Cross Tipperary
Encyclopedia
Cross Tipperary, formally the County of the Cross of Tipperary, was an Irish county
comprising those lands within County Tipperary
which were excluded from the "County of the Liberty of Tipperary", the county palatine
under the jurisdiction of the Earl of Ormond. Cross Tipperary existed from the granting of the liberty in 1328 till its revocation in 1621, and was explicitly abolished in 1715.
, only the most securely controlled areas on the east and south coast were shired into "royal counties", with sheriff
s answerable to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
based in Dublin. Areas impractical of full control were granted to magnates as "liberties" or "palatine counties", with seneschal
s appointed by the local overlord. The "crosslands" owned by the church (whether the diocese or a religious order
) were exempted from each such grant and remained under royal jurisdiction. Tipperary was a royal county in the 13th century, but the English Lordship of Ireland
's control loosened after Edward Bruce's campaign of 1315–18. Control of Tipperary was tenuous and so the liberty was granted to James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond in 1328. The excluded crosslands became a separate county. They included the town of Cashel
, seat of the Archbishop of Cashel
, and scattered other crosslands.
Each of the other liberties was either forfeited or merged in the Crown, such that its territory was combined with the corresponding County of the Cross and established as a single royal county. Thus, eventually, only Cross Tipperary remained as an anomaly.
's report on Down Survey
of the 1650s states, 'To establish the identity "of the lands of Abbeys and houses of religion within the precincts of Cross Tipperary" would be a considerable undertaking'. A 1600 list of freeholder
s in Cross Tipperary included holders of land in the baronies
of Middle Third
, Clanwilliam
, Slievardagh
, and Eliogarty
, and the town of Clonmel
. A county jury of Cross Tipperary in 1606 had members from Fethard
, Ballyclerahan
, Lattin, and elsewhere. Heffernan's partial list of crossland locations names Tipperary town, Cahir
, Emly
, Holy Cross Abbey
, Athassel
, Inislounaght
, Moorestown
Kirk, Cregstown, and Mollough.
in Cashel in 1606, Nicholas Walshe, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas
, by special commission established the barony of Dough Arra, at the junction of counties Tipperary, Clare
, and Limerick
, and added it to Cross Tipperary. Dough Arra had previously been the unshired túath
of the O'Brien
-Arra sept
. It was later merged with part of Uaithne (Owney) to form the modern barony of Owney and Arra
.
in the Irish House of Commons
, although not every parliament returned members for both constituencies.
. In 1662, after the Restoration, James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
was again granted palatine jurisdiction, this time including all the lands formerly in Cross Tipperary as well as those of the earlier grant. The letters patent
making the grant stated that upon the 1621 seizure "the barony of Owny and Arra and divers other towns, villages, and townland
s, scattered through the various baronies of the County Tipperary, and called the County of the Cross of Tipperary, were annexed to the County of Tipperary, and made part and parcel of the said County". This was despite the fact that Cross Tipperary returned MPs to the 1634 parliament.
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde
took the losing Jacobite
side in the 1715 rising
and was attainted
by a 1715 Act of the Irish Parliament
. The act's long title
begins "An Act for extinguishing the Regalities and Liberties of the County of Tipperary, and Cross Tipperary, commonly called the County Palatine of Tipperary". Section 2 stated:
Counties of Ireland
The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...
comprising those lands within County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
which were excluded from the "County of the Liberty of Tipperary", the county palatine
County palatine
A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...
under the jurisdiction of the Earl of Ormond. Cross Tipperary existed from the granting of the liberty in 1328 till its revocation in 1621, and was explicitly abolished in 1715.
Creation
After the Norman invasion of IrelandNorman Invasion of Ireland
The Norman invasion of Ireland was a two-stage process, which began on 1 May 1169 when a force of loosely associated Norman knights landed near Bannow, County Wexford...
, only the most securely controlled areas on the east and south coast were shired into "royal counties", with sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
s answerable to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
based in Dublin. Areas impractical of full control were granted to magnates as "liberties" or "palatine counties", with seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
s appointed by the local overlord. The "crosslands" owned by the church (whether the diocese or a religious order
Roman Catholic religious order
Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...
