Tirkennedy
Tirkennedy is a barony of Fermanagh.[1] 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.[1]
The name is from the Gaelic Tír Cennfhota, menanig "Country of the long-head".
History
Despite 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.[2][3] Fergus lived in the late fifth century and 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]
The Devine (Ó Daimhín) sept were cited as Lords of Tirkennedy,[3][5] and were a leading Fermanagh sept up to and including the fifteenth century, when their power was broken by the O'Neills to the north and the Maguires to the south.[5] Under the Maguires, the MacManus sept became hereditary supervisors of the fisheries in Tirkennedy.[6]
The early Anglicisation of "Tircannada" recorded in the 1609 escheated counties map is claimed as being more accurate than the present form of "Tirkennedy".[2]
Villages and parishes
The main villages of the barony are;
- Ballinamallard
- Enniskillen (in so far as it is east of the River Erne)
- Lisbellaw
- Tempo
The parishes of Tirkennedy are:[7]
- Cleenish (split with baronies of Magheraboy and Clanawley)
- Derrybrusk (split with barony of Magherastephana)
- Derryvullen (split with barony of Lurg)
- Enniskillen
- Magheracross (split with barony of Omagh East)
- Trory (split with barony of Lurg)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 PRONI Baronies of Northern Ireland
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Strabane Lower". Placenames Database of Ireland. Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. http://www.logainm.ie/58920.aspx. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Letters of John O'Donovan
- ↑ The barony of Tirkennedy in Co. Fermanagh
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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
