Corofin, County Clare

Corofin
Cora Finne
Town
Main street
Corofin
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°56′43″N 9°03′43″W / 52.945225°N 9.062004°W / 52.945225; -9.062004Coordinates: 52°56′43″N 9°03′43″W / 52.945225°N 9.062004°W / 52.945225; -9.062004
Country Ireland
Province Munster
County County Clare
Elevation 30 m (100 ft)
Population (2016)[1]
 • Total 776
Time zone UTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference R285887

Corofin (Irish: Cora Finne[2] or Coradh Finne) is a village on the River Fergus in northern County Clare in Ireland and a Catholic parish by the same name.

The 2016 population was 776, up from 689 in 2011.[1][3]

Name

The name Corofin means "the white or foam-flecked ford" from the Irish: Finn Coradh, the earliest form of the name to be found in the literature: "fearann re hucht Finn Coradh".-[Ó hUidhrín, 15c. Topographical Poem]

A different translation is "Finne's weir".[4]:15

The town is sometimes spelled "Corrofin".[2] Corofin also styles itself as "The Gateway to the Burren" or "The Angler's Paradise".

Geography

Location

The village is 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the county town of Ennis, at the crossroads of the R460 and R476 regional roads. It is on the southern edge of the upland limestone region of The Burren. Corofin is in the civil parish of Kilnaboy in the Barony of Inchiquin.[5]

It lies in the Kilnaboy parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. The parish has three churches, St Brigid's in Corofin, St Joseph's in Kilnaboy and St Mary's in Rath.[6]

Corofin is the childhood home of painter Frederick William Burton.[4]:15

Attractions

Clare Heritage and Genealogical Research Centre

Corofin is the site of the Clare Heritage and Genealogical Research Centre. The Centre is located in the former Church of Ireland, St. Catherine's Church, built between 1715 and 1720 by Catherine Kneightly. It was renovated c. 1820 and by 1829 the steeple had been added.[7]

An Irish National Monument, the Cross Inneenboy , also known as Roughan Hill Tau Cross, is a stone tau cross which has been moved into the centre for safe keeping.

Inchiquin Castle. View of the outside, main building on the left, overgrown tower to the right.

Inchiquin Castle

Inchiquin Castle. View from the inside towards the lake.

Inchiquin Castle is located on the north side of Lake Inchiquin (in the parish of Kilnaboy). It was possibly begun by Teige-an-Chomhaid O'Brien (d. 1466). In 1542, it belonged to Turlough, son of Murrough, first Baron of Inchiquin. Murrough O'Brien, the fourth baron, was in possession in 1580. His descendants, the Marquesses of Thomond, derived their title of Earl of Inchiquin from this estate. During the Nine Years' War, Hugh Roe O'Donnell raided Clare and Inchiquin Castle was attacked by one of his lieutenants, Maguire of Fermanagh. During the Confederate Wars Christopher O'Brien, Murrough the Burner's brother, lived here. Murrough's son, Colonel John O'Brien, abandoned Inchiquin towards the end of the 17th century. By then it had deteriorated into a ruin. Today the castle remains a ruin surrounded by pastures. Part of the older castle tower is still extant as is a good portion of the later 17th-century banquet hall.[7]

Governance

Town twinning

Notable people

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Corrofin". Central Statistics Office (Ireland). Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 Corrofin, County Clare Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved: 2011-11-22.
  3. ↑ "Census 2011 - Table 5 Population of towns ordered by county and size, 2006 and 2011" (PDF). CSO. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Roche, D. The Clare Guide - Official Irish Tourist Board Guide. Bord Failte.
  5. ↑ "Corofin, Corrofin or Curofin". Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland. 1845. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  6. ↑ "Corofin". Diocese of Killaloe. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  7. 1 2 "Corofin, Places of Interest". Clare County Library. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
Sources
  • Michael Mac Mahon, The Parish of Corofin: A Historical Profile, ISBN 978-0-953866724.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.