O'Carney) clan; they were referred to as the Muinter Tadgain (people of Tadgain). The O'Catharniagh were princes of Teffia (an area in County Westmeath). The ruins of their castle, Lehinch Castle, are to be found on a hill in Kilcoursey, less than a mile from the town centre. The McAuley family are also associated with the Barony of Kilcoursey. Mass rocks are also to be found in the hills outside the town, having provided secret places for Catholics to worship during the persecution which followed the Reformation. The Fox family owned much of the district up until the 1650s. Following the involvement of the Chieftain, Hubert Fox in a rebellion in the 1640s – he was defending Catholic interests against the Puritan Oliver Cromwell who came to Ireland to suppress uprisings against English rule. Ironically, in 1599, Fox's father, also Hubert, had signed an agreement of "surrender and regrant" with the English crown to avoid the complete destruction of his estates following the Nine Years' War: the lands were returned to Fox senior in recognition of his fealty. Hubert junior, however, was not so inclined, preferring to stand by the family's traditional allegiance. Cromwell proved victorious and Fox lost his lands which were given to Samuel Rust, a Cromwellian soldier. He, in turn, sold the district to two families – the Armstrongs and the Bagots. The Armstrongs settled in the town and would eventually establish industries, including a linen factory. Andrew Armstrong (1727–1802) built the neo-classical Clara House on the west side of the town in the 1770s. One member of the Armstrong family, John Armstrong, uncle of Andrew, was Governor of Menorca and author of a history of the island in 1752. Andrew Armstrong died in 1802 and the estates were sold to the Cox family. In 1825, the Goodbody family moved to Clara from Mountmellick and introduced industry into the town, trading under the name of J & L F Goodbody. Buying flour mills at Erry and Charlestown, they developed the river Brosna and used it to harness power for their factories. In 1864 the Goodbodys started a jute factory at Clashawaun. The jute was imported from India and the resulting bags were exported worldwide. In the last decades of the 20th century, the factories declined and the last Goodbody factory closed in 1984. The family had provided the people of Clara with employment in a number of