The origin and history of Irish names of places

THE

ORIGIN AND HISTORY

OF

IRISH NAMES OF PLACES

K W. £OYCE, LL.D.

One ef the Commissioners for the Publication of the Ancient Laws of Ireland

AUTHOR OF

"A SHORT HISTORY OF IRELAND"

A CHILD'S HISTORY OF IRELAND" "A SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND"

"OLD CELTIC ROMANCES" "ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC"

AND OTHER WORKS RELATING TO IRELAND

VOL. L

Cynallam cimceall na

LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO

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1910

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8

PREFACE.

cimcheall wa

— LET us WANDER
ROUND IRELAND : So wrote the
topographer, John O'Dugan, five
hundred years ago, when begin-
ning his poetical description of
Ireland, and so I address my readers
to-day. The journey will be at least a novel
one; and to those who are interested in the
topography of our country, in the origin of local
names, or in the philosophy of language, it may
be attended with some instruction and amusement.
The materials of this book were collected, and
the book itself was written, in the intervals of
serious and absorbing duties. The work of col-
lection, arrangement, and composition, was to me
a never-failing source of pleasure; it was often
interrupted and resumed at long intervals; and

«T. Preface.

if ever it involved labour, it was really and truly
a labour of love.

I might have illustrated various portions of the
book by reference to the local etymologies of
other countries ; and this was indeed my original
intention ; but I soon abandoned it, for I found
that the materials I had in hands, relating ex-
clusively to my own country, were more than
enough for the space at my disposal.

Quotations from other languages I have, all
through, translated into English; and I have
given in brackets the pronunciation of the prin-
cipal Irish w/>rds, as nearly as could be repre-
sented by English letters.

The local nomenclature of most countries of
Europe is made up of the languages of various
races : that of Great Britain, for instance, is a
mixture of Celtic, Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Danish,
and Norman French words, indicating successive
invasions, and interesting and valuable for that
very reason, as a means of historical research ;
but often perplexingly interwoven and difficult
to unravel. In our island, there was scarcely
any admixture of races, till the introduction of
an important English element, chiefly within the
last three hundred years — for, as I have shown
(p. 105), the Danish irruptions produced no
appreciable effect; and accordingly, our place-
names are purely Celtic, with the exception of
about a thirteenth part, which are English, and

Preface. til

mostly of recent introduction. This great name
system, begun thousands of years ago by the
first wave of population that reached our island,
was continued unceasingly from age to age, till it
embraced the minutest features of the country in
its intricate net- work ; and such as it sprang
forth from the minds of our ancestors, it exists
almost unchanged to this day.

This is the first book ever written on the
subject. In this respect I am somewhat in the
position of a settler in a new country, who has all
the advantages of priority of claim, but who
purchases them too dearly perhaps, by the labour
and difficulty of tracking his way through the
wilderness, and clearing his settlement from
primeval forest and tangled underwood.

On the journey I have travelled, false lights
glimmered every step of the way, some of which
I have pointed out for the direction of future
explorers. But I have had the advantage of twc
safe guides, Dr. John O'Donovan, and the Rev.
William Reeves, D.D. : for these two great scho-
lars have been specially distinguished, among the
honoured labourers in the field of Irish literature,
by their success in elucidating the topography of
Ireland.

To the Rev. Dr. Reeves I am deeply indebted
for his advice and assistance, generously volun-
teered to me from the very beginning. He
examined my proposed plan of the book in the

viii Preface.

first instance, and afterwards, during its progress
through the press, read the proof sheets — all
with an amount of attention and care, which
could only be appreciated by an actual inspection
of the well annotated pages, abounding with
remarks, criticisms, and corrections. How in-
valuable this was to me, the reader will understand
when he remembers that Dr. Reeves is the
highest living authority on the subject of Irish
topography.

My friend, Mr. William M. Hennossy, was
ever ready to place at my disposal his great
knowledge of the Irish language, and of Irish
topography. And Mr. O'Longan, of the Royal
Irish Academy, kindly lent me some important
manuscripts from his private collection, of which
I have made use in several parts of the book.

I have to record my thanks to Captain Berdoe
A. Wilkinson, R.E., of the Ordnance Survey, for
his kindness in procuring permission for me to
read the Manuscripts deposited in his office,
Phoenix Park. And I should be guilty of great
injustice if I failed to acknowledge the uniform
courtesy I experienced from Mr. Mooney, Chief
Clerk in the same office, and the readiness with
which both he and Mr. O'Lawlor facilitated my
researches.

I have also to thank the Council of the Royal
Irish Academy for granting me permission —
long before I had the honour of being elected a

Preface. ix

member of that learned body — to make use of
their library, and to consult their precious collec-
tion of Manuscripts.
.DUBLIN, July, 1869.

THE following is a list of the principal historical
and topographical works on Ireland published
within the last twenty years or so, which I have
quoted through the book, and from which I have
derived a large part of my materials : —

The Annals of the Four Masters, translated and edited
by John O'Donovan, LL.D., M.R.I.A. ; published
by Hodges and Smith, Dublin ; the noblest histo-
rical work on Ireland ever issued by any Irish
publisher — a book which every man should pos-
sess, who wishes to obtain a thorough knowledge
of the history, topography, and antiquities of
Ireland.

