placenamesClifferna
An Chliaifearna
Clifferna in Larah parish has an ecclesiastical history stretching from an early church site to the ministry of Francis Duffy.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- An Chliaifearna · Irish · main form · validated name
- Clifferna · English · main form
Place & story
The earlier church
In his annotated study of the Cavan Inquisition of 1609, Philip O’Connell identified Clifferna with the place named Clefearne on the contemporary map. He noted that the later Down Survey marked a ruined church in the townland. Writing in the 1930s, O’Connell described a cemetery surrounding the ancient church site and associated it with burials of MacBrady chieftains. [2]
Francis Duffy in Clifferna
Francis Duffy lived in Clifferna while serving as a resident priest in Laragh parish and holding diocesan administrative posts. He had previously led a secondary school in Ballinamore. In 2013 he was appointed Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, and in 2021 he was appointed Archbishop of Tuam. The Diocese of Kilmore’s announcement of that appointment records his connection with Clifferna. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Cavan
- Barony
- Tullygarvey
- Civil parish
- Larah
- Coordinates
- 53.96443, -7.17714 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412325 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Clifferna. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The Cavan Inquisition of 1609, with notes and annotations, Breifne Antiquarian and Historical Society Journal III, 1931–1933, footnote on printed page 369 · Philip O’Connell
- Kilmore-native appointed Archbishop of Tuam, 10 November 2021 · Diocese of Kilmore
- Saint Michael’s Church, Clifferna illustration: based on a St. Michael's Church, Clifferna, Co. Cavan by Kieran Campbell. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.