Upperthird or Upper Third () is a barony in County Waterford,

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

Etymology

Upperthird was originally called ''Uachtar Tíre'', "upper country", referring to its high altitude (by Irish standards). ''Tír'' became "third" presumably by analogy with Middle Third; "third" is commonly used to indicate Irish divisions of land, without any region being actually divided in three.

Geography

Upperthird is located in the Waterford uplands to the south of the River Suir and north of the

River Nier A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

, containing most of the Comeragh Mountains and the

Clodiagh River The River Clodiagh () is a small river which rises in Lough Coumduala in the Comeragh Mountains in north County Waterford. (''It should not be confused with the River Clodiagh in County Kilkenny.'') It flows through the villages of Rathgormack, ...

valley. It also contains two large lakes, Coumshingaun Lough and Crotty's Lake. It was known as a source of quartz.

History

Ruins of Clonea Power Castle, Upperthird barony, County Waterford (geograph 2716412)

This part of the Suir valley was the traditional territory of the O'Flanagan of Upperthird (''Ó Flannagáin Uachtar Tíre''). It contains Mothel Abbey, an ecclesiastical centre from the 6th to 16th centuries AD.

Abraham Ortelius Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the '' Theatrum Orbis Terr ...

's map of 1602 shows the land belonging to the Aylward family (an Anglo-Norman surname, in Irish ''Aighleart''). The barony was seized in the post-Cromwellian confiscations (1652) and formed part of the

Down Survey The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist, William Petty, in 1655 and 1656. The survey was apparently called the "Down Survey" by Petty, either because the results were set down in maps or because the s ...

(1655–56). It was granted to the La Poer family, later known as "Power". The region (together with parts of Middle Third) was known as "Powers' Country". The Power family built a number of castles and

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strate ...

s in the barony, including

Castle Gurteen de la Poer Gurteen de la Poer, or Gurteen le Poer, is an Elizabethan Revival house in County Waterford, Ireland, situated on the south bank of the River Suir, close to Kilsheelan and about 8 km east of Clonmel. The estate belonged to the de la Poers ...

(in Gurteen

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

), Glen Lodge (Glen Upper townland) and Clonea Power Castle (Clonea townland). Upperthird was traditionally productive farmland. The region is famous as the home of

Kilmeadan Kilmeadan or Kilmeaden () is a village in County Waterford, Ireland. It is on the R680 regional road. The town is from Dungarvan and from Waterford. Kilmeadan Castle was a stronghold of the le Poer family in the fourteenth century. In the l ...

cheddar cheese Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. Cheddar originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. C ...

List of settlements

Towns and villages in Upperthird barony include: *

Carrickbeg Carrickbeg () is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. Located on the border between counties Waterford and Tipperary, it comprises part of the town of Carrick-on-Suir that lies south of the River Suir. The area is in County Tipperary, but a m ...

(formerly part of County Waterford, now moved to County Tipperary as part of

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on th ...

) *

Mothel Mothel () is a small village, civil parish and townland, near the Comeragh Mountains in the northern part of County Waterford, Ireland. The closest centres of population to Mothel are Portlaw and Carrick-on-Suir. Heritage Mothel Abbey was fou ...

Portlaw Portlaw ( or ''Port Lách'') is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated approximately 19 km west-north-west of Waterford City, where the Clodiagh m ...

Rathgormack Rathgormack or Rathgormac () is a village and parish in northern County Waterford, Ireland. Amenities The village has a pub, a shop, a newly made all-weather pitch, a recreational park, a national school and a Roman Catholic Church Rathgormac ...

References

{{County Waterford Baronies of County Waterford