53-579: Derryginny is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan , Barony of Tullyhaw , County Cavan , Ireland . The townland name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic placename "Doire Goinimhe" which means the 'Oakwood of the Sand', which possibly derives either from the sandbanks which form along the rivers running through it or from the large quarry on its northwest boundary. The 1609 Ulster Plantation Baronial map spells
106-465: A common summer pasturage by the people of a whole parish or barony". Until the 19th century most townlands were owned by single landlords and occupied by multiple tenants. The cess , used to fund roadworks and other local expenses, was charged at the same rate on each townland in a barony , regardless of its size and productive capacity. Thus, occupiers in a small or poor townland suffered in comparison to those of larger or more fertile townlands. This
159-611: A Cavan Commissioner in the 1660 Hearth Money Ordinances and in the 1663 Hearth Money Rolls he has five hearths in Ballyconnell. In the Hearth Money Rolls compiled on 29 September 1663, there were two Hearth Tax payers in Dirigny- Richard Harrison and Richard Harrison the younger , both of whom had one hearth. After the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660, James Talbot tried to have
212-658: A day to travel during his commute between Parliament in Dublin and his estate in Convoy, he bought the Gwyllym estate of 4,000 acres (16 km ) for £8,000 in 1724, halfway between both, at Ballyconnell in County Cavan to allow him to break the journey overnight. In his will, he left it to his nephew George Leslie, who then assumed the name George Leslie Montgomery , MP for Cavan until 1787. He left no issue. His will
265-414: A postcode system was to be introduced (see Republic of Ireland postal addresses ). The system, known as Eircode , was introduced in 2014, but although more widely used by 2021, townlands remain predominant address identifiers in rural areas. Alexander Montgomery (1686%E2%80%931729) Colonel Alexander Montgomery (1686 – 19 December 1729) was an Irish soldier and politician. Montgomery, of
318-572: A quarter), "gort" and "quarter" ( Irish : ceathrú ). In County Fermanagh the divisions were "ballybetagh", "quarter" and "tate". Further subdivisions in Fermanagh appear to be related to liquid or grain measures such as "gallons", "pottles" and "pints". In Ulster, the ballybetagh was the territorial unit controlled by an Irish sept, typically containing around 16 townlands. Fragmentation of ballybetaghs resulted in units consisting of four, eight, and twelve townlands. One of these fragmented units,
371-530: A sense of belonging. The Royal Mail's changes were seen as a severing of this link. At the time the county councils were the government bodies responsible for validating the change. However, as local government itself was undergoing changes, the Royal Mail's decision was "allowed ... to become law almost by default". County Fermanagh is the only county in Northern Ireland that managed to resist
424-639: A similarity between the Gaelic baile and the Norman bailey , both of which meant a settlement. Throughout most of Ulster, townlands were known as "ballyboes" ( Irish : baile bó , meaning "cow land"), and represented an area of pastoral economic value. In County Cavan similar units were called "polls", and in Counties Fermanagh and Monaghan , they were known as tates or taths . These names appear to be of English origin, but had become naturalised long before 1600. Modern townlands with
477-535: A team of horses yoked to a plough). Thomas Larcom , the first Director of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland , made a study of the ancient land divisions of Ireland and summarised the traditional hierarchy of land divisions thus: 10 acres – 1 Gneeve; 2 Gneeves – 1 Sessiagh; 3 Sessiaghs – 1 Tate or Ballyboe; 2 Ballyboes – 1 Ploughland, Seisreagh or Carrow; 4 Ploughlands – 1 Ballybetagh, or Townland; 30 Ballybetaghs – Triocha Céad or Barony . This hierarchy
530-443: A townland is about 325 acres (1.32 km ; 132 ha), but they vary widely in size. William Reeves 's 1861 survey states that the smallest was Old Church Yard, near Carrickmore , in the parish of Termonmagurk , County Tyrone , at 0.625 acres (0.253 ha) and the largest, at 7,555 acres (30.57 km ; 11.805 sq mi), was and is Fionnán (also called Finnaun) in the parish of Killanin , County Galway . In fact,
583-420: A townland is generally the smallest administrative division of land, though a few large townlands are further divided into hundreds . The concept of townlands is based on the Gaelic system of land division, and the first official evidence of the existence of this Gaelic land division system can be found in church records from before the 12th century, it was in the 1600s that they began to be mapped and defined by
