Porsh-a-Thoggarth

This road is not indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map. It is indicated by parallel dashed lines on the 1916 edition where it is named ‘Porsh-a-Thoggarth’. The most likely Irish form is Póirse an tSagairt or priest’s road. Dinneen's dictionary explains póirse as "a porch, an entry, a gate; a narrow road, passage or laneway; any narrow place, a hole..." (pers. comm. Dónall Mac Giolla Easpaig, Chief Placenames Officer, and Fiachra Mac Gabhann). It appears to have served as a mass path leading to an ecclesiastical complex which includes a cashel (MA093-014005), a children's burial ground (MA093-014002), a bullaun stone (MA093-014003) and a holy well (MA093-014006). The road can no longer be traced along its full length, although sections are preserved in the line of extant field boundaries and farm tracks. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 14 June 2022