Congratulations to our colleagues at Louth Field Names Project who launched their beautiful book in Bellingham Castle on Thursday 13th November. The book is titled ‘The Field Names of County Louth’. For availability details see www.louthfieldnames.wordpress.com or contact Seamus Bellew by e-mail to secretaryclahs@gmail.com.
Tag: News
Buzzing atmosphere at the book launch of ‘The Field Names of County Meath’
There was a great buzz of excitement last Thursday night for the launch of the book ‘The Field Names of County Meath’. Over 300 people attended the event at the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan; many of them had been directly involved in contributing to the project.
As people arrived many of them purchased their copy of the book and then keenly thumbed through the pages to find mentions and photos of their own fields and townlands. The event was a celebration of a lot of hard work, all coming together into a worthwhile end product.
Speakers on the night were John McCullen, Project Chairman; Ciarán Mangan, County Librarian; Tom Hennessy, Chairman Meath Partnership; Eddie Downey, Deputy President of the IFA and John Clancy, President of Meath Archaeological and Historical Society.
The book was launched by Matt Dempsey, from the Irish Farmers Journal.
A theme touched on by all the speakers was the huge contribution that volunteers and voluntary work made to this project. Individual speakers also highlighted aspects of the book that particularly appealed to them such as the photos of forge made gates, the examples of unusual field names and the preservation of farming memories from days gone by.
John McCullen explained how the book is laid out with information on the origins of the project, the project findings, volunteer experiences of doing survey work, a variety of townland maps, articles by contributors with specialist expertise and a sizable selection of photographs.
The book has over 400 pages in full colour. At this size it is not intended that a reader will read it from cover to cover in one sitting. It is a book that the reader can dip in and out of and refer back to. Great time and effort has gone into preparing this book to ensure a top quality publication. Frances Tallon of Meath County Council Library Service was the main editor of the book. In keeping with the ethos of the Steering Group to support local enterprise, the graphic design work was done by Anú Design, Tara. Great praise is due to Karen Carty and Terry Foley for their meticulous design work. The book was printed by Anglo Printers in Drogheda, also a very professional job.
The group hopes that the book strikes a good blend and balance; and indeed that it will lead to readers appreciating Meath fields and their names in a whole new light. The book has been very well received to date. It has been described as ‘a beauty that will be treasured in many’s the home.’ Hundreds of photos of Meath fields and interesting features in those fields are distributed throughout the book. Many people were involved in taking this beautiful and well observed photos, each photographer is credited.
Hundreds of volunteers around the County have helped with this project and many of them attended the book launch to see results of their work. Voluntary work was the foundation of this project. It could not have happened without the hundreds of helpers who gathered the field names and contributed in so many ways to the success of the project. This book launch marks the culmination of over three years of voluntary work. One Dublin person who attended the launch commented that the project ‘demonstrates the importance of grassroots in every sense.’
Meath Field Names Project was developed and managed by a committed voluntary steering group chaired by John McCullen. Project secretary Oliver Ward has given the project a huge commitment from the early days. The book has been compiled by Joan Mullen, Project Co-ordinator. The Steering Group has 18 members from all around the County.
The principal project funder has been Meath Partnership through the Leader Rural Development Programme. The FBD Trust was the main benefactor of the project and gave generous matching funding in the early stages of the project making it possible to proceed with Leader applications. The project has also received financial support from the Heritage Council and a range of Meath contributors. The three partner organisations in the project are Meath County Council Library Service, Meath IFA and Meath Archaeological and Historical Society.
The Meath Field Names Project is the first of its kind for an entire County in Ireland. As such it is breaking new ground. There are records for just over 24,700 fields on the database – no small achievement! There are still townlands in Meath where the field names have not been gathered and surveyed. If more resources become available in the future it may be possible to complete the work. People interested in surveying townlands not already covered are invited to contact the project through the website. It is hoped that the project will be replicated in other Counties, several are already showing interest.
