Claregalway and Loughgeorge townland minor placenames

The minor placenames of the townlands of Claregalway and Loughgeorge, Claregalway, Co. Galway

At the heart of the parish of Claregalway are the townlands of Claregalway and Loughgeorge. Historic settlement at both villages are a consequence of landscape and communication routes: the modern village of Claregalway is located where was once a medieval Burrough and where the main Galway-Tuam routeway crosses the River Clare, east of the extensive bogs of Montiagh, Sylaun and Curraghmore. The village of Loughgeorge is located where the routeways from Headford, Tuam and Abbeyknockmoy/Roscommon converge and then cross the River Clare, a fact that undoubtedly influenced the choice of location for the RIC Barracks at Loughgeorge in the 19^th century.

Although established by the Anglo-Normans as a centre of settlement, communication and control early in the 13^th century, it would seem unlikely that the manorial settlement and moated site at Claregalway river island was the first activity here. In recent years, archaeological surveys have suggested the presence of an enclosure on the river island at Claregalway but the latest excavations undertaken there in 2023 again identified material that primarily dated from the 13^th century. Given that the area has been a focal point for intense activity for close to 800 years, it is possible that all traces of earlier activity at the river crossing have been removed, or remain yet unidentified.

The story of medieval settlement in Claregalway village has been covered quite comprehensively in our earlier chapter. The landscape of the village is subtle. Claregalway Castle and the Franciscan Friary are located on the northern bank of the River Clare. On the river island was sited the Carthusian priory built sometime between 1250 and 1256 AD. Also on the river island was a moated site, probably established by John de Cogan before the founding of the priory, though not necessarily occupied by him. This moated site was a defended rectangular farmstead established for administration of his newly acquired lands around Claregalway, with a comparable settlement at Corofin were Walter de Ridelesford II obtained the northern part of what was to be the barony of Clare c.1237. Indeed, in the context of the subinfeudation of Connaught, the moated site at Claregalway was in effect a colonial outpost and a frontier farm settlement. These settlements and an associated Borrough were sited at the most convenient fording point on the river, with extensive bogs to the west and expansive floodplains to the east. Though barely noticeable, the landscape drops into a shallow, resourceful river valley at Claregalway where control of movement was made easier, and with productive farmlands surrounding on higher ground. Woodlands (an important resource) named the Wood of Carnau[1] were located adjacent (Gray 1959, 53).

But what about Loughgeorge? It would appear that the diminutive townland of Loughgeorge which measures just 31 acres in area is a product of landscape and communication. Prior to the construction of the Curraghline in the 1860s, travelling north from Galway toward Headford or Shrule required a circumnavigation of the bogs via the river crossing at Claregalway before then turning north-westward. A series of milestones in Irish miles mark this old Galway-Headford route with the six-mile marker stone still located in Loughgeorge. Prior to 1845 and the canalisation of large sections of the River Clare, travelling from northeast Galway or Roscommon toward the city of Galway would require the circumnavigation of the extensive floodplain of Turloughmore, either via Tuam, Corofin or via Lackagh. Where each of these routes form a confluence is the location of Loughgeorge – undoubtedly an ideal location for a popular roadhouse or a constabulary barracks! An isolated post office is shown near the boundary between Loughgeorge and Claregalway on the First Edition Ordnance Survey in 1838, emphasising further the importance of this place for communication. In fact you can see from Herman Moll’s map of Ireland drawn in 1714 that the road network is established here by that time, though it is likely that this was a busy thoroughfare long before that. Fittingly for the weary traveller, the Ordnance Survey Name Books record that in 1838: ‘The road from Galway to Tuam passes through its centre… ..in this townland is a Public House…’

Claregalway townland covers an area of approximately 585 acres, north and west of the modern village of Claregalway. At the time of the Ordnance Survey in the 1830s Claregalway is recorded locally as Baile Chláir. The meaning of Baile is easily understood as townland/town/homestead. However, the precise meaning of Cláir in the context of Claregalway has been debated. One clear and common interpretation is that Cláir refers to a plain and to the flat and relatively featureless landscape through which the River Clare flows, lending its name to the village and townland of Claregalway as it flows through it. Another interpretation is ‘Town of the Plank,’ which may refer to a plank used for crossing the River Clare.

Our work in the townlands during 2021 identified 41 minor placenames and places of interest known locally within the townland. These are marked on the map below and included in tabulated format. These placenames were collected by Seamus O’Connell from Tom Hughes and Paddy O’Connell. The placenames collected refer to fields, landscape, wells, houses and other elements of the local vernacular landscape.

We see in Claregalway the occurrence of a number of herd houses. Herdsmen were widely employed by Landlords in the west of Ireland to look after their animals. A herd’s role was working on estates and large-scale pasture farms, looking after cattle and sheep. Reasonably well-recompensed and with a reputation for being skilled, their social status was high – unlike the generality of agricultural labourers (Cunningham 2011, 137). For this work they received lodgings in a house of their own. The quality of housing varied greatly, from the comfortable to the most modest. They are generally paid by ‘freedoms,’ the freedom consisting of so many ‘collops’.

[1] This placename infers that the landscape around Claregalway may have included notable woodlands when the Anglo-Normans arrived.