‘I want to ensure that city lands are not lost forever’

Una Walsh is a local historian on a mission.

The South Armagh native aims to preserve the meaning behind townlands and bring a better understanding of its importance to a new generation.

“If we only talk about urban lands, history and heritage to the older generation who already know about it, we risk losing it forever,” she said.

She has helped produce a series of short, animated videos for schools that explore stories of history, heritage and folklore in an accessible way.

Townlands are small areas based on ancient Irish land divisions, many of which existed before the arrival of the English language in Ireland.

“Half the battle is making it recognizable, so having these amazing mythological stories and place names portrayed in a cartoon gets your foot in the door,” said Una Walsh.

She added: “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 city areas and you are transported to those places through beautiful aerial drone footage.”

After the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century, many townlands were written down in English spelling, creating an Anglicized form.

There are approximately 62,000 townlands spread across this island of Ireland.

In 1972, the decision was made in Northern Ireland to reduce the use of town names and introduce rural road names.

This has been the case in recent years due to the introduction of postal codes and technology campaigns to save the original names of citylands.

For example, Una Walsh has been involved in a project in south Armagh where stones have been found in some areas with town names.

The latest animated videos are part of a Rural Health Partnership Living History project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Una Walsh said: “Cityland names carry so much history and mythology, so it is important that our young people know them and carry on the tradition.

“So I’m really excited to see what impact these animations can have.”

The animations were shown at a recent Rural Gathering conference at Pomeroy Forest Park in County Tyrone.

The event was organized by the Rural Community Network and Emma McAleer was the project coordinator.

She said: “An event like this is about creating a space for rural people to come together, connect, learn and exchange ideas.”

The conference also discussed the history and legacy of Lough Neagh.

It is a project that aims to go beyond the recent headlines and promote the heritage, myths and legends of the lake.

Gary McErlain said: ‘It’s understandable that you only heard about the Lough Neagh disaster last year, but ultimately there is an indigenous community living around the lakeside and when the news cameras left we were still there.

“We know and love the lake, and Lough Neagh Stories is about teaching its essence and sharing it with others.”

He added: “Yes, it has been heartbreaking to have to deal with the algae problems over the past year, and it still is at times, but it is also important to show that Lough Neagh has more to offer than just blue-green algae. ”

The Rural Gathering conference is in its second year and Emma McAleer hopes it will remain an annual event.

She said: “To be honest, I don’t think there are many places where you can bring together discussions about things like townland or the history of Lough Neagh.

“So it’s important to continue to create that platform for rural communities because it’s so rare.”