Kilnamona () is a village,

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 ...

and

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 ...

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. It is situated north-west of

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

Location

The parish of Kilnamona lies in the

barony 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 ...

Inchiquin Inchiquin () is a Barony (Ireland), barony in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 11 baronies in the county. Its chief town is Corofin, County Clare, Corofin. It is administered by Clare County C ...

, about northwest of Ennis. It is and covers . The

of Soheen is detached from the rest of the parish. The land is partly moorland, partly suitable for farming. Lough Aconnaun is in the west of the parish at an elevation of . The parish is drained by the Shallee rivulet, which runs eastward. The parish of Kilnamona is bounded to the west by the parish of

Inagh Inagh ( ; ) is a village and civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated 14 km west of Ennis on the Inagh River. The civil parish contains the villages of Inagh and Cloonanaha. Location The parish is part of the barony of Inc ...

, to the east by Drumcliffe, to the north by Dysert and to the south by

Inch and Kilmaley The inch (symbol: in or ) is a unit of length in the British Imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to yard or of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth"), the word ''inch'' is also someti ...

. It is part of the Catholic parish of

Inagh and Kilnamona Inagh and Kilnamona is a Parish in the Catholic Church, parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is mostly coterminous with the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parishes of Inagh and Kilna ...

Village

Kilnamona has a camogie club. The "Cill na Móna Pitch and Putt" 18 hole course opened for business in 1995. The Catholic church of "St Joseph's" is in Kilnamona.

History

The parish contains the remains of old forts, a church and two castles. The two castles are Shallee Castle and Magowna Castle. The Shallee Castle and lands were in the hands of the O'Brien family but were forfeited to Queen Elizabeth in 1592. Magowna Castle was built by the O'Griffeys who by 1443 held both the rectorship and curacy of Kilnamona. In 1659, there were 480 inhabitants recorded (470 Catholics and 10 Protestants). The population grew rapidly up to the early 1840s, as in the rest of Ireland. In 1831 the population was 1,767. The

Great Irish Famine The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger ( ), the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact o ...

devastated the population. The population dropped between 1841 and 1851 from 2,321 in 352 houses to 1,487 in 229 houses. By 1861 the population had declined further to 864, and then remained roughly stable for the rest of the century. By 1901 the population had shrunk to 718. According to the 2006 Census, there were 738 inhabitants of Kilnamona. This is an increase from the 699 recorded in the 2002 census. In 1824, 141 children (139 Catholics and 2 Protestants) were being educated in the two hedge schools in the parish. The modern National School was built in 1889. Major renovations were carried out in 2008 and the extension was officially blessed by Bishop Willie Walsh in May 2009.

Notable people

* James Breen (born 1945), councillor and former independent TD. * Mike McTigue (1892–1966), light heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1923 to 1925.

Townlands

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 ...

s are Ballyasheea, Ballyknock, Ballymongaun, Ballynabinnia, Ballyneillan, Caherbannagh, Clooncaurha, Cloongowna, Cooguquid, Croaghaun, Derroolagh, Islandgar, Kilnamona, Knockacaurhin, Knockatemple, Leckaun, Magowna, Moarhaun, Mweelagarraun, Rushaun, Soheen, Shallee, Tooreen East and Tooreen West.

References

External links

Clare County Library-Kilnamona

History of Kilnamona

Mike McTigue Official Website
{{Civil parishes of County Clare Towns and villages in County Clare Townlands of County Clare Civil parishes of County Clare