Commons

44 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Commons, from 85 m² to 51,953 m² (5.2 ha, 12.84 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary. 33 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings, or as GeoJSON or KML.

• O2General
  Leitrim County Development Plan 2023-2029, Leitrim · 27 parcels The zoning objective in the plan
• S5Social & Community (Mixed/general community services/facilities uses)
  Leitrim County Development Plan 2023-2029, Leitrim · 0 parcels The zoning objective in the plan

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

• 8 Sept 2026N/a

  Proposed demolition of existing outbuildings, proposed construction of a dormer type dwelling house, connection to existing foul sewer and water main, redesign of existing entrance which will service the proposed development and the existing dwelling house which is located within the applicants landholding and all associated ancillary site works.

  Permission, 1 home · Leitrim County Council, 2660215

• 23 Jan 2025Conditional

  Planning Permission sought for: new childcare facility, to incorporate within the facility: (A) (i) formal entrance, (ii) reception and hallway, (iii) woddler/toddler room, with 2 no. attached toilets, 1 no. sleep room, baby changing area, milk kitchen room, (iv) classroom for children aged approximately 3 to 6 years of age, with 2 no. attached toilets, (v) breakfast room/after-school room (for children aged approximately 5+ years), with 3 no. attached toilets, (vi) kitchen, (vii) utility room, (viii) canteen, (ix) buggy store room, (x) plant room/toy store, (xi) 1 no. disabled toilet/staff toilet, and 1 no. staff toilet, (xii) with additional 1 no. toilet that can be accessed from the external play area, (xiii) with storage area in roof area, that is accessed by a pull-down ladder. (B) (i) proposed new stone bellmouth entrance, piers, and walls, from the R209 road, (ii) internal roads and turning heads within the development, (iii) car parking, (iv) 3 no. external play areas with security fencing, (v) bin storage area, (vi) associated signage for facility, (vii) with connection to existing main foul sewer, and all associated site works.

  Permission · Leitrim County Council, 2560011

• 23 May 2024Conditional

  (1). To retain and complete the domestic garage (parent planning ref 21133). (2). To amend the site boundaries as granted under (parent planning ref 21133) and all ancillary works.

  Retention · Leitrim County Council, 2460099

• 28 Jun 2021Conditional

  1. To construct a two storey type domestic dwelling. 2. To construct a domestic garage. 3. To construct a new entrance. 4. To connect to existing public foul sewer mains together with all ancillary works

  Permission, 1 home · Leitrim County Council, 21133

• 12 Aug 2019Conditional

  erect fully serviced single storey entrance porch to side of existing visitors centre and all ancillary site works

  Permission · Leitrim County Council, 19172

• 22 Aug 2018Conditional

  construct a dwelling house, domestic garage, new entrance onto public road, with connection to services and associated site development works

  Outline permission, 1 home · Leitrim County Council, 18176

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Commons.

Recorded monuments

• LE025-089 Ringfort - cashel
  Description

  Situated on a shelf of rock outcrop in a low-lying landscape with a higher shelf c. 20m to the N and a lower basin c. 20m to the S. This is a grass-covered subcircular area (int. dims 22m NE-SW; 19.4m NW-SE) defined by a grass-covered stone spread (Wth 2-4.4m; H 0.3m) with the intermittently visible facing-stones of a wall (Wth 1-1.2m). The entrance (Wth 3.8m) is at ESE. Archaeological testing (06E1191) by Martin A. Timoney c. 70m to the E at the closest point produced no related material (excavations.ie: 2006:1216). The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 September 2008 Amended: 13 September 2021

• LE025-090 Standing stone - pair
  Description

  Situated in a hollow with rough pasture in an area of rock outcrop and at the E edge of a marshy basin. Two features are depicted on the 1835 and the revised 1944 editions of the OS 6-inch map that are described as ‘Standing Stones’ on both. A single upright conglomerate slab (dims 0.32m x 0.35m; H 1.7m) orientated N-S remains upright. A second stone (L 2m; Wth. 0.7m; T 0.25m plus) 9m to the S is now prone, but in the 1944 it was upright (OSFM). The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 September 2008

• LE025-095 Standing stone
  Description

  Located in undulating pasture and rock outcrop and c. 4m S of an E-W road. This is a single upright slab of conglomerate (dims 0.8m x 0.4m; H 2.5m) oriented NNE-SSW and with a crest on top reaching its highest point at N. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 September 2008

