placenamesCloontia
Na Cluainte
Thomas Finn’s memories of Cloontia connect small farming, seasonal migration and the schooldays later celebrated in an award-winning film.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Na Cluainte · Irish · main form · validated name
- Cloontia · English · main form
Place & story
Farming and seasonal migration
Writing in April 1999, Thomas Finn recalled Cloontia’s life in the 1920s. Men often travelled to England after planting potatoes and oats, while women and children tended crops and saved turf at home. Much of the farmland had been reclaimed from bog, and winter work included clearing drains. His account describes a household economy sustained by both local agriculture and earnings from abroad. [2]
The changing home
Finn remembered thatched stone houses with a central living room between two smaller rooms. The hearth supplied cooking, warmth and light, and some kitchens contained a recessed bed. He contrasted these homes with the slated houses and electricity of later decades, recalling how house-building grants in the 1930s and post-war rebuilding changed the appearance and daily routines of the district. [2]
School Days Over
Finn later shared memories of the old Cloontia school with pupils at Saint Colman’s in Derrinabroc. The children recreated scenes for their short film School Days Over. A school account records its success at the 2013 FÍS festival in the Helix, Dublin, where it received the Aileen MacKeogh Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film Making. Finn attended the presentation, bringing the remembered schooldays and their young interpreters together. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Cloontia. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Summary of Cloontia Life,written8April1999 · Thomas Finn
- FÍS Film Festival2013 · Saint Colman’s National School, Derrinabroc; account by Ilana Phillips
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.