Pubblebrien

Pubblebrien Pobal Bhriain (Irish)
Barony
Post office in Crecora
Barony map of County Limerick, 1900; Pubblebrien is in the north-centre, coloured orange.
Pubblebrien
Coordinates: 52°35′N8°41′W / 52.59°N 8.69°W / 52.59; -8.69
Sovereign state	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	Limerick
Area
• Total	122.0 km2 (47.1 sq mi)

Pubblebrien (Irish : Pobal Bhriain) is a historical barony in northern 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 ^[2] They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.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 castle at Carrigogunnell

Carrigogunnell was the ancient centre of the area. It was ruled by the Ó Ciarmhaic (Kerwicks), a cantred of the Eóganachta, ^[5] until it fell to the Mac Uí Bhrian (Mac Brien), a branch of the O'Brien dynasty, hence the name Pubblebrien ("Brian's people," referring to Brian Boru). ^[6] The MacSheehy and O'Hallinans had a seat at Ballyallinan Castle; ^[7] the MacSheehys (Mac Síthigh) were gallowglasses (soldier-clients from Scotland) who arrived in the Ireland in the 14th century and were in Connacht from the 15th century as bodyguards to the Fitzgerald Earls of Desmond. The MacArthur and O'Scanlan clans also held land in Pubblebrien. ^{[8] [9]}

The Cromwellian adventurer William Peacock received 840 acres (3.4 km²) in Pubblebrien after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. ^[10]

Máirtín Ó Murchú noted the rapid decline in Irish speakers in Pubblebrien, from 100% in those born 1791–1801 to 3% in those born 1851–61 (i.e. after the Famine). ^[11]

In 2002 a local history, Pubblebrien Journal, was published by the Pubblebrien Historical Society. ^[12]

Geography

Pubblebrien is in the north-centre of the county, east of the River Maigue, west of Limerick city and south of the Shannon. ^[13]

List of settlements

Settlements within the historical barony of Pubblebrien include: ^[14]

• Clarina
• Crecora
• Dooradoyle
• Mungret
• Patrickswell

References

1. "Pubblebrien". 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. "Ó Ciarmhaic". Library Ireland. 2020.
6. Curtis, E. (2013:306). A History of Medieval Ireland (Routledge Revivals): From 1086 to 1513. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
7. "BALLYALLINAN CASTLE".
8. "Pubblebrien Barony | Landed Estates | University of Galway". landedestates.ie.
9. "The Baronies of Ireland - History". 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019.
10. Peacock, N. (2005:12). The diary of Nicholas Peacock, 1740-1751 : the worlds of a County Limerick farmer and agent. Ireland: Four Courts Press.
11. The Oxford Handbook of Irish English. (2024:88). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
12. "Journals Collection – Limerick Local Studies".
13. https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/irl/LIM/land/PubblebrienBarony
14. "Sub-units of: Pobal Bhriain/Pubblebrien". logainm.ie.