County Coleraine

(Redirected from County of Coleraine)

55°07′55″N 6°40′05″W / 55.132°N 6.668°W / 55.132; -6.668

County Coleraine
Former County of Ireland
1585–1613

Map of Ulster in 1585
CapitalColeraine
Government
Governor 
• 1611
Thomas Phillips
Historical eraTudor conquest of Ireland
• Established
1585
• Incorporated into County Londonderry
1613
Preceded by
Succeeded by
O'Cahan
County Londonderry
Today part ofNorthern Ireland

County Coleraine, called the County of Colerain in the earliest documents,[1] was one of the counties of Ireland from 1585 to 1613. It was named after its intended county town, Coleraine. It was later subsumed into County Londonderry along with a big part of the once larger County Tyrone and small territories from County Donegal and County Antrim.

Foundation and extent

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Sir John Perrot, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, established County Coleraine between the Rivers Bann and Foyle in 1585 during the reign of Elizabeth I. Sir John intended administering the new county from the town of Coleraine. In the event, the English authorities built the courthouse and jail for the new establishment at Desertmartin in the adjacent county of Tyrone. Sir Thomas Phillips was appointed Governor of the County of Coleraine in 1611.

Towards a new county

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English control of the territory remained nominal until after the Nine Years' War. Following the Flight of the Earls (1607) and O'Doherty's Rebellion (1608), the lands the Irish aristocrats held were escheated to the Crown. In 1609 the territory was given to the City of London Corporation and its livery companies, who received instructions to undertake its plantation.

The area for planting included:

In 1613, this larger area became incorporated into the newly founded County Londonderry, although its county town was Coleraine.

References

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  1. ^ Hill, George. The Fall of Irish Chiefs and Clans; The Conquest of Ireland. Irish Roots Cafe, 2004. p.97