiefs of Callainn, the area of the "''cantred of O'Glóiairn''", lying on both sides of the King's River. This later became the "''Liberties of Callan''".

town and the surrounding area were a

in the 13th century, and the area was often included in the barony of Kells or Shillelogher. The town of Callan received a charter from

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...

in 1217. In the

Down Survey The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist, William Petty, in 1655 and 1656. The survey was apparently called the "Down Survey" by Petty, either because the results were set down in maps or because the s ...

(1656) it was called "Callan Liberties", however, the 1836 Act explicitly states the town and liberties of Callan "shall be deemed and taken to be a barony". The barony was recorded the 1840

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...

map and

Griffith's Valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examinat ...

(1864). In the 18th century County Kilkenny consisted of the Liberties of Kilkenny and of Callan and the baronies of Galmoy, Lower Ossory, Fassadinig, Cranagh, Shellilogher, Gowran, Kells, Knocktopher, Ida, Igrin, Iverk and Ibercon. By the 19th century these were restructured into the baronies of Callan, Crannagh, Fassadinin, Galmoy, Gowran, Ida, Iverk, Kells, Knocktopher, and Shillelogher.

Geography

Today, the county of Kilkenny is subdivided into 12

baronies Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the Britis ...

. These include Kilkenny in the centre of the county, and clockwise from north of the county,

Fassadinin Fassadinin (), sometimes written Fassadining, is a barony in the north of County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is one of 12 baronies in County Kilkenny. The size of the barony is . There are 19 civil parishes in Fassadinin. The chief town today is ...

, Gowran,

Ida Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy *Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid * International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing * Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a tech ...

Kilculliheen Kilculliheen ( ga, Cill Choilchín) is a civil parish, electoral division and barony in Ireland, on the north bank of the River Suir across from the centre of Waterford City. Historically, it has been transferred several times between the co ...

Iverk Iverk () is a barony in the south-west of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The size of the barony is . There are 15 civil parishes in Iverk. The chief town today is Piltown. The N24 crosses the barony. Iverk lies at the south-west of the county, wi ...

Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford to the north, and Ballyhale to the south. It was formerly situated on ...

, Kells, Callan, Shillelogher, Crannagh, Galmoy. Callan lies to the west of the county, with the baronies of Shillelogher to the north and Kells to the south. Unusually for a barony, it contains only two

Callan and Killaloe. It is made up of 65

s. The Kings River flows through it, and was previously called the Callan River. Places of interest include

and

. Today it is part of the

diocese of Ossory and the

diocese of Cashel and Ossory. Callan is currently administered by

. A single

of 19 acres, Gortnasragh, which is an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the civil parish of Killaloe, forms the remaining civil parish of the barony.Placenames Database of Ireland
- townland of Gortnasragh

Etymology

History

Geography

See also

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links