Lilliput (or Nure) is a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is located five miles (8 kilometres) south of

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...

and lies at the southern end of

Lough Ennell Lough Ennell () is a lake near the town of Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. It is situated beside the N52 road, off the Mullingar/ Kilbeggan road. The lake is part of the Lough Ennell Special Protection Area. It is long by wide, with an ...

. Lilliput covers an area of 244

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s and was recorded with a population of 22. Lilliput is one of 11 townlands 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Dysart, in the

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Moycashel Moycashel (), previously the barony of Rossaughe, and before that, Delamares country, is a barony in south County Westmeath, in Ireland. It was formed by 1542.

. It lies in the

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

of Middleton of the Longford-Westmeath constituency (formerly of the Westmeath constituency. Lilliput is associated with

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

, writer of

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

. Local tradition states that Swift was in a boat on the lake, and when he looked back to shore he noticed how small the people looked at that distance. This was the inspiration for the diminutive Lilliputians, who feature in his most famous book ''

''. Lilliput at the time was called "Nure": however after the publication of ''Gulliver's Travels'' locals began to refer to the lakeshore as "Lilliput". The name stuck and the area was renamed during the 18th century.Discover Ireland – The Belvedere Trail
: retrieved 23 September 2020 There is also an early Christian association, in that St. Patrick's sister, Lupita, is known to the Lilliput area, which may also recall her name. Lilliput is the site of Lilliput House, built in the 18th century, and now home to the Lilliput Adventure Centre; it lies in what is now the Jonathan Swift Amenity Park. Lilliput House
retrieved 23 September 2020

References

{{reflist Townlands of County Westmeath