The Cloone Home Page

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Cloone is one of the most historic parishes in Co. Leitrim. From its associations with the legendary Conmaicne tribe, its ancient monastic settlement, to its connections with the French on their way to the tragic defeat in Ballinamuck, down to its part in the Irish music revival in the 1930's with Fr. Conerfrey, Cloone has played a central part in rural Irish life. A famous stronghold of Gaelic Football and the home of Boxty making makes Cloone a place apart. The gaelic version of Cloone which is Cluain, when translated to English means meadow or lawn, a green arable spot, or good pasture land, and this meaning is very appropriate as can be seen from the grassy green fields around the village.

The quiet, picturesque village, which only this year (1998) won Best Endeavour award for North West Region, in the National tidy town competition, is situated about 15 miles from Carrick-On-Shannon. The area prides itself on many top quality fishing lakes & rivers in peaceful surroundings.

Pictured on the right is the tower of St. James church in Cloone which is all that remains of that church. This is said to be the site of the original abbey of St. Fraoch. This claim is backed up by carved stone recently found on the site. These stones are similar to the top corner stones of Abbeys of that era. The Abbey was founded in 670 A.D. after St. Patrick visited the area. There is also a holy well in the area where the saint used to go for quiet prayer. This is still a common place for locals to go to pray in a very quiet and remote area.
The parish of Cloone traces back several hundered years with with evidence of old megalithic graves in the parish.

Recently discovered photographic marerial shows us what life was like in the early part of this century in Cloone. The pictures include one of a tailors shop which was in buisness at the time and a picture from a cottage just outside the village is typical of an Irish home of that era.

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