Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

RENEWED INTEREST IN TOWNLAND PRESERVATION WELCOMED: CLLR BURNS.

Published: 18 June, 2009

Sinn Fein Councillor Colman Burns has said he is delighted that the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure appears to be showing a renewed interest in saving the historic Irish townland names.

Councillor Burns continued, " People were discouraged from using townland names after the postcode and road names were introduced in the late 1970s.

Unfortunately, as this new practise became widely used, the townland name was used less and less with the fear that the whole knowledge of the names and the boundaries would be lost forever.

Thankfully, people like Una Walsh and Kevin Murphy in Mullaban and the Camloch Historical Society had the vision to, not only identify the boundaries, in their parts of South Armagh, by way of named stone markings, but also and more importantly, they involved the pupils of the local primary schools in the projects thereby handing down the knowledge and importance of the townlands to a younger generation."

"Following the recent seminar in Stormont by DCAL, which is to be welcomed, I have asked that our Council write to the Department urging them to provide funding for Community projects to identify and promote the townland names throughout the North. The Government has a duty to do whatever is needed to promote and preserve this important part of our culture."