When it comes to preserving townland names and their active use, the Boho Heritage Association have it all mapped out, literally!
For, on Friday of this week, 24th November, the Association will be launching a Boho Heritage Map featuring the 51 townlands in Boho parish and historical landmarks in each, many of which had been forgotten about and were unearthed as a result of painstaking research.
Sister Edel Bannon is a member of a 20-strong committee, headed by Thomas Flanagan and comprising two local clergymen, Fr Lorcan Lynch and Rev Derek Kerr who have been driving the project along.
As the names, and titles suggest, the group are cross community, hence the community backing for the unique map: "We were founded two years ago, and one of the first things we decided to do was a map of the area", Sr Edel explained. "We divided up the committee and each of us took two or three townlands each and researched them.
"To do that, we had the help of Gabriel Burns from Gortatole who, in fact, was then able to put the map on computer".
She explained that the whole thrust was to ensure that the familiar names of places would not be forgotten by the present or future generations, and so, each townland's heritage was made as interesting as possible.
"It took a long time doing the research", she added. "A lot of us did our research in the library and talked to the old people. That, for me, was the most interesting part, doing the research. We have a fabulous committee, and we experienced the same degree of enthusiasm among everyone'.
So, what did some of the research uncover?
In Sr Edel's case, she got to know a new thing or two about her own townland, Kilnamadoo ('the hill of the dog'): "We came across a little record that there was a crannog (a dwellingplace on an island) that was discovered there in the 1880's when people were cutting wood in a bog. Nobody ever knew that it was there.
"And, the other new thing we found were old Famine roads, which we had heard of. These were roads that led to nowhere, through bogs and so on, and of course the old people did remember older people talking about people working on those roads".
So, as a result, Kilnamadoo townland carries illustrations of these Famine roads, which men built in return for a Famine hand-out and its hitherto forgotten crannog. It mans that the map is historically accurate and, as an added bonus, the pictorial sketches around its edges make it a handsome item for framing in one's home or in local schools.
"We would have to pay tribute to Denise Vance who did the sketches of landmarks such as the local Church of Ireland tower that goes back to medieval times, Boho Falls, the famous Standing Stone at Reyfad and St Faber's Catholic Church".
And, as for the future of townland names and their usage, Sr Edel has every hope that, in the Boho area at least, it is guaranteed: "People really love their townlands, and they love researching their townlands. In this area, there is total usage of townlands on people's correspondence, alongside the postcode. In that way, people are ensuring their townland name is maintained, and that's important", Sr Edel added.
In addition to the chairman, Thomas Flanagan and herself and the two local clergymen, the committee comprises the following - Maureen Corrigan, Francis Rasdale, John McGovern, Eileen McGourty, Mary Melanaphy, Kathleen Corrigan, Winnie Nolan, May McLaughlin, Mary Dolan, Kathleen McLaughlin, Louise McLaughlin, Cecilia Flanagan, Betty Little, Denise Vance and Dessie McKenzie.
The launch of the Boho Heritage Map takes place in Boho Community Hall this Friday, 24th November, at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to come along. Tea and refreshments will be available. The map costs £5.
