Clarmallagh () is a barony in County Laois (formerly called ''Queen's County'' or ''County Leix''),

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

Etymology

Clarmallagh means "Flat land of Maigh Locha 'lake plain'', referring to Grantstown Lake.

Geography

Clarmallagh is located in south County Laois, to the south of the

River Gully A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

, and to the north of the

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 ...

border. It contains the lower part of the

Erkina River The River Erkina ( ga, An tOircín) is a river that flows through the county of Laois in Ireland. It is a tributary of the River Nore. It has its source on the Laois-Kilkenny border south of Rathdowney. It flows north towards Rathdowney and th ...

where it drains into the

River Nore The River Nore ( ga, An Fheoir ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region of Ireland. The river drains approximately of Leinster and Munster, that encompasses parts of three coun ...

History

Clarmallagh barony was anciently the northernmost part of the

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). In the early 12th century, Finn Ua Caellaide ruled Magh Locha (Clarmallagh) separately from the rest of Ossory. It was ruled by the

Ó Faoláin Ó Faoláin (), or O'Faolain, is an Irish surname coming from the Irish for "wolf", also anglicized as Phelan or Whelan. Notable people with this surname include: *Seán Ó Faoláin (1900–1991), influential figure in 20th-century Irish culture ...

(Phelan). It is referred to in the topographical poem ''

Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh ("More knowledge on the entirety of Ireland") is a medieval Gaelic- Irish topographical text, composed by Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín (died 1420). Overview ''Tuilleadh feasa ...'' is both a supplement and a conti ...

'' (

Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín Giolla na Naomh O hUidhrin, Irish historian and poet, died 1420. O hUidhrin is known as the author of '' Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh'', a topographical poem of a kind with Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin's '' Triallam timcheall na Fodla'', of whi ...

, d. 1420): ''I Muiġ Laċa na learg te'' ''Ó Faoláin, fearḋa an fíne'' ''Mór an dúthaiġ as díol dáiḃ'' ''Do lín futha Ó Faoláin'' ("In Magh Lacha of the warm hill slopes is Ó Faolain of manly tribe; Extensive is the district due to them, which the Ó Faolains have filled.") Upper Ossory map 1797

Clarmallagh was formerly a part of the

Upper Ossory Upper Ossory () was an administrative barony in the south and west of Queen's County (now County Laois) in Ireland. In late Gaelic Ireland it was the túath of the Mac Giolla Phádraig ( Fitzpatrick) family and a surviving remnant of the once ...

barony, established by 1657; in 1842 it was divided into three

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 ...

s: Upper Woods,

Clandonagh Clandonagh () is a barony in County Laois (formerly called ''Queen's County'' or ''County Leix''), Republic of Ireland. A barony was a historical subdivision of a county; mainly cadastral rather than administrative. Etymology Clandonagh baro ...

and Clarmallagh.

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Clarmallagh barony: *

Abbeyleix Abbeyleix (; ) is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located around south of the county town of Portlaoise. Abbeyleix was formerly located on the N8, the main road from Dublin to Cork. At one point, up to 15,000 vehicles passed along the town ...

* Ballacolla * Durrow

References

{{County Laois Baronies of County Laois