Know Your Townland-Corbally/An Corrbhaile

This is another townland that, while not part of this administrative parish, is very closely associated with Quin. The location of a one-time castle that no longer exists, it has been dominated by the big house that bears the townland name. This estate covered the whole townland at one point. It was originally MacNamara land, but was ‘disposed’ to settlers after the mid-seventeenth century land confiscations. The name was presumably inspired by the hill adjacent the old castle or perhaps the hill on which Drumbaun fort is located (Corr: round hill, pointed hill, hollow; pointed, conspicuous).

1641 owners

Mahone, son of John MacNamara;Roger, son of Teige, son of Rory MacNamara; Teige, son of Daniel, son of Rory MacNamara; Conor, son of Rory, son of Donogh MacNamara

To whom disposed of: Pierce Butler; John MacNamara

1901 Census

8 houses, population 29

Myles & Bridget McNamara, grandsons Charles Taylor, Daniel Scanlan, granddaughter Delia Reddan.

Edmond & Mary Reynolds, sons Pat, Edmond, daughters Mary, Agnes.

Patrick & Margaret Neylan, daughter Margaret, sons Thomas, Francis, Michael.

James & Nora O’Halloran, son John.

James & Eliza Blake, sons Michael, Frederick, William, Edmond, daughters Christina, Bridget, Florence, Mary Kate (and husband John Hickey).

Patrick & Mary Hannon, daughters Mary, Alice.

Patrick & Mary Glenane, sons James, Michael, daughters Mary, Catherine (also mother-in-law Catherine Hayes).

Thomas George & Geraldine Stacpoole-Mahon, daughters Hester Charlotte, Geraldine Frances, visitoe Edith Eileen McNamara, Governess Elizabeth Vacy, servants Margaret George, Mary Jane McCormack, Maria Gorman, Anne Madden, Anne Davie, Bridget Byrne.

1911 Census

6 houses, population 32

Patrick & Anne Neylan, son Michael

Thomas & Lizzie McNamara

James & Eliza Blake, sons William, Jeoffrey, daughters Christina, Elizabeth, Florence.

John & Ellin Hinch, sons James, John, Henery, daughters Mary, Julia

James McNamara

Edward & Mary Reynolds, daughter Agnes.

John & Geraldine Blood, servants Margaret Scully, Kate Harrington, Bridget Dillon, Kate Keogh, Ellen Kenny

Drumbaun Fort

On a low hill within a mile of Magh Adhair mound and of the large double earthwork of Creevagh, already described, is another important fort at Drumbaun ridge. Though thickly planted with elms and oaks, it has a fine view of Slieve Bernagh, the great hill of Kimalta (the Keeper) in Co. Tipperary, and westward to Mount Callan. The principal fort is on the summit of Drumbaun; it has an outer ring 3 feet high, 15 feet thick at the base, and 3 feet at the top, rising 8 feet over the top of the fosse. The latter is 9 feet wide below, and 25 feet at the field. The inner ring rises 10 feet over the ditch, and barely 3 feet over the garth; it is slightly oval, 93 feet north and south, by 99 feet east and west; the whole earthwork measures 182 feet to 190 feet over all.

At 27 feet to the south, connected by a straight mound, is a less regular annexe. The outer ring and fosse are each 9 feet wide; the inner ring 9 to 12 feet thick, 4 feet 6 inches high to the south and west, and 8 feet to the north and east down the slope. Its garth is 60 feet north and south, by 87 feet, the whole 117 feet over all. There is a deep dry hole beside it.

Types_of_the_Ring-Forts_Remaining_in_Eastern_clare.pdf, P.70 TJ Westropp

Westropp – Ringforts in East Clare

The Fairy Fort story by Eddie Lenihan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntO4aomOVgE

Corbally Castle (site of) CL034-089002

At the east end of a low hill. Sub-circular grass and scrub-covered platform (dims. 21m N-S; 16m E-W; H 0.4m at W to 2.3m at NE) bisected by a N-S road. This is the site of Corbally Castle

Proprietors in 1641 – Conor, son of Rory MacNamara

To whom disposed of – Pierce Butler

“Near the north boundary of the Townland of Corbally in this Parish, are shewn some traces of the foundation of the Castle of Corbally which is mentioned in the College List of the Castles of Thomond as belonging to Shane Mac Mahown.”

Ordnance Survey Letters by John O’Donovan and Eugene Curry, 1839

TJ Westropp, in his ‘Calender Customs-A Folklore Survey of County Clare’ informs us thus:

Other annual observances were sports which first included, and then lapsed into, mere races. The iraghts, or gatherings, at the mound and inauguration place of Moy Eir (Magh Adhair) lasted down to 1838, and were still very faintly remembered by old people in 1890 as having died out in the Famine years, with so much of the social brightness of the people. I may note that this place,—the reputed seat of Adhar, a Firblog prince, about the beginning of our era,—became the place of inauguration of the native princes of Thomond from before 877, and continued so down, at least, to 1570. The name Magh Adhair (phonetically Moy Eir) at first covered the whole central plain of east Clare, but steadily shrank to that of a small tribal territory, and then, in 1584 and 1655, to the two townlands of Corbally and Toonagh (Tuanagh-moyree). By 1838 it was attached only to two fields,— ‘Moyross, or Moyree, parks,’—in the former, and is now confined to a single field, ‘Moyars Park,’ and to the ‘rath’ or mound in Toonagh, across the brook. Notices of the inaugurations are numerous from 1275 to 1311, and occur sporadically from 877 onwards.

Some Baptismal records for Corbally for 1800’s