Cormeen

Geography

Cormeen is bounded by the following townlands, on the north by Lecharrownahone, on the east by Agharaskilly, on the south by Killarah and on the west by Crossmakelagher. One would expect Cormeen to belong to Templeport parish and Tullyhaw barony as do the other surrounding townlands which lie on the west bank of the Shannon-Erne Waterway. However in medieval times when the parish and barony boundaries were fixed, the river was at a much higher level than now and ran north between the two hills in the townland as far as the present day R205 road (Ireland). It then diverted back around the eastern hill in a southerly direction towards the present day course. Traces of the old river bed can be seen in the low-lying boggy ground along the road. Cormeen in medieval times was divided into two separate townlands. The part on the west bank of the river was called Ardagh (Irish Ard Ath meaning the High Ford) and the part to the east of the river was named Cormeen. The river level fell in modern times due to drainage and canalisation which caused it to divert along its current course, thus placing part of Cormeen on the west bank. Cormeen was thus too small to exist as a townland and was merged with Ardagh to form the present townland. However as it had always belonged to Kildallan parish it remained part of same thus giving rise to the anomaly. The Plantation of Ulster 1609 Baronial Maps of Tullyhaw and Tullyhunco show the river dividing Cormeen and Ardagh. Until the canalisation of the Woodford River in the 1850s, there was a ford across the river linking Cormeen and Killarah which was used by the inhabitants of Cormeen for passing to the large bog on the south side of the Woodford.

Its chief geographical features are the Shannon-Erne Waterway which flows north along its southern and eastern boundaries, and several small drumlin hills reaching to an altitude of 265 feet above sea-level. Cormeen is traversed by the R205 road (Ireland), some minor lanes and the disused Cavan and Leitrim Railway. The townland covers 200 acres, including 3 acres of water.

History

The earliest surviving mention of the townland is on the 1609 Plantation of Ulster map of the barony of Tullyhunco, where it is spelled Corume. In the 1655 Down Survey map it is spelled Cormeen.

In the Plantation of Ulster by grant dated 23 June 1610, along with other lands forming the Manor of Calva, King James VI and I granted "one poll of Cormine otherwise Ardagh to Hugh Culme". In the same year Culme surrendered his interest to Walter Talbot of Ballyconnell. In an inquisition of King Charles I held at Cavan on 20 September 1630 it stated that James Talbott of Beallaconnell owned the townland of "Cormyny alias Ardagh, containing one poll", having received it as part of the Ballyconnell estate on the death of his father Walter Talbot on 26 June 1625. Talbot’s land was confiscated in the Cromwellian Settlement and on 6 November 1666 the lands of Cormeene containing 78 acres &1 rood was granted to Sir Tristram Beresford, 1st Baronet at an annual rent of £1-1s-1½d.

By a grant from King Charles II to said Sir Tristram Beresford the said lands of Cormeene were created as part of the Manor of Beresford.

The Tithe Applotment Books for 1827 list the following tithepayers in the townland: Finnegan, Albert, Freehill, Reilly, Bows, Creighton, Pennell, Veitch.

Griffith's Valuation of 1857 lists four occupiers in the townland.

In the 1901 census of Ireland, there are seven families listed in the townland.

In the 1911 census of Ireland, there are eight families listed in the townland.

In the Dúchas Schools' Collection, a story by John Murphy, Derryliffe, in 1938 relates a ghost story that occurred in Cormeen. In the same collection is a description of Cormeen in 1938 by the O'Reilly family of Cormeen.

Antiquities

The historic sites and objects in the townland include: two medieval ringforts, one of which has since been levelled; a medieval enclosure, since levelled; during the excavation of the Woodford canal in the 1840s, an 8th-century copper-alloy brooch-pin was found called the Cormeen Brooch which is now in the Royal Irish Academy; also during the excavation of the Woodford canal in the 1840s, a Bronze Age socketed-axe was found 4 feet below the bed of the canal in Cormeen. It is now in the National Museum of Ireland. and a Celtic carved stone head was found digging potatoes in the townland and is now in the possession of the McGovern family of Cormeen.