Sralahan or The Common 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 of

Tomregan Tomregan ( ga, Tuaim Dreagain, ) is a civil parish in the ancient barony of Tullyhaw. The parish straddles the international border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The largest population centre in the parish is Ballyconn ...

but Roman Catholic Parish of

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 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

Etymology

The townland name Sralahan is an anglicisation of the Gaelic placename "Srath Leathan", which means 'Broad River-meadow'. The reason why it is in two parishes and also why it is called 'The Common', is given in the Ordnance Survey papers of 1835 as follows ''"This land is extra-Parochial and it is not certain whether it belongs to Tomregan or Templeport Parishes. It was formerly a track of waste mountain and was claimed by no particular person, but of late years there has several poor people settled upon it and cultivated about 58 acres which produce oats and potatoes. They are however free from any rent, cess or tithe at the present time. There is a lawsuit at present concerning the townland which until settled it is a matter of doubt whether it belongs to the parishes of Templeport or Tomregan." esc. Rem. "This townland is given to Tomregan. See rGriffith minute 28 Augt 1835" úch dearg''

Geography

It is bounded on the north & east by

Mullanacre Upper Mullanacre Upper is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland. Etymology The townland name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic placename "Mullagh an Acre" which means ‘The Acre of the Summit’. In the 17th ...

townland, on the south by

Moher Moher is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland. Etymology The townland name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic placename "Mothar" which means 'A cluster of trees'. In the 17th century it formed part of C ...

townland and on the west by

Clontycarnaghan Clontycarnaghan () is a townland in the civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Templeport, County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies in the Roman Catholic parish of Templeport and barony of Tullyhaw. Geography Clontycarnaghan is ...

townland. Its chief geographical features are the

Crooked River (Ireland) The Crooked River rises in Loughan Macmartin at the top of Slieve Rushen Mountain, in the townland of Carrowmore, Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland. It then flows in a southerly direction and discharges into the Shan ...

and

Slieve Rushen Slieve Rushen is a mountain which straddles the border between County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. It is also called Slieve Russell or Ligavegra (Also Legavagra, Ligavagra). It has an elevation of 4 ...

mountain, on whose southern slope it lies, reaching an altitude of 1,120 feet above sea-level. The townland is traversed by some mountain lanes. Sralahan covers an area of 207 statute acres.

History

It did not form part of any land grant in the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

and is not shown on the early maps. In 1833 one person in Sralahan was registered as a keeper of weapons- Peter Cassidy. The Sralahan Valuation Office Field books are available for February 1840.

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 the landlord of the townland as Blashford & the tenants as Cassidy, Divine, Kelliher, Reilly, Donohoe and Armstrong.

Census

In the 1901 census of Ireland, there are seven families listed in the townland. In the 1911 census of Ireland, there are seven families listed in the townland.http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cavan/Ballyconnell/Sralahan__or_The_Common_Townland/ ''Census of Ireland 1911''

Antiquities

There are no historic sites in the townland apart from some old stepping-stones across the river.

References

External links

The IreAtlas Townland Data Base
{{coord missing, County Cavan Townlands of County Cavan