placenamesDrumcliff
Drom Cléibh
The Clare parish’s cemetery preserves a medieval church, a damaged round tower and a recorded tradition about hidden bells.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Drom Cléibh · Irish · main form
- Drumcliff · English · main form
Place & story
Older stonework within a later church
Drumcliffe’s ruined church north of Ennis contains several construction phases. The Office of Public Works dates most standing fabric to the fifteenth century, while identifying earlier features, including a reused round window. A Gothic window survives in the eastern gable. Nearby stand the incomplete remains of a round tower. [2]
Bells at Poulnaclug
The Office of Public Works records a tradition that church bells were thrown into Poulnaclug when an attack threatened. It associates a watery place with protecting church property, without establishing that bells have been recovered there or identifying a dated raid. [2]
Remembering disadvantaged people
The cemetery contains burial areas associated with the Famine, cholera and poverty. A monument erected in 2010 commemorates disadvantaged people interred in these plots. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Drumcliff. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Drumcliffe Church and Round Tower, County Clare · Office of Public Works
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-10-29. How this page was prepared.