Date: 06/09/2025

As we enter the month of September, or Meán Fómhair in Irish, literally “the middle of harvest(-time)”, it’s interesting to note that there are much fewer townland names in Ireland which contain cruithneacht “wheat”, than those containing coirce “oats”, eorna “barley” or seagal “rye”. This clearly implies that the other varieties of grain were more important than cruithneacht/wheat in the native Irish diet.

One placename containing a reference to cruithneacht/wheat is Córrán na Cruithneachta “the rounded-hill, edge, projecting point of the wheat” near Camolin in County Wexford, although it is hidden behind the unrelated English name Whitewell which refers to a ‘holy well’ located in this townland (see logainm.ie #52805). One of the other townland names referring to cruithneacht/wheat is Tullanacrunat/Tulaigh na Cruithneachta “the hillock of the wheat” in Monaghan (#39761), and elsewhere in Ulster we find Tullycreenaght/Tulaigh Chruithneachta “(the) mound of wheat” as well as Wheathill/Gort na Cruithneachta “the field of the wheat” (see logainm.ie: #63034; #59256). The English name Wheathill in Fermanagh is a partial translation of Gort na Cruithneachta “the field of the wheat” (see here). It is quite noticeable that most townland names containing cruithneacht/wheat refer to elevated locations, which may come from the need for wheat to be grown better drained and airy locations.

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Corrán na Cruithneachta/Whitewell
• Gort na Cruithneachta/Wheathill
• Tulaigh Chruithneachta/Tullycreenaght

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