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Celebrating Ulster's Townlands
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| 21. Legends of Church Sites |
Struel Wells, Downpatrick, Co. Down: EHS
Slawin graveyard, Whealt Co. Fermanagh: Keiran Clendinning |
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fairly common name Templemoyle (townlands in the parishes of
Bovevagh and Banagher) means "bare/roofless church". This was
probably the result of decay, but there is often a picturesque story
that what was built of the church by day was mysteriously torn down by
night, persuading the builders to give up and move the church to a
different site.
Many church sites have holy wells, associated with penitence and healing. At Struel Wells in Co. Down bathhouses had been built to allow men and women to wash in privacy. Pilgrims might place rag offerings on the trees beside a well, as at Cranfield Co. Antrim. The holy well at Dungiven Co. Derry is the water that collects in the moss-grown bullaun stone. |
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The
hollows in bullaun stones are often attributed to the knees of saints
who knelt on them to pray, like St Patrick at La Loo in Co. Antrim. The
holy well of St Conall in Co. Donegal has a knee stone and an
elbow-stone bullaun, and the local townland is Derryleconnell
“oakwood of Conalls’ flagstone”. The bullaun near Antrim round
tower is now called the Witch’s Stane. In this case the story is that a witch jumped from the tower and
her knees sank into the stone. |
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| The
holy well of Tobar Shorcha
in Co. Donegal was named from the old woman who lived beside it and
taught people what prayers to say. It is believed to cure skin diseases,
but has recently been “improved” by the council, to the horror of
local people. They fear the well may move, as it did once before when
mistreated. However the two offerings of socks show it is still visited.
Mills There
were certainly mills in early Ireland, and townland names contain the
Irish term muileann
(Latin molina),
usually anglicised mullen. However, to illustrate the link between place-names and more
recent industrial heritage, the map shows the 108 place-names in
Northern Ireland that contain the English element mill.
Many of the mill buildings have now disappeared. |
Tobar Shorcha, Doochary Co. Donegal: KM
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Darkley Mill, Co. Armagh: Kieran Clendinning |
Cranfield holy well and rag trees, Co. Antrim: Brian McElherron |
Rag tree at Dungiven Priory, Co. Derry: Brian McElherron |
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Distribution map of Mill place-names in N. Ireland. Helen Murphy
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Moss-grown bullaun at Dungiven Priory, Co. Derry: Brian McElherron |
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