placenamesKillavil
Cill Fhábhail
Fiddle and flute players have made Killavil an enduring name in Irish traditional music.
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
- Cill Fhábhail · Irish · main form · validated name
- Killavil · English · main form
Place & story
Michael Coleman’s early world
Michael Coleman was born in Knockgrania in the Killavil district in 1891. His father James played flute, and the family home became a meeting place for local musicians. Coleman learned among the district’s fiddle players and house dances before emigrating to America in 1914. His commercial recording career began in 1921. [2]
Remembering Fred Finn
In her own account for the Irish Traditional Music Archive, musician Carmel Gunning identifies fiddler Fred Finn and his flute-playing partner Peter Horan as Killavil musicians. After Finn’s death in 1986, she initiated a junior Comhaltas branch in Sligo town named in his honour and composed her first lament for him. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Killavil. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The History of Michael Coleman · Coleman Irish Music Centre
- Lament for Fred Finn — composer’s account, August 2021 · Carmel Gunning, Irish Traditional Music Archive
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.