placenamesBroadford
Béal an Átha
Broadford’s surrounding landscape preserves a medieval church ruin, an attested snow tradition and a former limestone quarry adapted for trees.
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
- Béal an Átha · Irish · main form · validated name
- Broadford · English · main form
Place & story
The older parish church
Killagholehane church and cemetery lie about two kilometres south of Broadford village. The council’s heritage account dates the surviving church to the fifteenth century, while noting a written reference to a church here in 1209. The adjoining burial ground also contains a republican plot commemorating local deaths during the War of Independence. [2]
A church outlined in snow
The council records a local tradition explaining how a church site was chosen after disagreement among the people. Following prayers, an unexpected July snowfall revealed its outline. The story is associated with the dedication to Our Lady of the Snows, which also belongs to Broadford’s present village church. It is a remembered religious tradition rather than evidence of an exceptional weather event. [2]
Before the limestone church
The diocesan heritage project records local historian Séamus Ó Súilleabhán’s belief that a Mass house stood in Broadford from around the 1820s, before the church built in 1844. The suggested earlier site was at his premises in the village. This qualified identification preserves a local historian’s account of worship before the surviving building. [3]
A quarry planted with trees
A former limestone quarry acquired a different use as Broadford’s arboretum. The 2020 biodiversity survey described it as developed within the disused quarry, with mainly native trees. Its tree-location map documented this reuse of an industrial site as a place for learning about woodland species. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Broadford. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Killagholehane Cemetery and Church Ruin · Limerick City and County Council
- Churches of Dromcollogher–Broadford: Broadford Church · Limerick Diocesan Heritage Project
- Biodiversity Survey of Broadford County Limerick 2020, section 2.2 · Broadford and Ashford Walking Trails
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.