Doneraile
Encyclopedia
Doneraile is a town in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Province of Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. It is located on the R581
R581 road
The R581 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs from the N20 at New Twopothouse Village to Doneraile in County Cork.The road is 8km long.-References:* – Department of Transport...

 regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...

 8 km east of the N20 road
Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from trackways suitable only for walkers and horses, to...

 which runs from Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

 to Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

. It is about 12 km north of Mallow
Mallow, County Cork
Mallow is the "Crossroads of Munster" and the administrative capital of north County Cork, in Ireland. The Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Council are located in the town....

 town. It is situated on the River Awbeg
River Awbeg
Awbeg River is a river in the southern part of Ireland. It is a tributary of the Blackwater River and flows into that larger river at a point in County Cork. Its name comes from the Irish Abha Bheag .-The course:There are two branches of the Awbeg...

, a branch of the Blackwater
Munster Blackwater
The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork, and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction through County Cork, through Mallow and Fermoy...

.

Origins of the name

The town stands on the northern slope of Knockahur hill, which rises by a gentle slope from the river and gradually ascends to a rocky prominence. However, it was not this rocky prominence but one near the graveyard of Oldcourt which together with an ancient fort built thereon, gave the town its name, Doneraile, i.e. "Dún ar Aill", meaning "the fort on the cliff". The countryside around Doneraile is very scenic and has a wealth of historical associations.

Schools in Doneraile

There are three schools in Doneraile; the Presentation Primary Girls school, Christians Brothers school and the secondary school Nagle Rice.
The girls school was established in 1971, and replaced the former Presentation Convent in Doneraile, founded in 1818. The Presentation Convent, with its Primary and Secondary School, survived until the early 1990s. When the Sisters left, the Community Cemetery, containing the remains of over 100 Sisters, was tastefully transferred for greater security to the local Public Cemetery at Oldcourt, Doneraile.
The boys school used to be run by the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...

.
Nagle Rice is a mixed school and is named after Nano Nagle
Nano Nagle
Honora "Nano" Nagle founded the "Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary" in Ireland . Of the many schools founded by the Presentation Sisters - a number are named after Nano Nagle.- Family background and historical context :The time of Nagle's birth was one of dark sorrow for...

 and Edmund Rice
Edmund Ignatius Rice
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice , was a Roman Catholic missionary and educationalist. Edmund was the founder of two orders of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers....

.

Literary History

Doneraile is famed as the pastorate of the great Irish literary figure Canon P.A. Sheehan, who was parish priest from 1895 until his death in 1913. He was also politically active in the tenant land purchase movement.

Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...

, the poet, made the district famous in his epic, The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The first half was published in 1590, and a second installment was published in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English...

. In 1586 Spenser was given 3000 acres (12.1 km²) near Doneraile from the seized lands of the Earl of Desmond
Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond
Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond was an Irish nobleman and leader of the Desmond Rebellions of 1579.-Life:...

, including the castle at Kilcolman. Spenser was driven from his home by Irish rebels during the Nine Years War in 1598. His castle was burned and it is thought one of his infant children died in the blaze - though local legend has it that his wife also died. He was buried in Poets' corner
Poets' Corner
Poets' Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey because of the number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there. The most recent additions were a memorial floor stone unveiled in 2009 for the founders of the Royal Ballet...

 in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

 in 1599.

History

The horse race known as the steeplechase
Steeplechase (horse racing)
The steeplechase is a form of horse racing and derives its name from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside...

 originated in 1752 as a result of a race between the church steeples of the town and neighbouring Buttevant
Buttevant
Buttevant is a medieval market town, incorporated by charter of Edward III, situated in North County Cork, Ireland.While there may be reason to suggest that the town may occupy the site of an earlier settlement of the Donegans, Carrig Donegan, the origins of the present town are clearly and...

 town.

There are only a few reported cases of women becoming Freemasons
Women and Freemasonry
The subject of women and Freemasonry is complex and without an easy explanation. Traditionally, only men can be made Freemasons in Regular Freemasonry. Many Grand Lodges do not admit women because they believe it would break the ancient Masonic Landmarks. However, there are many non-mainstream...

 but one exception occurred in 18th century Doneraile. Elizabeth Aldworth
Elizabeth Aldworth
The Honorable Elizabeth Aldworth , born the Hon. Elizabeth St...

 (born St. Leger), was reported to have surreptitiously viewed the proceedings of a Lodge meeting held at Doneraile House—the private house of her father, first Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...

 Doneraile. Upon discovering the breach of their secrecy, the Lodge resolved to admit and obligate her, and thereafter she proudly appeared in public in Masonic clothing.

Doneraile also has the distinction of being the town in Ireland where the first successful agricultural co-operative and creamery was established in 1889 by Horace Plunkett
Horace Curzon Plunkett
Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett PC, KCVO, FRS, DL, JP , was an Anglo-Irish unionist, an agricultural reformer, dedicated idealist and pioneer of agricultural co-operation, politician, Member of Parliament and author....

.

During the early part of May 1853, a countryman ploughing in the neighbourhood turned up a large quantity of silver coins, amounting to more than forty-six ounces in weight, which were purchased by a silversmith in Cork. They consisted of English shillings and sixpences of Elizabeth, with a few groats, threepences and half-groats of the same queen; also a few groats of her predecessors, Mary, and Philip and Mary both having the bust of Mary; English shillings and sixpences of James 1, upon the union with Scotland and exclusively of the rose, thistle, and fleur-de-lis mint marks; with a large number of the quarter-dollars and smaller money of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Nearly all the coins were in the finest state of preservation, and appeared to have been but little used or in circulation.

John B. Keane
John B. Keane
John Brendan Keane was an Irish playwright, novelist and essayist from Listowel, County Kerry.-Life and career:...

, the well-known writer spent some years here in the 1950s working as an assistant for the antiques dealer and chemist A.H. Jones and occasionally attending at the petrol pumps outside.

See also

  • List of towns and villages in Ireland
  • Doneraile (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
    Doneraile (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
    Doneraile was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Doneraile was represented with two members.-1689–1801:-Bibliography:...


External links

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