placenamesArdnurcher or Horseleap
Baile Átha an Urchair
An 1821 account records how drainage helped halt a bog movement near Clara.
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
- Baile Átha an Urchair · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ardnurcher or Horseleap · English · main form
Place & story
Drawing off the water
Kilmalady Big, in the Offaly portion of Ardnurcher or Horseleap parish, is associated with the moving bog of 1821. Michael Byrne’s Offaly History article reproduces mining engineer Richard Griffith’s account, dated 16 July that year. Griffith described bog material flowing down the valley, obstructing a stream and passing across roads towards the Clara and Woodfield district. Engineer Mr Killaly directed labourers to clear the blocked watercourse and connected drains. Griffith reported that lowering the accumulated water halted the bog’s flow. The event extended beyond the parish’s Kilmalady lands into the neighbouring valley. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Offaly
- Barony
- Kilcoursey
- Coordinates
- 53.38364, -7.60379
- Mapped area
- 11.41 km²
- Logainm ID
- 2001 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ardnurcher or Horseleap. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The moving bog at Kilmaleady near Clara: the account of Richard Griffith in 1821, 23 June 2021 · Michael Byrne / Offaly History
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.