Carbery East (Carbery East (E.D.)
/ref>) is a

barony 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 British ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

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 has been split since the nineteenth century into East and West Divisions (''an Roinn Thoir/Thiar'').Carbery East (W.D.)
/ref>

Legal context

Baronies were created after the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

as divisions of

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and were used the administration of justice and the raising of revenue. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they have been administratively obsolete since 1898. However, they continue to be used in land registration and in specification, such as in planning permissions. In many cases, a barony corresponds to an earlier

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

túath which had submitted to the Crown.

History

Originally Carbery East formed a single

Barony of Carbery Carbery, or the Barony of Carbery, was once the largest barony in Ireland, and essentially a small, semi-independent kingdom on the southwestern coast of Munster, in what is now County Cork, from its founding in the 1230s by Donal Gott MacCarth ...

with

Carbery West Carbery West () is a barony in County Cork in Ireland. It has been split since the nineteenth century into East and West Divisions (''an Roinn Thoir/Thiar''). Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions ...

. This was essentially a small, semi-independent kingdom, ruled over by the

MacCarthy Reagh The MacCarthy Reagh (Irish: ''Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach'') dynasty are a branch of the MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the Eóganacht Chaisil sept. History The Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach seated themselves as kings of Carbery in ...

dynasty from the 13th through 16th centuries, that broke away from the larger

Kingdom of Desmond The Kingdom of Desmond () was a historic kingdom in southwestern Ireland. It was founded in 1118 by Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, King of Munster when the Treaty of Glanmire formally divided the Kingdom of Munster into Desmond and Thomond (, "North ...

Patrick Weston Joyce Patrick Weston "P. W." Joyce (1827 – 7 January 1914) was an Irish historian, writer and music collector, known particularly for his research in Irish etymology and local place names of Ireland. Biography He was born in Ballyorgan in the B ...

said the name ''Carbery'' comes from Uí Chairpre Áebda, of which a sept, the

O'Donovan The O'Donovan family is an ancient Irish nobility, Irish noble family. Their patronymic surname derives from Irish ''Ó Donnabháin'', meaning the grandsons or descendants of Donnubán, referring to the 10th century ruler of the Uí Fidgenti, ...

s under

Cathal Ua Donnubáin Cathal is a common given name in Ireland. The name is derived from two Celtic elements: the first, ''cath'', means "battle"; the second element, ''val'', means "rule". There is no feminine form of ''Cathal''. The Gaelic name has several anglicis ...

, migrated to the area c.1300 after being driven from

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 ...

by the

Fitzgerald Fitzgerald may refer to: People * Fitzgerald (surname), a surname * Fitzgerald Hinds, Trinidadian politician * Fitzgerald Toussaint (born 1990), former American football running back Place Australia * Fitzgerald River National Park, a nati ...

s. The antiquarian Canon John O'Mahony disagreed, and offered three alternatives: Cairpre founder of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...

; or Cairbre of Uibh Laoghaire; or the Ui Carbre of

Corcu Loígde The Corcu Loígde (Corcu Lóegde, Corco Luigde, Corca Laoighdhe, Laidhe), meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centred in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of M ...

, from whom

Rosscarbery Rosscarbery () is a village and census town in County Cork, Ireland. The village is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay. Rosscarbery is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats. History The ...

in the barony is named. However, supporting the first theory is that the O'Donovans, such as

Crom Ua Donnabáin Crom or CROM may refer to: Places * Crom, a townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland * Crom Estate, a Northern Irish National Trust Property ** Crom Castle * Ben Crom, a mountain in the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland * ...

