Stradbally (barony)

Stradbally (Irish: An Sráidbhaile[1]) is a barony in County Laois (formerly called Queen's County or County Leix), Republic of Ireland.[2][3]

Stradbally

An Sráidbhaile (Irish)
Barony
The ancient Magh Druchtain (plain of sweetness)
Barony map of Queen's County, 1900; Stradbally is orange, in the east.
Sovereign stateRepublic of Ireland
ProvinceLeinster
CountyLaois
Area
 • Total112.89 km2 (43.56 sq mi)

Etymology

Stradbally barony is named after the town of Stradbally (literally meaning "one-street town").

Geography

Stradbally is located in eastern County Laois, bounded to the south by Luggacurren, to the east by the River Barrow and to the west by Dunamase.[4]

History

Stradbally barony was anciently known as Magh Druchtain ("plain of sweetness") and was ruled by a sept of the Ó Ceallaigh.[5] It was also called Farran-O'Kelly ("men of O'Kelly").[6] According to the Annals of the Four Masters, in 1394, James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond "mustered a force, and marched into Leinster to spoil it; and he burned and spoiled Gailine, and the territory of O'Kelly of Magh Druchtain, and then returned home."[7]

It is referred to in the topographical poem Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh (Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín, d. 1420):

Ós Muigh Drúchtain an dúin ghil
Ó Ceallaigh an chláir éignigh
as samhail mín an mhuighe
re Tír ttaraidh tTarrnguire.

("Over Magh-Druchtain of the fair fortress is Ó Ceallaigh of the salmon-full river, Similar is the smooth surface of the plain to the fruitful land of promise.")[8][9]

Ballyduff was the seat of the Cenél Crimthann, a branch of the Ó hIndreadhain (O'Hourihan).[10]

After the Laois-Offaly Plantation, Stradbally came to Francis Cosby and was for centuries owned by the Cosby family, including William Cosby and Dudley Cosby, 1st Baron Sydney.

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Stradbally barony:

References
  1. "An Sráidbhaile/Stradbally". Logainm.ie.
  2. Commission, Irish Manuscripts; Simington, Robert C. (8 July 1961). "The Civil Survey. A.D. 1654-1656: Miscellanea". Stationery Office – via Google Books.
  3. "The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland: Adapted to the New Poor-law, Franchise, Municipal and Ecclesiastical Arrangements, and Compiled with a Special Reference to the Lines of Railroad and Canal Communication, as Existing in 1814-45". A. Fullarton and Company. 8 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. "Queen's County (Laois)". www.libraryireland.com.
  5. "Holdings: Tales from Magh Druchtain". catalogue.nli.ie.
  6. "Feranokelle - Google Search". www.google.ie.
  7. "Part 3 of Annals of the Four Masters". celt.ucc.ie.
  8. Woulfe, Patrick. "Ó Ceallaigh - Irish Names and Surnames". www.libraryireland.com.
  9. "The Topographical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla-na-naomh O'Huidhrin: Edited in the original Irish from MSS. in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, with translation, notes, and introductory dissertations, by John O'Donovan". A. Thom. 8 July 1862 – via Google Books.
  10. http://rainbowfarms.com.au/SURNAMES%20-%20Duan%20-%20Duglas..htm
  11. Coote, Sir Charles (8 July 2018). "General View of the Agriculture and Manufactures of the Queen's County: With Observations on the Means of Their Improvement, Drawn Up in the Year 1801 : for the Consideration, and Under the Direction of the Dublin Society". Graisberry & Campbell – via Google Books.
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