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CARNAUN NATIONAL SCHOOL  

Carnaun (Carnán)  
    I live in Carnaun. The name "Carnán" means a high stony place and if you stick a fork in the ground anywhere in Carnaun it will hit a stone. Carnaun is thousands of years old. There are three houses in Carnaun Village and nine in the rest of the townland. Our school is situated in the centre of the townland. It was built in 1891 on a site given by Walter Peter Lambert of Castle Ellen. Mary Rabbitt was the tenant at the time. 
   On top of a hill in Coen's field there is the ruins of an old Norman castle. It was part of the defences of Athenry. In later years it was used by the monks from the priory in Athenry as a summer house as they owned 300 acres of land nearby at one time. 
Just behind our school there is a Norman keep. The people here always called it 'the ringfort' but it is really a moated site in which once stood a tower house or maybe a 'hall house' like the one in Kilskeagh called 'the Witches Castle'. You can still see the dungeon. Just beside the Norman Keep there are remains of what the old people called "the oldest church in the Diocese of Tuam ". Long ago there was a pathway from our village over to the Turloughmore Road.It is marked on the old maps.It went from the "Common" in Carnaun Village to the "old Forge " near the now Cronin's house. 
There is a 'lisheen' or children's burial ground in Kennedy's land. In places you can still see the potato ridges from famine times. Carnaun is about 200 ft. above sea level. 
Marion 

Athenry (Baile Átha 'n Rí)  
    My name is Lorna. I live in Athenry. Baile Átha 'n Rí- means the Town of the River Ford.  Some people also call it 'The town of the Kings'. It was also a popular meeting place for the local tribes; the Kellys, the Hynes and the Flahertys. (We have the history of Norman Athenry elsewhere on this website). 

Castle Ellen, St. Ellens, Pollagh, Mountain North, Fahy's Village, Cussaun, Loughaunghan and Knockbrack.   
According to the Book of Survey and Distribution page 258 all of this area was once called Cahire Mc Grenoge. This probaly just means the quater of land owned by Mc Grenoge as the Cromwellians called a parcel of land a 'Quarter'. It was belonging to the "heirs of Martin Browne" and was given to "Oliver Browne and Thomas Bourke" when the the area was planted by the Cromwellians.  

Castle Ellen (Caisleán Eílíse)  
    Castle Ellen, teacher thinks, may have been part of St. Ellen's long ago. It was called Castle Browne at one stage and when it was bought fron Browne of Coolarne its name was changed to Castle Ellen. Elizabeth Lambert who was born here was Edward Carson’s mother. Later he became Prime Minister of North of Ireland . He came with his young friends to Castle Ellen House for the summer holidays when he was young. Oscar Wilde was one of those who came with him in their early days in Trinity College. Edward played hurling with the local team Cussaun and afterwards tried to introduce it to the students of Trinity College. Locally he was known as Ned. 
                                        
Marcella 
   
St. Ellens  
    We got an 1838 map of our area and studied it closely. We found out where St Ellens house was. The Lamberts -(Walter Peter) who built the new house in Castle Ellen lived there he left the medieval castle of Castle Ellen because it was geting drafty and later he built the new Castle Ellen House.                                                                           
Eoin 
   
Pollach (Pollach)  
    Pollach means a land full of pits and holes.   
My house is built in the town land of Pollach where there are four houses on one road and three on the other. There is a pond in Pollach, which is commonage where the local farmers once watered their cattle in the summertime.  
Mary 

Mountain North.(Sliabh Ó Thuaigh) 
A "mountain" means a rough uncultivated area. In the Athenry area we have Mountain North, Mountain West and Mountain South. The railway divides Mountain North from Ballydavid. 
Cathal Fahy. 

Fahy's Village  Yet to come? 

Cussaun (Casán)In Irish this means 'pathway'.  
In the 1838 Ordanance Survey map we saw - Cussaun, In Ruins- it may have been a medieval castle or hall house or tower house. When we studied Antony Raftery the poet he mentioned in his poem 'Tomás ÓDálaigh' about Cussaun Liam Deois. Liam Deois or Joyce was a highway man and this Cussaun in ruins may have been his hideout. There were about forty houses in Cussaun in 1838. Then came the great famine and now there are only seven houses. At the crossroads on the coner there was a pub (sheebín) with its front wall and gable-end  directly on the  crossroads. This is probably where Edward Carson and his local friends went for a drink after their hurling matches. I'm sure Aontoine Raiftearaí spent some time here also as he was 'partial to a drop' and entertained the locals with his music and songs. There may have been a 'Leacht cuimhneaeháin' (See Leacht Oliver Browne) at Cussaun Crossroads. A stone found there when the road was being widened was incribed -'Pray for the soul of Seaghan Coyne ---. This stone is now kept safely at Frank Coyne's house in Park. 
                                                                                                                                   Cathal       

Knockbrack  (Cnoc Breac)   
    My name is Martha. I live in Knockbrack which  means the brown hill.   
On our road we have we have other townlands; Belville Caraun, Lochán na hÉIneachán and Cnoc Bán. In these townlands the people living there usually say they live in Knock Brack.    

Ballybacka   (Baile Bacach)  
    We are not sure about the meaning of this name. Baile is a townland, bacach is an invalid (from the war) .   
It might have been called after wounded soldiers or it could be a place of hinderance: (the haunt of highway men).   
Eileen  
   

Peakroe  (Peicrua)  
    Peicrua means The red hill.   
Some of the clay was a reddish colour. Some of the herbage there was red also.  
Michelle 
   

Cahertymore  (Cathair ‘n Tí Mhóir)   
    At least six thousand years ago Cahertymore which was a stone ringfort was built by the Pagans. Ringforts were not simple to build but it was easy to find stones.   
Rebecca  
  

Maunbawn   
    Maunbawn (Moínban) Talamh bán is a term for uncultivated land. The land was uncultivated for a few years so the grass had a white colour. It is an Old Irish name.   
Christian Tracey.   
    
   

Sheeaun Park  (Cnoc a’ tSíodhán)   
    Cnoc a’ tSíodhán means The Hill of Pagan Festivals. The name is about 6,000 years old. The Celts held festivals about four times a year and sacrifices of cattle, sheep and other animals were made to their gods. Part of it was renamed Sheeaun Park when the Brownes settled in Mount Browne.   
Martin Browne. 
   

Castle Lambert  (Caisleán Lambert) Originally Aughrim Park  
- See Carnaun Yearbook!  Marita 
   

 Palmerstown (Baile Phamair)   
Long ago in the Middle Ages people went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land to see Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. They brought back palm branches as souvenirs and then they were called Palmers. When they arrived back the place they settled in was very often called Palmerstown. Sometimes they preached the good news on the return journey and spent the rest of their lives at it. Palmerstown is a very common name, we have one in our parish, I know of one in Dublin and one of our many  E-mails came from Palmerston North in New Zealand. Marilyn Bane.  

BAILE ÁTHA 'N RÍ