placenamesTamlaght-ard or Magilligan
Tamhlacht Arda nó Aird Mhic Giollagáin
Lewis recorded practical uses of the sandy landscape beside Lough Foyle.
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
- Tamhlacht Arda nó Aird Mhic Giollagáin · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Tamlaght-ard or Magilligan · English · main form
Place & story
Grass made into matting
Bent grass, also called basque in Samuel Lewis’s 1837 account, was planted on Magilligan’s sandy ground to restrain drifting sand. It was also made into matting sold inland. Lewis identified this product among the parish’s trades, alongside produce sent to Londonderry. The same planted grass thus served both the management of sandy ground and a local manufacture. [2]
Changing the sandy ground
Lewis described a separate effort to cultivate the sandy lands under proprietor Conolly Gage. Soil, mud and shells were carried by boat from the banks of Lough Foyle near the Roe’s mouth and spread over the surface. His account connects land improvement with the movement of material along the shore. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Tamlaght-ard or Magilligan. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Tamlaghtard, or Magilligan: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2009-01-27. How this page was prepared.