Ordnance Survey Letters by John O'Donovan and Eugene Curry, 1839

Parish of Kilmanaheen (a)

This Parish is bounded on the north west and north by the Parishes of Kilmacrehy and Kilshanny; on the east by the Parish of Cloney; on the south by the Parish of Kilfarboy and on the west by the Bay of Lehinch.

The name of this Parish is called in Irish Cill Mainchín, which means the Church of St. Mainchin, the Patron Saint of the City of Limerick.

Of the Church of Saint Mainchin (which stood in the Townland of Kilmanaheen about a mile and a half to the west of the Town of Inisdimon) not a stone now remains above another, but its graveyard is still in use. There is no Holy Well nor other monument of this Saint now in existence in the Parish, nor anything from which it could be inferred that he was the Patron except the name of the Parish. There are some small burial places for children interspersed throughout this Parish as, Kylduff, a Townland of same name; Lis-Callooragh in the Townland of Callooragh; Kilcornaun in the Townland of that name. It would appear from the name of this burial place, Cill-Chornain, the Church of St. Cornan, that there was a primitive Irish Church at it, but nothing remains on the ground to throw any light on this supposition.

In the Townland of Lehinch in this Parish (but according to others, in the Parish of Kilmacrehy) are the ruins of a Castle called by the Irish Caisleán na Dúimhche, i.e., the Castle of the Sand Banks. Tradition ascribes its erection to O’Conor, Chief of Corcumroe, which is probably correct, as would appear from the following passage in the Annals of the Four Masters:-

A.D. 1422. Rory, the son of Conor O’Conor, Lord of Corcumroe, was slain in his own bally of Caisleán na Dumhcha, by his own kinsmen, the sons of Felim O’Conor.

But it appears from the same Annals that the rents and mansion house of Corcumroe were granted to Torlogh, the son of Donnell, who was son of Conor O’Brien, in 1585 by a Parliament held that year in the Monastery of Ennis, and it appears from the College List of the Castles of Thomond that the O’Briens possessed all O’Conor’s property in the Barony of Corcumroe excepting only Inysdyman, which is set down as belonging to the O’Conor. Even this, however, afterwards passed into the possession of a branch of the O’Briens, and the O’Conors have been left without a single sod of any kind of property and there is not one of the name now in the Barony of Corcumroe above the rank of a peasant.

Oighre Uí Róigh mhórdha na múrtha mbeann
Gan chuirim, gan spóirt, slóighte na lubadh lann!!

The O’Briens of Inisdiman are also extinct and Uilliam Laidir O’Brien left, gidh leabhair a chiach, left without an heir!

The house and estate of Inisdiman are now possessed by M. Finucane, Esq., who descends from the O’Briens in the female line.