Parish of Killely

1. Situation; Name; Old Church (site of) and burial ground; Cratloe Castle Townland (old Church in) now without any name, which was a Chapel belonging to the castle and probably dedicated to St. John; Cratloe old Castle; Set down in College list of castles as “Crathallaghmore” belonging to Donel Mac Teige (Mac Namara); Cratloe Kell old Castle mentioned in College list as “Crathallagh Kell” belonging to Donel Mac Namara; Moriertagh of the Leather Coats, King of Aileach in the tenth century, passed thro’ Cratloe on his way home carrying with him as hostages the Kings of Munster and Leinster and Sitric, King of Dublin; Cratloe remarked by Cormacan Eigeas, the Bard of the King of Aileach, in a poem written on that excursion to have been the most difficult pass he (the Bard) met with since he had left his home; The poem an undoubted monument of the time to which it referred; Extracts from it given in account of the Grianan of Aileach published in Ordnance Memoirs of Derry; John’s Well in same Townland at which a “pattern” was formerly held on St. John’s Day; Moneernaghluggin (i.e., Little Bog of the Skulls) burial ground; Cratloe Mountain (often also called O’Connell’s Mountain and Gleann na gCros) is the celebrated mountain called Sliabh Oidheadh an Righ in Annals of IV. Masters and other more ancient documents; Mentioned in Annals of Clonenagh quoted by Keating as forming part of the Southern boundary of the Diocese of Killaloe (which it does to this day); Extract from Annals of IV. Masters rel. to it; Luchat (Luchadh Bridge in Kilkeedy Parish); Rinn Eanaigh (Rinanny) a point of land running into the Shannon where it receives the Fergus.