placenamesKilsallagh
Coill Salach
A first-hand military history statement links Kilsallagh with rural schooling and the reorganisation of the Irish Volunteers in 1917.
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
- Coill Salach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Kilsallagh · English · main form
Place & story
Schooling beyond the usual leaving age
Martin Ryan identified his birthplace as Kilcroan, Kilsallagh, County Galway, where he was born in June 1889. In his Bureau of Military History statement, he recalled attending Kilcroan National School until about fifteen. He continued going during the winter for several years afterwards, preserving a specific memory of education extending beyond his regular schooldays. [2]
A meeting in Roscommon
Ryan dated his first involvement with the Irish Volunteers to 1917. He travelled to a reorganisation meeting in Roscommon town with John Harte from his own locality and two men from the Glynsk area. He remembered police outside the hall but no interference with the gathering. Soon afterwards he joined the newly formed Ballymoe company. [2]
Training with Ernie O’Malley
The Ballymoe company initially belonged to the Castlerea Battalion. Ryan also recalled attending an officers’ training course organised by Ernie O’Malley at South Park, between Castlerea and Ballymoe. Lasting about a fortnight, it included drill and instruction in using cover. His recollections connect Kilsallagh with the neighbouring Roscommon organisational network rather than presenting local Volunteer activity as confined within county boundaries. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Galway
- Barony
- Ballymoe
- Civil parish
- Kilcroan
- Within
- Kilsallagh
- Coordinates
- 53.65165, -8.51425 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1413592 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilsallagh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Witness Statement1417: Martin Ryan, opening page · Martin Ryan, Bureau of Military History, Military Archives
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2012-01-11. How this page was prepared.