Westmeath Field Names Pilot Recording Project – ‘The Story So Far'

A talk and exhibition titled ‘The Story So Far’ heard that more than 100 field names have been recorded in one parish alone, in recent months.

Hosted at Clonkill GAA Club on Tuesday, and part of Heritage Week, ‘The Story So Far’ gave updates on the Westmeath Field Names Recording Project.

Dr Aengus Finnegan, the project co-ordinator and a lecturer in Irish in the University of Limerick with a special interest in Irish placenames, said: “In the last couple of months the volunteers in Taghmon parish have recorded the names of over 100 fields across several townlands.

“A group in the parish of Drumraney joined the project a couple of weeks ago and have recorded almost 20 names there already.” 

Aengus went on to explain the meanings of some of the names recorded.

“There are a couple of fields called ‘Slang’. This is an old English dialect word referring to a long narrow strip of land. 

“Knockbrack or ‘Cnoc Breac’ means ‘speckled hill’ and it is an interesting name because the hill it refers to is almost gone, and if we look at 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps, we can see that at that time the area was being dug for sand, which might be why the hill had a speckled appearance.”

The exhibition featured 25-inch OS maps and aerial photographs of various townlands in Taghmon, showing the field names that have been recorded there. 

“The idea was to show some of the results so far, and to encourage people to help fill in the gaps by writing in the names of the other fields if they knew them,” said Westmeath heritage officer, Melanie McQuade. 

“I’m delighted to see that it worked! We recorded several more names in this way.” 

There were also several photographs in the exhibition, “Clare Dunne, one of the volunteers from Taghmon parish, lent us some lovely pictures of her family working in the fields over the years,” said Melanie.

“It would be great to see some more photos of life in the fields years ago.”

“It’s not just the names of the fields we are interested in. Names of features such as wells, stony patches or boggy ground can tell us a lot too,” said Aengus. 

“As the names are recorded we are adding them to the website https://meitheal.logainm.ie/westmeath-field-names/ and later we plan to compile them in a booklet.”

Melanie explained that the project is being supported by the Heritage Council and Westmeath County Council. 

She said: “It’s great to see that interest in the project is spreading. Last week I had a call from a man who had heard about the project and wanted to record the names of his fields. 

“We would be delighted to hear from other people who are interested in recording their field names.” 

You can find out more about the project on the website http://aengusfinnegan.ie/field-names/ or twitter https://twitter.com/NamesField. 

Alternatively, get in touch with Aengus Finnegan: fieldnames@aengusfinnegan.ie or Heritage Officer Melanie McQuade: heritage@westmeathcoco.ie.

Dr Aengus Finnegan, project co-ordinator, and Brigid Mayes, co-ordinator for the Taghmon area, at the exhibition ‘The Story So Far’, in Clonkill on Tuesday.