placenamesAllistragh
An tAileastrach
Allistragh’s documentary history includes revolutionary-period testimony and the scientific study of ancient wood.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- An tAileastrach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Allistragh · English · main form
Place & story
A company name that caused confusion
A Bureau of Military History witness recalled an IRA company called Allistragh whose members did not actually live in the place. After a raid on Richhill railway station during the Belfast goods boycott, a message intended for the stationmaster was mistakenly addressed to the commanding officer at Allistragh. According to the account, the authorities subsequently searched there for the company officer. The episode illustrates how a military unit’s geographical name could mislead officials about where its members were based. [2]
Ancient oak used to test archaeological dating
Waterlogged oak recovered at Allistragh has contributed to scientific work on dating the past. One sample, identified as Q451, formed part of a study published in Radiocarbon in 2024 alongside oak from Balloo and Ballinderry. Researchers compared radiocarbon measurements with tree rings whose calendar ages were already known, testing the performance of dating models for the early centuries AD. Allistragh’s contribution came through preserved timber, carrying evidence from an earlier landscape into modern laboratory research. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Allistragh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Bureau of Military History witness statement WS829, page 14 · Military Archives, Bureau of Military History
- Caveat emptor!—wiggle-matching European wood samples (AD 46–AD 286) · Alex Bayliss, David Brown, Michael Dee, Peter Marshall and Lukas Wacker, Radiocarbon, 2024
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-12-20. How this page was prepared.