[2][3] Upper Woods barony is named after the forests of the Slieve Bloom Mountains.

Upper Woods was part of the ancient Kingdom of Ossory (Osraige).

[5] A member, Daniel Dulany the Elder (1685–1753), born in Upperwoods, became an important figure in colonial Maryland.

[citation needed] It is referred to in the topographical poem Tuilleadh feasa ar Éirinn óigh (Giolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín, d. 1420): Ard taoiseach tuaiṫe an toraiḋ Ón Choill aoiḃinn Uachtoraiġ Ó Duḃsláine, fial an fear Ón tsliaḃ as áille inḃeaġ ("The high chief of the fruitful cantred, Of the delightful Coill Uachtorach [Upper Woods], Is O'Dubhslaine, hospitable the man, From the mountain of most beauteous rivers.

[citation needed] Below is a list of settlements in Upper Woods barony: