placenamesFivemilebourne
Abhainn an Chartúin
Harold McBrien’s military-history statement distinguishes the unsuccessful attack on Fivemilebourne’s barracks from its later destruction.
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
- Abhainn an Chartúin · Irish · main form · validated name
- Fivemilebourne · English · main form
Place & story
The attack
In his Bureau of Military History statement, Harold McBrien recalled an IRA brigade attack on Fivemilebourne’s Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in June 1920. He identified Captain Timoney and Lieutenant Frank McGoldrick of the Newtownmanor Company among those involved, while men from Dromahair blocked roads. McBrien explicitly stated that the attackers did not capture the barracks. [2]
Evacuation and destruction
McBrien’s account places the police evacuation after the failed attack and the destruction of the building after that. This sequence matters: the barracks was not described as taken and burned with its police garrison inside. The statement is a retrospective account by the commander of the Sligo Brigade’s 8th Battalion, whose area included companies on both sides of the Sligo–Leitrim boundary. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Leitrim
- Barony
- Drumahaire
- Civil parish
- Drumlease
- Coordinates
- 54.28125, -8.33780 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 131527 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Fivemilebourne. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- BureauofMilitaryHistoryWitnessStatement895,HaroldMcBrien,pp1–4 · Harold McBrien; Bureau of Military History,Military Archives
- Doon Lough near Fivemilebourne, as photographed in 2024 illustration: based on a Doon Lough by Steven Brown. 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.