• LE025-096001 Church
  Description

  Situated on a local rise at the N and E edge of a plateau with rock outcrop. Traditionally, a church was established here by St Caillín in the 6th century after the saint had transformed local druids into stones, and Aodh Finn, son of Feargna of the Uí Briuin Breifne, granted his own cashel to Caillín. The saints’ life is recorded in the Book of Fenagh, which is now in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy. This was copied in 1516 from the Book of St. Caillín, which was written c. 1350-1400 and is now missing (Hynes 1931, 43-4; Cunningham 2019, 225-28), but it may have been contained in St Caillín’s shrine (Murphy 1892). This book shrine, together with the shrine of St. Caillín’s Bell, was held at St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford town, and both were damaged in the fire at Christmas 2009. The detail of the saint’s life in the Book of Fenagh is unreliable (Ó Riain 2011, 135-6), but according to this source he was descended from the Conmaicne Cúile Tolad around Dunmore, Co. Galway, and he amassed an enviable collection of relics on a visit to Rome. (MacNamee 1954, 112-20) The church at Fenagh (Fidnach or Fiodhnach, meaning wooded) became the principal ecclesiastical centre of the O’Rourkes’ but they never seem to have dominated it, and the church continued into the later Middle Ages under its own Rule (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 36). The earliest reference to the termon is in 1125 when a Viking raid was foiled (Hennessy 1875, Bk Fen, 44). The coarbs, or successors who were generally from the O'Rodachain or Roddy family, are first mentioned in 1244 when the church was described as roofless. The coarbs of Fenagh were required to attend the inaugurations of the O’Conor chiefs (O’Daly 1853, 341) at Carnfree (RO028-069003-). The names of some of the coarbs are recorded from 1331 to 1532, and the church was accidently burnt in 1360, after which the present structure might have been built (Hynes 1931, 45-8). The lands, reckoned as ‘nine quarters’ were transferred to the Protestant bishop of Ardagh in 1585 (Pinkman 1942, 45), but the O Rodaighe, renowned scholars, continued at Crossfield (now Aroddy?) until 1706 at least (ibid.). The two churches are marked on the Down Survey (1656-8) maps of Leitrim barony and both appear to be roofless, with some other derelict structures in attendance. Later in the century the principal church could have been refurbished for Protestant worship, which function it continued to serve until the nearby Church of Ireland church of St. Catherine was built c. 1800 (Lewis 1837, vol. 1, 617). The latter closed in 1974 but has been lovingly restored and was re-dedicated in 2017. The archaeological remains consist of complex earthworks around the principal church and its graveyard, including an ecclesiastical enclosure, a road and fields, and a second church c. 130m to the NE. The earthworks cover an area of about 15 ha (c. 60 acres) and are protected by a Preservation Order (No. 3/1994). They consist of grass-covered earth and stone banks (Wth 4-6m; H 0.5-1m) which form a roughly circular ecclesiastical enclosure (diam. c. 110m) around the principal church, which is undoubtedly the site of the original church. There are other earthworks outside this forming irregularly shaped fields, while a roadway approaches the ecclesiastical enclosure from the N (L c. 90m). The road appears to run directly to the W doorway of the church, and is probably late in date. It re-emerges from the S angle of the old graveyard and extends S (L c. 50m). Most of the earthworks are possibly early medieval in date and are best appreciated from the air (Norman and St Joseph 1969, 109-10). The medieval church and the rectangular graveyards are imposed on the curvilinear earthworks. The church survives complete as an undifferentiated structure (int. dims c. 26m E-W; c. 7m N-S) with dressed quoins, and a barrel vault at the W end which probably supported a defensive residential tower. The church has a pointed W doorway and an inserted doorway in the S wall. The large E window with 15th-century tracery consists of four cusped ogee-headed lights below a rosette (Leask 1960, vol. 2, 148-9). Three stone heads decorate the hood moulding of the E window, and there are face-corbels at each angle of the church, facing either N or S. Externally, the E wall has a battered plinth, and a string-course, decorated with a rabbit on the N wall, runs beneath the E window. Internally, there is a piscine and a double sedilia in the S wall at the E end. A small roofless chapel or mausoleum (ext. dims 5.05m E-W; 3.45m N-S) of the O’Duignans of Castlefore (LE024-053----) abuts the W end of the S wall of the church, but the doorway in its W wall is destroyed. There is a single light in the E wall, and the O'Duignan commemorative plaque (LE025-096007-) dated 1671 with a Latin inscription is on the exterior of its S wall. The church is at the N edge of a rectangular graveyard (dims c. 50-55m NW-SE; c. 50m NE-SW) defined by masonry walls, with headstones dating from c. 1760 to the present. The graveyard has been extended to the SW (dims c. 45m NE-SW; c. 40m NW-SE). A second church (LE025-096002-) is c. 130m to the NE. The churches and the earthworks at Fenagh are National Monuments (Harbison 1996, 212). Archaeological monitoring (01E0160) of a sewage trench through the village and an electrical line (01E0626) to the church lighting failed to produce any related material (Read 2003, 2003a). Archaeological testing (01E0159) of road-widening on a 240m length of road through the field system c. 60m W of the church exposed the walls as spreads (Wth up to 8m) of smaller stones over larger (original Wth of walls 2-3m), and a stone-covered surface but no dating material was recovered (Read 2003b, 2006). See the attached view from W _1 See the attached view from the Down Survey barony map (N at leftt) reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (Ms 717). The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of revised upload: 6 July 2017 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 3/1994) and is also a National Monument in state ownership: No. 68

