placenamesCreggan
An Creagán
The wider parish connects the familiar churchyard landscape with rural work, shared institutions and a community exhibition.
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
- An Creagán · Irish · main form
- Creggan · English · main form
Place & story
Farming, weaving and local stone
Lewis’s 1837 account describes Creggan as a parish chiefly in Armagh but extending into Louth. Cattle breeding had been important, while more grazing ground was being converted to tillage. Farmers also produced linen cloth and yarn. The Creggan River drove several mills, and local granite and slate were quarried mainly for neighbouring farmers’ building needs. These activities formed a mixed rural economy across the parish. [2]
A schoolroom doubles as a court
Petty sessions for the Crossmaglen district met in Creggan’s schoolroom, according to Lewis. The parish schoolhouse, built in 1822, came with a garden and two acres provided rent-free for its master. The rector supported the school and supplied books. Mrs Atkinson supervised an infants’ school, while a separate working school served girls. The same local setting accommodated education, patronage and the administration of justice. [2]
Presenting the parish’s history
An exhibition in the church grounds, The Poets and People of Creggan, was compiled jointly by the Creggan Hall Management Committee and Creggan Local History Society. The council’s visitor account lists subjects extending from vestry minutes and townlands to landlords, tenants and changing population. This community partnership placed the poets within a broader account of the people and institutions of the parish. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Armagh
- Barony
- Fews Upper
- Coordinates
- 54.08819, -6.57554 (approximate)
- Mapped area
- 88.34 km²
- Logainm ID
- 2734 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Creggan. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Creggan, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837 · Samuel Lewis
- Creggan Parish Church, Graveyard and Visitors Centre · Newry, Mourne and Down District Council tourism service
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-12-20. How this page was prepared.