Cregboy townland minor placenames

The minor placenames of the townland of Cregboy, Claregalway, Co. Galway

The townland of Cregboy covers an area of approximately 676 acres, south of the village of Claregalway. At the time of the Ordnance Survey in the 1830s, Cregboy was recorded in the Ordnance Survey Name Books as being ‘the property Mr. Lynch, half the surface of this townland is covered with limestone rock, the remainder under tillage’.  At the time of this survey Cregboy is recorded locally as Creg Buidhe meaning ‘yellow cliffs’ although the word Creig may also be translated as ‘rock’. The placename almost certainly makes reference to the rough rocky ground across large parts of the townland (Creige). Buidhe or Buí may refer to lichen or gorse that was present on this rocky ground. 

Although the townland is well populated today, in the mid-19th century there were just two house clusters marked along Cregboy road on the First Edition Ordnance Survey 6-inch Sheet. The remainder of settlement was located on the Galway-Tuam Road at this time. Much of the townland is marked as rough grazing in small parcels of land. No minor placenames were recorded within the townland at this time.

Our work in the townland during 2020 identified 24 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 Pat Coen, Marie Dempsey and Seoirse Morris from John and Tom Fahy and from Martin Giles. The placenames collected refer to fields, wells, rocks, houses, trees, ringforts, sites associated with the War of Independence, and other elements of the local landscape.

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.