placenamesKilturk
Cill Toirc
Lewis described a cultivated coastal parish and the reduced remains of a once larger castle.
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
- Cill Toirc · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Kilturk · English · main form
Place & story
Seaweed on cultivated ground
Samuel Lewis’s 1837 description places Kilturk at the western end of Tacumshane lake, extending south to the sea. He described most of its land as cultivated and identified abundant seaweed as the principal manure. The same entry records wild ducks and other waterfowl frequenting the lake. These observations describe the historical parish landscape rather than a present-day wildlife count. [2]
Two towers and former earthworks
Lewis recorded portions of two castle towers surviving from a building he considered formerly extensive. He said the surrounding mound had been levelled about thirty years before his account and was under cultivation. That relative dating is approximate. His notice does not locate every former wall or establish the castle’s original building date. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilturk. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Kilturk: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.