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#1732794250767636-803: Is dated 4 July 1727 with a codicil dated 17 December 1728 stating- " Alexander Montgomery of Dublin City and of Ballyconnell, County Cavan to be buried with wife in Dublin if he dies there. My estates in Counties Cavan and Fermanagh and leaseholds in County Donegal to trustees for my nephew George Leslie, aged under 21, son of Rev. George Leslie of Clownish , County Monaghan, and of my sister Margaret Leslie Montgomery, his wife, then for Robert Montgomery, fourth son of my uncle Alexander, then for Matthew Montgomery ". (The 'uncle Alexander', referred to in
689-646: Is of Gaelic origin, antedating the Norman invasion , and most have names of Irish origin. However, some townland names and boundaries come from Norman manors , plantation divisions, or later creations of the Ordnance Survey . The total number of inhabited townlands in Ireland was 60,679 in 1911. The total number recognised by the Irish Place Names database as of 2014 was 61,098, including uninhabited townlands, mainly small islands. In Ireland,
742-531: Is the most dominant element used in Irish townland names. Today, the term "bally" denotes an urban settlement, but its precise meaning in ancient Ireland is unclear, as towns had no place in Gaelic social organisation. The modern Irish term for a townland is baile fearainn (plural: bailte fearainn ). The term fearann means "land, territory, quarter". The Normans left no major traces in townland names, but they adapted some of them for their own use, possibly seeing
795-655: The 1911 census of Ireland , there were six families in the townland, apart from those on the Derryginny side of Church Street. Townland A townland ( Irish : baile fearainn ; Ulster-Scots : toonlann ) is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering 100–500 acres (40–202 ha). The townland system
848-685: The Crooked River (Ireland) , another small stream falling from Slieve Rushen which exits into the canal beside Ballyconnell Bridge and a central drumlin hill of blue sandy clay which rises over 200 feet above sea level. Derryginny is traversed by Church Street, Bridge Street, the N87 road (Ireland) , the R205 road (Ireland) , Derryginny lane, Carrowmore lane and by the disused Cavan & Leitrim Railway . The townland covers 126 statute acres, including three acres of water. The earliest surviving reference to
901-702: The Scots Greys cavalry , lived in Convoy House, Convoy , County Donegal , Ireland . He was born into an Ulster Scots gentry family in 1686, the second son of Major John Montgomery and his first wife Catherine, the daughter of the Reverend James Auchinleck. The Montgomerys of Convoy were part of the County Donegal branch of the Clan Montgomery . He was elected member of parliament (MP) for Donegal Borough in 1725 until
954-559: The "quarter", representing a quarter of a ballybetagh, was the universal land denomination recorded in the survey of County Donegal conducted in 1608. In the early 17th century 20 per cent of the total area of western Ulster was under the control of the church. These " termonn " lands consisted likewise of ballybetaghs and ballyboes, but were held by erenaghs instead of sept leaders. Other units of land division used throughout Ireland include: "Cartrons" were also sometimes called "ploughlands" or "seisreagh" ( Irish : seisreach , meaning
1007-572: The 1800s: There was a school situated in my district in the year 1800. The children were all taught indoors. The local name for it was the Tanyard School. The man who taught in this school was "Barney Wynn". He was paid by the people who attended the school. The subjects were, "reading and writing" and he taught some Irish. The people used to spell in Irish and they wrote with cuttors on slates. The children were seated on larger logs or flags and other times they were standing up. Another account in
1060-544: The Ballyconnell estate restored to him but a final grant was made to Thomas Gwyllym in August 1666, which included 63 acres & 2 roods in Derrogenny alias Derrygenny . Thomas Gwyllym died in 1681 and his son Colonel Meredith Gwyllym inherited the Ballyconnell estate, including Derryginny. Colonel Meredith Gwyllym died in 1711 and the Ballyconnell estate passed to his eldest son, Meredith Gwyllym. A deed dated 2 May 1724 by
1113-545: The Ballyconnell estate to his nephew George Leslie, who then assumed the name of George Leslie Montgomery . George Leslie Montgomery was M.P. for Strabane , County Tyrone from 1765 to 1768 and for County Cavan from 1770 to 1787, when he died and left the Ballyconnell estate to his son George Montgomery, whose estate was administered by the Court of Chancery as he was a lunatic , George Montgomery died in 1841, and his estate went to his Enery cousins of Bawnboy . In 1856 they sold
