Cratloe

Cratloe An Chreatlach
—  Town  —
Cratloe Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°41′48″N 8°45′40″W / 52.6968°N 8.7611°W / 52.6968; -8.7611Coordinates: 52°41′48″N 8°45′40″W / 52.6968°N 8.7611°W / 52.6968; -8.7611
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Clare
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
- Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	R402624
Website	clarecoco.ie

Cratloe (Irish: An Chreatlach, meaning "The Land of Sallow trees") is a village in County Clare, Ireland, situated between Limerick City and Shannon in the midwest of Ireland. It is possible that the name derives from Croit-shliabh meaning "hump-backed hill", referring to Woodcock Hill.

Places of interest

The Cratloe Woods, located on the overlooking hillside, are a popular recreational park and forestry area. Garranon Oak Wood, near Cratloe Church, provided the timbers for the roofs of London's Westminster Hall and the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.^{[citation needed]}. The claim that a certain oakwood was employed in building a famous building, particularly Westminster is widespread in Ireland. This seems unlikely. However St. Mary's in Limerick city is also claimed to have employed Cratloe timber which seems very likely given the relationship between the O'Brien family and that site. Within the Garranon Wood, on the edge of the now almost vanished old Limerick to Ennis road, a roadside well, known as the Squire's Well can be found with some searching. Craughaun Cemetery, just west of the Cratloe to Sixmilebridge road, contains a megalithic wedge tomb, the ruins of an old church and a family vault dedicated to the Blood family. D'Esterre Bridge, crossing the Ratty/O'gChearnaigh River near Rossmanaher Castle between Bunratty and Sixmilebridge, is characterised by the imposing ruins of the gate-towers remaining from its days as a toll-crossing. The remnants of several small ráths, or ring-forts can be found in various fields around Cratloe.

Castles

Cratloe is the location of several ruined castles and tower houses, the most notable being Cratloemoyle Castle (sometimes referred to as 'Cratloe Castle'), located just to the north of the N18 road on the approach to Limerick. Less than half a mile away, on the opposite side of the road, Cratloekeel Castle sits on a low outcrop, and can be just discerned from the road through the surrounding trees. Further south, on the banks of the River Shannon, is the site of Castle Donnell or Cratloemore Castle, though little is left of the ruins. On the western slopes of Woodcock Hill, toward Sixmilebridge the ruins of Ballintlea Castle lie in a farmyard. All four of these castles are recorded as being built by the MacNamara clan.

Churches

In addition to the main parish church dedicated to St. John, there is another church within the parish, on the approach to the village of Sixmilebridge. This church is known locally as "The Little Church", and is unusual in that it is not dedicated to any particular saint.

The ruins of several other chapels and churches can be found in the area. As mentioned above, there is one such ruin within the cemetery at Craughaun, and there is another near Cratloemoyle Castle, which together with the nearby well, was dedicated to St. John.

The ruins of the medieval parish church and cemetery of Kilfintenan can be found in the townland of Carrowmore on the road from Sixmilebridge to Gallows Hill. Kilfintenan graveyard is known as the smallest graveyard in Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

In his 1893 work The History and Topography of the County of Clare, James Frost mentions that one Augustus Stafford O'Brien MP removed the ruins of a friary from the grounds of his residence, Cratloe Woods House, apparently because it interfered with the view.

Transport

• The N18 national primary road from Limerick to Galway passes through Cratloe.
• The railway line from Limerick to Ennis also passes through the village – although the station remains closed at present. Cratloe railway station opened on 17 January 1859, but finally closed on 17 June 1963.^[1]

Education

There is a primary school located opposite St John's church. St Johns is the only primary school in Ireland with a special Autism unit

History

The present parish of Cratloe consists of two parts: the former parish of Kilfintenan and a portion of the contemporary parish of Kileely.

In this context, the area of Cratloe is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, where it is recorded that Crimhthan, King of Munster and High King of Ireland died in the Cratloe area from poison administered by his sister, who wished for her son Brian to be High King. In the end, however, Brian had to settle for the Kingdom of Connaught, while the High Kingship went to a man who was to be later known as Niall of the Nine Hostages.

In 1510, an Anglo-Irish army led by Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare marched on Thomond, and was met and defeated near Cratloe by an army of the O'Brien, McNamara, Sil-Aedha and Clanrickard clans led by Turlough O'Brien.

The Irish Times political journalist Dick Walsh was a native of Cratloe; his father and paternal grandfather both served as principal of the local national school.

Geography

Cratloe is bounded to the south by the tidal estuary of the river Shannon, to the west by the Ratty/ Uí gCearnaigh (Garney) river, and a large part of the eastern boundary is formed by a creek known locally as the Sandy River. With the exceptions of a few low hills, the portion of Cratloe south of the N18 dual-carriageway, and west of the R462 to Sixmilebridge mainly consists of the low lying flood plains of the tidal rivers. The farmlands in these areas are protected by levees. The remainder of the parish consists of the south-western and western portion of Woodcock Hill, which summits at 310 m (1015 ft) just outside Cratloe's boundary. A large portion of this area is planted as a spruce/pine forest.

Sport

The main sport in Cratloe is GAA, winning one senior hurling 2009 championship and two intermediate football titles 2004 and 2009 Locals are keen Munster rugby fans and most are dedicated supporters of Limerick rugby clubs like Garryowen and Young Munster. Hurling has become a minority sport due to rugby dominating, however Cratloe won their first Senior county hurling Final against Clonlara on the 1st of November 2009. The score was Clonlara 1:09 Cratloe 3:05.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. ^ "Cratloe station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 

External links

• Clare Library Article