Barony of Castleknock

The Barony of Castleknock (Irish: Caisleán Cnucha) meaning "Cnucha's Castle"^[1] is a feudal title of nobility and one of the baronies of Ireland. Originally part of the Lordship of Meath, it was then constituted as part of the old county of Dublin. Today, it lies in the modern county of Fingal. The barony was created by Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath as his own feudal barony, held directly from himself in capite. His vassals were commonly called "De Lacy's Barons".^[2] In the case of the this barony, the first vassal was Hugh Tyrrel. At the heart of the barony is the civil parish of the same name - Castleknock - which is one of eight civil parishes in the barony. In the townland of Castleknock itself is the location of the eponymous "Cnucha's Castle" - Castleknock Castle. The town with the biggest population in the barony is Blanchardstown.

Location

It is one of seven and a half baronies that used to comprise the old county of Dublin.^[3] It stretches from Cabra to Blanchardstown (from east to west) and from Finglas to Chapelizod (from north to south). It is located between the baronies of Coolock to the east, Nethercross to the north and Dublin to the southwest. The River Liffey separates it from the remaining baronies. The whole of the barony is contained within the modern county of Fingal and it is subject to Fingal County Council.

Legal context

Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as subdivisions of counties and were used for administration. At the time of its creation, Castleknock was part of the Lordship of Meath. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. While they have been administratively obsolete since 1898, they continue to be used in land registration, and specification such as in planning permissions. In many cases, a barony corresponds to an earlier Gaelic túath which had submitted to the Crown. This is probably true in the case of Castleknock.

Civil parishes

Civil parish of Castleknock

Townlands in the civil parish of Castleknock:^[4]

Civil parish of Chapelizod

Townlands in the civil parish of Chapelizod:

Civil parish of Cloghran

Townlands in the civil parish of Cloghran

Civil parish of Clonsilla

Townlands in the civil parish of Clonsilla:

Civil parish of Finglas

Townlands in the civil parish of Finglas

Civil parish of Mulhuddart

Townlands in the civil parish of Mulhuddart:

• Tyrrelstown

Civil parish of St. James'

Townlands in the civil parish of St. James'

Civil parish of Ward

Townlands in the civil parish of Ward

History

The feudal barony was created out of the Lordship of Meath by Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath and granted in 1177 to Hugh Tyrrel. It was held for three and a half knight's fees, owed to the superior Lord of Fingal. It later passed to the Viscount Gormanston.

See also

List of subdivisions of County Dublin

References

1. ↑ History of the name of Castleknock.
2. ↑ Vicissitudes of Families by Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, Longman Green Longman and Roberts, Paternoster Row, London, 1861 (pages 363-364)
3. ↑ According to the "Local Government Act, 2001", section 10(2): "The State continues to stand divided into local government areas to be known as counties and cities which are the areas set out in Parts 1 and 2, respectively, of Schedule 5." It is clear from SCHEDULE 5, Local Government Areas (Counties and Cities, PART 1, that "Dublin" is defined only as a city (as distinct from a county).
4. ↑ Placenames Database of Ireland, retrieved January 27 2012.

External links

• Local Government Act, 2001
• Placenames Database of Ireland
• Walsh, Dennis (2003). "Barony Map of Ireland". Archived from the original on 15 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-13.  Source given is "Ordnance survey".

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