• LE025-096002 Church
  Description

  Situated on a shelf on a N and E-facing slope, with a small S-N stream c. 75m to the E. This second church at Fenagh, sometimes known as the abbey church, is c. 130m NE of the larger church (LE025-096001-) but it was the parish chuch and was one of the churches of the rectory of Muinter Eolais after 1471 (Scully 2019, 134). It is rectangular (int. dims c. 19m E-W; c. 5.5m N-S) and divided into two with a barrel vault at the W end, probably to support a defensive accommodation tower. A mural stairs rises in the dividing wall to the first floor over the vault. At the ground floor there was a corridor attached externally to the S wall of the church, and doorways at the centre of the N and S walls. There are two small windows in the N wall and a cusped ogee-headed window in both the E and the W walls. The churches and the earthworks at Fenagh are National Monuments (Harbison 1996, 212). See the attached view of the two churches with this church in the foreground _1 See the attached view from the Down Survey barony map (N at left) reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (Ms 717). This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 3/1994) and is also a National Monument in state ownership: No. 68 Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 July, 2017 Amended: 10 January 2020

• LE025-096004 Ecclesiastical enclosure
  Description

  Situated towards the N and E edge of a plateau with rock outcrop. The medieval church (LE025-096001-) and the rectangular graveyards are imposed on the surrounding curvilinear earthworks. These cover an area of about 15 ha (c. 60 acres) and are protected by a Preservation Order (No. 3/1994). They consist of grass-covered earth and stone banks (Wth 4-6m; H 0.5-1m) which form a roughly circular ecclesiastical enclosure (diam. c. 110m) around the principal church, which is undoubtedly the site of the original church. This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 3/1994). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 July, 2017

• LE025-096005 Settlement deserted - medieval
  Description

  In 1944 the ITA Survey recorded that the land surrounding Fenagh Abbey (LE025-096001-) on both sides of the road (Fenagh/Mohill) which is known as the 'Commons' was 'bristling with lichen-covered blocks of stone and partly concealed foundations' (Blaney 1944), which may be the remains of a deserted medieval settlement associated with the abbey. In 1969 Norman and St. Joseph identified in their aerial photographs traces of, 'faint earthworks of the ancient settlement' and outside the enclosure (LE025-096004-) a good deal of disturbed ground is visible, perhaps indicating considerable expansion and the settlement of monastic clients or craftsmen-apprentices' (Norman and St. Joseph 1969, 109-10). Compiled by Caimin O'Brien Date of upload/revision: 16 December 2011 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 3/1994).

