placenamesCornafulla
Corr na Fola
A memorial to James Tormey links Cornafulla to the revolutionary years, while successive school projects tell a longer story of community investment.
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
- Corr na Fola · Irish · main form · validated name
- Cornafulla · English · main form
Place & story
James Tormey and Cornafulla
James Tormey, a Moate man who commanded the Athlone Brigade’s flying column, was killed in a gunfight with Crown forces at Cornafulla in 1921. His death became a focus of remembrance across the county boundary. Westmeath’s council history programme records that the Athlone IRA and Cumann na mBan gathered a year later to honour their former comrade, while divisions over the Anglo-Irish Treaty were deepening. [2]
The memorial unveiled
In February 1922, more than a thousand IRA volunteers assembled at Athlone’s Fair Green before a procession and Mass at Saint Peter’s Church. The commemoration then moved to Cornafulla, where George Adamson unveiled a cross in Tormey’s memory. The occasion brought together people whose political differences would soon become more pronounced, making the roadside memorial part of the history of both remembrance and the uneasy peace before the Civil War. [2]
A school extension finally opens
Cornafulla National School’s expansion drew visits from three successive taoisigh. Bertie Ahern announced approval in 2007, Brian Cowen viewed plans in 2009, and Enda Kenny officially opened the extension in June 2011. The development provided classrooms, a sports hall, a library and rooms for several uses. Principal Joan Conway acknowledged staff who had continued teaching during construction and the board members who helped bring the project through its long preparation. [3]
Another change to the school
The school, whose origins date to 1843, underwent another kind of improvement in 2021 as part of the national Schools Retrofit Pathfinder programme. The equipment supplier’s project account records heat pumps installed that August, with the existing boiler retained to assist at peak demand. This later investment changed how the school was heated, adding a new chapter to the continuing adaptation of its buildings. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Roscommon
- Barony
- Athlone South
- Civil parish
- Drum
- Coordinates
- 53.37420, -8.01503 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414398 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Cornafulla. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Westmeath and the Anglo-Irish Treaty, part1,6 December2021 · Westmeath County Council history programme
- End of a long road as Cornafulla NS extension opened,29 June2011 · Adrian Cusack
- Heat pumps at Cornafulla National School,8 June2022 · RVR Energy Technology
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.