Whatever the Crannlaght Tree once was, it is not visible at ground level today, which makes its continued presence on the historical record all the more quietly puzzling.

The name appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey six-inch map of 1840, which means that by the time the surveyors passed through Modeshil, the feature was considered significant enough to be labelled and fixed to the landscape. The word "crannlaght" derives from the Irish and relates to trees or a wooded place, suggesting that what was recorded may have been a notable tree, a grove, or a landmark associated with one. Such named trees were not uncommon in rural Ireland, often serving as boundary markers, assembly points, or places carrying older folk or legal significance. Whether the tree itself was already gone by 1840, or whether it survived into later decades before disappearing entirely, the map gives no indication. What it does confirm is that the name was attached to a specific spot, not a general area. About five hundred metres to the north-east along the same road lies the Modeshill settlement cluster, which includes the remains of a church and graveyard, suggesting this small stretch of Tipperary countryside carried a denser layer of community life than its present appearance might suggest.