• LE025-096007 Wall monument
  Description

  The small roofless chapel or mausoleum (LE025-096012-) of the O’Duignans of Castlefore (LE024-053----) abuts the W end of the S wall of the large church at Fenagh (LE025-096001-). The O'Duignan commemorative plaque dated 1671 in its moulded frame (Wth 0.75m; H 1.17m) with a Latin inscription is on the exterior of its S wall. The crucifixion is in relief, but some symbols of the Passion such as the ladder and the whip are in false relief as is the Latin inscription in roman capitals, which is now very worn. The inscription was recorded by John O’Donovan in the 1830s (Herity 2012, 401) as: TORNA O’DUGENAN, SACER / DOS ET RECTOR ME FIERE FE /CIT, ANNO 1671, SUPER / SERVITE ? FRATRIO ? / EUGENI: DUGENEN QUI / OBIJT: 28: XBRIS 1667 / SUCCESSORIBUS ET MARITE EJUS / UNIO MEG RENNELL. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 July, 2017

• LE025-096008 Road - road/trackway
  Description

  Situated towards the N and E edge of a plateau with rock outcrop. The large medieval church (LE025-096001-) and the rectangular graveyards are imposed on the curvilinear earthworks that cover an area of about 15 ha (c. 60 acres) and are protected by a Preservation Order (PO no. 3/1994). The earthworks include a roadway which approaches the ecclesiastical enclosure (LE025-096004-) from the N (L c. 90m). The road appears to run directly to the W doorway of the church, and is probably late in date. It re-emerges from the S angle of the old graveyard and extends S (L c. 50m). Most of the earthworks are possibly early medieval in date and are best appreciated from the air (Norman and St Joseph 1969, 109-10). This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 3/1994). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 July, 2017

• LE025-096012 Mausoleum
  Description

  Situated towards the N and E edge of a plateau with rock outcrop. A small roofless chapel or mausoleum (ext. dims 5.05m E-W; 3.45m N-S) of the O’Duignans of Castlefore (LE024-053----) abuts the W end of the S wall of the large church (LE025-096001-) at Fenagh, but the doorway in its W wall is destroyed. There is a single light in the E wall, and the O'Duignan commemorative plaque (LE025-096007-) with a Latin inscription dated 1671 is on the exterior of its S wall. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 July, 2017

• LE029-002 Megalithic tomb - court tomb
  Description

  Located on a small rise in an undulating low-lying pasture. This is a double court tomb with courts facing NW and SE in good repair in a low cairn (dims c. 26m NW-SE; c. 20m NE-SW). The SE gallery (L c. 7m) has two chambers and the NW (L 3.55m) has only one, but some of the courtstones survive at NW. (de Valera and Ó Nualláin 1972, 74-5) See the attached views _1 from SE; _2 from NW: The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 September 2008 See linked document with details from Ruaidhrí de Valera and Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume III. Counties Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Longford, Westmeath, Laoighis, Offaly, Kildare, Cavan. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1972).

• LE029-003003 Graveyard
  Description

  Situated towards the N and E edge of a plateau with rock outcrop. The large church (LE025-096001-) at Fenagh is at the N edge of a rectangular graveyard (dims c. 50-55m NW-SE; c. 50m NE-SW) defined by masonry walls, with headstones dating from c. 1760 to the present. The graveyard has been extended to the SW (dims c. 45m NE-SW; c. 40m NW-SE). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 6 July, 2017

Architectural heritage

• Graveyard/cemetery, 1860–1900 · Regional interest
  Description

  Fenagh Roman Catholic graveyard, established c.1880 on the site of fourteenth-century abbey buildings, adjacent to the surviving abbey church and within the earthworks of a deserted medieval settlement. Variety of nineteenth- and twentieth-century grave markers. Site is bounded by a random and cut stone wall and is accessed through cut stone piers with wrought-iron gates.

• House, 1910–1930 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached two-bay two-storey house, built c.1920, on an L-plan. Pitched tiled roof with rendered chimneystacks. Roughcast rendered walls with stucco quoins. Timber sash windows with stone sills. Timber panelled door with sidelights with coloured glass and overlight. Outbuilding to rear of site. Garden to front of site is bounded by rendered walls and accessed through wrought-iron gate with rendered piers.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

At the centre of the townland of Commons, about 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately high, moderately low, low, partly inferred. Parts of the land are water.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Commons.

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Commons with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Leitrim.

Name

Commons · An Coimín

Area

384,763 m² (38.48 ha, 95.08 acres)

Civil parish

Fenagh, and its townlands

Barony

Leitrim

Electoral division

Fenagh, the unit of the census

Census 2022

369 people lived in 142 households in the Fenagh electoral division. 91% of households owned their home. 37% of homes were built since 2001. 20% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 7% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Cuillagh, Drumcattan, Drumharkan, Fenagh Beg, Glebe, Greagh, Knockmullin, Mullaghnameely

Placenames

Commons on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address. Old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.