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The Frosts of County Clare, Ireland by Janet Frost |
Background It is helpful to understand some of the history of Ireland when tracing this family.
Extracted from ‘Irish
Records – Sources for Family and Local History by James Ryan In the old Gaelic system the county was part of the Kingdom of Thomond. The major families were those of O’Loughlin, McNamara, and McMahon and the chief family was the O’Briens. Together these families are generally referred to as the Dalcassion families. Following the Norman invasion, the area was granted to Norman knights, but the Clare chieftains kept them from holding any substantial power in the county. In 1275 it was granted to Thomas de Clare, who attempted to take control of the county but was totally defeated by the O’Briens. When the boundaries were established by the English administration in 1565, the county was still named after the Clare family, regardless of his defeat. In 1602, the county was joined with the province of Munster. The major Norman settlements in the county were at Clare town and at Bunratty. The Norman castle at Bunratty was captured by the O’Briens in 1355 and held by them until the seventeenth century. In the fifteenth century, the O’Briens rebuilt the castle on the same site, and this castle, restored and refurbished is now open to the public. The county was badly affected by the Great Famine in 1845-7. The population was 285,000 in 1841, and in 1852 had been reduced to 212,000. Over 50,000 people died between 1845 and 1850 and thousands emigrated, many to Australia. Current population about 88,000. This additional information is very simplified:- During the time of the Spanish Armada, some ships escaped the English fleet by fleeing up the West coast of Ireland. It is said that at least one ship was wrecked off Clare and that the dark-haired Spanish sailors left descendants there. This history of this Frost family has been constructed from the following sources.
Spelling of Irish Place Names Rosmanaher, Rosmanagher, Rossmanagher. Ralahine, Rathlahine, Rathlaheen, etc. |
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