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#17327942507671166-668: The Derryginny lands aged just 10 years. An Inquisition held in Cavan Town on 20 September 1630 stated that Walter Talbot's lands included one poll in Derrogeny . James Talbot married Helen Calvert, the daughter of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore of Maryland, USA, in 1635 and had a son Colonel George Talbot who owned an estate in Cecil County, Maryland which he named Ballyconnell in honour of his native town in Cavan. George Talbot
1219-533: The English administration for the purpose of confiscating land and apportioning it to investors or planters from Britain. The term "townland" in English is derived from the Old English word tūn , denoting an enclosure. The term describes the smallest unit of land division in Ireland, based on various forms of Gaelic land division, many of which had their own names. The term baile , anglicised as "bally",
1272-655: The Erne papers (held in P.R.O.N.I. in Belfast ) dated 1727 between Alexander Montgomery and General David Creighton about the sharing of Lifford Corporation and its representation in the Irish House of Commons , to which it sent two MP's. One of the articles of agreement was that, if Montgomery should die without a son, then his interest should pass to the Creightons. Montgomery was elected as an MP for County Donegal in
1325-477: The Irish acre, the English acre, the Cunningham acre, the plantation acre and the statute acre. The Ordnance Survey maps used the statute acre measurement. The quality and situation of the land affected the size of these acres. The Cunningham acre is given as intermediate between the Irish and English acres. Many of these land division terms have been preserved in the names of modern townlands. For example,
1378-631: The Society for Discountenancing Vice, the Kildare Place Society and the local Church of Ireland rector who contributed £10 per annum. The other school was a free working-school for girls in a separate room in the above school. The headmistress was Mary Veitch, a Protestant, who was paid £10 per annum. There were 34 girls, of whom 24 were Roman Catholic and 10 were Church of Ireland. No Holy Scripture books were read. The Dúchas Folklore Collection gives an account of Derryginny Tanyard School of
1431-435: The aforesaid Meredith Gwyllym includes the townland as Derrogeny alias Derrygenny . The Gwyllym estate was sold for £8,000 in 1724 to Colonel Alexander Montgomery (1686–1729) of Convoy House, County Donegal , M.P. for Donegal Borough, 1725 to 1727, and for Donegal County, 1727 to 1729. A lease dated 14 May 1728 by the aforesaid Alexander Montgomery included Derrygowny alias Derrygannan . Montgomery died in 1729 and left
1484-530: The area was put under the control of the Cromwellian captain Thomas Gwyllym. He was a native of Glenavy, County Antrim where his father, Rev. Meredith Gwyllym, was vicar of the parishes of Glenavy, Camlin, Tullyrusk, Ballinderry & Magheragall from 1622 until sometime after 1634. Gwyllym's name first appears in the area as the owner of the Ballyconnell estate in the 1652 Commonwealth Survey, also as
1537-640: The change completely. Nevertheless, many newer road signs in parts of Northern Ireland now show townland names (see picture). In 2001 the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a motion requesting government departments to make use of townland addresses in correspondence and publications. In the Republic of Ireland townlands continue to be used on addresses. In 2005 the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources announced that
1590-455: The changes. It was described as a "ground-level community effort". Taking place in the midst of The Troubles , the campaign was a rare example of unity between Catholics and Protestants , nationalists and unionists . Townlands and their names "seem to have been considered as a shared resource and heritage". Those involved in the campaign argued that, in many areas, people still strongly identified with their townlands and that this gave them
1643-610: The estate to take advantage of its increased value owing to the opening of the Woodford Canal through the town in the same year. The estate, including Derryginny, was split up among different purchasers and maps & details of previous leases of the sold parts are still available. The Tithe Applotment Books for 1827 list the following tithepayers in the townland- Moore, Sturdy, Netterfield, Flood, Gwynne, Hannon, Cochrane. The Ordnance Survey Name Books for 1836 give
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1696-536: The following description of the townland- Doire gainimhe, 'oak wood of the sand'. Centre of parish. Property of Montgomery. Rent £2 per arable acre. Soil is blue sandy clay. A good road South to West. A limestone quarry. The Derryginny Valuation Office Field books are available for 1840. Griffith's Valuation of 1857 lists the landlords of the townland as Magee and Netterfield and the tenants as Gwynne, Graham, Schoolhouse, Small, Kells, Netterfield, Donohoe, Caffrey, Wilson and Hannon. In 2017 an award-winning documentary
