Baronies of Maltropia
Baronies in Maltropia are the administrative subdivision below the level of principality. There are more than three hundred baronies in Maltropia, each associated with a hereditary lordship, also called a barony. The terms in Irish are, however, distinct: the baronial subdivision is called a tríocha céad, while the lordship is called a barúntacht.
Background
Maltropia's baronies originate in a fusion of two traditional land units which became predominant in the early Second Kingdoms era (i.e. mid- to late-twelfth century): the túath and the tríocha céad. The former generally describes a territory held by a particular tribe people; the second refers to a region which could raise, literally, 'thirty hundreds', three thousand fighting men. The baronies of mainland Maltropia, especially in the northwest and central regions, tend to be developments of one of these units, or later subdivisions thereof.
Many baronies straddled the borders of principalities, while others had exclaves separated by other baronial estates. Minor territorial reform in the 1870s shifted the boundaries of baronies and some principalities so that each barony was entirely contained by only one principality. However, some exclaves survive, as in the barony of Rathyle in Mag Gaethe.
List of baronies
- 19 Newmarsh
- 14 Carbery
- 12 Cluain Áed
- 10 Escir
- 10 Tirucca
- 11 Imleach Brega
- 10 Snowheight
- 10 Fearann Ard