placenamesLegaghory
Log an Choire
Moses Carson's smithy and a survey made as Craigavon developed preserve glimpses of Legaghory's earlier working and domestic life.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Log an Choire · Irish · main form · validated name
- Legaghory · English · main form
Place & story
Moses Carson and the forge
Craigavon Historical Society recorded the life of Moses Carson, a blacksmith who eventually established his home and forge at Legaghory. Born at nearby Corcreaney in 1873, he apprenticed to Joseph Ward at Gibson's Hill before opening his own smithy there in 1894. Horses hauling basalt from Solomon McIlwaine's quarry supplied work, alongside the making of farm gates, ploughs and harrows. After more than twenty years at the hill, Carson bought property in Legaghory and moved his business there. [2]
A workplace and gathering place
Carson's Legaghory smithy also served as a neighbourhood meeting place, hosting evening conversation and local wedding parties. His house, originally built with mud walls and a thatched roof, was partly rebuilt and extended, with slate replacing the thatch. He died in 1968, aged ninety-five. His family subsequently moved to Lurgan, and the house was removed for new development: a specific household history within the wider transformation brought by Craigavon. [2]
Recording the older townland
An Ulster Architectural Heritage Society survey prepared in 1969 recorded another aspect of the older landscape. A Legaghory farm dwelling had a loft above its single storey, added gable chimneys and a rear outshot. Two bays retained thatch while a western bay had slate at a different level. The survey also listed a rath in the townland, comparing its form and entrance with the better-preserved double-banked example at Lisnamintry. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Armagh
- Barony
- Oneilland East
- Civil parish
- Shankill
- Coordinates
- 54.45057, -6.38104 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 136052 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Legaghory. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The Blacksmith, Review volume 1 number 2, 1970 · S. J. W. Cooper, Craigavon Historical Society
- Historic buildings in the area of Craigavon falling within Craigavon Urban District, pages 8-9 · R. W. Oram, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
- Legahory Centre in the Legaghory area of Craigavon, as photographed in 2014 illustration: based on a Legahory Centre by Dean Molyneaux. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-12-20. How this page was prepared.