Creea, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic, either ‘Críocha’ meaning ''The Territory or the Boundaries'', or ‘Cré’ meaning ''Clay'', or ‘Croí’ meaning ''The Heart'' or 'Criathar' meaning a ''Sieve'', is a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Templeport Templeport () is a civil parish in the barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland. The chief towns in the parish are Bawnboy and Ballymagauran. The large Roman Catholic parish of Templeport containing 42,172 statute acres was split up in the 18t ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It lies in the Roman Catholic parish of

Glangevlin Glangevlin () is a village in the northwest of County Cavan, Ireland. It is in the townlands of Gub (Glangevlin) and Tullytiernan, at the junction of the R200 and R207 regional roads. It is surrounded by the Cuilcagh Mountains and borders the c ...

and barony of

Tullyhaw Tullyhaw ( ga, Teallach Eathach) (which means 'The Territory of Eochaidh', an ancestor of the McGoverns, who lived ) is a Barony in County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The area has been in constant occupation since pre-4000 BC. Locate ...

. In Scotland, Creea is also an alternative spelling of the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

, 'cridhe', meaning ''heart'' or ''courage'', used as a given name. Road at Creea - geograph

Geography

Creea is bounded on the north by

Corratawy Corratawy, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic, ‘Corr an tSamhaidh’ meaning ''The Round Hill of the Sorrel Herb'', is a townland in the civil parish of Templeport, County Cavan, Ireland. It lies in the Roman Catholic parish of Glangevlin and bar ...

townland, on the west by

Curraghvah Curraghvah, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic, either ‘Currach Bheathach’, meaning ''The Moor of the Birches'', or ‘Currach a’ Mhagh’, meaning ''The Moor of the Plain'', or ‘Currach Mheádh’ meaning ''The Moor of the Spicy Mead Drink' ...

Drumhurrin Drumhurrin, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ‘Droim Shoirn’, meaning ''The Hill-Ridge of the Lime-Kiln or Furnace'', is a townland in the civil parish of Templeport, County Cavan, Ireland. It lies in the Roman Catholic parish of Glangevlin and ...

and

Legnagrow Legnagrow, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic, either 'The Hollow of the Nuts', or 'The Hollow of the Huts or Sheep-Folds', is a townland in the civil parish of Templeport, County Cavan, Ireland. It lies in the Roman Catholic parish of Glangevlin ...

townlands and on the east by

Corneenflynn Corneenflynn, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic, either ‘Coirnín Flann’ meaning ''Flann’s Little Corner'', or Coirnín Uí Fhloinn meaning ''Flynn’s Little Corner'', or Cairnin Uí Fhloinn meaning ''Flynn’s Little Cairn or Cairn-Shaped H ...

and Edenmore townlands. Its chief geographical features are the

Owenmore River (County Cavan) The Owenmore River ( ga, Abhainn Mór, meaning "Big River") rises in the Cuilcagh Mountains, in the townland of Dunmakeever, civil parish of Kinawley, Roman Catholic parish of Glangevlin, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan. It then flows in a nort ...

, mountain streams, woods, a gravel pit and spring wells. The townland is traversed by the regional

R206 road (Ireland) The R206 road is a regional road in Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Gre ...

, minor public roads and rural lanes. The townland covers 318 statute acres.

History

In earlier times the townland was probably uninhabited as it consists mainly of bog and poor clay soils. It was not seized by the English during the Plantation of Ulster in 1610 or in the Cromwellian Settlement of the 1660s so some dispossessed Irish families moved there and began to clear and farm the land. By 1720

Morley Saunders Morley Saunders (1671-1737) was an Irish politician, barrister and landowner. He followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a member of the Irish House of Commons and Prime Serjeant-at-law. He is mainly remembered today as the builder of Sau ...

, was the owner of the townland. By deed dated 24 December 1720 the aforesaid Morley Saunders leased the townland of ''Creeau'', inter alia, to Thomas Enery of

Bawnboy Bawnboy () is a small village and townland in a valley at the foot of Slieve Rushen, between Ballyconnell and Swanlinbar, in County Cavan, Ireland. A synod of the Roman Catholic Provincial Council of Armagh was held in Owengallees, Baunbuidhe ...

for a term of 41 years. A deed dated 13 Nov 1738 includes: ''Crean''. A deed dated 30 April 1740 by Thomas Enery includes: ''Creagh''. A rental of the Annesley Estate dated c.1802 lists the tenant of ''Crea'' as ''Hugh Delacy'', held under a lease for 31 years commencing on 1 May 1774. The Tithe Applotment Books for 1826 list seven tithepayers in the townland. The 1836 Ordnance survey Name books state- ''The soil is of a light gravelly nature''. In the 1836 OS map a small part of the townland to the south was part of

townland but by the 1913 edition this small part had been merged with Creea townland. The 1836 Name Books refers to it as- ''This is a small arable spot containing 8 chains belonging to the townland of Cornaflin. It is in no way connected with Cornaflin being separated from it by Legnagrow and Cray''. The Creea Valuation Office Field books are available for July 1839.

Griffith's Valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examinati ...

of 1857 lists twelve landholders in the townland. The landlord of Creea in the 19th century was the Annesley Estate.

Census

In the 1901 census of Ireland, there are thirteen families listed in the townland. In the 1911 census of Ireland, there are thirteen families listed in the townland.

Antiquities

# Stone bridges over the rivers # Lime-kilns # Creea National School. The Reports from the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland give the following figures for Creea School, Roll No. 3584- 1846: One male teacher who received an annual salary of £14. There were 86 pupils, 54 boys and 32 girls. 1854: One male teacher who received an annual salary of £16. There were 98 pupils, 60 boys and 38 girls. 1862: Francis Maguire was the headmaster and John Magauran was the monitor, both Roman Catholics. There were 98 pupils, all Roman Catholic. The Catechism was taught to the pupils on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm. 1874: The Roll number was changed to 10881. One male teacher who received an annual salary of £24. There were 70 pupils, 36 boys and 34 girls.

References

External links

The IreAtlas Townland Data Base
{{County Cavan Townlands of County Cavan