Groups audience:
Field Names in Your Townland
My dad has a field which is called ‘Pat’s’. It was named after a man named Pat Feely. Pat lived in a house which was built in the middle of the field. Pat is now deceased.
Names of local rivers, lakes and streams in your townland
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Are there any blacksmith’s gates in the fields/farms of your townland? (take photos)
There are a few blacksmith’s gates in my area including two on our farm.
What old ruined houses are in your townland? Any stories related to them or the families who lived there previously?
There is an old house in one of our fields. The field is called Mary Mac’s. The last family to live there was the McDermott family. They were very poor. My grandad remembered them being evicted form their home in the 1940s.
Is there any old farm machinery in the area or parked in fields? What was it used for?
Yes, there are old farm machinery in our land. One is an old hay raking machine, it was pulled by a horse, a man sat on a seat on the machine to work it.
Are there any people in the townland who have a cure? Cure of the burn etc? How do they carry out this cure? How did they get the cure in the first place?
A neighbour of mine has the cure of the sprain. her name is Lorraine Ganley. She gets a thin piece of string, ties it around the injured part of the body, usually the ankle, and says prayers. Lorraine’s uncle passed this cure on to her.
Any locations of historical significance in the townland? Battlefield? Ambush location? Any crossroads where dances took place?
One part of our land is a townland called Castletown. It had a castle built there. The road from the east to Donegal went through there.
Any old churches in or near your townland? Old graveyards? How far do they go back? Take photos of headstones.
About a mile from our house is an old graveyard called Caldra. There are headstones there dating back to the 1800s.
Where do people in your area get buried?
People in our parish have a choice of graveyards to bury their loved ones. One graveyard is old and is known as Eastersnow graveyard, some people still use this graveyard. Caldra is the newer graveyard used and this is where most people of the parish are buried these days.
How many people live in your townland now? How many people lived there in times gone by?
There are 24 people living here now which is more than lived here 40 years ago.
Did people from the townland emigrate? Where did they go to? Why did they leave in the first place?
Yes, a lot of people from our townland emigrated to countries like England, America, Australia. Some emigrants came back to Ireland to settle but others made a life in other countries and did not return.
