placenamesBallyaghran
Lewis linked the scholar’s early education with the old parish church and his later summers with Portstewart.
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
- Ballyaghran · English · main form
Place & story
A school in the old church
Samuel Lewis described Agherton and Ballyaghran as two names for this parish. His account records Adam Clarke receiving his first schooling in the old parish church, where Clarke’s father taught for several years. This places the educational association at the older church, rather than automatically attaching it to a later parish building. [2]
An astronomical and geographical dial
Clarke later spent much of his summer time at Portstewart. Lewis recorded that during a stay in 1830 he built a house and set up an astronomical and geographical dial in Mr Cromie’s gardens. The dictionary reported the dial still preserved in 1837, without establishing its present location or survival. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballyaghran. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Agherton, or Ballyaghran: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2007-12-14. How this page was prepared.