Local Historian Endeavors to Preserve Townland Heritage

Local historian Una Walsh, originally from south Armagh, is dedicated to a mission of safeguarding the significance of townlands and fostering a deeper appreciation for their importance among younger generations. She stated, “If we only talk about townlands, history and heritage to the older generation who already know about it, then we’re at risk of losing it forever.” Walsh has contributed to the creation of a series of brief, animated videos designed for schools, which explore historical narratives, heritage, and folklore in an easily understandable format. Townlands are defined as small geographical areas rooted in ancient Irish land divisions, with many predating the introduction of the English language to Ireland. Una Walsh commented, “Half the battle is making it relatable, so when you have these amazing mythology stories and place names portrayed in a cartoon, your foot is in the door.” She further explained, “For example, one of the animations tells the story of the giant Finn McCool and places him in real life locations and landscapes, that the children would recognise.” “In another video we look at place names and townlands and you are transported to those places through beautiful aerial drone footage,” she continued. Following the 17th-century Plantation of Ulster, numerous townlands were documented using English spellings, resulting in anglicised versions. Approximately 62,000 townlands exist throughout the island of Ireland. A decision was made in Northern Ireland in 1972 to decrease the usage of townland names and implement a system of rural road naming. Recent years have seen campaigns emerge to preserve the original names of townlands, driven by the implementation of postcodes and advancements in technology. For instance, Una Walsh participated in a south Armagh initiative where stones in certain localities were marked with townland names. The recently released animated videos are components of a Living History project, an initiative by the Rural Health Partnership, which received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Una Walsh stated, “Townland names carry with them so much history and mythology, so it’s important that our young people know about them and carry on the tradition.” She added, “So I’m really excited to see the impact these animations could have.” These animations were presented at a recent Rural Gathering conference, held at Pomeroy Forest Park in County Tyrone. The Rural Community Network organized the event, with Emma McAleer serving as the project co-ordinator. McAleer remarked, “An event like this is about creating a space for rural people to come together, to connect, to learn and to share ideas.” Discussions at the conference also encompassed the history and enduring legacy of Lough Neagh. In the previous year, Lough Neagh, recognized as the UK’s largest freshwater lake, experienced significant blooms of potentially toxic blue-green algae. This body of water provides approximately half of Belfast’s drinking water and around 40% of Northern Ireland’s total supply. Gary McErlain, a seventh-generation fisherman on the lough, experienced these effects intensely. He delivered a presentation at the conference concerning Lough Neagh Stories. This project endeavors to move past recent news headlines and instead highlight the heritage, myths, and legends associated with the lough. Gary McErlain commented, “Understandably, last year all you heard about was the disaster around Lough Neagh, but at the end of the day there’s an indigenous community that lives around the lough shore, and when the news cameras left we were still there.” He continued, “We know and love the lough and Lough Neagh Stories is about instilling the essence of that and sharing it with others.” He further stated, “Yes, it was heartbreaking living through the last year with the algae issues, and it still is at times, but it’s important to show too that there’s more to Lough Neagh than blue-green algae.” Now in its second year, the Rural Gathering conference received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for this year’s event. Emma McAleer expressed her hope for the conference to become an annual occurrence. She noted, “To be honest I don’t think there are many places where you can bring together discussions on things like townlands or Lough Neagh’s history.” “So it’s important to continue to create that platform for rural communities, because it’s so rare,” she concluded. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.