Tirkennedy (from Irish Tír Cheannada 'country of the long-head') is a barony in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.[2] To its west lies Lower Lough Erne and south Upper Lough Erne, and it is bordered by seven other baronies: Clanawley and Magheraboy to the west; Lurg and Omagh East to the north; Clogher to the east; Magherastephana and Knockninny to the south.[2]
Tirkennedy
| |
|---|---|
 Location of Tirkennedy, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| County | Fermanagh |
History
editDespite its name, Tirkennedy has nothing to do with the modern personal name of Kennedy, which derives from Cennétig (ugly/rough headed). Rather it takes its name from the epithet of Fergus son of Cremthann, the eponymous ancestor of the Ui Chremthainn, the predominant tribe of the western Airgialla.[1][3] Fergus lived in the late fifth century AD. He was known as Cennfhota (long-head). His descendants became known as the Ui Chennfhota, with the kingdom of Tir Cennfhota receiving its first mention in the Annals in 1349.[4][3]
Chieftains of Tirkennedy at the beginning of the Maguire’s reign over Fermanagh in the late 1200s were the Magunshinan, originally Mac Uinsionnain but anglicised to Nugent.[5] The Devine (Irish: Ó Daimhín) sept were cited as Lords of Tirkennedy,[3][6] and were a leading Fermanagh sept up to and including the fifteenth century, when the O'Neills broke their power to the north and the Maguires to the south.[6] Under the Maguires, the MacManus sept became hereditary supervisors of the fisheries in Tirkennedy.[7]
The early Anglicisation of "Tircannada" recorded in the 1609 escheated counties map is claimed as being more accurate than the present form of "Tirkennedy".[1]
List of main settlements
edit- Ballinamallard
- Enniskillen (east of the River Erne)
- Lisbellaw
- Tempo
List of civil parishes
edit
Below is a list of civil parishes in Tirkennedy:[8]
- Cleenish (split with baronies of Magheraboy and Clanawley)
- Derrybrusk (also partly in barony of Magherastephana)
- Derryvullan (also partly in barony of Lurg)
- Enniskillen
- Magheracross (split with barony of Omagh East)
- Trory (also partly in barony of Lurg)
References
edit- ^ a b c "Strabane Lower". Placenames Database of Ireland. Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ a b PRONI Baronies of Northern Ireland
- ^ a b c The Letters of John O'Donovan Archived 2010-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The barony of Tirkennedy in Co. Fermanagh
- ^ "John O'Donovan Maguires of Fermanagh From Duffy's Hibernian Magazine, Volume 2, Number 10, April, 1861". Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ^ a b Bell, Robert; The Book of Ulster Surnames, page 51. The Black Staff Press, 2003. ISBN 0-85640-602-3
- ^ The Baronies of Ireland - Family History
- ^ PRONI CIvil Parishes of County Fermanagh