Gortahurk ( and , ) is a townland lying within the civil parish of Kilcronaghan, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies on the extreme south-west of the parish on the boundary with the parish of Ballynascreen. It is bounded by the townlands of Brackaghlislea, Coolsaragh, Drumard, Keenaght, Letteran, Straw Mountain, Tintagh, and Tullyroan. It was apportioned to the Drapers company.
The townland was part of 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 Gortahurk derives its name from the Irish Gort an Choirce meaning "field of the oats". Two of the earliest recordings of this townland however—GortyIchorchy (1609) and Gort Okorte (1613)—suggest that the scribe felt that the final element of the name Gortahurk was a surname. This is testified by the use of the capital I in GortyIchorchy and the capital O in Okorte, both of which represent the Irish surname prefix Ui. Despite this no suitable surname is attested to in any of the major works on Irish surnames.
History
+ PopulationYearPop. 1841 186 1851 129 1861 98 1871 95 1881 99 1891 69 1901 66 1911 79 1926 62
+ Size (acres, roods, poles) Year a, r, p 1851 878, 2, 22 1881 878, 2, 22 1901 878, 2, 22 1926 873, 0, 29
+ Earlier recorded forms Year Form 1609 GortyIchorchy (E.C.) 1613 Gort Okorte 1613 Gortiharky (Charter) 1622 Gortocork 1654 Gorkcorke 1657 Gortihorky 1659c Gortikorky 1663 Gortkirk 1767 Gortahurk 1813 Gortahork (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 - Gortahurk 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 123-124. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996,