Bunnawn or Bonane, Kerry

Historical Description

BUNNAWN, or BONANE, a parish, in the barony of GLANEROUGH, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (S.) from Kenmare; containing 1158 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the confines of the county of Cork, is not in the ecclesiastical divisions known as a separate parish, but considered as forming part of the parish of Kilcaskin, in the adjoining barony of Bere, county of Cork, and diocese of Ross. It is the property of the Marquess of Lansdowne, and consists chiefly of rocky mountain and bog; it is intersected by two old roads, both impassable for carriages; one running direct, by a wild rocky pass called the "Priest's Leap," to Bantry bay, and the other to Glengariff. A new road from Kenmare to Glengariff is now in progress, under the Board of Public Works, which will pass through the parish, over the range of mountains separating the counties of Cork and Kerry, and will in some places be carried to an elevation of 1000 feet above the level of the sea, affording great facilities for the improvement of this wild and mountainous district. At Dromfeaghny is an ancient burial-ground, in which are the ruins of an old church. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Kilcaskin, in the county of Cork, and diocese of Kerry; the chapel is at Deelis, A school-house is about to be built at Tulloha, at the joint expense of the Marquess of Lansdowne and the National Board of Education.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Bunnawn or Bonane from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1840 by Samuel Lewis (Bunnawn or Bonane)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Kerry is available to browse.