Commences at 2pm Saturday 30th September 2006 from outside Quin Abbey.

 

For further information contact Michael Houlihan 065 6867260

archaeology@besttradsession.com

Quin derives its name from "Cuinche", probably meaning the arbutus producing land. According to local folklore, there was an arbutus grove here in bygone days. The names Quint and Quinchy were also applied to Quin in the past.

Quin was in the district of Ui Caisin, derived from Cas, which belonged to the MacNamara clan. Cas was a Celtic chief who had settled in Clare in 420 A.D. and became leader of a people known as Dal Cas. Their ownership extended from early in the fifth century up to the fourteenth century. During this time the clan had complete mastery of their historically defined territories under the Brehon Law system. The area stretched from Killaloe to Ennis and included the parish of Quin.

Quin is first mentioned as a village in the days of the Anglo-Norman castle which preceded the abbey and portions of which may still be seen incorporated into the abbey structure. This Anglo-Norman stronghold was one of three in this part of Clare but with the victory of the native Irish at the battle of Dysert O’Dea the strong Anglo –Norman influence in Clare ended.

News of the Great Rebellion of 1641 was first announced in Co. Clare "at the great fair of Quin", which must have been a big event in the county of those days. Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, gives the following description of Quin. "A parish in the barony of Bunratty, Co. of Clare, 5½ miles (S.E.) from Ennis, on the old road to Limerick; containing 2918 inhabitants, of which number 173 are in the village. It was anciently called Quint or Quinchy, where, about 1250, an abbey was founded, which was consumed by fire in 1278". The smaller St. Fineen’s church is thought to be earlier than the abbey but there is some contention about this nowadays.

In the 1830's the village of Quin contained 34 houses, was a station of the constabulary police and had a penny post to Newmarket on Fergus. The land was chiefly in tillage but there was a considerable portion of rocky land and about 320 acres of bog.

Lewis also tells us that "The Quin River, which flows into the Fergus, abounds with fine eels. At Ballyhickey is a productive lead mine, the property of Hugh Singleton, Esq.; worked by a mining Company; the ore, which is of superior quality, is conveyed to Clare, where it is shipped for Wales". There was a dispensary in the village in 1837 and a handsome Roman Catholic Church, a spacious cruciform structure, was in course of erection. This church is still in use today, having been extensively renovated some years ago.

Quin is rich in archaeological remains with many monuments reflecting its long occupation. There are Bronze Age henges, standing stones, fulachta fiadh, Iron Age hill forts, mediaeval castles and churches, holy wells and later demesne houses, mines and architecture from the 18th/19th century.

 

Remains of 14th century Franciscan Abbey built by the McNamara's, the remains of a 12th century Anglo-Norman fortification. The abbey has many fine features including Its cloisters, towers and chancel roof. The Abbey was in use until the early 18th century when the last of the then elderly monks died.

A large manmade mound built on a natural limestone outcrop. Used for the inauguration of the O'Brien's from the 10th to 16th century. It cntains many features similar to other assembly siteswhich probably had ceremonial significance including the river (An Ifrinn), site of the sacred tree (bile), prehistoric associations (the bullaun stone). There is a manmade fosse separating the main mound with causeway on the west side. A Remaining standing stone in the field to the west probably had a ceremonial role. Nearby is the triple walled high status fort of Cahercalla that was probably used by the MacNamara’s who were responsible for maintaining the site and who officiated at the Inauguration ceremony.

There are a total of four stones in the Knappogue group, in the field to the west of the castle entrance. They consist of a cluster of three stones close to the avenue and one lone stone further west. They are limestone and about 2m. high. Lumpy in appearance, they contain high levels of fossils and silicified material. The stones were possibly mined from the field in which they now stand and may be the remains of a large avenue of stones that once stood here. Unlike, for example the Clooney stones, they form no particular alignment with the sky. No dating has been offered for the stones but they are prehistoric. In the same area is one of three Bronze Age henges found in the Quin parish.

 

A Survey of Monuments of Archaeological and Historical Interest in the Barony of Bunratty Lower, Co. Clare by William Gerrard Ryan.

The Castles of County Clare by TJ Westroop 1900.

The History and Topography of Clare by James Frost 1893.

Ordnance Survey Letters by J. O’ Donovan and E. Curry 1839.

Clare Local Studies Library, The Demesne , Ennis.

Site and Monuments Records (SMR’s).

The Discovery Series Reportss, Wordwell, Dublin.

County Clare A History and Topography by Samuel Lewis 1837.

www.clarelibrary.ie

www.limerickmuseum.ie