placenamesNaul
An Aill
A pre-Famine parish account and a modern archaeological project reveal working life around Naul’s settlement.
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
- An Aill · Irish · main form · validated name
- Naul · English · main form
Place & story
Fields and unsuccessful coal trials
Naul parish contained 758 inhabitants in Samuel Lewis's 1837 account, including 216 in the village. Wheat, oats and potatoes were its principal crops, while limestone came from local quarries. Other mineral exploration proved less fruitful: Lewis recorded an unsuccessful attempt to find coal in 1824, when a trial boring reached 160 feet after earlier searches had also failed. [2]
Investment in mills and education
Lewis recorded a parliamentary grant of £2,000 to Arthur Mervyn during George I's reign to complete Naul's mills by adding granaries. A later investment served education: the schoolhouse erected in 1835 near Westown demesne cost £238. The Board of National Education contributed £138, subscriptions supplied the balance, and Colonel Tennison provided its site. Board support, local subscriptions and pupil fees subsequently maintained the school. [2]
Investigating a former garden
In August 2019, almost forty volunteers joined a six-day community excavation north of Naul graveyard. Directed by Fingal County Council archaeologist Christine Baker, two trenches investigated possible garden features ahead of proposed graveyard and community-garden works. The ground had been heavily disturbed, with the principal activity dating from the nineteenth century. The project examined later cultivation and drainage within the village's much older historic setting. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Dublin
- Barony
- Balrothery West
- Coordinates
- 53.58604, -6.27476
- Mapped area
- 10.68 km²
- Logainm ID
- 868 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Naul. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Naul, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837 · Samuel Lewis
- Naul Community Dig 2019, excavation report 19E0480, pages 1, 4 and 14 · Christine Baker, Fingal County Council, December 2019
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2024-06-28. How this page was prepared.