Finuge
Encyclopedia
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, 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...
. Finuge is a traditional Irish crossroads village with a shop, a pub, Teach Siamsa and a G.A.A.
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
pitch. Sheehan's Thatched House located at Finuge Cross is regarded as one of the oldest surviving authentic thatched houses in Ireland. Conservation experts estimate it at least 300 years old.
The village's name is derived from Préachán, meaning crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
.
History
Around 1660, Finuge was planted by the Desmond Geraldines during the Cromwellian Plantation. At that time, Finuge village was situated near the bank of the River FealeRiver Feale
The River Feale rises near Rockchapel in the Mullaghareirk Mountains of County Cork in the southwest of Ireland and flows northwestwards through Abbeyfeale and Listowel in County Kerry before finally emptying into the Mouth of the Shannon by Ballyduff.-External links:*...
. The land here was of excellent quality, so much so that the families were evicted and pushed south-east and re-located beside the "new road" that links Listowel and Lixnaw
Lixnaw
Lixnaw is a village in North County Kerry, Ireland. It is located near the River Brick SW of Listowel and NE of Tralee.- History :Lixnaw was once the seat of the Earls of Kerry. In 1320 Nicolas, the third baron of Lixnaw, erected the Castle of Lixnaw, built the old bridge, and improved the...
today.
About the time of the "Fenian Rising", Lord Listowel decided that he wanted this land and his agent Major Homes planned to shift the whole village and evict the locals further south-east to the northwest of the townland of Irremore. The house plots were marked out and the eviction about to take place, when the Agent Holmes died unexpectedly and the village as we know it today was saved.
There were three churches in Finuge at one time. In 1825
1835 in Ireland
-Events:* August 28 - Castleknock College is founded by the Vincentian order in Dublin.*Drenagh House in Limavady, County Londonderry is completed for the McCausland family...
a new church was built at Irremore, it was renovated in 1961 and serves the people to the present day.
The big house in the district was "Ennismore House", it became the property of the Desmond Geraldines as a result of the Cromwellian Plantation. In later times George Hewson inherited it from the last of the Fitzgeralds.
"Finuge House", the ruins of which can be seen beside Finuge Bridge was owned by another Hewson family, not related to George. This family were always associated with "Harvest Home", an annual celebration at the end the harvest. The last record of such a gathering was Oct. 25th 1877
1877 in Ireland
-Events:* May - Sophia Jex-Blake qualifies as a Licentiate of the King’s and Queen’s College of Physicians of Ireland .* 1 September - The narrow gauge Ballymena and Larne Railway starts operations in County Antrim, from Larne to Ballyclare for goods traffic.* 14 August - National Museum of Ireland...
, when sixty men and women sat down to dinner.
Ringforts were features of the parish, with excellent examples on the farms of Quinlans and McElligotts of Coolnaleen, Galvin's and Whelan's of Finuge, but sad to relate these no longer exist.
In olden times, Finuge was not just a townland, it was a parish that stretched form Dysert to Ballinruddery. There were several townlands in the parish of Finuge including Bealkilla, Kilcrean, Knockamoohane and Ballinruddery, Garryantanavalla, Ballygrennan, Moyassa, Knockanassig, Grogeen. There are no remains of a church today, but there is a large burial ground.
Geography
The village is located on the banks of the River FealeRiver Feale
The River Feale rises near Rockchapel in the Mullaghareirk Mountains of County Cork in the southwest of Ireland and flows northwestwards through Abbeyfeale and Listowel in County Kerry before finally emptying into the Mouth of the Shannon by Ballyduff.-External links:*...
, 2 miles (3 km
1 E3 m
To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometres .Distances shorter than 1 kilometre-Conversions:1 kilometre is equal to:* 1,000 metres...
) from Listowel. The Finuge crossing is a bridge over the River Feale linking Finuge to Killocrim. It is in the Barony of Clanmaurice
Barony of Clanmaurice
Clanmaurice is a barony in County Kerry, Ireland. It contains 16 Parishes and it is roughly 485 km2.-Parishes:*Ardfert*Ballyheigue*Duagh*Dysert *Finuge*Kilcarragh*Kilfeighny*Kilflyn*Killahan*Killury...
.
Sport
The GAA club in the area is known as Finuge GAAFinuge GAA
Finuge is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Finuge, County Kerry, Ireland. They currently compete in the Kerry Intermediate Football Championship. They also form part of the Feale Rangers divisional team that play in the Kerry Senior Football Championship. Many of the players also play...
or Finuge and has had a lot of success for its size. Current players include Paul Galvin
Paul Galvin (footballer)
Paul Galvin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Finuge, his divisional side Feale Rangers and has been a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team since 2003. Galvin had the honour of being named as the 1000th All-Star.Galvin writes a weekly fashion column...
.
People
- Sean McCarthy, a Finuge native, was a famous Irish folk song writer. Paul GalvinPaul Galvin (footballer)Paul Galvin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Finuge, his divisional side Feale Rangers and has been a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team since 2003. Galvin had the honour of being named as the 1000th All-Star.Galvin writes a weekly fashion column...
is a famous Gaelic footballGaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
er with the Finuge club, Feale RangersFeale RangersFeale Rangers is a North Kerry Divisional Gaelic football team in Kerry. The teams involved are Clounmacon, Duagh, Finuge, Gale Rangers, Listowel Emmets, Moyvane and St...
divisional side and KerryKerry GAAThe Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...
county team.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland