Corcomroe

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Corcomroe is a small village in County Clare, in the midwest of Ireland. The village is noted for the nearby ruins of a 12th Century Cistercian Abbey, and its placement within the Burren area.

According to the Parliamentary Gazeteer of 1845, as cited on the Clare County Library website, the name is derived from the confluence of three Gaelic words: Cor ("district"), Cam ("quarrel") and Ruadh ("red"), having the combined meaning of "district of the bloody quarrel".

[edit] History

Historically, Corcomroe was associated with a tuath or Barony of the same name, which was coextensive with the diocese of Kilfenora. At some point around the 12th Century, the territory was divided in two - the Baronys of Burren and Corcomroe which were ruled by the O'Loughlen (Ó Lochlainn) and O'Connor (Ó Conchubhair) clans, respectively.

The Abbey itself was also known as the Abbey of Burren, or Sancta Maria de Petra Fertilis (Blessed Mary of the Fertile Rock).