The name of the parish derives from Drumreilly townland in the parish, which is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Druim Air Belaigh meaning 'The Hill-Ridge of the Eastern Road'. The earliest surviving reference to the name is c.800 in the Martyrology of Tallaght, where it is spelled Dromma Airbelaig.[1]
History
The parish is in an area originally called Cenel Luacháin inhabited from early times by the Conmhaícne tribe. The reference above in the Martyrology of Tallaght is to a feast day on 15 January referring to the Seven bishops of Dromma Airbelaig, who probably lived in a monastery in the area in early Christian times.[2]
Townlands
The townlands of Drumreilly civil parish in County Leitrim are:
^"Drumreilly and Its Clergy, A.D. 1401-1481" by John D. Seymour, in 'The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland', Seventh Series, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Dec. 31, 1935), pp. 245-253
