Kilkenny West

The Kingdom of Ireland was a dependency of England from 1542 to 1707, and then of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then of Great Britain in personal union, and was administered from Dublin Castle by a viceroy appointed by the English king: the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. By the late 17th century, the state was dominated by the Protestant Anglo-Irish minority, known as the Protestant Ascendancy. The Protestant Church of Ireland was the state church. The Parliament of Ireland was almost exclusively Anglo-Irish. From 1661, the administration controlled an Irish army. Although formally a kingdom in personal union on equal footing with England and later Great Britain, for most of its history it was de facto a dependency. This status was enshrined in the Declaratory Act 1719. The territory of the kingdom comprised that of the former Lordship of Ireland, founded in 1177 by King Henry II of England after the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. By the 16th century, the Pale, the area of effective English rule, had shrunk greatly; most of Ireland was held by Gaelic nobles as minor principalities notionally subject to the English king but independent in practice. By the terms of the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, Henry VIII of England became "King of Ireland", theoretically elevating Ireland to coequal status with England, as a kingdom in personal union. There followed an expansion of English control during the Tudor conquest. This sparked the Desmond Rebellions and the Nine Years' War. The conquest of the island was completed early in the 17th century. It involved the confiscation of land from the native Irish Catholics and its colonisation by Protestant settlers from Britain. Most Catholic countries at the time did not recognise Protestant monarchs as legitimate kings of Ireland (or indeed of England), instead supporting the Jacobite government-in-exile from 1688 onwards. For most of the kingdom's history, the Irish Catholic majority suffered legal discrimination: under the penal laws, Catholicism was suppressed and Catholics were barred from government, parliament, the military, and most public offices. This was one of the main drivers behind the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653), during which the Irish Catholic Confederates controlled most of Ireland. After the Cromwellian conquest, Ireland suffered harsh conditions under the Protectorate (1653–1659). The brief reign of Catholic king James II (1685–1689) led to the Williamite War (1689–1691). The Williamite victory strengthened the Protestant Ascendancy, and the kingdom had only Protestant monarchs thereafter. In the 1780s, the parliament gained some independence, and some anti-Catholic laws were lifted. This sparked sectarian conflict in County Armagh. Following the failed republican Irish Rebellion of 1798, the parliament of Ireland and parliament of Great Britain passed the Acts of Union 1800. This created, on 1 January 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Kilkenny West is a civil parish in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located about 33.81 kilometres (21 mi) west of Mullingar. Kilkenny West is one of 4 civil parishes in the barony of Kilkenny West in the Province of Leinster. The civil parish covers 10,030.3 acres (40.591 km2). Kilkenny West civil parish comprises the village of Glassan and 45 townlands: Annagh, Auburn, Ballaghkeeran Big, Ballaghkeeran Little, Ballyboy Lowpark, Ballynacliffy, Ballynakill, Ballynakill Upper, Bethlehem, Bleanphuttoge, Boardsland, Brittas, Caplahard, Carrickfin, Cartronkeel, Corr, Creevenmanagh, Deerpark, Farrannamoreen, Fortyacres, Glassan, Kilfaughny, Kilkenny Abbey, Kilkenny Lanesborough, Kilkenny West, Lackan, Lisdachon, Lisnascreen, Lissatunny, Lissoy, Littletown, Lowpark Ballyboy, Lurgan, Magheracuirknagh, Pearsonsbrook, Portaneena, Rath, Temple's Island, Toberclare, Tobernagauhoge, Tonagh, Tullaghan, Tullyhogan, Tullyhumphrys, Tullylanesborough and Waterstown The neighbouring civil parishes are: Shrule (County Longford) to the north, Noughaval to the north–east, Drumraney to the east, Ballyloughloe and St. Mary's to the south, Bunown to the west and Noughaval to the north–west.

Tubberclare or Tubberclair (Irish: Tobar Chláir) is a village and townland in County Westmeath, Ireland, between Ballymahon and Athlone. It lies 9 km (6 mi) from Athlone, on the N55 national secondary road, and 2 km (1 mi) north of Glasson. Toberclare is the official spelling of the name in English. Tubberclair is also the name of the surrounding parish, which includes the villages of Glasson and Ballykeeran. It borders Lough Ree on the Westmeath side and is reputed to be the geographical centre of Ireland with a monument depicting this in the centre of the parish.

Glassan or Glasson (Irish: Glasán), also the Village of the Roses, is a small village in rural County Westmeath, Ireland. It is 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Athlone, on the N55 national secondary road, not far from the shores of Lough Ree.

Dunnamona is a motte-and-bailey and National Monument in County Westmeath, Ireland.

Noughaval (Irish: Nuachabháil) is a civil parish which spans the counties of Longford and Westmeath in Ireland. It is located about 30 km (19 mi) west of Mullingar and 22 km (14 mi) south of Longford.

Belville is a townland in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) east of Athlone. Belville is one of a number townlands of the Irish civil parish of Ballyloughloe in the barony of Clonlonan in the Province of Leinster. The townland covers 242 acres (0.98 km2). In the 1911 census of Ireland, it was spelt "Bellville" and there were four houses and fourteen inhabitants in the townland.

Baylin High Cross is a high cross and National Monument located near Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland.

Baylin (; Irish: Béal Linne), also written Bealin is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Athlone. Its postal address is Baylin, Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland. A medieval high cross stands in the eastern part of the village. Baylin and its 'sister' village, Mount Temple, form the only two in the parish of Ballyloughloe (often referred to as Caulry or Mount Temple).

Tang (Irish: An Teanga, meaning 'the tongue') is a village and a 'half-parish' in County Westmeath, on the N55 national secondary road between Athlone and Ballymahon, County Longford. Tang forms part of the ecclesiastical parish of Drumraney. It is in County Westmeath but on the border with County Longford from which it is separated by the Dungorman River which flows into Lough Ree 3 km downstream via the River Inny. The village is 15 km north-east of Athlone

Ballykeeran, (Irish: Bealach Caorthainn, meaning 'road of the rowan trees') is a small village in County Westmeath, Ireland, near Glassan. It is located on the N55 road in the townland of Annagh overlooking Lough Ree.

Killinure Lough is a lake in County Westmeath, Ireland, which feeds into Lough Ree on the Shannon.