Coolsaragh (, ) is a townland lying within the civil parish of Kilcronaghan, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in the south of the parish on the boundary with the civil parish of Desertmartin, and it is bounded by the townlands of: Annagh & Moneysterlinn, Cloughfin, Gortahurk, Keenaght, Killynumber, Killytoney, Longfield, and Tullyroan. It was apportioned to the Drapers company.
The townland was part of the Tobermore electoral ward of the former Magherafelt District Council, however in 1901 and 1926 it was part of Iniscarn district electoral division as part of the Draperstown dispensary (registrar's) district of Magherafelt Rural District. It was also part of the historic barony of Loughinsholin.
Etymology Coolsaragh, despite the various different spellings, many of which contain erroneous letters, such as h for r and f for s, appears to derive from something like Culsaran or Coolsaran. The loss of the n at the end of the word, whilst not common in Irish placenames, has occasionally occurred elsewhere.
The "saran" could possibly be derived from the Irish word során, which means "wireworm", a kind of insect that is a considerable pest for farmers, eating the roots of tuberous plants. This would give the derivation of Cúil Során, meaning "recess of the wireworms". This however is unlikely to be the origin of Coolsaragh as it doesn't contain an article meaning "of the". The lack of this article suggests either a personal name or a now obsolete noun. The personal name Sárán is used in the townlands of Kilsaran and Tisaran, and was the name of several saints and an early king of Ulster, and is quite possibly the meaning of "saran" in Culsaran or Coolsaran.
History
+ PopulationYearPop. 1841 192 1851 186 1861 171 1871 165 1881 167 1891 143 1901 128 1911 114 1926 107
+ Size (acres, roods, poles) Year a, r, p 1851 526, 0, 16 1881 526, 0, 16 1901 526, 0, 16 1926 526, 2, 27
+ Earlier recorded forms Year Form 1609 Cowsaran (E.C.) 1613 Colsanan 1613 Consaran 1613 Coullaire (Charter) 1622 Coolsaram 1654 Cullsarran 1657 Consaren 1659c Coolesahan 1663 Culfanum 1767 Culsaragh 1813 Coolsarah 1834c Cool-sarragh (E.C.) - Escheated Counties Map 1609(Charter) - Charter of Londonderry 1613
See also Kilcronaghan List of townlands in Tobermore Tobermore
References HistPop; County and County Borough of Londonderry, 1926, page 24 HistPop; County of Londonderry, 1851, page 241 HistPop; Area, population and number of houses, Vol. III, Ireland, 1881, page 698 Place Names NI - Coolsaragh Notes on the Place Names of the Parishes and Townlands of the County of Londonderry, 1925, Alfred Moore Munn, Clerk of the Crown and Peace of the City and County of Londonderry HistPop; Area, houses, and population, Vol. III [Part 2], Ireland, 1901 Page 34 Toner, Gregory: Place-Names of Northern Ireland, page 118-119. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996,