1564 - Teigh Dowlyn 
At the beginning of the reign of England's Queen Elizabeth 1 in 1558 there were seven main families in the heavily wooded Queen's County (now Laois) in Ireland.

Joint arrangements for territorial ownership amongst the Chieftains and alliances between these families or 'clans' was called the 'seven partite system' or 'sept system'.  This led to the families themselves being called 'septs' despite other families living within the neighbourhoods.

The O'Dowlings had a large parcel of land called "Fearann ua n-Dunlang" or O'Dowling's Country.  It is also found spelt Feran O'Doulin.  This area extended from the western boundary of Tou Mologan to the Slieve Bloom Mountains.  On the North Y-regan lay, and to the west Ely O'Carroll.  

Map of Ireland showing Laois or Queen's County

Map ofLaois (85619 bytes)

Within its boundary can be found the castles of Ballyfin, Bochfean, Knockandegre, Clohenreher, Clogheregan and Cloghcarge and the Fort of Maryborough at the extreme east.

It includes the townslands of Kildarragh, Naire, Cloghaclonan anf Palis.

It contains the churches of Cloandermuy and Clonkeen.  It parishes are Clonenagh and Borris near Maryborough.  

Te area was mostly wooded and boundaried by the western bank of the River Barrow.  
It was considered by Elizabeth I, who had placed the Earl of Sussex in charge of the Irish campaign, that the region was sparsely populated and becoming intolerable to manage because of poor use of the land and the cost of maintaining soldiers there.

In 1560 the Attorney General ordered that English nobles and gentlemen should be planted in Queen's and King's County to reduce the military requirement. 

Lord Deputy Thomas Radcliffe 3rd Earl of Sussex reported to Queen Elizabeth that the O'Mores and several other septs (probably including Dowlings) attacked English settlements in Laois and put men, women and children to the sword, razing their castles and burning everything to the gates of Dublin.

 

The seven 'sept' families were:

O'More [Melaghlin] occupied Tou Mologan
O'Kelly [O'Kellie] , 
O'Deevy, 
O'Doran, 
O'Lalor occupied Feran O'Lauler to the south of the Dowlings, 
O'Dowling [O'Doolin] and 
MacEvoy.

Teigh O'Dowlyn beheaded (14937 bytes)

 In June 1564 Sir Edmond Butler, brother of the Earl of Ormond, took up arms to defend his castle against the O'Mores and defeated them with great slaughter.  In reporting his victory he mentions that he burned a town near Gorrydene "he killed two of the [insurrection] leaders Turlogh McShane and
Teigh O'Dowlyn 
(whose heads he sent up) together with a dozen of their kerne."

Butler was congratulated and given forty pounds to cover the loss of two horses.  In 1567 a Commission was appointed to grant lands in Queen's County (that is to take them away from the native population).  Chiefs and people were thus driven further to the defence of their land and possessions.

Part sourced from: page 443, 450, History of The Queen's County compiled from the papers of the late V. Rev. John Canon O'Hanlon PP MRIA by Rev. E O'Leary PP MRIA anf Rev. Matthew Taylor -  Vol.II. History of the Territory from 1556 to 1900.  Published by Sealy, Bryers & Walker, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1914.  Reprint: 1981 Roberts Books Limited,  St. Kieran Street, Kilkenny, Ireland  ISBN: 0 907561 01 2.

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