Gortoorlan
Gortoorlan 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 "Gort Urlainn" which means ‘The Field of the Spear-Shaft’. An alternative meaning which has been suggested is ‘Field of the Forecourt’. The oldest surviving mention of the name is in the Fiants of Queen Elizabeth I (4813) dated 19 January 1586 where it is spelled Gortoulleran. The 1609 Ulster Plantation map spells the name as Gortooleran[1] and the 1652 Commonwealth Survey spells it as Gortoorlane. The 1659 Down Survey map spells it as Gortourlan.[2] The 1790 Cavan Carvaghs list spells the name as Gorturlan.[3] Ambrose Leet's 1814 Directory spells the name as Gort-orlan.[4].
Geography
It is bounded on the north and east by Mucklagh townland, on the south by Doon (Tomregan) and Derryginny townlands and on the west by Snugborough townland. Its chief geographical features are some mountain streams, a pond on its border with Snugborough and Slieve Rushen mountain, on whose southern slope it lies, reaching an altitude of 900 feet above sea-level. Gortoorlan is traversed by the N87 road (Ireland) and Preaching House Lane. The townland covers 210 statute acres.
History
The owner of the townland in 1586 was Tirlagh McGovern, son of Cormack McGovern and grandson of Edmund McGovern, who received a pardon in the Fiants of Queen Elizabeth I (4813) dated 19 January 1586.[5] It formed part of the Manor of Calva which was granted to Walter Talbot in 1610 as part of the Plantation of Ulster. The 1652 Commonwealth Survey lists the townland as belonging to Captain Gwilliams (i.e. the landlord of Ballyconnell, Captain Thomas Gwyllym). The Hearth Money Rolls of 1664 list the occupiers of Gortoorlan as James Dix, Christopher Hopson and Knoghor McConor.
The Tithe Applotment Books for 1827 list the following tithepayers in the townland- Sturdy, Kelly, Lawrence, Donahy [6]
The Ordnance Survey Name Books for 1836 give the following description of the townland- Gort úrlainn, 'field of the shaft'. North-east of parish. Property of Montgomery. Rent 16 shillings to £1 per arable acre. 50 acres of mountain. Soil gravelly on limestone. No road. Produces oats, flax and potatoes. Poor farmers. A fort towards the south.
Griffith's Valuation of 1857 lists the landlords of the townland as the Annesley Estate and Netterfield & the tenants as Montgomery, Donohoe, Griffin, Kelly, Cochrane, McKenna, Bradshaw, Faris, McCaffrey, McNally, Armstrong and Kane.[7]
In 1861 the population of the townland was 42, being 21 males and 21 females. There were nine houses in the townland, all were inhabited.[8]
In 1871 the population of the townland was 28, being 17 males and 11 females. There were seven houses in the townland, all were inhabited (page 297 of census).[9]
In 1881 the population of the townland was 24, being 16 males and 8 females. There were four houses in the townland, all were inhabited.[10]
In 1891 the population of the townland was 24, being 15 males and 9 females. There were five houses in the townland, all were inhabited.[11]
In the 1901 census of Ireland, there are four families listed in the townland.[12]
In the 1911 census of Ireland, there are five families listed in the townland.[13]
Antiquities
The historic sites in the townland are the remains of an enclosure, probably a ringfort in the south of the townland (Site number 1375, page 164, Gortoorlan townland, "Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan", Patrick O’Donovan, 1995), and an unrecorded mound on Preaching house Lane to the north of O’Brien’s house, which may be a covered cairn or passage-tomb.
