This Castle thingy

I have one source that I am trying to verify. I have looked in every book I could find E'mailed museums, History Professors,anyone I could think of. I believe the info in at the National Library in Dublin.

According to MacLysaght in his 'More Irish Families'....
"(Mac) NORMOYLE Rev.Wolfe gives MacConfhormaoile for this name, meaning son of the hound of Formoyle. We know from National Library MS. G. 841 that this was a suggestion made by Richard Foley and accepted by Father Wolfe. I think it is correct; The form MacEnormoyele appears in a fiant of 1603. Formaoil is the obsolete name of a castle in Co.Clare; the county with which Normoyle is mainly associated; the form Normile is more usual in the adjacent county of Limerick."
NOTE
Normile and Normoyle are switched in his report. At the time he wrote this Normile was almost exclusive to Clare except Glin in Limerick. NOTE:I have since I wrote this found Normile used in other parts of limerick and found in church records but its still much less common in LImerick back then. I'm asuing they were using the Griffiths and Tithe info that was available and not parish records.
I have found a list of over 100 castles in Clare including their "obsolete" names. This "Formaoile" of course wasn't on it. The book did imply their were others. There is a book coming out on the castles in CO Clare.Maybe it will have something

Since MacLysaght obviously saw some document with the castle mentioned and somehow is led to think the family comes from the MacNamaras I conclude it is because the castle is in an area controlled by the MacNamaras. If we knew the year that would narrow it down, but the MacNamaras were exclusively in east Clare untill expelled in mid 1600 by English(the lawyers). I found that the MacNamaras had build over a hundred castles before 1600.
I have checked the book "Index of Surnames to Griffiths Valuation" which gives location of most of the Normiles/Normoyle in Clare around 1855. Most were in an area southwest and south of Ennis. The Normiles who lived west of Ennis and were furthest fromeveryone else where recent imgrants from further south. I don't know if this is important as far as the castle is concerned since it could have been 250yrs or more since leaving the area of the castle.

There are two other sources about this castle business. I received two e-mails from Australian cousins who heard about a "Normoyle Castle" in "maybe Limerick" and "near Argyle". Of course Argyle is in Scotland but she may have meant Adare which is where the 1st source had visited. I have found that there is a Normoyle who married into a family who had acquired an old castle. There is a "Normoyle" room there according to what is on the internet.
Fanningstown Castle
Mr David Normoyle, Adare, Adare, Limerick. ,Adare, County Limerick"
"Fanningstown Castle located near the picturesque village of Adare is a romantic, gothic style castle dating from the 12th Century. Comprising 5 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. Golf and horseback riding arranged. Private fishing on River Maigue. "
Directions N18 to Limerick at Coonagh roundabout take N21 towards Tralee take 1st exit from Croom.

One Sean Meade received the castle from the state for his help during the 1920's troubles. The current owners father married Sean's daughter and so the castle has remained in the family. While it has been a home for many, many years, it has required a major undertaking to restore and renovate it to the current level of luxury - and, as the owners say, it's a work in progress. "

Latest info
5-20-2000
The latest story is that Conformaoile was given the name after guarding some pass during some battle or other. The info is from father of a Normy from GLin, in Limerick, who had someone find the story at Trinty College in Dublin. And of course I don't have the name of the source. I hae been trying to get a lead on this for years. So if this is true it would imply that this castle has nothing to do with our name.
There are at the Formoyle in east Clare and the one in the Burren (NWE Clare) remains of old forts. I dont know how old, if they predated even the Celts(thats us). I guess I won't know the whole story till I go and check it myself.

I recently 2002 found that there is a place in Limerick now called Dunganville. Its original name translates to "fort of cu'maoile". This at first glance appears to be the place. Naturally I haven't been able to find out anything and the Normoyle("local historian" who lives near by is too busy right now to help. I also wrote anyone in the area I could think of (mostly egg heads). No responce.
There a few books I've found on the history of the Co Limerick so getting any info is very hard.

I have looked in several books on placenames of Ireland or Antiquities of Ireland. I've also had several people on the internet checking for me and have found only a possible Fermerla castle and 6 Formoyles in Clare. I forgot who sent me this.
"There are 3 areas called Formoyle in Co. Clare - in the North, near Ballyvaughan, in central Clare, near Inagh and in the south east, near Killaloe. As far as I know there are no castles in these townlands. However, there is a Fomerla castle in a townland of the same name in Tulla parish, in East Clare."

The "General Alphabetical Index of Townlands & Towns, Parishes & Baronies of Ireland, 1851" lists the following:

Townland: Fomerla
Ordnance Survey Maps (c1840): #34 and #35 (for Co. Clare)
Area: 308 acres
County: Clare
Barony: Tulla Upper
Civil Parish: Tulla
Poor Law Union: Tullac

The townland of Fomerla does not appear on the map (very few townlands appear on any but the most detailed maps). It's probably fairly close to the town of Tulla. Someone on the internet told me it was 2 miles west of Tulla
Formoyle East & West are located in the civil parish of Killonaghan
Formoyle Beg & More are located in the c/p of Killokennedy
Formoyle Eighteragh E & W AND Formoyle Oughteragh E & W
are all located in the c/p of Inagh
Formoyle East & West are located in the civil parish of Killonaghan
Formoyle Beg & More are located in the c/p of Killokennedy
Formoyle Eighteragh E & W AND Formoyle Oughteragh E & W are all located in the c/p of Inagh
The words Beg and More mean large and small in Irish.
All these Formoyle e + w, and Beg and More are adjacent.I have an old map which shows a Formaoil beween Limerick and Tulla. This may be one of those above but what is interesting is it was from an old map showing inportant places before 1600. Townlands are small, a few hundred areas and were origianlly occupied by one family. There are thousands in Clare. The townland also is the goal for find your ansestors.

[email protected] (MARTIN BREEN)
Reply-to: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
There was a castle in East Clare called Fomerla, (Fomerly and Fonerly several other spellings all refering to the same castle). It was owned in 1574 by Turlough O'Brien. There is a bit about it in the MacNamara book on p182/183.
Marin Breen wrote or edited the book on the MacNamaras which I a still waiting on.

One of the townlands listed as Formoyle, Co. Clare, is shown as Formoyle West, in the civil parish of Killonaghan - this civil parish is noted in Lewis' _Topographical Dictionary of Ireland_ [1837] as KILLONOGHAN or KILLONAHON and the writeup mentions, "There are some remains of the old church, near which are the ruins of a castle, which consisted of a round tower."
[email protected]
To: [email protected]

Dear Mr Normile, Yes, Formoyle would be a natural anglicisation or phonetic equivalent of Formaoil - Best wishes, Katharine Simms (Irish History teacher)

Coat of Arms

I've seen this Coat of Arms being sold along another piece with the meaning of the name. The name info is copied from the two books I've mentioned as the primary sources for my conclusioon that MacConfhormaoiile is where our present name came from. This "Coat of Arms" is just something these people made up to sell. I wrote the people in Dublin in charge of this sort of thing and they said its not genuine. There is a family originally for Glin who claim to have the original coat of arms. They are in England somewhere.
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