) were exempted from each such grant and remained under royal jurisdiction. Tipperary was a royal county in the 13th century, but the English Lordship of Ireland
Lordship of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland refers to that part of Ireland that was under the rule of the king of England, styled Lord of Ireland, between 1177 and 1541. It was created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71 and was succeeded by the Kingdom of Ireland...
's control loosened after Edward Bruce's campaign of 1315–18. Control of Tipperary was tenuous and so the liberty was granted to James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond in 1328. The excluded crosslands became a separate county. They included the town of Cashel
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
, seat of the Archbishop of Cashel
Archbishop of Cashel
The Archbishop of Cashel is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The title is still in use in the Roman Catholic Church, but in the Church of Ireland it was downgraded to a bishopric in 1838....
, and scattered other crosslands.
Each of the other liberties was either forfeited or merged in the Crown, such that its territory was combined with the corresponding County of the Cross and established as a single royal county. Thus, eventually, only Cross Tipperary remained as an anomaly.
Crosslands
Only those lands in church ownership at the time of the 1328 grant were part of the county of the cross; lands acquired by the church subsequently were not added to it, and lands ceded by the church remained part of it. This was most notable after the Dissolution of the monasteries instigated by Henry VIII. The Irish Manuscripts CommissionIrish Manuscripts Commission
The Irish Manuscripts Commission was established in 1928 by the newly founded Irish Free State with the intention of furthering the study of Ireland's manuscript collections and archives...
's report on Down Survey
Down Survey
The Down Survey, also known as the Civil Survey, refers to the mapping of Ireland carried out by William Petty, English scientist in 1655 and 1656....
of the 1650s states, 'To establish the identity "of the lands of Abbeys and houses of religion within the precincts of Cross Tipperary" would be a considerable undertaking'. A 1600 list of freeholder
Freeholder
A freeholder can refer to:* one who is in freehold* one who holds title to real property in Fee simple* an official of county government in the U.S. state of New Jersey...
s in Cross Tipperary included holders of land in the baronies
Barony (Ireland)
In Ireland, a barony is a historical subdivision of a county. They were created, like the counties, in the centuries after the Norman invasion, and were analogous to the hundreds into which the counties of England were divided. In early use they were also called cantreds...
of Middle Third
Middle Third (South Tipperary)
Middle Third is one of the baronies of Ireland, a historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Cashel. It is one of 14 baronies in the old county of Tipperary between Eliogarty to the north , Iffa and Offa East to the south , Clanwilliam to the west and...
, Clanwilliam
Clanwilliam (County Tipperary)
Clanwilliam is one of the baronies of Ireland, a historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Tipperary. It is one of 14 baronies in the old county of Tipperary between Kilnamanagh Lower to the north , Iffa and Offa West to the south and Middle Third to the east .It is...
, Slievardagh
Slievardagh
Slievardagh is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Mullinahone...
, and Eliogarty
Eliogarty
Eliogarty is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Thurles. It is one of 14 baronies in the old county of Tipperary between Ikerrin to the north , Kilnamanagh Upper to the west and Middle Third to the south .The...
, and the town of Clonmel
Clonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
. A county jury of Cross Tipperary in 1606 had members from Fethard
Fethard, County Tipperary
Fethard is a village in South Tipperary in Ireland. It is located east of Cashel on the Clashawley River where the R692, R689 and R706 regional roads intersect. It is in the barony of Middle Third, and is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
, Ballyclerahan
Ballyclerahan
Ballyclerahan is a village in South Tipperary, Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Iffa and Offa East. It is approximately 8.5 kilometres north of Clonmel. Its name comes from the Irish meaning O'Clerahan's town...
, Lattin, and elsewhere. Heffernan's partial list of crossland locations names Tipperary town, Cahir
Cahir
Cahir is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. The town is best known for its castle and the Swiss Cottage. It is in the barony of Iffa and Offa West.-Location and access:...
, Emly
Emly
Emly or Emlybeg is a village in South Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly....
, Holy Cross Abbey
Holy Cross Abbey
The Holy Cross Abbey in Tipperary is a restored Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, situated on the River Suir. It takes its name from a relic of the True Cross or Holy rood....
