We’re still collecting field names! John McCullen recently collected 33 new names from three townlands in the south of the county: Labanstown, Parsonstown and Cruisetown. The townlands are between Togher and Clogherhead. Labanstown is in the civil parish of Drumshallon, while Parstonstown and Cruisetown are in the civil parish of Parsonstown.
The townlands have a mix of names of different derivations. Labanstown has a number of Irish-language names: Parcaneasai, Mollys, Ardnacoillian and Mullaghbawn.
The latter three names are topographical names referring to hills or heights. Molly comes from the word mala which means hill slope. Ard refers to a height or a hillock. The meaning of the second part of the word ‘coillian’ is unclear; it could come from cuileann – holly. Mullaghbawn (An Mullach Bán) means the white or lea or grassy hilltop. Parcaneasai probably means the field of the waterfall (eas), possibly referring to a feature on the small stream that borders the field.
Other names here refer to vegetation or crops. The Furry Field in Labanstown is a reference to whins or furze, while the Clover Field in the same townland comes from the agricultural crop.
Cruisetown has two field names that might refer to linen processing: the Bleakey and the Wrench Hole. The first connotes a bleach green and the second, perhaps, a flax retting hole.
Most of the fields in Parstonstown have personal field names, that is, field names that come from people or families. Mullens Field got its name from a man known ‘Poor Patrick Mullen’. According to Andrew J. Collier Mullen ‘lived in the church ruins [in the field] where flagstone graves were visible 50 years ago. He was reputed to have walked into the sea during the great famine’.
The Parsonstown church is a late-medieval parish church. The last person buried there is said to have been the daughter of the Earl of Carlingford.
Pappy Corrigan lived in his eponymous field and ‘left to join the British Army. He was killed at the Battle of the Somme’.
If you would like to contribute please get in touch with Eve at firstname.lastname@example.org.