Leitra () 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

Corlough Corlough () is a Roman Catholic parish situated in the Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland. It derives its name from Corlough townland, in which the parish church is situate. It formed part of the larger parish of Templeport until 1877 ...

and barony of Tullyhaw.

Geography

Leitra is bounded on the north by

Corlough townland Corlough () is a parish in County Cavan, Ireland. It lies in the Roman Catholic parish of Corlough and barony of Tullyhaw. Geography Corlough is bounded on the north by Tullytrasna townland, on the west by Corrachomera townland, on the south ...

, on the west by Corrachomera townland, on the south by Cartronnagilta townland and on the east by Cornacleigh townland. Its chief geographical features are the

River Blackwater, County Cavan The River Blackwater ( ga, Abhainn Dubh) rises in the Cuilcagh Mountains, in the townland of Gowlan, Parish of Killinagh, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan. It then flows in a south-east direction and ends in Ballymagauran Ballymcgovern (, h ...

, mountain streams and spring wells. Leitra is traversed by minor public roads and rural lanes. The townland covers 83 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. Lowther Kirkwood of Mullinagrave, parish of Templeport, Co. Cavan, gentleman made the following will: A map of the townland drawn in 1813 is in the National Archives of Ireland, Beresford Estate Maps, depicts the townland as ''Letera'' and the owner as ''The Lord Primate'', the lessee as Mr. Kirkwood'' and the tenant as Patrick Grac

The Tithe Applotment Books for 1826 list eleven tithepayers in the townland. The Leitra Valuation Office Field books are available for September 1839. In 1841 the population of the townland was 64 being 34 males and 30 females. There were eight houses in the townland of which one was uninhabited. In 1851 the population of the townland was 45 being 26 males and 19 females, the reduction being due to the

Great Famine (Ireland) The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a h ...

. There were six houses in the townland and all were inhabited.

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 six landholders in the townland. In 1861 the population of the townland was 27, being 16 males and 11 females. There were five houses in the townland and all were inhabited. In 1871 the population of the townland was 38, being 19 males and 19 females. There were seven houses in the townland and all were inhabited. (page 296 of census) In 1881 the population of the townland was 36, being 24 males and 12 females. There were six houses in the townland, all were inhabited. In 1891 the population of the townland was 38, being 23 males and 15 females. There were six houses in the townland, all were inhabited. In the 1901 census of Ireland, there are six families listed in the townland. In the 1911 census of Ireland, there are six families listed in the townland.''Census of Ireland 1911''
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Antiquities

# The site of a 19th century hedge-school. The 1930s Dúchas folklore collection states- ''In Leitra a school was held in a sheltered place behind a ditch. The ditch served as a back wall, and a mud wall was built on each side of that, but then a man who lived near the place gave the teacher an old barn built of mud, and he and his pupils studied there for years.'' # Stepping stones over the river

References

External links

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