Glenconkeyne is an ancient Irish district in what is now southern County Londonderry

County Londonderry

The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. Glenconkeyne formed the western portion of the former barony of Loughinsholin, with the ancient districts of Clandonnell

Clandonnell

Clandonnell is an ancient Irish district in what is now southern County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Clandonnell along with the ancient districts of Glenconkeyne, Killetra, and Tomlagh, comprised the former barony of Loughinsholin, with Clandonnell forming the northern part reaching as far south...

, Killetra

Killetra

Killetra is an ancient Irish district in what is now southern County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Killetra along with the ancient districts of Clandonnell, Glenconkeyne, and Tomlagh, comprised the former barony of Loughinsholin, with Killetra reaching from the present-day town of Magherafelt to...

, and Tomlagh

Tomlagh

Tomlagh is an ancient Irish district in what is now southern County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Killetra along with the ancient districts of Clandonnell, Glenconkeyne, and Killetra, comprised the former barony of Loughinsholin. Tomlagh is stated as forming a four or five mile wide district...

 comprising the rest. The area Glenconkeyne covered corresponds to the present-day parishes of Ballynascreen, Desertmartin, and Kilcronaghan

Kilcronaghan

Kilcronaghan is a civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Containing one major settlement, Tobermore, and lying on the descending slope of Slieve Gallion, Kilcronaghan is bordered by the civil parishes of Ballynascreen, Desertmartin, Maghera, and Termoneeny. It lies within the former...

.

Glenconkeyne has also been recorded in historical sources as Glankonkein and Glanconkeyne.

History

As a result of the dense forest that used to cover Glenconkeyne and Killetra, both formed the most inaccessible part of the whole of Ulster. The Clandeboye

Clandeboye

Clandeboye is in modern times an area of Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is named after the Clandeboye family, a branch of the O'Neill dynasty. They settled in the 1330s after the death of the Earl of Ulster in what is now south Antrim and north Down, giving their name to the territory...

 O'Neills are recorded as descending from the thick forests of Glenconkeyne from where they would conquer the shattered remnants of the Earldom of Ulster, becoming the principle Gaelic lords of eastern Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. 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...

, with their territory known in English as Clandeboye.

Local legends allegedly state that Glenconkeyne was a gift of Brian Carrach O'Neill to Cadhan O'Henry for defeating a monstrous hound that was terrorising the region, however the scholar John O'Donovan

John O'Donovan (scholar)

John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...

 states that across the country many things appeared to be attribuated to an areas last lord, as Brian Carrach O'Neill in this case was. Brian Carrach O'Neill would build a residence near the border of the parishes of Kilcronaghan and Ballynascreen, which became known as Dún Tí Bhriain, preserved as the name of the modern townland of Duntibryan.

In 1821, John MacCloskey in his Statistical Reports of Six Derry Parishes, states Tobermore as being the capital settlement of Glenconkeine.

Proportions and townlands

Below is a list of the proportions that Glenconkeyne was divided into as part of the survey of 1609, alongside the townlands which comprised those proportions. These names where recited in the grant of the Charter of Londonderry to The Honourable The Irish Society

The Honourable The Irish Society

The Honourable The Irish Society is the organisation created by royal charter consisting of members nominated by livery companies of the City of London, set up to colonise County Londonderry during the plantation of Ulster. Notably it was involved in the construction of the city of Londonderry,...

in 1613. The townlands are thus given in the form provided in the Charter of Londonderry with the modern name if known given afterwards in brackets. Not all townlands recorded survived to the present day. All townlands are of one balliboe in size unless otherwise stated.

Cynah

Townlands that still exist:

• Ballmegallan (Cullion)
• Ballyngam (Ballynagown)
• Ballytannylour (Killyboggin)
• Consaran (Coolsarragh)
• Crannagh (Cranny)
• Cynagh (Keenaght)
• Derryneskellan (Durnascallon)
• Gortihorky (Gortahurk)
• Gortmeren (Gortanewry)
• Langhell (Longfield), one balliboe and a half
• Lickmahary (Lecumpher)
• Lislea (Brackaghlislea), 2/3 of one balliboe
• Lysanny (Annagh)
• Momisholm (Moneysterlin)
• Rosiare (Roshure)
• Torrigan (Tirgan)
• Vrackah (Brackagh Slieve Gallion)

Townlands that no longer exist:

• Drombally (Drumbally Hill), half of one balliboe, the other half of which is within the proportion of Moysaden

Moysaden

Townlands that still exist:

• Ballmeclom (Clooney)
• Cloghom (Cloughfin), one balliboe and a half
• Cowlanamone (Killynumber)
• Culemoire (Calmore)
• Dromsanna (Drumsamney)
• Dromore (Dromore)
• Gortitawry (Gortamney)
• Killitomny (Killytoney)
• Lawny (Luney)
• Moysaden (Moyesset)
• Tobarmore (Tobermore)

Townlands that no longer exist:

• Conlaire
• Donnagraven (Grenan)
• Dromaraghy
• Drombally (Drumbally Hill), half of one balliboe, the other half of which is within the proportion of Cynah
• Kilnacring
• Tonnaghvore