Caherlea and Gortaleva townland minor placenames

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

The townlands of Caherlea and Gortaleva are located to the east of the village of Claregalway and cover an area of approximately 336 and 147 acres respectively. At the time of the Ordnance Survey in the 1830s, Caherlea was recorded in the Ordnance Survey Name Books as being ‘the property of Mr. Lynch, Galway. All under tillage. Its north and west sides are subject to Winter floods. It contains a village of houses in its centre. There was once a fort in it but no trace of it remains now.’ In the same source Gortaleva was recorded as ‘the property of Mr. Lynch, Galway, it is all under tillage. Part of its north and southeast sides are subject to Winter floods… …and it contains a large village of houses near its southwest angle

At the time of this survey Caherlea is recorded locally as Cathair Liath meaning ‘The Grey Fort’ and Gortaleva is recorded as Gort a t-sléibhe meaning ‘Field of the mountain’. This early map shows that much of the ground in the area were liable to flooding, and that the lands were largely open with little subdivision. Only a trackway/bótharín allowed access to the village of Caherlea which then comprised a collection of just 13 buildings at the edge of the winter flooding from the Clare River. The village of Gortaleva comprised approximately 32 buildings with small associated plots located outside the Lydacan House demesne. 

Our work in the townland during 2020 identified 22 new 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 Marie Dempsey from PJ Kerrigan and Tommy Walsh. The placenames collected refer to fields, wells, houses, bótharíns, and other elements of the local landscape including our first instance of a síbín in the locality. Noteworthy too is the identification of a possible Fulacht Fia which was recognised by PJ Kerrigan as a place in the bog where coals were often found.

This work is on-going. If you know of any other minor placenames in the parish of Claregalway that may be of interest, and you would like to contribute to our survey, please do get in touch.