placenamesLittle Island
An tOileán Beag
An 1837 account connects cultivated land with limestone quarrying and Cork’s shipping trade.
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
- An tOileán Beag · Irish · main form · validated name
- Little Island · English · main form
Place & story
Stone for farms and ships
Limestone quarrying was an important part of Little Island’s economy in 1837. Samuel Lewis recorded stone being worked for building and agriculture, and supplied as ballast to vessels leaving Cork without cargo. He named J. Cantillon junior as a contractor to the Ballast Board. The quarries therefore served both the surrounding farmland and the port. [2]
Reclaiming and connecting land
Lewis described most of the parish’s 1,627 statute acres as cultivated ground. About twenty acres had recently been reclaimed from the tidal river by the Reverend R. Bury. A stone causeway and metal bridge built in 1833 connected the island with Caherlag across a branch of the Lee, linking this estate and farming landscape with the mainland. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Little Island. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Little Island, Barrymore, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.