placenamesTonyduff
An Tonnaigh Dhubh
Tonyduff’s church preserves nineteenth-century fabric alongside substantial additions from the 1950s.
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
- An Tonnaigh Dhubh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Tonyduff · English · main form
Place & story
A lease in 1621
The printed Cavan inquisitions record a lease made by John Hamilton on 1 April 1621: Phillip McGrogan received the land unit called Tonyduffe for one year. The same record also gives Tonnydow as an alternative name. Neighbouring names include Leglan and Tullularkan, connecting this early documentary landscape with the Legland and Tullylorcan beside Tonyduff today. [2]
St Brigid’s Church
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage dates St Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church to 1845. It records that the parish priest, Patrick Brady, built it on land given by the Carolan family, replacing an earlier church in Three Carvaghs. The T-shaped church was remodelled and extended in 1953–55, when its separate three-stage bell tower, connecting screen wall and porches were added. [3]
Details inside
The inventory records timber seating installed in 1890 and an older panelled gallery with its stair. Two stained-glass windows dated 1916 are attributed to Sheridan, while later glass is by Carroll. These interior fittings preserve several phases of the church’s history alongside the conspicuous twentieth-century tower. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Cavan
- Barony
- Clankee
- Civil parish
- Knockbride
- Within
- Tonyduff
- Coordinates
- 53.95455, -7.05545 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412341 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Tonyduff. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Inquisitionum repertorium,volumeII:Ultoniae,1829; Cavan section,1629,inquisition18,PDFpages6–7 · Irish Record Commission
- NIAH40402710:St Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church,Tonyduff,2012 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-13. How this page was prepared.