A Roadtrip Through 17 Counties of Ireland: Part 1

A few weeks back we went on a road trip from Cork to Donegal and back - covering 17 counties in all. When we came back we wrote up a number of posts in our weekly newsletter - and these were some of the MOST popular newsletters we have done so far.

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A Roadtrip Through 17 Counties of Ireland: Part 1

We got back late last night from a great road trip during which we covered 16 counties across Ireland (see our route below). We traveled from south to north and back down again. And thatโ€™s what Iโ€™d like us to talk about today โ€“ the Counties of Ireland.

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Which county in Ireland are your families from?

Whenever I ask that question โ€“ the answers come in by the tens and hundreds! We all seem to have a very strong emotional tie with the counties of our heritage.

But letโ€™s get it straight โ€“ counties were put into place as a means of administration. A way to divide land for taxation and grant purposes. Today, however, weโ€™re going to stick with the stories of the counties โ€“ the names and families associated with each.

Now, donโ€™t worry, I wonโ€™t keep you here all day going through all of the 17 counties we traveled through โ€“ weโ€™ll start with the first 5 counties on our trip this week โ€“ and then cover the others over the next 2 weeks.

Remember that before the arrival of the Normans in the 1200s โ€“ there were no counties in Ireland. There were five provinces and a whole string of independent kingdoms. In general, counties were made by combining smaller Gaelic territories in a way that suited the English administration at the time and had little to do with older tribal boundaries.

County Cork.

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Blarney – A McCarthy Castle

Cork is the largest county in Ireland. Before it became a county in Ireland, it was part of the Kingdom of Desmond โ€“ ruled by the MacCarthy family and their princely septs of:

O’Sullivan, O’Donoghue, O’Callaghan,ย O’Keeffe,ย McAuliffe,ย  O’Donovan, O’Mahony,ย O’Driscoll, O’Crowley, MacSweeney,ย O’Leary,ย O’Healy, andย O’Riordan.

Like to add your County Cork surname to our list? Justย signup forย your free weekly Letter from Irelandย byย clicking here.

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Castlemartyr – A Fitzgerald Castle

After theย Norman Invasionย in the 12th century, the McCarthy clan were pushed west into what is now West Cork andย County Kerry and the north and east of Cork were taken by the FitzGeralds , who became theย Earls of Desmond. They had a number of Norman families under their lordship such as the Roches, Condons and Barrys.

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Cork City

Like many of the counties of Ireland โ€“ County Cork gets its name from its main city – Cork comes from the Irish โ€œCorcaighโ€ which means marshy ground. The County of Cork was โ€œshiredโ€ by the 1200s but officially created in 1606.

County Limerick.

From the 4th to the 12th century, the ancient Gaelic kingdom of theย Uรญ Fidgentiย was approximately the same as the modern County Limerick.

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Bruree, County Limerick – ancient capital of the Uรญ Fidgente

After losing a two century conflict with the neighbouring O’Briensย of theย Dal gCais, most of the rulers fled forย ย County Cork (the Collins’,ย Oโ€™Donovans and so on). Their lands were almost immediately occupied by theย FitzGeraldsย and other Norman families such as the Delaceys, and Burkes, who permanently prevented their return.

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Adare Castle – Built by the Fitzgeralds on an earlier O’Donovan fortress

Limerick City โ€“ which gives County Limerick itโ€™s name โ€“ was founded by the Vikings in 922. The County of Limerick was shired by the 1200s by the Normans โ€“ but only officially became a county in 1609.

County Clare.

County Clare was originally part of theย Kingdom of Connachtย ruled by theย Uรญ Fiachrach Aidhne tribe, but was annexed to theย Kingdom of Munsterย and settled by theย Dal gCaisย in the mid-10th century. It was renamed Thomond, translating as North Munster. This was the time ofย Brian Boruย  – the most famousย High King of Ireland. From 1118 onwards theย Kingdom of Thomondย became the stomping ground of theย O’Brien Clan.

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The O’Brien Castle at Bunratty, County Clare

The various families associated with the Oโ€™Briens were:

O’Dea,ย McMahon,ย McNamara,ย McGarry,ย O’Grady,ย Hogan,ย Considineย andย Lynch families.

Like to add your County Clare surname to our list? Justย signup forย your free weekly Letter from Irelandย byย clicking here.

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McNamara Castle in County Clare

One of the most striking things you notice as you travel through County Clare are the sheer number of castles. They seem to come up every couple of miles. This usually indicates just what a volatile area this was โ€“ with lines of power under constant challenge between the various families and the nearby Normans.

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Cliffs of Moher, County Clare

Thomond was handed over to theย English Government ย in 1543 and the area became the county we know today as Clare.

The name Clare comes from the Irish โ€œClarโ€ โ€“ and is derived from the area around the modern town of Clarecastle.

County Galway.

Nowadays, Galway is part of the province of Connaught. However, if we go back to the time to before the arrival of the Normans โ€“ there was no County Galway โ€“ but there was the Kingdom of Connaught.

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Galway City from The Claddagh

And this Kingdom was ruled over by the Oโ€™Connors.

Today, if you travel through County Galway, you might notice a county with three distinct personalities:

  • Galway City itself โ€“ This was built up by the Burke family and the โ€œtribes of Galwayโ€ โ€“ mostly a Norman merchant class (is your family one of the Tribes of Galway?)
  • East Galway โ€“ this was the kingdom of Ui Maine โ€“ ruled over by the Oโ€™Kellys
  • Iar Connacht or Connemara โ€“ which was a kingdom ruled over by the Oโ€™Flahertys.
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Roundstone Pier, Connemara

In 1556ย  theย Kingdom of Connachtย was broken up into the County of Galway was formed.

Our final county for today is ….

County Mayo.

Like Galway, County Mayo was originally part of the ancient Kingdom of Connaught. The chief kings in the area at that time were the O’Malleysย andย O’Dowds.

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Driving along the Doolough Valley towards Louisburgh

Funny enough, there is a Mayo Village which gives the county itโ€™s name โ€“ but all that is left of this village are the ruins of Mayo Abbey. Maigh Eo means โ€œplain of the Yew treesโ€ โ€“ the Yew being a tree that’s often associated with churches and abbeys.

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Rockfleet Castle – final home of Grace O’Malley

County Mayo came under Norman control in 1235 AD โ€“ and this Norman control meant the demise of many Gaelic lords and chieftains, chiefly the O’Connors of Connacht.

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Sunset on Clew Bay’s 365 Islands

During the 1230s, theย Normansย ย underย Richard Burke invaded and settled the area introducing new families such asย Burke,ย Gibbons, Barrett,ย Staunton,ย Prendergast,ย Walsh,ย Morris,ย Joyce,ย Costelloย andย Price.ย These Norman names are still common in County Mayo.

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Tobercurry Abbey – Founded by the O’Connors

Like Galway โ€“ County Mayo was formed with the breakup of Connaught in 1556.

See Part 2 of our 17 County Roadtrip of Ireland.

Slรกn for now, Mike.

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