Clostoken or Cloghastookeen is a small
townland
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of
Kilconickny
Kilconickny is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Galway, Connaught, Ireland.
Location
Kilconickny covers .
It is mainly within the barony of Dunkellin, but parts are in the baronies of Athenry and Loughrea.
It is on the road f ...
, near the town of
Loughrea
Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...
in
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 ...
,
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 takes its name from an old ruined castle. Today, the name is more commonly used to refer to the civil parish of Kilconickny.
Name
According to ''O'Donovan's Field Name Books'' (1862), the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
form of the name is Cloch stúincín, meaning "stone of the little prominence". Other forms include Clostoken, Closetaken, Cloghstockin, Cloghastockin, Cloghstokin, Cloghastookeen and Clostaken.
Joyce (1910) writes "Near Loughrea in Galway, is a townland called Cloghastookeen, the stone fortress of the little pinnacle, which received its name from a castle of the
Burkes
Burkes is a surname. Notable people with the names include:
* Ida Burkes or Ida Dorsey (c. 1866–1988), American madam
*Wayne Burkes (1929–2020), American politician
See also
* Burks, surname
*Berkes, surname
*Birks (surname)
*Burke
Burke ...
, the ruins of which still remain.
The townland gives its name to Clostoken & Kilconieran parish.
There were three ecclesiastical parishes in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
; Kilconickny (now Clostoken), Kilconieran and Lickerrig (now Carrabane).
The three are now united in the large parish of Clostoken & Kilconieran.
Location
Cloghastookeen is in the Electoral Division of Kilconickny.
Bordering townlands are Carrowclogh to the south, Kilmurry to the east, Knockadaumore to the east, Saintclerans to the north and Srah to the west.
The area of the townland is .
O'Donovan writes; "This is a small townland, all arable and used as pasture land. It contains no antiquities, nor anything remarkable. It does have extensive ruins of a castle."
This is Cloastoken Old Castle.
People
The 1826 Tithe Appointment Books list 10 households in Cloghastookeen townland: Coniff, Glenane, Glenane, Glenane, Kelly, Kelly, O'Bryen, O'Laughlin, Walsh and Walsh.
The Miller family of Cromwellian settlers inherited part of the Cloghastookeen estate through marriage with a Croasdaile heiress.
In 1855 Croasdaile Bowen Miller was one of the principal lessors in the parish of Kilconickny.
Griffith's Valuation, published between 1847 and 1864, gives the area of the townland as .
The land value at that time was £.100-14s.-2d.
Four households were listed: Darcy, Walsh, Walsh and Miller.
In the 1911 census there was just one household in the townland, Sherry, with 10 people aged 5 to 65.
References
Sources
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External links
Web page at clonfertdiocese(archived)
Townlands of County Galway
{{Galway-geo-stub