The Book of Bights; published by the Celtic Society;
translated and edited by John O'Donovan.
Abounding in information on the ancient tribes
and territories of Ireland.

The Battle of Moylena : Celt. Soc. Translated and
edited by Eugene O'Curry, M.B.I.A.

The Battle of Moyrath: Irish Arch. Soc. Trans-
lated and edited by John O'Donovan.

The Tribes and Customs of the district of Hy-Many :
Irish Arch. Soc. Translated and edited by John
O'Donovan.

jt Preface.

The Tribes and Customs of the district of Hy-
Fiachrach : Irish Arch. Soc. Translated and
edited by John O'Donovan (quoted as "Hy-
Fiachrach " through this book). *

A Description of H-Iar Connaught. By Roderick
O'Flaherty: Irish Arch. Soc. Edited by James
Hardiman, M.B.I.A.

The Irish version of the Historia Britonnm of Nen-
nius : Irish Arch. Soc. Translated aud edited by
James Henthorn Todd, D.D., M.RI.A.

Archbishop Colton's Visitation of the Diocese of
Derry, 1397: Irish Arch. Soc. Edited by the
Rev. William Reeves, D.D., M.B.I.A.

Cambrensis Eversus. By Dr. John Lynch, 1662 :
Celt. Soc. Translated and edited by the Rev.
Matthew Kelly.

The Life of St. Columba. By Adamnan : Irish Arch,
and Celt. Soc. Edited by the Rev. William
Reeves, D.D., M.B., V.P.R.I.A. This book and
the next contain a vast amount of local and his-
torical information, drawn from every conceivable
source.

Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dro-
more. Edited by the Rev. William Reeves, D.D.
M.B., M.R.I.A. (Quoted as the "Taxation of
1306," and " Reeves' Eccl. Ant.").

The Topographical Poems of O'Dugan and O'Heeren :
Irish Arch, and Celt. Soc. Translated and edited
by John O'Donovan.

The Calendar of the O'Clerys; or, the Martyrology
of Donegal ; Irish Arch, and Celt. Soc. Trans-
lated by John O'Donovan. Edited by Jamer

Preface. xi

Henthorn Todd, D.D., M.R.I.A., F.S.A. -. and the
Rev. William Beeves, D.D., M.R.I. A. (quoted as
"O'C. CaL").

The Wars of the Gaedhil with the Gaill. Published
under the direction of the Master of the Rolls.
Translated and edited by James Henthorn Todd,
D.D., &c. (Quoted as "Wars of GG.")-

The Chronicon Scotorum. Published under the di-
rection of the Master of the Rolls. Translated
and edited by William M. Hennessy, M.R.I.A.

Cormac's Glossary; translated by John O'Donovan;
edited by Whitley Stokes, LL.D.

Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History; delivered at the Catholic University
by Eugene O'Curry, M.R.I.A. Published by
James Duffy, Dublin and London.

The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland ; compris-
ing an Essay on the Origin and Uses of the
Round Towers of Ireland. By George Petrie,
R.H.A., V.P.R.I.A.

Among these, I must not omit to mention that most
invaluable work to the student of Irish Topography
and History, " The General Alphabetical Index to
the Townlands and Towns, the Parishes and Ba-
ronies of Ireland :" Census 1861: which was ever
in my hands during the progress of the book, and
without the help of which, I scarcely know how I
should have been able to write it.

I have also consulted, and turned to good account,
the various publications of the Ossianic Society,
which are full of information on the legends,
traditions, and fairy mythology of Ireland.

xii Preface.

On the most ancient forms of the various Irish root-
words and on the corresponding or cognate words
in other languages, I have derived my information
chiefly from Professor Pictet's admirable work,
" Les Origines Indo-Europeennes, on. les Aryas
Primitifs : " Zeuss' masterly work, " Grammatica
Celtica," in which the author quotes in every case
from manuscripts of the eighth, or the beginning
of the ninth century : Ebel's Celtic Studies :
translated by Wm. K. Sullivan, Ph.D., M.B.I.A. :
Irish Glosses ; a Mediaeval Tract on Latin Declen-
sion, by Whitley Stokes, A.B. ; and an Edition
with notes of Three Ancient Irish Glossaries
by the same accomplished philologist.

ADDENDUM.

Lectures on the Manners and Customs of the Ancient
Irish. By Eugene 0' Curry, M.R.I. A. Edited,
with Introduction, Appendices, &c., by W. K
Sullivan, Ph. D. Published in 1873.

CONTENTS.

PAET I.

THE IRISH LOCAL NAME SYSTEM.

PAGE

CHAPTER I. — How the Meanings have been ascer-
tained, ...... 1

CHAPTER II. — Systematic Changes, . . . .17

CHAPTER III. — Corruptions ,47

CIIAPTKK IV. — False Etymologies ,69

CHAPTJJB V. — The Antiquity of Irish Local Names, , 76

PAET II.

NAMES OF HISTORICAL AND LEGENDARY
ORIGIN.

