Jane at [email protected] writes: << Kiladalkey civil parish and also in that parish we have Moatstown and Lady Island. Wouldn't those two names imply that there is some kind of wet ground around or something - more than just areas where rivers are >> Jane, I had noticed those two townlands before I wrote, but I have a tendency to run on and on and on in my letters.......so I decided to end my speculation before it got "really" boring. I think both of those townlands are named for their local situation. Moat Town has a 3/4 mile frontage on the Tremblestown River, so that might be the reference. But I think it's more likely a reference to the motte in the townland - presumably the only remains of a motte-and-bailey "castle" structure. Perhaps it had an actual moat, in addition to a motte <gr>. A couple of miles upstream, there is a "Pale Ditch", parallel to the river on the western side. Perhaps the castle in Moat Town was also involved in defending the Pale at some time. And Trim is only a few miles away. Lady's Island may have been a small island (my lawn in the front yard is larger than Lady's Island townland). Perhaps between the river and a continuation of the ditch. It also lies right along the river, abutting Moat Town. End of speculation. << How close are Lady Island and Moatstown as a matter of interest >> Moat Town and Lady's Island are midway between Kildalkey town and Trim, about two and a half miles ESE of Kildalkey town. Pete Schermerhorn, in the glorious Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts