About the Shire of Cloondara

The Shire Device

Or, three chevronels braced vert between two towers issuant from the chevronels and a laurel wreath gules.

The Shire device is a heraldic representation of our origins in the city of San Francisco. The twin towers represent the two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge and the green chevronels (inverted V's) the hills of our homeland. The red laurel wreath indicates that we are an official branch of the Society.

A Brief History of Cloondara

The Shire of Cloondara, (pronounced Cloon-DAR-ah) shares its name with the Parish of Clondra (a.k.a. Cloondara) in County Longford, Ireland and is synonymous with the modern city of San Francisco. The name comes from the Gaelic Cluain Da Rath which means "The Meadow of the Two Forts." Since "Forts" can also be taken to mean castles or towers, one glance at the Golden Gate Bridge's two towers and you can see why the name was chosen.

The residents of the Parish of Clondra, Longford, Ireland, have no idea where the ancient forts their parish is named for were located as all traces of both fortifications have long since vanished.

The Shire was originally formed by naval personnel serving aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise during the early '70s as one of the SCA's most famous groups: "The Floating Shire". The Floating Shire subsequently moved ashore to San Francisco when the Enterprise was redeployed to Norfolk, Virginia and The Floating Shire's name was changed to Cloondara in October of 1983, replacing the then-defunct shire of St. Andrews.

The Shire is part of the Principality of the Mists, one of the three Principalities that comprise the Kingdom of the West. The Kingdom of the West includes California north of Santa Barbara, Fresno and Inyo counties, the state of Nevada (except for Clark County), Alaska, and the Pacific Rim.