Danustouch
February 20th, 2002, 08:50 AM
Researching Ireland, while doing family tree research, can be exceedingly difficult, if you are not familiar with the way that the land is split up, and the local area you are working with. We've been having a little bit of trouble, but recently received some help from a distant relative still in Ireland. It was so interesting to read the information she provided, I thought it might be interesting even to those of you who don't have specific family ties to Ireland :)
*************************************************
Hello Sheila, just a quick explanation of what are called townlands
in
> Ireland. THey're not at all the same as towns or cities or even
villages.
> Long long ago; a thousand years ago? 800 anyway...the countryside was
> divided up into amounts of land that would roughly more or less
support a
> family or a small group of related families, who would be able to
keep
> enough cattle on that amount of land to be able to live off the
cattle and
> a small amount of arable crops-this was before the potato. Townlands
are
> not all the same size, even roughly; Culnaman is a very big townland,
> because some of it was poor land--bog, very wet. Good land meant the
> townland could be smaller. The townland survived as a way of
identifying
> where places were in the countryside, and until twenty years ago,
they
were
> the addresses for people who lived in the countryside. THey should
still
be
> the addresses, but the Post Office introduced a horrible system based
on
> the city street, which has been eroding people's sense of where they
live,
> and taking away all idea about the long history of the townlands.
(That's
> my particular gripe!) The names are mostly from the old Irish
language,
> Gaelic; and they mean something. Nearly always you can figure out the
> meaning; some of the names have been half translated into English.
For
> instance, "the Carragh" or "the Brone" are two names that sound
strange,
> but thay actually come from the remnants of two or more Irish words,
which
> were then partly translated. THe Carragh was originally {??} na
carragh;
> I don't know what the first bit might have been, but the na carragh
bit
> meant "of the rock", so it came into English as "the Carragh". Some
maps
> still show the name Nacarragh, but that isn't used at all, and maybe
hasn't
> been for two hundred years! Culnaman means "the corner where the
women
> are", as far as we know; I don't offhand know what Movanagher means,
but I
> could look it up. Culnaman was a big townland with a big population,
at
> least up until about 1900, and it's not surprising that it had
several
> smaller named areas within it; these didn't get registered and put
onthe
> official map in 1831, so don't have a legal status nowadays. So
if you
> were in Culnaman, it's just a big area of country; farms all round.
> Nowadays quite a number of houses of people who don't farm, but there
are
> hardly any industrial premises; there is one agricultural machinery
sales
> place; no shop or post office. When your g.mother left, there
probably
were
> a few small shops, and there was a primary school, probably some
local
> craftsmen, like tailors and dressmakers.
>
> Movanagher is practically the next townland to Culnaman; there might
be
one
> small area in between. If you have a map of NI, have a look at the
river
> Bann which runs straight up from the big lake in the middle up to the
sea.
> Movanagher is about halfway up, or a bit more, on the lefthand side
of the
> river Bann as you look at it. It's close to a small town called
Kilrea,
> which is one of the two small towns that our family used for church,
> markets, shops; the other one is Garvagh. Some families went to
church in
> Kilrea, some in Garvagh; they also went to a country church called
> Moneydig, which was established later than the others in about 1850.
They
> switched around as they fell out with the minister or whatever. If
you
> can't find Kilrea or Garvagh, you can probably see Coleraine and
> Ballymoney; they are like two points of a triangle, if you can
imagine a
> third point about halfway between them to the southwest, on the other
side
> of the river Bann, then Culnaman is about in there. I was brought up
near
> Portrush, which is up on the coast; Derek is a farmer near
Ballymoney.
> THe whole area is very small scale to people from anywhere else; it's
only
> about 6 miles between Coleraine and Ballymoney. People did tend to
marry
> within a small geographical area, and they did marry again and again
into
> the same families.
>
> Up until the pOst Office messed things up, people said they were from
> "Lisconnan" or "the Bootown"--Derek lives in the Bootown. I'm from
> Urblereagh; my mother was reared in Agivey, and now lives with her
second
> husband in Carnalbanagh. (Carnalbanagh means the "burial mound of the
> Scotsman") So Hugh is from the Brone; I'm not actually sure
where
> the Brone is; it's just a name to me, but Derek has been to visit old
Hugh.
> Richard who has the site; his family were from Gortin, which means
the
> little field. It's about a mile or a mile and a half from the
Carragh.
