Newmarket on Fergus
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Newmarket-on-Fergus Cora Chaitlín
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Ennis Road
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 Newmarket-on-Fergus
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| Coordinates: 52°45′35″N 8°53′37″W / 52.7597°N 8.8935°WCoordinates: 52°45′35″N 8°53′37″W / 52.7597°N 8.8935°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Clare |
| Elevation | 20 m (70 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 1,773 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | R391682 |
Newmarket-on-Fergus, historically known as Corracatlin (Irish: Cora Chaitlín, meaning "Caitlín's weir"), is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It is 13 kilometres from Ennis, 8 kilometres from Shannon Airport, and 24 kilometres from Limerick.
The English rendering of the name 'Newmarket-on-Fergus' probably owes its origin to the fact that an older 'Market' at nearby Bunratty (on the Ogarney River) predated the 'newer' market located at the village and hence Newmarket-on-Fergus; there is also a popular myth attributing the name-change to Lord Inchiqin who supposedly renamed the village after the famous racecourse, and following a victory at the horse-racing centre in England having wagered Dromoland Estate on the race. In the grounds of his neo- Gothic mansion, Dromoland Castle, is the most extensive hill-fort in Ireland, Mooghaun Hill-Fort, with several acres of ground encompassed within its treble walls. It is supposed to have been the site of a prehistoric walled village and a meeting- place in about 500 BC. It is regarded as the oldest ring fort of its kind in Europe. The Gaelic name Cora Chaitlín is reputed to have its origins in a 19th-century famine where weirs where placed across the river Canny at Newtown Canny (i.e. Limerick Road near the present entrance to O'Regan Park) and Finn mill race, in which to snare eels, hence Cathleen's Weir. The proper and original name is transliterated 'Tradaree' from the Gaelic 'Tradraigh'; the village being the centre of that ancient district of Tradaree which extended from Bunratty in the south and to Latoon in the north.
One of the earliest known references to the area was in the Book of Survey and Distribution written in 1636 by James Frost. In it he mentions the main land owners of the area, among them the Earl of Thomond.
There is also mention of Bonratty (later Bunratty) of which Newmarket was in the Barony of, in a 1574 document written by Edward White. His document was written to give an accurate account of the lands of Thomond of which at the time there had been several incorrect descriptions made.
The Parish of Newmarket-on-Fergus is a union of seven ancient parishes: Bunratty, Fenloe, Kilnasoolagh, Drumline, Clonloghan, Kilconry and Kilmaleery. During the Penal Law period of 1744, the High Sheriff of Clare, John Westropp, had all the Churches in these seven Parishes closed.
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