Crossmaglen town and townland

Location

The town of Crossmaglen stands mainly on the townland of the same name and partly on Rathkeelan. It lies about 8 miles northwest of Dundalk and 14 southwest of Newry. It is set in the southwest corner of County Armagh with the land boundary with the Republic of Ireland lying less than two miles away in both a southerly (County Louth) and westerly (County Monaghan) direction.

This page provides information about the origin of the town and, through the locations listed above, the names of its householders in the different locations at specific years between 1828 the third quarter of the twentieth century.

Origin of Name

The origin of the name 'Crossmaglen' is uncertain. It has been interpreted as Cros-magh-gleana, "The cross of the shading plain" ⁽¹⁾, and Cros Mhic Lionnáin "McGlynn's crossroads" ⁽²⁾. According to LP Murray, -

"The village of Crossmaglen is of modern growth....In the local folklore it was merely famed for a well-known ale-house or shebeen - kept by a man named Lennon. It will be noted that the 1766 Census gives Owen Lennon among the ---- inhabitants - and his house (or shebeen), which was probably at the crossroads, was the origin of the variant Cros Mhig Lionnáin. If the village is really named after a family, we would be inclined...to select the McCleans or MacClanes. There are no Flynns, and but one Lennon, in the Fews in 1602; but the MacClanes were numerous in all the Census lists...."⁽³⁾.

Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837 has this to say about Crossmaglen -

Crossmaglen; a village in that part of Creggan which which is in the barony of Upper Fews, County of Armagh and province of Ulster, 8 miles (NW) from Dundalk, on the road to Newtownhamilton; containing 545 inhabitants. It comprises about 100 houses, of which several are large and well built, and has a penny post to Dundalk: the surrounding scenery is strikingly diversified. In the vacinity is a small lake, called Lough Maglen, or Magheralin, and there are numerous others in the surrounding district. The slate quarries here were formerly worked to some extent, but they are now in a declining state. A market for provisions is held on Friday; and there are fairs in the last Friday in every month for black cattle, horses, sheep and pigs. A constabulary police station has been established in the village; and a spacious and handsome R.C. chapel has been recently erected, which is the parochial chapel of a very extensive district, called Lower Creggan. A dispensary was built by subscription in 1830.

For a fuller view of the origins and development of the town see John Fee's article Crossmaglen before the Famine⁽⁴⁾ which, despite the title, refers to events up to 1847.

Rateable Valuation

The rateable valuation includes the value of property in both the townland and that part of the town of Crossmaglen in the townland, but excluding the valuation for that part of the town in the townland of Rathkeelan. The changes in the valuation are set out below. For convenience the currency is expressed in decimal form.