, Athassel
Athassel Priory
Athassel Priory is a ruined monastic site on the western bank of the River Suir 8 km southwest of Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland. The Athassel Priory of St. Edmund the King was a foundation of the Augustinian Canons Regular under the patronage of Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster who was...
, Inislounaght
Inislounaght Abbey
Inislounaght Abbey, , also referred to as Innislounaght, Inislounacht and De Surio, was a 12th century Cistercian settlement on the river Suir, near Clonmel in County Tipperary, Ireland...
, Moorestown
Moorstown Castle
Moorstown Castle is a late 15th century stone structure consisting of a circular keep and walled courtyard or bawn. The circular tower house is unusual in Irish architecture, most such structures being square in plan. It was built by James Keating, an ally of the Earl of Ormond. The castle and...
Kirk, Cregstown, and Mollough.
Dough Arra
At the county assizesAssizes (Ireland)
The Courts of Assizes or Assizes were the higher criminal court in Ireland outside Dublin prior to 1924 . They have now been abolished in both jurisdictions.-Jurisdiction:...
in Cashel in 1606, Nicholas Walshe, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas
Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas
The Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the senior judge of the Court of Common Pleas ,known in its early stage as the Common Bench or simply Bench, one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of Common Pleas in England...
, by special commission established the barony of Dough Arra, at the junction of counties Tipperary, Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, and Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
, and added it to Cross Tipperary. Dough Arra had previously been the unshired túath
Tuath
Túath is an Old Irish word, often translated as "people" or "nation". It is cognate with the Welsh and Breton tud , and with the Germanic þeudō ....
of the O'Brien
O'Brien
The O'Brien dynasty are a royal and noble house founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais or Dalcassians. After becoming King of Munster, through conquest he established himself as High King of Ireland...
-Arra sept
Sept
A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...
. It was later merged with part of Uaithne (Owney) to form the modern barony of Owney and Arra
Owney and Arra
Owney and Arra is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Newport...
.
Parliamentary representation
Cross Tipperary was a separate county constituency from TipperaryTipperary (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Tipperary was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.-1692–1801:...
in the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
, although not every parliament returned members for both constituencies.
| Parliament | MPs | Residence |
|---|---|---|
| 1585 | Richmond Archbold | |
| Edmund Prendergast | Newcastle Newcastle, County Tipperary Newcastle is a village in the barony of Iffa and Offa West in South Tipperary, Ireland. The River Suir runs past the village. Newcastle is located 17 kilometres from Clonmel, the county town.... |
|
| 1613 | Edmond Butler | Cloghowly |
| Thomas Laffan | Cregstowne | |
| 1634 | Sir Thomas Geogh | Clonmel Clonmel Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both... |
| Geffrey Mockler | Dracoasland (probably Acarandraky, aka Drake's Acre, parish of Moorestownkirk in Middle Third) |
Extinction
In 1621, Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond forfeited the liberty by Quo WarrantoQuo warranto
Quo warranto is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right or power they claim to hold.-History:...
. In 1662, after the Restoration, James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
was again granted palatine jurisdiction, this time including all the lands formerly in Cross Tipperary as well as those of the earlier grant. The letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
making the grant stated that upon the 1621 seizure "the barony of Owny and Arra and divers other towns, villages, and townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
s, scattered through the various baronies of the County Tipperary, and called the County of the Cross of Tipperary, were annexed to the County of Tipperary, and made part and parcel of the said County". This was despite the fact that Cross Tipperary returned MPs to the 1634 parliament.
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde KG KT was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormonde...
took the losing Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
side in the 1715 rising
Jacobite Rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715, often referred to as The 'Fifteen, was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart.-Background:...
and was attainted
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
by a 1715 Act of the Irish Parliament
County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715
The County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715 is an Act of the Parliament of Ireland . This Act enabled the purchase by the crown of the Palatine Rights in the County Tipperary given to the Earls of Ormond later Dukes of Ormonde over the preceding centuries...
. The act's long title
Long title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
begins "An Act for extinguishing the Regalities and Liberties of the County of Tipperary, and Cross Tipperary, commonly called the County Palatine of Tipperary". Section 2 stated:
- And it is hereby enacted and declared, That whatsoever has been denominated or called Tipperary, or Cross Tipperary, shall henceforth be and remain one county for ever, under the name of the county of Tipperary.