Shronell, Shrone Hill, or Shronel ()
Name
The English word "Shronell" derives from the
Irish language placename "
Srónaill".
Srónaill, meaning the end or nose (from the Irish
srón) of a hill or ridge,
may refer to a steep hill north of the cemetery. The electoral division of Shronell includes the
of Shronell, Shronell Beg (from the Irish
beag, meaning small) and Shronell More (from
mór meaning big).
Geography
The area contains
pasture land that is used primarily for
dairy farming. The
Galtee Mountains are visible from most of the area. The townland is in the ecclesiastical parish of Lattin/Cullen and the school's Gaelic Athletic Association and religious affiliations are concentrated in Lattin.
History
Joseph Damer (1630–1720), an officer in
Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army, was granted lands in Shronell in 1662.
There were concerted efforts made by the Damer family to introduce Protestant workers from the northern counties, and by 1766 there were eighty-two Protestant families in Shronell.
In 1837, the parish, (sometimes spelled Shronehill) in the barony of Clanwilliam, contained a total of 1006 inhabitants and encompassed the townlands of Ballinglanna, Ballycohy, Ballyconry, Barronstown (Ormond), Shronell Beg and Shronell More. It consisted of 2,747 statute acres (1,113 hectares), some of which was cultivated but mostly in pasture. 'Ballinard' was the residence of W. Chadwick. Other notable residents in the 1830s included Clement Sadler of 'Damerville', Austin Cooper of 'Chadwickand' and Rev. M. Clarkethe of the
glebe house.
The Church of Ireland (Protestant) parish was in the diocese of Cashel.
Notable buildings
The local Church of Ireland (Anglican) church was built about 1808, and the tower added in 1818.
There was a school-house, though not in use, partly built by Caroline Damer, who also endowed it with an acre of land. Damerville Court was built in the mid 18th century by John Damer,
and is marked as a "ruin" in maps since at least the 19th century. These ruins lie behind the present Shronell National School.
Folklore
A number of folktales from the area relate to the Damer family. In one of these tales, it is said that a local
Irish language bard, Liam Dall Ó hIfearnáin (1720-1803), wrote that the Damer family would not survive in the Shronel district but that the Irish
Heffernan (
Ó hIfearnáin)
Irish clan would.
Damer's Court in Shronel was never fully finished. It is said locally that it was destroyed by those angry at Damer's misery at being surrounded by the poor of West Tipperary.
People
Further reading
-
Griffiths Valuation of Ireland – Shronell, County Tipperary
-
From Tipperary to Taranaki: A Family History of the Bourke Families of South Taranaki: John Bourke of Shronell, Tipperary. 2005
-
Denis G. Marnane (1985) A History of West Tipperary from 1660 – Land and Violence
-
William Nolan & Thomas G. McGrath (1985) Tipperary History & Society
-
Arthur Young (1780) A tour in Ireland
-
Patrick Heffernan M.D. (1940) The Heffernans and their Times
-
William Hayes & Art Kavanagh (2003) The Tipperary Gentry Vol.1 pp79–87
External links
