Mullinalaghta (;
Irish ''Mullach na Leachta''), also officially referred to as Mullanalaghta, is a half-
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
in the north-eastern part of
County Longford
County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...
,
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 ...
, located about eight kilometres north of
Granard
Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nationa ...
.
Name and topography
Mullinalaghta, in Irish ''Mullach na Leachta'', means "hill of the standing stones (or gravestones)", and is derived from a hill in the centre of the area which was the original site of the local church.
The area consists of eleven
townlands: Aghanoran (''Achadh an Fhuaráin''), Cloonagh (''Cluain Each''), Clooneen (''Cluainín''), Culleenmore (''An Cuilleann Mór''), Derrycassan (''Doire an Chasáin''), Druminacrehir (''Droimeann na Criathrach''), Kilmore (''An Chill Mhór''), Larkfield (''Cluain Fhuiseog''), Leitrim (''Liathdhroim''), Mullinroe (''An Mullán Rua'') and Toome (''An Tom'').
Mullinalaghta is not itself a townland, but is part of the townland of Cloonagh. The area has well-defined boundaries, with
Lough Gowna
Lough Gowna () is a fresh water lake which is the uppermost lake on the River Erne. It is located on the border between County Longford and County Cavan, with the largest part of the lake being in County Longford.
Lough Gowna is a moraine-damme ...
and the
River Erne
The River Erne ( , ga, Abhainn na hÉirne or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border.
...
bounding it to the west and north, the parish of
Mullahoran
Mullahoran ( ga, Mhullach Odhráin – Hilltop of Odhrán) is a townland in southern County Cavan, bordering County Longford, Ireland. It is also the name of a Roman Catholic parish. It is a constituent part of the electoral division and civil ...
in
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 ...
on its eastern border, and a tributary of the Erne, the Clooneen River, separating it from the rest of County Longford on the south.
History
Mullinalaghta formed part of the medieval territory of
Annaly
Annaly is an Irish lordship and former principality, named for its conqueror Angaile, or An Uillin, ancestor of the Ó Fearghail.
The territory of Annaly coincides with modern County Longford and was conquered in the 10th century by An Uillin, ...
, largely corresponding to today's County Longford. It was under the control of the ''Mac Gearadháin'' (Gaynor) family, being referred to in sixteenth century documents as Muntergerran (''Muintir Gearadháin''). Ecclesiastically, it was under the control of the abbey of Inchmore in Lough Gowna, founded by
Saint Colmcille in the 6th century. This was reflected by Mullinalaghta forming part of the civil parish of Columbkille and also being part of the same
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
parish until 1839, when it was joined with the Cavan parish of
Scrabby to its north, with which it has since been united. The area has been hard hit by emigration, with the population declining from a pre-
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
peak of over 3,200, to its present population of less than five hundred.
Tourism and economy
Mullinalaghta's landscape is a combination of rolling
drumlins, lakes, and woodland having earned it the description of "the new
West Cork
West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbe ...
" by the journalist
Mary Kenny. Tourism is important in the area, with Lough Gowna and the river Erne being noted for their
coarse fishing
In Britain and Ireland, coarse fishing (, ) refers to angling for rough fish, which are fish species traditionally considered undesirable as a food or game fish. Freshwater game fish are all salmonids — most particularly salmon, trout and cha ...
. A former landlord's
demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
at Derrycassan on the shore of Lough Gowna has been planted with both
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
and
coniferous
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
trees by the
Irish Forestry Commission, and has been developed by the local community as a tourist attraction with walks and picnic areas. The demesne was owned by the Dopping family, who built a mansion there, reputedly with stones from the medieval abbey on Inchmore. When Derrycassan House was demolished in the 1930s, the stones were bought by the local community to be used to build a new Catholic church in the parish.
The area is mainly agricultural, with dairy and drystock cattle farming and sheep farming predominating. The main centre of population is in the adjacent townlands of Cloonagh and Larkfield, which contains the Roman Catholic Church (erected in 1939) and a graveyard including the site of an earlier church from 1832, as well as facilities such as a primary school, post office (closed in 2018), community centre, and a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
.
Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
is the main sport in the area, and
Mullinalaghta St Columba's is the local club. Founded in 1889, the club was the first from Longford to win a Leinster Club Senior Football title in 2018.
Notable people
*
Larry Cunningham
Larry Cunningham (13 February 1938 – 28 September 2012) was an Irish country music singer, who was one of the leading figures of the showband scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Cunningham accomplished a series of "firsts" during his career. In 1964 ...
, a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer
[ ]
References
County Longford
{{County Longford