, are closely associated with earliest MacCarthys in the area, and soon became their chief vassals, holding approximately right in the middle of the medieval barony.Butler, W.F.T., "The Barony of Carbery", in
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume X, Second Series
'. 1904. pp. 1–10, 73–84

Location and settlements

Carbery East is bordered by the baronies of

to the west,

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula i ...

to the northwest,

Muskerry West Muskerry West () is one of the Barony (Ireland), baronies of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, a historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Macroom. It is one of 24 baronies in County Cork. It may also be viewed as a half barony because ...

to the north,

Kinalmeaky Kinalmeaky () is a barony in County Cork, Ireland. Etymology Kinalmeaky takes its name from ''Cenél-mBéice'', Irish for "the kindred of Béce," an ancestor of the O'Mahonys. Geography Kinalmeaky is located in south-central County Cork, on t ...

to the northeast, and

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

and

Courceys Courceys () is a historical barony in County Cork on the south coast of Ireland. Its name refers to the Norman ''de Courcy'' family, Barons Kingsale, who came to Ireland in the 12th century and were the main landowners in the area. The barony ...

to the east. To the south is the

Celtic Sea The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the north by St George's Channel, Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as wel ...

, broken by the two halves of the barony of

Ibane and Barryroe Ibane and Barryroe (; archaic spellings ''Ibaune, Ibawn, O'Bathumpna, Barriro, Barriroe'') is a historical barony in southern County Cork, Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local ta ...

. From east to west are

Courtmacsherry Courtmacsherry (), often referred to by locals as Courtmac, is a seaside village in County Cork, on the southwest coast of Ireland. It is southwest of Cork city. The nearest town is Clonakilty, to the west (16 km by road). The village co ...

Bay, Barryroe peninsula,

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

Bay, Ibane peninsula, and the coast from

Glandore Glandore (, meaning ''harbour of the oak trees'') is the name of a village and harbour in County Cork, Ireland. It is off the N71 road, about 10 km east of Skibbereen. The village has several pubs, with traditional music performances. It ...

East Division settlements

Settlements in the division include Ballinascarty,Carbery East (E.D.): population centres
/ref>

Ballineen The twin villages of Ballineen () and Enniskeane, or Enniskean, () in County Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland are southwest of Cork (city), Cork city, on the R586 road (Ireland), R586 road. The linear settlement lies on the River Bandon be ...

,Carbery East (E.D.): towns
/ref> Bandon,

, Desertserges,

Innishannon Innishannon or Inishannon () is a large village on the main Cork (city), Cork–Bandon, County Cork, Bandon road (N71 road (Ireland), N71) in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on the River Bandon, the village has grown d ...

, Kilbrittain, Kilmacsimon Quay, and

Lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

. Other features include InchydoneyCarbery East (E.D.): features
/ref>

West Division settlements

Settlements in the division include Castletown Kinneigh,Carbery East (W.D.): population centres
/ref> Cappeen,

Drinagh Drinagh (, meaning 'place producing blackthorns') is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the R637 road between the towns of Dunmanway and Skibbereen. Drinagh is also close to Rosscarbery and Drimoleague. The village is in a civil par ...

Dunmanway Dunmanway (, official Irish name: ) is a market town in County Cork, in the southwest of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the geographical centre of the region known as West Cork. It is the birthplace of Sam Maguire, an Irish Protestant repub ...

,Carbery East (W.D.): towns
/ref>

Enniskean The twin villages of Ballineen () and Enniskeane, or Enniskean, () in County Cork in Ireland are southwest of Cork city, on the R586 road. The linear settlement lies on the River Bandon between Bandon and Dunmanway. The combined settlement i ...

, Leap, and

Other features include the

River Bandon The River Bandon (, from ''ban-dea'', meaning "goddess") is a river in County Cork, Ireland. The Bandon rises at Nowen Hill (one of the Shehy Mountains), to the north of Drimoleague. The river then flows to Dunmanway, before turning eastwar ...

and the

River Ilen The River Ilen () is a river in West Cork, Ireland. It rises at Mullaghmesha mountain and flows southwards for 37 kilometres into the Celtic Sea. Its five main tributaries are, the Saivnose, Coarliss, Achrinduff, Glounaphuca and Clodagh. It is ...

.Carbery East (W.D.): rivers
/ref>

References