Clonlara, officially Cloonlara (), is a village in
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
, Ireland, and a Roman Catholic parish of the same name.
Village and amenities
Clonlara is in the east of County Clare in the civil parish of
Kiltonanlea
Kiltenanlea or Kiltonanlea () is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland.
Name
The name in Irish is , meaning 'of Saint Senán, the hoary'. Saint Senán is considered to be the brother of Saint Mochuille in local tradition, and is thought to b ...
or Doonass, barony of
Tulla Lower
Tulla Lower (or Tullagh Lower) is a barony in County Clare, Ireland. This ancient geographical division of land is in turn divided into eight civil parishes.
Legal context
Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions ...
.
[ It lies between the ]River Shannon
The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...
to the east and the Clare hills to the west and north. Clonlara village is on the road between Killaloe and Limerick
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
, 8 km north-east of the centre of Limerick city. In 1841 there were 219 people in 31 houses.[ The village lies beside the head-race canal that deliver water to power the ]Ardnacrusha power plant
The Shannon hydroelectric Scheme was a major development by the Irish Free State in the 1920s to harness the power of the River Shannon. Its product, the Ardnacrusha power plant, is a Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power station located near Ar ...
a few kilometres to the southwest.
Clonlara has an equestrian centre and a Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
club, Clonlara GAA
Clonlara GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association hurling club based in Clonlara, County Clare, Ireland. It is affiliated with Clare county board.
History
The club was founded in 1897, making it one of the oldest clubs in County Clare.
In Octo ...
.
Religion
The village is part of Clonlara (Doonas and Truagh) parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe
The Diocese of Killaloe ( ; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in mid-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly.
The cathedral church of the diocese is the Cathedral of Ss Peter a ...
, and the Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
parish of Kiltenanlea. The parish has two churches: Mary, the Mother of God (Truagh) and St Senan's (Clonlara), both Roman Catholic. Kiltenanlea's Protestant church (Church of Ireland) is no longer a functioning parish church, but is used for weddings and seasonal carol services.
In 1956 in Clonlara, a group of people were reputedly prompted by a local Catholic curate to physically assault two Jehovah's Witnesses and to burn the literature which they had been trying to distribute. Several people were charged for involvement in the "Clonlara affair
Joseph Rodgers (25 March 1903 – 10 July 1966) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Killaloe between 1955 and 1966.
Early life
Rodgers was born in Liss, in the parish of Killanena ...
". While Taoiseach
The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
John A. Costello
John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957. He was leader of the opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959 and attorney gene ...
reportedly "responded to a protest from Bishop Joseph Rodgers of Killaloe" by writing that he "appreciated 'the just indignation aroused among the clergy and the people by the activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses'", he also "insisted that the law had to be upheld".
Notable people
* Colm Honan and Darach Honan, hurlers
* Marcus Horan, Irish rugby union player
* Jan O'Sullivan
Jan O'Sullivan (; born 6 December 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2014 to 2016 and as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2014. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Lime ...
, Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) and former Minister for Education
An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe
Towns and villages in County Clare
Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe