placenamesFeakle
An Fhiacail
Lewis’s pre-Famine account describes a broad upland parish being connected by new roads, with textile work and evidence of earlier ironworking.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- An Fhiacail · Irish · main form
- Feakle · English · main form
Place & story
Making roads fit for wheeled traffic
Writing in 1837, Samuel Lewis reported that before 1828 the parish had scarcely any road suitable for a wheeled carriage. He credited James Moloney of Kiltannan with promoting new roads, built partly through the Board of Public Works and partly by the county. Roads ran along three sides of Lough Graney and connected the district with Limerick, Gort, Ennis, Killaloe and Loughrea. The description captures a significant change in access across Feakle’s lake and mountain landscape. [2]
Textile finishing and older furnaces
Lewis recorded several tuck-mills and a large bleach-green in the parish. He also described former ironworks at a place still known as Furnace-town, distinguishing an earlier industry from activities operating in his own day. His account mentions lead ore at Glendree and crystalline sand from Lough Graney used on scythe boards. These observations reveal varied uses of local water and materials alongside farming. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Clare
- Barony
- Tulla Upper
- Coordinates
- 52.95911, -8.66119
- Mapped area
- 149.57 km²
- Logainm ID
- 421 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Feakle. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Feacle,A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland1837:Clarelibrarytranscription · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-10-29. How this page was prepared.