placenamesKinawley
Cill Náile
Lewis records a busy calendar of fairs in the parish’s Cavan town.
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 Náile · Irish · main form
- Kinawley · English · main form
Place & story
Eleven annual fair days
Swanlinbar, in the Cavan portion of Kinawley parish, had eleven annual fair dates in Samuel Lewis’s 1837 account. They ran from 2 February to 29 December, with two gatherings in September and two in December. Petty sessions met on alternate Wednesdays. These dates describe the town’s recurring trading and administrative business within the wider cross-county parish. [2]
Cloth for local use
Lewis also recorded a small amount of linen manufacturing around Swanlinbar, alongside other clothing made for local inhabitants. This was part of the town’s economy beyond its seasonal spa visitors. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kinawley. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Swanlinbar: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-06-19. How this page was prepared.