Owneybeg

Owneybeg Uaithne Beag (Irish)
Barony
Entrance to Glenstal Abbey
Barony map of County Limerick, 1900; Owneybeg is in the northeast, coloured pink.
Owneybeg
Coordinates: 52°38′N8°22′W / 52.64°N 8.37°W / 52.64; -8.37
Sovereign state	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	Limerick
Area
• Total	110.1 km2 (42.5 sq mi)

Owneybeg (Irish : Uaithne Beag, occasionally spelled Owenybeg) is a historical barony in northeast County Limerick, Ireland. ^[1]

Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. ^[2] They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. ^{[3] [4]}

History

The Uaithni were a medieval Gaelic Irish tribe in the area. In Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography he mentions the Auteinoi, who lived somewhere around County Galway. They claimed descent from Uaithne, daughter of the legendary king Eochaid mac Luchta. ^[5]

The Book of Lecan connects Owney to the legendary harper Uaithne, with his sons Uaithnia, Druithnia and Caínnia being the ancestors of the Uaithni, Dál Druithne and Cáenraige. ^[6]

Modern scholars have tried to reconstruct an etymology, with one suggestion being Aue-ítha-ini ("tribe of the descendants of Íth," a mythological figure whose name means "fat" and is associated with agricultural production.) ^[7]

Owney was divided into Owneytire ("Uaithni-Land") and Owneybeg ("Lesser Uaithni"). Owneytire comprised land around Newport, County Tipperary, while Owneybeg (also "Uaithne Cliach") was Abington, Cappamore and North Doon.

The region was in the Middle Ages part of part of the territory of Éile Uí Chearbhaill and was later ruled by the Ó Donnagáin (O'Donegans). In 1185 King John, Lord of Ireland granted some of Owneybeg to the Norman knight Theobald Walter, 1st Chief Butler of Ireland. ^[8] It later came into the possession of the Ó Maoilriain (Mulryans) and they held the area until the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. ^{[9] [10]}

Geography

Owneybeg is in the northeast of the county, containing part of the Slieve Felim Mountains. To its north is the Annagh River and Clare River, which form part of the border with County Tipperary. ^[11]

List of settlements

Settlements within the historical barony of Owneybeg include: ^[12]

• Glenstal
• Murroe

References

1. "Owneybeg". www.townlands.ie.
2. "CoshleaBarony | Landed Estates | University of Galway". landedestates.ie.
3. General Register Office of Ireland (1904). "Alphabetical index to the baronies of Ireland". Census of Ireland 1901: General topographical index. Command papers. Vol. Cd. 2071. HMSO. pp. 966–978.
4. Office, Ireland Public Record (12 February 1891). "Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and of the Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland: Presented to Both Houses of the Oireachtas". Stationery Office. – via Google Books.
5. "Early Irish Population-Groups: Their Nomenclature, Classification, and Chronology". celt.ucc.ie.
6. "Part 3 of Early Irish Population-Groups: Their Nomenclature, Classification, and Chronology". celt.ucc.ie.
7. "Αὐτεινοι". Steemit. 23 August 2019.
8. Heffernan, P. (1940). The Heffernans and Their Times: A Study in Irish History. United Kingdom: J. Clarke & Company, Limited.
9. "Exploring Parishes". www.doonbleisce.com.
10. D'Alton, J. (1861:701). Illustrations, Historical and Genealogical, of King James's Irish Army List, 1689: 2d Ed.--enl. United Kingdom: J.R. Smith.
11. "Owneybeg Barony | Landed Estates | University of Galway". landedestates.ie.
12. "Sub-units of: Owneybeg". logainm.ie.