1749-462: The general election held later in 1727 so the said General David Creighton and his son and heir, Abraham Creighton , (later the 1st Lord Erne) were returned as the two Lifford MPs. General David Creighton died in 1728 so the Lifford seat was filled by Thomas Montgomery (1700– April 1761) , the 1st cousin of Alexander and father of the aforementioned Major-General Richard Montgomery . On the death of
1802-904: The general election in 1727 and was then returned for County Donegal in 1727 until his death on 19 December 1729, at the age of 43. He was buried at the Church of St. Nicholas Within the Walls , Nicholas Street, Dublin on 22 December 1729. He married Elizabeth Percy, a daughter of Colonel Henry Percy (or Piercy) of Seskin, County Wicklow . His wife predeceased him in December 1724 and was also interred at St. Nicholas on 5 January 1725. He inherited lands at Croghan, just outside Lifford in East Donegal, and in 1711 he purchased more lands at Tullydonell from James Nesbit. By 1720 he had also bought his main residence of Convoy, County Donegal. As it took more than
1855-526: The island, but in that year the Royal Mail decided that the townland element of the address was obsolete in Northern Ireland. Townland names were not banned, but they were deemed "superfluous information" and people were asked not to include them on addresses. They were to be replaced by house numbers, road names and postcodes . In response the Townlands Campaign emerged to protest against
1908-657: The lands owned by the McGovern (name) clan. Richard Tyrrell of Tyrrellspass , County Westmeath , purchased the townland c.1606 from Cormack McGovern, who was probably the son of Tomas Óg mac Brian Mág Samhradháin , who reigned as chief of the McGovern clan from 1584. A schedule, dated 31 July 1610, of the lands Tyrrell owned in Tullyhaw prior to the Ulster Plantation included: Diroginy, one cartron (a cartron
1961-485: The name as Dirreginny . It is bounded on the north by Doon, Tomregan and Gortoorlan townlands, on the west by Snugborough and Carrowmore, County Cavan townlands, on the south by Lecharrownahone townland and on the east by Annagh, County Cavan , Agharaskilly and Cullyleenan townlands. Its chief geographical features are the Shannon-Erne Waterway which flows north along its eastern boundary,
2014-466: The name as Dirrigonie . A 1610 grant spells it as Dirregenny . The Irish State Papers for 1610 spell it as Diroginy . A 1630 Inquisition spells it as Derrogeny .The 1652 Commonwealth Survey spells it as Direganny . The 1659 Down Survey map spells it as Derygenny . The 1663 Hearth Money Rolls spell it as Dirigny . A 1666 grant spells it Derrogenny alias Derrygenny . William Petty 's 1685 map spells it as Deregeny . The 1790 Cavan Carvaghs list spells
2067-530: The prefix pol- is widely found throughout western Ireland, its accepted meaning being "hole" or "hollow". In County Cavan, which contains over half of all townlands in Ulster with the prefix pol- , some should probably be better translated as "the poll of ...". In County Tyrone, the following hierarchy of land divisions was used: "ballybetagh" ( Irish : baile beithigh , meaning "cattle place"), "ballyboe", "sessiagh" ( Irish : séú cuid , meaning sixth part of
2120-599: The prefix tat- are confined almost exclusively to the diocese of Clogher, which covers Counties Fermanagh and Monaghan, and the barony of Clogher in County Tyrone ), and cannot be confused with any other Irish word. The use of the term can also be seen in the diocese of Clogher parish of Inniskeen area within Louth where the townlands of Edenagrena, Drumsinnot, Killaconner and Torpass were referred to collectively as "the four tates of Ballyfoylan." In modern townland names
2173-429: The same collection states: There was an old school in Derryginny long ago. John Reilly taught in it. The school was in an old house. The boys spoke Irish and they wrote on slates. There was no seats. They had to sit on turf. Every day the boys had to bring a turf under their arms. In the 1901 census of Ireland , there are six families listed in the townland, apart from those on the Derryginny side of Church Street. In
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2226-453: The term "bally" in some townland names is that it can be difficult to distinguish between the Irish terms baile meaning "townland" and béal átha meaning "approach to a ford". An example of the latter is Ballyshannon , County Donegal , which is derived from Béal Átha Seanaidh . "Sub-townlands" ( Irish : fo-bhaile ) are also recorded in some areas, smaller divisions of a townland with their own traditional names. The average area of
2279-700: The term "cartron" in both its English and Irish forms has been preserved in the townland names of Carrowmeer, Cartron and Carrowvere, while the term "sessiagh" survives in the names Shesia, Sheshodonell, Sheshymore and Shessiv. The terms "ballyboe" and "ballybetagh" tend to be preserved in the truncated form of "bally" as a prefix for some townland names, such as Ballymacarattybeg near Poyntzpass , County Down. Less well-known land division terms may be found in other townland names such as Coogulla ( Irish : Cuige Uladh , "the Ulster fifth"), Treanmanagh ( Irish : an train meánach , "the third middle") and Dehomade ( Irish : an deichiú méid , "the tenth part"). A problem with
