Fingal Field Names Project Update
September 2019
The Fingal Field Names Project has gone from strength to strength in recent months. New groups and communities have embraced the project, it has featured in the national media and a very enjoyable get-together took place during National Heritage Week 2019.
The project was initiated by Fingal County Council’s Heritage Department in 2018 with the aim of training local volunteers to record field names, a very important part of our rural and agricultural heritage. Field names have existed for centuries and can tell us much about local history, folklore and rural life in times past.
‘Stories from the Fields of Fingal’ took place in the Strand Bar, Rush during National Heritage Week in August. A large crowd gathered to hear stories and tales from Fingal’s past from those who had been out and about gathering field names. One of the highlights of the evening was a letter read by David O’Connor of Ballyboughal Historical Society. This came from Tim Crowley, a former resident of Ballyboughal who emigrated to the UK many years ago. Now 90 years of age Tim was able to recall the names of 25 fields he had worked in during his youth.
Stories like this were also brought to the fore in the national media. Nuacht TG4 carried a feature on the Fingal Field Names project in July which highlighted a field called Raheens. This field name is of particular interest as it derives from the Gaeilge – ‘ráithín’ meaning ‘little rath’. According to local tradition, a small mound in this field had been a burial place for unbaptised children.
Other interesting field names and stories have emerged thanks to the research and local knowledge of volunteers. Gull’s Gulf in Roscall is a low-lying field where seagulls take shelter during stormy weather. The Engine Gap in Walshestown is so called because in the early days of farm mechanisation a new entrance was made to the field to facilitate access by a threshing machine. Sheridan’s Big Field in Kinsaley was known for its abundance of shamrock, so much so that street traders from Dublin descended on the field annually in the run up to St. Patrick’s Day.
With training now completed, the focus is now on getting as many field names as possible recorded over the coming weeks. A gathering will take place in the Council Chamber, Fingal County Council offices, Swords on Tuesday evening, October 1st at 7pm to review progress. People can bring their completed recording sheets with field names on the night. These will be entered into the project database which will help with mapping and further study of these fascinating field names.
To find out more about the Fingal Field Names project, please get in touch with Dr Conor Ryan, through our contact page.
