Clarmallagh
Clarmallagh is a barony in County Laois, Ireland.
Etymology
Clarmallagh means "Flat land of Maigh Locha ", referring to Grantstown Lake.Geography
Clarmallagh is located in south County Laois, to the south of the River Gully, and to the north of the County Kilkenny border. It contains the lower part of the Erkina River where it drains into the River Nore.History
Clarmallagh barony was anciently the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Osraige.In the early 12th century, Finn Ua Caellaide ruled Magh Locha separately from the rest of Ossory.
It was ruled by the Ó Faoláin.
It is referred to in the topographical poem Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh :
Ó Faoláin, fearḋa an fíne
Mór an dúthaiġ as díol dáiḃ
Do lín futha Ó Faoláin
File:Upper Ossory map 1797.png|thumb|Map of Upper Ossory, 1797; in the 1846 reorganisation the Durrow exclave was transferred from County Kilkenny to Clarmallagh and Queen's County.
Clarmallagh was formerly a part of the Upper Ossory barony, established by 1657; in 1842 it was divided into three cantreds: Upper Woods, Clandonagh and Clarmallagh.
List of settlements
Below is a list of settlements in Clarmallagh barony:- Abbeyleix
- Ballacolla
- Durrow