118 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Acadeini/. 



as the walls of these'venerable buildings stand to oui- day the note does 

 not explain how their desolation exceeded that of the other ruins. 

 The Cromwellians considered that the thi-ee churches of Ennis, Six- 

 milebridge and Killaloe, were sufficient for the spiiitual wants of the 

 English settlers in 1652. There were, indeed, only 440 English 

 among 16,474 Irish seven years later.^ 



Finally, in 1693, we find only these chui'ches named as being in 

 repair — Ennis, Kikush, Kilfinaghta (not the ancient one at BalLy- 

 sheen, but the later one now in use in Sixmilebridge), and EJilmurry 

 in Clonderlaw.i|iThe Cathedral of Killaloe was then out of repair, 

 and Clondegad not in [full repaii'. Xilnasoolagh and the cathedrals, if 

 not many others, were, however, in unbroken use, and probably in 

 some sort of repair. In 1900 the two cathedrals and Tomgraney 

 church are the only ancient buildings used for worship, but the Pro- 

 testant churches stand beside or on the sites of the old parish churches 

 at FeaMe, Quin, Kilnasoola, Kilrush, and Kilmurry MacMahon. 



Rural DEUfEEiES and Tetbal Divisions. 



The rural deaneries in the diocese of Killaloe are important as 

 representing and showing the principal tribal divisions of the thii'teenth 

 centuiy. These were, so far as we can combine the visitations of 

 the seventeenth century : — 



I. The deanery of^KiLFENOEA, covering the ancient Corcomi'oes. 



II. Ogoemuck, Ui gCormaic, or Dromcliff,- covering the ancient 

 TJi gCormaic, the land of the O'Hehirs, the " Cantredum Insulartim," 

 now Kilmaley, Dromcliff, and Killone, with Kinel Eermaic, "the 

 upper cantred of the Dalcassians " — Kilmaley, Dromcliff, Eath, 

 Dysert, Kilkeedy, Kilnaboy and Kilnamona. 



III. Ogashdst, Ui gCaisin, the j\Iacnamara's land — Quin, Tulla, 

 Clooney, Kilraughtis, Kiltoolagh, Templemaley, Inchicronan, Kil- 

 murrynegall and Doora. 



iReid's "Hist. Presbyt.," vol. ii. p. 496 ; Dwyer's "Diocese of Killaloe," 

 pp. 298 and 315. 



2 Hy Cormaic was occupied before 845 by certain Eoghanaclit tribes, ""Woe is 

 me, tbey bave gone into exile. . . . Ui Cormaic and Tradraidbe are much in want 

 of relief ; tbey are from their friends far away," Book of Lecan. (See O'Currv^'s 

 " Manners and Customs," in., p. 262.) This misery may have been caused by tiie 

 ravages of the Danes in Tradree in 834. The O'Hehirs are very probably a 

 remnant of these tiibes. Another tribe in Tradree in 1151, An. F. M., was Clan 

 Delbaeth (O'Neill Buidhe). (See O'Curry " M. & C," ii., p. 220.) 