The first part of the project website is now live at www.meathfieldnames.com. An interactive mapping feature will be added to the website in the next 2 months that will enable the browser to look at field names in all townlands surveyed and drill down into all the information within the project database.
The book will be of great interest to many people including Meath people living abroad. It is now available to buy for €20 at all branches of Meath library. It will also be available in some local shops and through members of the project Steering Group. For more detailed information on outlets stocking the book check the news section of the website www.meathfieldnames.com. For people outside County Meath interested in obtaining a copy of the book, it is available to order online through www.kennys.ie.
Our book is available on sale at:
– www.kennys.ie for people outside Meath and abroad
– From Sep. 2014 the book is also available from a second online seller – www.farmersjournal.com/store
– All branches of Meath Library [Navan, Ashbourne, Athboy, Duleek, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Kells, Nobber, Oldcastle, Rathcairn, Slane & Trim].
– For Christmas 2014 Hodges Figgis in Dawson St., Dublin will carry a small stock of the book.
– Maguire’s Gift Shop at the Hill of Tara
– Tierney’s Newsagents, Trimgate St, Navan
– Antonia’s Bookstore, Navangate St, Trim
– Alfco Agri Store, Newtown, Trim (no longer stocking from Nov. 2014)
– Royal Town & Country Stores, Ardbraccan, Kilmessan (out of stock Nov. 2014)
– Royal County Agri Services, Academy St, Navan
– Oliver Usher’s Auction Rooms, Kells
– McAuley’s Grassmeal Office, Balrath, Kentstown
– Brú na Bóinne / Newgrange Visitor Centre Gift Shop
– Loughcrew Gardens, Oldcastle
– Kraft Kaffe, Oldcastle
– Oldcastle Co-op
– McQuaid’s Pharmacy, Oldcastle
– Slane Farm Supplies, Collon Road, Slane
– Easons, Navan
– Brian O’Donoghue’s Barbers, Enfield
– Sage and Stone, Duleek
– Tara News Newsagents, Dunshaughlin (none in stock as of Nov. 2014)
– NUI Maynooth Bookshop on University Campus
– Maynooth Books, Main St, Maynooth
– Millmount Museum, Millmount, Drogheda
– ABC Books, 12 West St, Drogheda
– R.B. Daly’s Auctioneers, Laurence St, Drogheda
– Waterstone’s, Scotch Hall, Drogheda
– John’s Centra, Platin Rd, Drogheda
– Ardee Bookshop, Ardee, Co. Louth
– An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth
– Fore Coffee Shop, Fore, Co. Westmeath
– From Steering Group members (see ‘About us’ section on site for list)
– On www.kennys.ie for people outside Meath and abroad.
There has been some technical difficulty on the kennys website recently. If the book is not coming up please e-mail desi@kennys.ie or phone 091-709367 and Des Kenny will assist you.
– From Sep. 2014 the book is also available from a second online seller – www.farmersjournal.com/store
– The title of the book is ‘The Field Names of County Meath’
The recommended retail price is €20
We update this list of our stockists regularly.
The first stage of the website for Meath Field Names Project went live in mid February. Over the coming months we will be enhancing and improving this site. We plan to embed an interactive mapping section into the site. A browser will start with a map of Meath; they will be able to zoom in on the part of the County they are interested in. They can then zoom in on their chosen townland. At this point the field names will appear on the fields within the townland. It will be possible for the browser to click on any individual field and the details gathered about that field (history, features, folklore etc) will pop up. We are working on this at present.
We will officially launch this website shortly after our book publication in July / August of this year. We would appreciate if any local history and Meath related sites could create links through to our site.
Meath Field Names Project Steering Group has pleasure in inviting all interested people to the launch of the book
‘The Field Names of County Meath’
at the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan
on Thursday 27th June at 7.30 p.m.
