placenamesWheathill
Gort na Cruithneachta
Church building, a remembered holy well and an early school record preserve distinct parts of Wheathill’s local history.
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
- Gort na Cruithneachta · Irish · main form · validated name
- Wheathill · English · main form
Place & story
From Mass house to Saint Lasair’s
The parish history records a basic chapel at Mullnahunchin, Wheathill, in 1835. After his appointment in 1866, Fr James Cleary judged the existing Mass house inadequate and organised the construction of Saint Lasair’s Church, which opened in 1874. The account places this work within the wider rebuilding of Catholic worship in Killesher after the restrictions and improvised chapels of earlier generations. [2]
A well and the Crutch Tree
At nearby Mullanhunchin, the parish account records a holy well associated with healing traditions. People with impaired mobility were said to have sought relief in its waters. A tree beside the well had unusually shaped branches and was remembered as the Crutch Tree. This is a recorded local belief, rather than evidence that the waters cured illness. [2]
The original Wheathill school
The 1826 Commissioners’ report recorded a sod-built Wheathill school, supported by the London Hibernian Society, with thirty pupils under Bryan Gillied. The Killesher schools study distinguishes it from the later namesake in Lisblake. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Wheathill. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- History: Killesher · Kinawley Killesher Parish
- Killesher Schools,June2021,printed page26 · Barbara Graham and Lynne McKerr
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2012-01-11. How this page was prepared.