
Tomkinroad 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 ...
in the civil parish of
Drumlane
Drumlane () is a townland situated near the village of Milltown, area 85.76 hectares (211.93 acres), in County Cavan, Ireland. Drumlane is also the name of the civil parish in which the townland is situated. Saint Columba brought Christianity to ...
, Barony of
Loughtee Lower
Loughtee Lower (), or Lower Loughtee, is a barony in County Cavan, Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded ...
,
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; ) 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 Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
,
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 ...
.
Etymology
The townland name is an anglicisation of a Gaelic placename, the meaning of which is unclear. It could be either ''Tom Chinn Róid'', meaning 'The Bush at the Head of the Road', or ''Tuaim Chinn Róid'', meaning 'The Tomb at the Head of the Road', or ''Tuaim Chinn Ruadh'', meaning 'The Tomb of the Three Redheads', an allusion to the men who killed the Irish hero,
Conall Cernach
Conall Cernach (modern spelling: Conall Cearnach) is a hero of the Ulaid in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He had a crooked neck and is said to have always slept with the head of a Connachtman under his knee. His epithet is normally transl ...
at nearby
Ballyconnell
Ballyconnell () is a town in County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the N87 road (Ireland), N87 national secondary road at the junction of four townlands: Annagh, County Cavan, Annagh, Cullyleenan, Doon (Tomregan) and Der ...
. The earliest surviving mention of the townland is on the 1609 Ulster Plantation map of the Barony of Loughtee, where it is spelled ''Tomchonro''. A 1610 grant spells it as ''Tomchouro''. A 1611 grant spells it as ''Tomchouroe''. The 1654 Commonwealth Survey spells it as ''Tomcherrode''. The 1660 Books of Survey and Distribution spell it as ''Tomkinerode''. The 1661 Inquisitions spell it as ''Temconrode''. The 1790 Cavan Carvaghs list spells the name as ''Tomkinrode''.
Geography

Tomkinroad is bounded on the north by Drumrush townland, on the east by Carrowfarnaghan and Keenaghan townlands, on the south by Clowney townland and on the west by
Ardue
Ardue is a townland in the civil parish of Drumlane, Barony of Loughtee Lower, County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
Etymology
The townland name is an anglicisation of a Gaelic placename, ''Ard Aodha'', meaning 'The Height of Hugh'. The ...
and
Tomassan townlands. Its chief geographical features are Tomkinroad Lough, which contains a wide variety of coarse fish, Holy Lough, which is stocked with rainbow trout, the
Rag River
The Rag River is a river in County Cavan, Ireland. It rises in Mullaghdoo Lough, in the townland of Aghnacreevy, parish of Kildallan, and flows in a north-easterly direction through the lakes of Clonty Lough, Togher Lough, Lough Rud, Aghavoher ...
and a drumlin hill which reaches a height of 210 feet above sea-level. The townland is traversed by minor roads & lanes and the disused
Cavan and Leitrim Railway
The Cavan and Leitrim Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that operated in the south of County Leitrim and the north-west of County Cavan on the northern edge of the Midlands in Ireland; it ran from 1887 until 1959.
Unusually for Ireland, this ...
. Tomkinroad Railway Station and Level Crossing were actually located in Drumrush townland, not in Tomkinroad townland. The area of the townland is 146 acres, including 36 acres of water.
History

An
Ulster Plantation
The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots: ) was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James VI and I.
Small privately funded plantations by wealthy lan ...
grant of the 'Manor of Monaghan', dated 21 June 1610, from King
James VI and I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...
to Sir Hugh Wyrral, a native of Enfield, Essex, England, included one poll of ''Tomchouro''. On 2 December 1628 the Manor of Monaghan, including Tomkinroad, was re-granted to Sir
Edward Bagshawe of Finglas, who then renamed the estate as Castle Bagshaw. Bagshaw's daughter, Anne, married Thomas Richardson of Dublin, son of
John Richardson, bishop of Ardagh, and the marriage settlement dated 28 May 1654 transferred the estate to the married couple. The 1654 Commonwealth Survey states the proprietor of ''Tomcherrode'' was 'Mr Thomas Richardson'. On 7 May 1661 the Richardsons sold part of the estate, including ''Temconrode'', to Major Humphrey Perrott of Drumhome townland, Ballyhaise, County Cavan.
The Tithe Applotment Books for 1833 list the landlord as Reverend William Grattan and the tithepayers as Phillips, Walsh, Walsh and Patterson.
The Ordnance Survey Name Books for 1836 give the following description of Holy Lough in the townland: ''The water contained in this Lough is remarkable clear, it receives no streams but is the source of a small one, its Bottom consists of shels and white marl which are used as manure; Lieut. J. Nixon states that he measured the depth of this Lough...20–30 ft. The water is so highly esteemed for its medicinal qualities in curing cattle they are brought from a considerable distance to it and to those not able to come the water is taken''.
The Tomkinroad Valuation Office Field books are available for October 1838.
Griffith's Valuation of 1857 lists four occupiers in the townland, Phillips, Griffith, Walsh and McGovern.
In June 1921 an IRA volunteer, John McIntyre, was killed when blowing up the house of David Griffith in Tomkinroad.
The 1938
Dúchas
Dúchas, sometimes Dúchas: The Heritage Service, was an executive agency of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands of the Government of Ireland responsible for Heritage management, including:
* natural heritage (including ...
Folklore Collection relates a story about Holy Lough.
A musical march for brass bands is named 'Tomkin Road' after the townland.
Census
In the
1901 census of Ireland
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number)
* One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film
* ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film
* ''Dician ...
, there were three families listed in the townland.
In the 1911 census of Ireland, there were four families listed in the townland.
In 1995 there were four families in the townland.
Antiquities
# Tomkinroad Creamery. Founded on 22 February 1898 as an auxiliary branch of
Killeshandra
Killeshandra or Killashandra () is a small town or village and civil parish in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located west of Cavan Town. Killeshandra town has a long record of participation in the National Tidy Towns competition and has won ...
Co-Op. In 1950 the original site at Tomkinroad Railway station was replaced by a new site on the land of William Goodwin and was finally closed in the 1970s. The managers were John Fitzpatrick 1898–1930; Dick Johnston 1930-1940 & Paddy Reilly 1940–1970.
# Tomkinroad House, built c.1900.
# A medieval crannóg in Holy Lough (Site number 1606, page 189, Tomkinroad townland, in "Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan", Patrick O’Donovan, 1995, where it is described as: ''Not marked on any OS ed. Oliver Davies in his National Museum of Ireland Survey of 1942 described an apparently artificial promontory rising about 0.3m above the water-level and jutting into Holy Lough in the Tomkin Road area. He noted that at the west the promontory was composed entirely of peat. At the east he identified a grey sandy clay at about 0.15m below water-level, and slight traces of a habitation layer at water-level containing charcoal and burnt and unburnt bones.'')
References
Sources:
McGuinn, J., ed. (1995). 'Staghall : A History 1846–1996'. Cavan: A Church Committee Publication.
External links
The IreAtlas Townland Data Base
{{County Cavan
Townlands of County Cavan