Upperthird
Uachtar Tíre (Irish)
Barony
Boulder field at Lake Coumshingaun, Comeragh Mountains, in the Upperthird barony.
Boulder field at Lake Coumshingaun, Comeragh Mountains, in the Upperthird barony.
Barony map of County Waterford, 1900; Upperthird is coloured green, in the north.
Barony map of County Waterford, 1900; Upperthird is coloured green, in the north.
Sovereign stateIreland
ProvinceMunster
CountyWaterford
Area
 • Total258.38 km2 (99.76 sq mi)

Upperthird or Upper Third[1] (Irish: Uachtar Tíre[2]) is a barony in County Waterford, Ireland.

Etymology

Upperthird was originally called Uachtar Tíre, "upper country", referring to its high altitude (by Irish standards). Tír became "third" presumably by analogy with Middle Third; "third" is commonly used to indicate Irish divisions of land, without any region being actually divided in three.

Geography

Upperthird is located in the Waterford uplands to the south of the River Suir and north of the River Nier, containing most of the Comeragh Mountains and the Clodiagh River valley. It also contains two large lakes, Coumshingaun Lough and Crotty's Lake.[3][4]

It was known as a source of quartz.[5]

History

Clonea Power Castle was built by the Power family in Clonea, south of Mothel[6]

This part of the Suir valley was the traditional territory of the O'Flanagan of Upperthird (Ó Flannagáin Uachtar Tíre). It contains Mothel Abbey, an ecclesiastical centre from the 6th to 16th centuries AD.

Abraham Ortelius's map of 1602 shows the land belonging to the Aylward family (an Anglo-Norman surname, in Irish Aighleart).[7][8]

The barony was seized in the post-Cromwellian confiscations (1652) and formed part of the Down Survey (1655–56).[9] It was granted to the La Poer family, later known as "Power".[10] The region (together with parts of Middle Third) was known as "Powers' Country".[11] The Power family built a number of castles and tower houses in the barony, including Castle Gurteen de la Poer (in Gurteen townland), Glen Lodge (Glen Upper townland) and Clonea Power Castle (Clonea townland).[12][13]

Upperthird was traditionally productive farmland. The region is famous as the home of Kilmeadan cheddar cheese.[14]

List of settlements

Towns and villages in Upperthird barony include:[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ O'Laughlin, Michael C. (19 December 1994). The Master Book of Irish Placenames: Placename Locator and Master Atlas of Ireland. Irish Roots Cafe. ISBN 9780940134331 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Uachtar Tíre/Upperthird". Logainm.ie.
  3. ↑ "Uachtar Tíre/Upperthird". Logainm.ie.
  4. ↑ "Waterford City & County Council : DECIES - No.47". www.waterfordcouncil.ie.
  5. ↑ Smith, Charles (19 December 1774). The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford. W. Wilson. p. 74 – via Internet Archive. upperthird.
  6. ↑ Nolan, Tom (1987). "The Castle Clonea-Power" (PDF). Old Waterford Society - Decies. Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society (35): 19.
  7. ↑ O'Laughlin, Michael C. (19 December 2018). County Waterford, Ireland: Genealogy and Family History Notes. Irish Roots Cafe. ISBN 9780940134577 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "Sloinne". www.sloinne.ie.
  9. ↑ "The Down Survey Maps of Co. Waterford: THe Barony of Gaultier" (PDF). DECIES. Old Waterford Society. 44: 23–38. 1991. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "O'Flanagan of Upperthird – Ó Flannagáin Uachtar Tíre - Clans of Ireland". www.clansofireland.ie.
  11. ↑ Smith, Charles (19 December 1774). The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford. W. Wilson. p. 303 – via Internet Archive. upper third waterford.
  12. ↑ "Estate - Power (Gurteen)". landedestates.ie. Landed Estates Database. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Clonea Power Castle". waterfordmuseum.ie. Waterford County Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  14. ↑ Nolan, William; Power, Thomas P. (1 January 1992). Waterford History & Society: Interdisciplinary Essays on the History of an Irish County. Geography. ISBN 9780906602201 – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ "Sub-units of Uachtar Tíre/Upperthird (Towns)". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "Sub-units of Uachtar Tíre/Upperthird (Population Centres)". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
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