placenamesLoughgall
Loch gCál
An 1837 account links a fertile farming parish with Banbridge’s linen trade and a varied network of schools.
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
- Loch gCál · Irish · main form
- Loughgall · English · main form
Place & story
Weavers serving Banbridge
Loughgall parish supported more than 600 people weaving linen cloth for manufacturers and bleachers at Banbridge, according to Lewis in 1837. Farming was also highly developed, with no waste land reported, and limestone was quarried for agricultural use and road repairs. The parish economy therefore joined local cultivation with textile employment connected to a manufacturing centre elsewhere. [2]
Land and charitable support for schools
Six public schools taught about 580 children. One had received a schoolhouse and two acres from Colonel Cope and was supported by Erasmus Smith’s trustees; three others were supported by Mr Cope. Five private schools taught roughly another 200 pupils, while seven Sunday schools added a separate strand of instruction. These are the figures recorded for the parish before the Great Famine. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Armagh
- Barony
- Armagh
- Barony
- Oneilland West
- Coordinates
- 54.43559, -6.62312 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 2749 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Loughgall. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Loughgall — A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-12-20. How this page was prepared.