Gowlat, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic, 'Gabhla', meaning ''The Forks'' (of the Rivers), 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 ...

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 th ...

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 ...

Geography

Gowlat is bounded on the north by

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 ...

townland, on the west by Corleckagh Lower, Corleckagh Upper and Tullantanty townlands, on the south by

Coppanaghbane Coppanaghbane, an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ‘Copanach Bán’ meaning ''The White Place covered with Dock-leaves'' (probably referring to the white limestone soil), is a townland in the civil parish of Templeport, County Cavan, Ireland. It ...

townland and on the east 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' ...

townland. Its chief geographical features are the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

, the Owenmore River, mountain streams, a wood, a waterfall, gravel pits, a dug well and spring wells. The townland is traversed by the regional

R200 road (Ireland) The R200 road is a regional road in County Leitrim and County Cavan, Ireland. Going from west to east, the route connects the towns of Drumkeeran, Dowra, Glangevlin and Derrynacreeve. En route it crosses the R207 at Dowra, is joined by the ...

, minor public roads and rural lanes. The townland covers 302 statute acres. The junction of the Shannon and Owenmore rivers is called ''Nixon's Hole''.

History

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. A deed dated 28 July 1720 between Morley Saunders and Richard Hassard spells the name as ''Golagh'' and states the tenant of the townland was ''Tiernan Dolan''. A deed dated 13 Nov 1738 includes: ''Golvolts''. The 1790 Cavan Carvaghs list spells the name as ''Galwolt''. The Tithe Applotment Books for 1826 list eleven tithepayers in the townland. The Gowlat 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 eleven landholders in the townland. The Police Gazette states that- ''on the night of 29 March 1863, the following were stolen from the lands of Dolan, Gowlat, parish of Templeport, and barony of Tullyhaw, (a) A wether, one year old. (b) A ewe, one year old; both speckled black about the head; in good condition and value for £2 10s''. In the 19th century the landlord of Gowlat was the Annesley Estate. Two fairy stories set in Gowlat are found in the 1938 Dúchas collection.

Census

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

Antiquities

# There was a hedge-school in ''Golagh'' in 1826. The teacher was Michael Dolan who was paid £9 per annum. The school was held in the teacher's house. There were 57 pupils of which 32 were boys and 25 were girls. # Gowlat National School (Roll No. 12,929). A new national school was built in the 1830s and closed in the early 1900s. In 1886 there was one male teacher, a Roman Catholic. There were 65 pupils, 39 boys and 26 girls. In 1890 there were 2 teachers and 89 pupils at the school. The teachers and pupils were all Roman Catholic. # A sweathouse. The 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan' (Site No. 1870) describes it as- ''Marked on OS 1836 ed. Not marked on subsequent eds. Situated in rough mountainous terrain adjacent to a stream and waterfall. No visible remains at ground level''. # A ford over the stream. # A foot-bridge over the Owenmore River # Stepping-stones over the streams # A foot-stick over the stream

References

External links

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