They
> went to church in Aghadowey, which is a different direction,
northwards.
> Presbyterians could more or less worship in which congregation they
wanted;
> it was just a matter of handiness or of liking a particular minister
*************************************************
Hello Sheila, just a quick explanation of what are called townlands
in
> Ireland. THey're not at all the same as towns or cities or even
villages.
> Long long ago; a thousand years ago? 800 anyway...the countryside was
> divided up into amounts of land that would roughly more or less
support a
> family or a small group of related families, who would be able to
keep
> enough cattle on that amount of land to be able to live off the
cattle and
> a small amount of arable crops-this was before the potato. Townlands
are
> not all the same size, even roughly; Culnaman is a very big townland,
> because some of it was poor land--bog, very wet. Good land meant the
> townland could be smaller. The townland survived as a way of
identifying
> where places were in the countryside, and until twenty years ago,
they
were
> the addresses for people who lived in the countryside. THey should
still
be
> the addresses, but the Post Office introduced a horrible system based
on
> the city street, which has been eroding people's sense of where they
live,
> and taking away all idea about the long history of the townlands.
(That's
> my particular gripe!) The names are mostly from the old Irish
language,
> Gaelic; and they mean something. Nearly always you can figure out the
> meaning; some of the names have been half translated into English.
For
> instance, "the Carragh" or "the Brone" are two names that sound
strange,
> but thay actually come from the remnants of two or more Irish words,
which
> were then partly translated. THe Carragh was originally {??} na
carragh;
> I don't know what the first bit might have been, but the na carragh
bit
> meant "of the rock", so it came into English as "the Carragh". Some
maps
> still show the name Nacarragh, but that isn't used at all, and maybe
hasn't
> been for two hundred years! Culnaman means "the corner where the
women
> are", as far as we know; I don't offhand know what Movanagher means,
but I
> could look it up. Culnaman was a big townland with a big population,
at
> least up until about 1900, and it's not surprising that it had
several
> smaller named areas within it; these didn't get registered and put
onthe
> official map in 1831, so don't have a legal status nowadays. So
if you
> were in Culnaman, it's just a big area of country; farms all round.
> Nowadays quite a number of houses of people who don't farm, but there
are
> hardly any industrial premises; there is one agricultural machinery
sales
> place; no shop or post office. When your g.mother left, there
probably
were
> a few small shops, and there was a primary school, probably some
local
> craftsmen, like tailors and dressmakers.
>
> Movanagher is practically the next townland to Culnaman; there might
be
one
> small area in between. If you have a map of NI, have a look at the
river
> Bann which runs straight up from the big lake in the middle up to the
sea.
> Movanagher is about halfway up, or a bit more, on the lefthand side
of the
> river Bann as you look at it. It's close to a small town called
Kilrea,
> which is one of the two small towns that our family used for church,
> markets, shops; the other one is Garvagh. Some families went to
church in
> Kilrea, some in Garvagh; they also went to a country church called
> Moneydig, which was established later than the others in about 1850.
They
> switched around as they fell out with the minister or whatever. If
you
> can't find Kilrea or Garvagh, you can probably see Coleraine and
> Ballymoney; they are like two points of a triangle, if you can
imagine a
> third point about halfway between them to the southwest, on the other
side
> of the river Bann, then Culnaman is about in there. I was brought up
near
> Portrush, which is up on the coast; Derek is a farmer near
Ballymoney.
> THe whole area is very small scale to people from anywhere else; it's
only
> about 6 miles between Coleraine and Ballymoney. People did tend to
marry
> within a small geographical area, and they did marry again and again
into
> the same families.
>
> Up until the pOst Office messed things up, people said they were from
> "Lisconnan" or "the Bootown"--Derek lives in the Bootown. I'm from
> Urblereagh; my mother was reared in Agivey, and now lives with her
second
> husband in Carnalbanagh. (Carnalbanagh means the "burial mound of the
> Scotsman") So Hugh is from the Brone; I'm not actually sure
where
> the Brone is; it's just a name to me, but Derek has been to visit old
Hugh.
> Richard who has the site; his family were from Gortin, which means
the
> little field. It's about a mile or a mile and a half from the
Carragh.
They
> went to church in Aghadowey, which is a different direction,
northwards.
> Presbyterians could more or less worship in which congregation they
wanted;
> it was just a matter of handiness or of liking a particular minister