Newcastle ()
[Barony of Newcastle](_blank)
/ref> is a feudal title of nobility and one of the baronies 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 ...
of 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 was constituted as part of the old county of Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Today, it lies in the modern county
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 ...
of South Dublin
South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...
. At the heart of the barony is 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 the same name - Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
- which is one of eleven civil parishes in the barony. The ruins of the eponymous castle, also known as Newcastle-Lyons, are located in the 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 ...
of Newcastle South. The town with the biggest population in the barony is Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...
.
Location
It is one of seven and a half baronies that used to comprise the old county
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 ...
of Dublin.[According to the "Local Government Act, 2001", section 10(2): "The State continues to stand divided into local government areas to be known as counties and cities which are the areas set out in Parts 1 and 2, respectively, of Schedule 5." It is clear from SCHEDULE 5, Local Government Areas (Counties and Cities, PART 1, that "Dublin" is defined only as a city (as distinct from a county).] It stretches from the River Liffey
The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...
to the Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...
(from north to south) and from the border with County Kildare
County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...
to Clondalkin
Clondalkin () is a suburban village in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, approximately west of Dublin city centre. It is within the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin County Council, South Dublin.
Clondalkin is also the na ...
and Palmerstown
Palmerstown (; officially Palmerston, see #Name origin and spelling, spelling) is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and suburb in western Dublin, Ireland on the banks of the River Liffey. It forms part of the South Dublin local authorit ...
(from west to east). It is located between the baronies of Castleknock
Castleknock () is an affluent village in County Dublin, Ireland, located west of the centre of Dublin city. It is in the modern county of Fingal.
In addition to the village, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: a ...
(north of the river), Uppercross
Uppercross () is a historical barony in southern County Dublin, Ireland.
Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded ...
(to the east) and South Salt
South Salt () is a barony in County Kildare, Ireland.
Etymology
South Salt derives its name from the Latin name of Leixlip: ''Saltus salmonis'' (literally "salmon leap"; the English name is derived from Old Norse ''Lax-hlaup''). This makes Sa ...
, County Kildare (to the south and west). Apart from an exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of the civil parish of Leixlip
Leixlip ( or ; , ) is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between the ancient kingdoms of Leinster and ...
that lies beyond the river, the rest of the barony is contained within the modern county of South Dublin
South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...
and it is subject to South Dublin County Council
South Dublin County Council () is the local authority of the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 to succeed the former Dublin County Council before its abolitio ...
.
Legal context and history
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 subdivisions of counties and were used for administration. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. They have been administratively obsolete since 1898. Nevertheless, they continue to be used in land registration and 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
''Túath'' (plural ''túatha'') is the Old Irish term for the basic political and jurisdictional unit of Gaelic Ireland. ''Túath'' can refer to both a geographical territory as well the people who lived in that territory. The smallest ''túath ...
which had submitted to the Crown. This is true of Newcastle, which at the time of its creation, was part of the túath of ''Ui Donnchad''.
The ''Ui Donnchad'', or sept the ''Mac Giolla Mocholmog'', was also home to Vikings of Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
(Dyflyn) who were allies and trading partners of the Chieftain Dermot Mac Giolla Mocholmog during the century period. Following the initial Hiberno-Norman policy of integration and assimilation, the descendants of this chief became the FitzDermots. Through grants and intermarriage, by the time of the shiring of County Dublin, Newcastle-Lyons was raised to the status of an Irish feudal barony
In Ireland, a feudal barony is a customary title of gentry. The person who holds an Irish feudal barony is always referred to as a baron. However, unlike peers in the British House of Lords, they did not necessarily hold a hereditary peerage titl ...
. In 1627 a disputed claim to the barony led to tragedy when Edmond Butler, 3rd/13th Baron Dunboyne
Edmond Butler, 3rd/13th Baron Dunboyne (1595–1640) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman of the early seventeenth century. His short life was full of violence and disputes over the Dunboyne inheritance. His father was murdered when Edmond was a small chil ...
killed his rival James Prendergast; James' brother Edmond was recognised as baron, but later forfeited. It eventually came into the Newcomen family who secured succession in the seventeenth century. The village and castle bawn was fortified with walls and multiple tower houses. It later became a pocket borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act of 1832, which had a very small electo ...
until the Parliamentary Union of Dublin with Westminster in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. After the Union, and the famine, the Barony like Dublin City and County went into a long period of economic and population decline.
Civil parishes
* Aderrig
* Clondalkin
* Esker
* Kilbride
* Kilmactalway
* Kilmahuddrick (a single townland)
* Leixlip
Leixlip ( or ; , ) is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between the ancient kingdoms of Leinster and ...
* Lucan
* Newcastle
* Rathcoole
* Saggart
See also
* List of subdivisions of County Dublin
County Dublin refers to a subdivision of Ireland occasioned by the Norman invasion of Ireland. This shire or county underwent further subdivisions as the territory was subinfeudated by the great barons among their vassals; these smaller areas we ...
References
{{Areas of Dublin