Dunkellin () is a historical barony in eastern

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. Baronies were mainly

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represente ...

rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots diale ...

History

The name derived from Irish , " large hillfort of the little wood" or "Caillin's fort." This region was part of the territory of Ui Fiachrach Aidhne and was ruled in the

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaeli ...

period by the

Ó hEidhin ''Hynes'' is a surname, many examples of which originate as the anglicisation the Irish language, Irish name ''Ó hEidhin''. Etymology According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', the modern name ''Hynes'' and i ...

(O'hEdihin) O'Heyne, along with the O'Clery and the O'Shaughnessys. The O'Clerys were chiefs of the Uí Fiachrach Finn up to the 13th century. The O'Finn family were

erenagh The medieval Irish office of erenagh (Old Irish: ''airchinnech'', Modern Irish: ''airchinneach'', Latin: '' princeps'') was responsible for receiving parish revenue from tithes and rents, building and maintaining church property and overseeing t ...

s of Kilcogan.

Clann Cosgraigh Clann Cosgraigh or Clann Coscraig was a branch of the Uí Briúin Seóla dynasty and also the name of the district on the eastern side of Lough Corrib, County Galway which they inhabited and ruled prior to the Norman invasion. The eponym of th ...

(Cosgroves), of the Uí Maine, also had territory east of Galway Bay. Following the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, the Blake (Caddell) surname is also found in Dunkellin. The local chief Ulick na gCeann Burke was made Earl of Clanricarde and Baron of Dunkellin in 1543. His son

Richard Burke, 2nd Earl of Clanricarde Richard Burke, 2nd Earl of Clanricarde ( ; died 24 July 1582), styled Lord Dunkellin ( ) until 1544, was an Irish noble who succeeded his father Ulick na gCeann Burke, 1st Earl of Clanricarde as chief of a Gaelicised Norman family with autho ...

built a castle at Dunkellin. Dunkellin barony was created before 1576.

Geography

Dunkellin is in the centre of the county, east of

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway ...

List of settlements

Settlements within the historical barony of Dunkellin include: *

Ballinderreen Ballinderreen (), also Ballindereen, is a village located on the N67 road (Ireland), N67 road between Kilcolgan and Kinvara in south County Galway, Ireland. Location and name Ballinderreen village is approximately 22 km south of Galway ...

Clarinbridge Clarinbridge or Clarenbridge () is a village in south County Galway, Ireland. It is on the mouth of the Clarin River at the end of Dunbulcaun Bay, which is the easternmost part of Galway Bay. The village is 13 km south-east of Galway cit ...

Craughwell Craughwell (historically ''Creaghmoyle'', from ) is a village and townland in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the village had a population of approximately 1,000 people. Craughwell is ...

* Kilchreest *

Kilcolgan Kilcolgan (), is a village on the mouth of the Kilcolgan River at Dunkellin Bay in County Galway, Ireland. The settlement is at the junction of the N67 and R458 roads, which lies between Gort and Clarinbridge. The village is near the site of ...

Oranmore Oranmore ( or ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, east of Galway city on an inlet of Galway Bay. At the 2022 census, Oranmore had a population of 5,819. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. Etymology Oranmore is the anglicisat ...

References

{{County Galway Baronies of County Galway