TOWNLAND TALES: Old Head and a look back at Legan

Earlier this year in July I explored the townland of Legan, west of Old Head, near Louisburgh. I asked readers to help locate the standing stone, An Liagán, that gives the townland its name.
Eamonn O’Malley, who has lived in nearby Carrowclaggan (Ceathrú an Chloiginn, ‘Quarter of the Round Hill’) all his life, informed me that the original tall stone toppled in the tropical cyclone, Hurricane Debbie, which reached Ireland’s shores in September 1961.
William Bald called the high ground to the south of the townland Legan Hill; so perhaps this is where the liagán once was, and that is where Eamonn thinks it stood, on the shore where a stream enters the sea between Cregganbaun and Lugadamba Strands.
Cregganbaun, An Creagán Bán, means ‘The White Rocky Place’, and in 1838 the Ordnance Survey Namebooks described it as follows: “Situated on the north and west sides of Derrylahan (An Doire Leathan, ‘Broad Thicket’). These are rocks from 5 to 10ft perpendicular, on which there is a bank of clay from 30 to 120ft high.” Lugadamba is Log an Damba, ‘The Hollow Of The Dam’, and “these are flags of rocks that lie flat on the sea-shore. On the side of them, next to the sea-shore is a clay bank, from 30 to 50 ft high.” Both strands feature on Bald’s 1830 map.
This was an important place, with both a Corn Mill and Corn Kiln marked on the Griffiths Valuation map (1847-1864) near the stream.
It is not inconceivable that a prominent sea-stack (like Scotland’s ‘Old Man of Hoy’) once stood here, a little offshore. Locals, like Eamonn’s ancestors, recall a ‘tall, thin rock’ named sínélach, which may have been corrupted to ‘shivlagh’ rocks, from the adjective ‘sibhleach’ meaning ‘fleet, swift-moving; unsteady, restless, wavering.’
Eamonn and I walked the headland above Lugadamba, in Legan townland, until we reached Old Head Wood.
In 1984, the Mayo Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, Paddy O’Toole, made an order establishing Old Head Wood as a nature reserve that would ‘be managed in such a way as to ensure the conservation of the woodland ecosystem which it constitutes’.
Old Head is one of the few semi-natural woods, with predominantly oak, remaining in Ireland. It is unique because it is the only wood of its kind that grows right on the west coast, but thrives because it is sheltered by two hills.
There is a lovely low, old bridge in the car park, referred to as Wilbraham’s Bridge, lying on what was the original ‘coast road’ between Bunowen and Kilsallagh. During our explorations in the wood, Eamonn showed me a huge hole, over ten feet deep, constructed of rock slabs on three sides and ‘walled’ on the fourth. We confirmed it is an old disused well.
Boathaven Lodge, like Oldhead House, was once a summer residence, owned by the Browne family, Marquesses of Sligo, and let to various persons. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation it was leased by Hugh Wilbraham JP and valued at £14. It is labelled Boathaven Lodge on the first-edition Ordnance Survey map but does not appear on the 25-inch edition of the 1890s. Modern buildings occupy the site now.
Part of an estate bought by John Browne, Third Earl of Altamont, in 1794, Oldhead house, situated very close to the seashore, was let to various persons during the 19th century, including Isidore Blake and Reverend Francis Ruttledge. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation it was occupied by Campbell Sawers and valued at £8. It is labelled Oldhead Lodge on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map but as Oldhead House on the later 25-inch edition. In 1936 the house was sold to John Gardner of Lackafinna, Cong, County Mayo. It later became a hotel and is now the centre of a holiday village.
This locality was approved by the Mansion House Committee for a pier in 1822 and received a total of £461, Alexander Nimmo’s full estimated cost of construction. Old Head Pier was begun immediately and made good progress until the funds ran out and it was left unfinished. The facing was made in hewn sandstone ashlars brought from the north side of Clew Bay. Two phases of its construction are still visible in the pier today. There is an obvious kink or protrusion approximately mid-way between the two sets of steps where two different stone types are joined.
Old Head and its woodland are natural treasures, worthy of close inspection and a fine spot for the modern practice of ‘forest bathing’.