Magheraboy
Magheraboy is a barony of Fermanagh.[1] To its east lies Lower Lough Erne, and it is bordered by three other baronies in the United Kingdom: Lurg to the north; Tirkennedy to the east; and Clanawley to the south[1] It also borders two baronies in the Republic of Ireland: Tirhugh to the north; and Rosclogher to the south.
The name is from the Gaelic Machaire Bui, meaning "Yellow plain".[2])
History
The name Magheraboy doesn't receive a mention until 1585, when it is described in the Composition Book of Connacht as "the halfe Toe (tuatha) of Magheraboy".[3] It was the Composition of Connaught in 1585, during the reign of Elizabeth I that most of the modern baronies and counties of Ulster would first be created.
The barony's boundaries however coincide with those of an ancient territory known as Tuath Ratha (people/tribe of the fort), the principal family of which was the O'Flanagans (Ó Flannagáin), the ruling family of the Cenél Cairbre Tuath Ratha.[4][3] The O'Flanagans were an important mediæval family based at Ballyflanagan (present day townland of Aghamore) in Magheraboy, and they once controlled the entire western side of Lower Lough Erne from Belleek to Belmore Mountain.[4]
The O'Flanagans were related to the ruling family of the Uí Néill kingdom of Cairbre Droma Cliabh (Drumcliff).[2] Another small sept of the Uí Néill, the Cenél Láegaire, settled in Magheraboy in the early Christian period.[2]
Villages and parishes
The main villages of the barony are:
- Belleek (in so far as it is south of the River Erne)
- Derrygonnelly
- Enniskillen (in so far as it is west of the River Erne)
The parishes in Magheraboy are:[5]
- Boho (split with barony of Clanawley)
- Cleenish (split with the baronies of Clanawley and Tirkennedy)
- Devenish
- Inishmacsaint
- Rossorry (split with barony of Clanawley)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 PRONI Baronies of Northern Ireland
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Magheraboy". Placenames Database of Ireland. Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. http://www.logainm.ie/301.aspx. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Barony-Names of Fermanagh and Monaghan
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bell, Robert; The Book of Ulster Surnames, page 68. The Black Staff Press, 2003. ISBN 0-85640-602-3
- ↑ PRONI Civil Parishes of County Fermanagh