The book will be launched by
Mr. Matt Dempsey, Irish Farmers Journal
Book Launch – ‘The Field Names of County Meath’ – Pre launch press piece
The Steering Group of Meath Field Names Project that has been working away for the last few years on gathering the field names of County Meath, their history and their lore has announced that the launch of the much anticipated book ‘The Field Names of County Meath’ will take place on Thursday 27th June at 7.30 p.m. in the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan. The book will be launched by Matt Dempsey from the Irish Farmers Journal.
Information on the origins of the project, the project findings, volunteer experiences of doing survey work, a variety of townland maps, articles by contributors with specialist expertise and a vast range of photographs of Meath are all presented in this publication. The book has over 400 pages in full colour. Great time and effort has gone into preparing this book to ensure a top quality publication. ‘The Field Names of County Meath’ will be a valuable addition to Meath’s local history publications. The group hopes that the book strikes a good blend and balance; and indeed that it will lead to readers appreciating Meath fields and their names in a whole new light. The hundreds of photos in the book have been contributed by many photographers, both amateur and professional. They greatly enrich the book and draw attention to many unusual features that are unfortunately in decline.
Hundreds of volunteers around the County have helped with this project and many of them will be at the book launch to see the fruits of their labour. Voluntary work was the foundation of this project. It could not have happened without the hundreds of helpers who gathered the field names and contributed in so many ways to the success of the project. Volunteers found the work in gathering Field Names to be sociable and enjoyable. The interest in local history around the County is amazing and we are fortunate to have such a rich heritage. Landowners and farmers love to talk about their fields, they appreciate very much that the ‘old’ field names have been recorded. This book launch marks the culmination of over three years of voluntary work.
Meath Field Names Project was developed and managed by a committed voluntary steering group chaired by John McCullen. Project secretary Oliver Ward has given the project a huge commitment from the early days. The book has been compiled by Joan Mullen, Project Co-ordinator and edited by Frances Tallon of Meath County Council Library Service. The principal project funder has been Meath Partnership through the Leader Rural Development Programme. The FBD Trust was the main benefactor of the project and gave generous matching funding in the early stages of the project making it possible to proceed with Leader applications. The project has also received financial support from the Heritage Council and a range of Meath contributors. The three partner organisations in the project are Meath County Council Library Service, Meath IFA and Meath Archaeological and Historical Society.
The Meath Field Names Project is the first of its kind for an entire County in Ireland. As such it is breaking new ground. County Meath has a little over 1,600 townlands. It is a vast area. As some townlands are totally urban and are within towns and villages they were outside the remit of this project. The Meath Field Names Project estimated that 1,400 townlands was its target area. Approximately 850 townlands in Meath have been surveyed by the Meath Field Names Project (making a return of 60% of the 1,400 estimated rural townlands in Meath). There are records for just over 24,700 fields on the database – no mean feat!
Most of these 850 townlands have been fully surveyed. However, there is a percentage of these 850 townlands not fully complete. Of course, this does mean that 40% of the rural townlands in Meath have not been surveyed. If more resources become available in the future it may be possible to complete the work.
The first part of the project website is now live at www.meathfieldnames.com. The project is working on a ‘plug in’ section that will be added to this website. This will enable a person to browse a map of Meath, zoom in on a chosen area, then on a chosen townland. The plan is that when the browser zooms in close the field names will appear on the fields. A browser will then be able to click on the field name and all the other information gathered about the field and stored in the database will come up. Mallon Technology, a company based in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone is assisting the project in completing this work and it will be finalised in the next month or two.
Interested people are most welcome to attend the book launch on Thursday 27th. Copies of the book will be on sale on the night and afterwards at local branches of Meath Library and through steering group members. There will be a special launch price of €15 per book on the launch night, thereafter the book will be sold for €20. For people outside County Meath interested in obtaining a copy of the book, it will be made available through an online supplier, details will be posted on the project website shortly.
For further information contact Joan Mullen, Project Co-ordinator on 087-2077622