2332-534: The townland is in an account of the death of the Ulster hero Conall Cernach , who was killed c.1 AD, when he attempted to cross the ford called Ath na Mianna from the townland of Cullyleenan over the Woodford River to the opposite townland of Derryginny. In the fifth century AD, the townland formed part of the lands owned by the Masraige clan. From medieval times until 1606, the townland formed part of
2385-469: The townland of Clonskeagh in the barony of Uppercross (abutting the main Clonskeagh townland in the barony of Dublin ) was only 0.3 acres (1,200 m ) although the area is now urbanised, so that the townlands are unused and their boundaries are uncertain. The ballyboe, a townland unit used in Ulster, was described in 1608 as containing 60 acres of arable land, meadow, and pasture. However, this
2438-520: The townland system. Slight adjustments are still made. There were 60,679 in 1911, compared to 60,462 townlands in 1901. Townlands form the building blocks for higher-level administrative units such as parishes and district electoral divisions (in the Republic of Ireland ) or wards (in Northern Ireland ). Before 1972 townlands were included on all rural postal addresses throughout
2491-513: The will, was Colonel Alexander Montgomery (1667–1722) M.P. for County Monaghan and the grandfather of the famous American Revolution war-hero, Major-General Richard Montgomery ). Probate was granted on 5 January 1729. [1] Up to 1729, Alexander Montgomery shared the parliamentary patronage of Lifford , County Donegal, with the Creighton family, later the Earls of Erne . There is an agreement in
2544-604: Was about 30 acres of arable land). In the Plantation of Ulster , Tyrrell swapped his lands in Derryginny for additional land in the barony of Tullygarvey where he lived at the time. In a grant dated 23 June 1610, along with other lands, King James VI and I then granted the townland as: one poll of Dirregenny , to Hugh Culme, esquire, as part of the "Manor of Calva". Culme then surrendered his interest in Derryginny to Walter Talbot of Ballyconnell. Walter Talbot died on 26 June 1625 at Ballyconnell and his son James Talbot succeeded to
2597-598: Was appointed Surveyor-General of Maryland in 1683. In the aftermath of the Irish Rebellion of 1641, James Talbot's estate in Ballyconnell was confiscated in the Cromwellian Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 because he was a Catholic and he was granted an estate in 1655 at Castle Rubey, County Roscommon instead. He died in 1687. By 1652 the Irish rebels in the Ballyconnell area had been defeated and
2650-413: Was made about a Derryginny farmer, 85-year-old Raymond Ovens. In 1826 there were two schools in Derryginny. One was a pay-school constructed of stone and lime which cost £200. The headmaster was William Spence, a Protestant, who was paid £40 per annum. There were 90 pupils, 50 boys and 40 girls, of whom 45 were Roman Catholic and 45 were Church of Ireland. Holy Scripture books were read. It was supported by
2703-536: Was misleading, as the size of townlands under the Gaelic system varied depending upon their quality, situation and economic potential. This economic potential varied from the extent of land required to graze cattle to the land required to support several families. The highest density of townland units recorded in Ulster in 1609 corresponds to the areas with the highest land valuations in the 1860s. It seems that many moorland areas were not divided into townlands until fairly recently. These areas were "formerly shared as
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#17327942507672756-518: Was not applied uniformly across Ireland. For example, a ballybetagh or townland could contain more or less than four ploughlands. Further confusion arises when it is taken into account that, while Larcom used the general term "acres" in his summary, terms such as "great acres", "large acres" and "small acres" were also used in records. Writing in 1846, Larcom remarked that the "large" and "small" acres had no fixed ratio between them, and that there were various other kinds of acre in use in Ireland, including
2809-463: Was reformed by Griffith's Valuation . During the 19th century an extensive series of maps of Ireland was created by the Irish division of the Ordnance Survey for taxation purposes. These maps both documented and standardised the boundaries of the more than 60,000 townlands in Ireland. The process often involved dividing or amalgamating existing townlands, and defining townland boundaries in areas such as mountain or bog that had previously been outside
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