Bruree Brú Rí
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Town | |
Location in Ireland | |
Coordinates: 52°25′27″N 8°39′43″W / 52.42429°N 8.66202°WCoordinates: 52°25′27″N 8°39′43″W / 52.42429°N 8.66202°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Munster |
County | County Limerick |
Government | |
• Dáil Éireann | Limerick West |
Population (2011) | |
• Urban | 541 |
Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
• Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Area code(s) | 063 |
Bruree (Irish: Brú Rí, meaning "Fort of the King") is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, Ireland, on the River Maigue. It takes its name from the nearby ancient royal fortress, the alternative name of which from the earliest times into the High Middle Ages was Dún Eochair Maigue or the Fortress on the Brink of the Maigue Other very old spellings and names include Brugh Righ, and Brugh Ri; literally, Brugh=Fort and Ri=King.
The village of Bruree is located on the Maigue river two kilometres off the main N20 Limerick-Cork road in south County Limerick. It forms one half of the parish of Bruree/Rockhill in the Diocese of Limerick. Bruree is seven kilometres north-west of Kilmallock, ten kilometres north of Charleville and thirty-five kilometres south of Limerick City. Neighbouring towns and villages include Kilmallock, Charleville, Effin, Athlacca, Banogue and Ballyagran.
A settlement on the River Maigue, Bruree was once a seat and alternative capital of the ancient Kings of Munster. At some point later it came into the possession of the Uí Fidgenti and was their capital until the late 12th century. Before them it may have belonged to the Dáirine or Érainn, being named by Geoffrey Keating as a fortress built by Cú Roí mac Dáire. An early king and semi-mythological ancestor of the Eóganachta and Uí Fidgenti, Ailill Aulom, is then found at the fortress in the Cath Maige Mucrama cycle. The historical Eóganacht king Óengus mac Nad Froích is also found here in one legend.