placenamesBallinagleragh
Baile na gCléireach
Ballinagleragh’s parish church stands within a district where holy wells and stone sweathouses preserve evidence of earlier religious and healing practices.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Baile na gCléireach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Ballinagleragh · English · main form
- Ballinaglera · English · main form · local name
Place & story
St Hugh’s Church
St Hugh’s Catholic Church at Drumnafinnila was built in 1842. Its T-shaped plan has a projecting entrance bay, topped by a bellcote, and a sacristy at the rear. Carefully dressed sandstone gives the entrance a different finish from the rendered walls around it. A date plaque above the doorway records the building’s age, while pointed windows with stained glass and timber double doors contribute to its nineteenth-century character. The surrounding graveyard contains later nineteenth-century memorials. [2]
The stone sweathouses
The parish’s local account identifies a concentration of sweathouses around Ballinaglera. These small stone structures have corbelled roofs, in which successive courses narrow towards the top, producing a beehive form. Their historical use was associated with efforts to relieve bodily complaints, including rheumatism and back pain. A surviving example near St Hugh’s Well is also noted by the Miners’ Way trail guide. They preserve a material record of customary treatment outside formal medical institutions. [3] [4]
Wells and pilgrimage
St Hugh’s Well lies in Cleighran Beg, while St Brigid’s Well is in Gréagnafarna. The parish records distinct healing reputations: toothache at St Brigid’s and mental confusion at St Hugh’s. These are local beliefs attached to the waters. The Miners’ Way guide also records a former pattern, or pilgrimage, at St Hugh’s Well. Its dedication is shared with the village church, linking a natural spring and a purpose-built place of worship within the parish’s religious landscape. [3] [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Leitrim
- Barony
- Drumahaire
- Civil parish
- Drumreilly
- Within
- Drumnafinnila
- Coordinates
- 54.15593, -8.01531 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 131506 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Ballinagleragh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- St Hugh’s Catholic Church, Drumnafinnila, 30918001 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Ballinaglera: local places and heritage · Ballinaglera, Dowra and Newbridge parish
- Stage 10: Dowra to Stony River · Miners’ Way and Historical Trail
- St Hugh's Church, Ballinagleragh, County Leitrim illustration: based on a Ballinagleragh Church (4 May 2008) by Oliver Dixon. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.