placenamesEleven Lane Ends
Ceann na Lánaí
Blacksmiths’ work and a photographer’s memories give Eleven Lane Ends a documented place in the rural history between Clare and Loughgilly.
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
- Ceann na Lánaí · Irish · main form · validated name
- Eleven Lane Ends · English · main form
Place & story
John Clarke’s gates
John Clarke worked as a blacksmith at Eleven Lane Ends from the later 1890s until his death in the 1940s. Dympna Murphy’s study of local gatemakers identifies a diamond-shaped notch on some of his gates as an apparent identifying feature. She also records his name stamped on the gates of Ballenon Reformed Presbyterian Church, where the upright bars had floral decoration. His work thus connected the forge with both farm entrances and a public place of worship. [2]
An apprentice continues the work
John Brown was apprenticed to Clarke and had not completed his training when his master died. Murphy records that Brown had already taken on much of the work and continued blacksmithing into the 1950s or 1960s. A gate dated 1954 is attributed to him in the study. The succession documents the transmission of a rural craft through the Eleven Lane Ends forge across much of the twentieth century. [2]
The snow of January 1982
Photographer Columba O’Hare recalled the snowfall that began on 8 January 1982 while he was living at Mavemacullen, between Clare and Loughgilly. Heavy drifting cut off the family’s lane. He remembered his father walking through deep snow to obtain supplies and a gas cylinder at John Acheson’s shop at Eleven Lane Ends. O’Hare’s photographs appeared in the Armagh Guardian, providing a visual record of the conditions as well as a later personal account. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Armagh
- Barony
- Orior Lower
- Coordinates
- 54.29870, -6.44846 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 136038 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Eleven Lane Ends. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Gates and Gatemakers, pp 24–25: John Clarke and John Brown · Dympna Murphy / Poyntzpass and District History Society
- The Snow of ’82,27 February 2018 · Columba O’Hare / Newry.ie
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-12-20. How this page was prepared.