CHAPTER I. — Historical Events, , , . , 86

CHAPTER II. — Historical Personages, ... 121

CHAPTER III. — Early Irish Saints, .... 142

CHAPTER IV. — Legends, 159

CHAPTER V. — Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts, 178

CHAPTER VI. — Customs, Amusements, and Occupations, 200

CHAPTER VII. — Agriculture and Pasturage, . . . 227

CHAPTER VIII. — Subdivisions and Measures of Land, . 241

IX. — Numerical Combinations, . . • 246

riv

Content*

PAKT III.

NAMES COMMEMORATING ARTIFICIAL
STRUCTURES.

PAOl

. 266

CHAPTER I. — Habitations and Fortresses,

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V,

CHAPTKR VI,

CHAPTER VII.— Mills and Kilns,

—Ecclesiastical Edifices, . . . .312
— Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries, . 329

. — Towns and Villages 347

— Fords, Weirs, and Bridges, . . . 385
— Roads and Causeways, . . 370

374

PAET IV.

NAMES DESCRIPTIVE OF PHYSICAL
FEATURES.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER IX.

I.

II.
Ill,
IV.

V.
VI.
VII.

—Mountains, Hills, and Rocks, . . 378

— Plains, Valleys, Hollows and Caves, . 422

—Islands, Peninsulas, and Strands, . 440

—Water, Lakes, and Springs, . . 446

—Rivers, Streamlets, and Waterfalls, . 454
— Marshes and JJogs, . . . .461

— Animals, *••*•• ^®&

—Plants, 491

—Shape and Position, . . . 522

INDEX OP NAMK ,

I.M>tX Of UOOT \VOK1J3,

533

583

IRISH NAMES OF PLACES.

PART I.
THE IRISH LOCAL NAME SYSTEM.

CHAPTER I.

HOW THE MEANINGS HAVE BEEN ASCERTAINED.

>| HE interpretation of a name
involves two processes : the
discovery of the ancient
orthography, and the de-
termination of the meaning of
this original form. So far as
Irish local names are concerned,
the first is generally the most
troublesome, while the second, with some excep-
tions, presents no great difficulty to an Irish
scholar.

There are cases, however, in which, although

we have very old forms of the names, we are still

-unable to determine the meaning with any degree

of certainty. In somo of these, it is certain that

VOL. i. 2

2 The Irish Local Name System. [PARTI

we are not in possession of the most ancient
orthography, and that the old forms handed down
to'us are nothing more than corruptions of others
still older ; but in most cases of this kind, our
ignorance is very probably due to the fact that
the root- words of which the names are composed
became obsolete before our most ancient manu-
scripts were written. Names of this class chal-
lenge the investigation, not so much of the Irish
scholar, as of the general philologist.

With respect to the names occurring in this
book, the Irish form and the signification are,
generally speaking, sufficiently well known to
warrant a certain conclusion ; and accordingly, as
the reader may observe, I have interpreted them
in almost all cases without any appearance of
hesitation or uncertainty. There are indeed names
in every part of the country, about whose mean-
ing we are still in the dark ; but these I have
generally avoided, for I believe it to be not only
useless but pernicious to indulge in conjecture
where certainty, or something approaching it, is
not attainable. I have given my authority when-
ever I considered it necessary or important ; but
as it would be impossible to do so in all cases
without encumbering the book with references,
and in order to remove any doubt as to the correct-
ness of the interpretations, I shall give here a short
sketch of the various methods by which the
meanings have been ascertained.

I. A vast number of our local names are per-
fectly intelligible, as they stand in their present
Anglicised orthography, to any person who has
studied the phonetic laws by which they have
been reduced from ancient to modern forms.
There can be no doubt that the Irish name of
Carricknadarriff, in the parish of Annahilt

CHAP. i/] How Meanings have been ascertained. 3

county of Down, is Carraig-na-dtarbh, the rock
of the bulls ; that Boherboy, the name of a vil-
lage in Cork, and of several places in other
counties, means yellow road (Bothar-buidhe) ; or
that Knockaunbaun in Galway and Mayo, signifies
white little hill.

But this process requires check and caution ;
the modern forms, however obvious in appearance,
are often treacherous ; and whoever relies on them
with un watchful confidence will sooner or later be
led into error. Carrick-on-Suir is what it appears
to be, for the Four Masters and other authorities
write it Carraig-na-Siuire, the rock of the Suir ;
and it appears to have got its name from a large
rock in the bed of the river. But if anyone
should interpret Carrick-on-Shannon in the same
way, he would find himself mistaken. The old
English name of the town was Carrickdrumrusk.
as it appears on the Down Survey map ; but the
first part should be Carra, not Carrick, to which
it has been corrupted ; for the place got its name
not from a rock, but from an ancient carra or
weir across the Shannon ; and accordingly the
Four Masters write it Caradh-droma-ruisc, the
weir of Drumroosk. Drumroosk itself is the
name of several townlands in the north-western
counties, and signifies the ridge of the roosk or
marsh.

II. In numerous other cases, when the original
forms are so far disguised by their English dress,
as to be in any degree doubtful, they may be dis-
covered by causing the names to be pronounced in
Irish by the natives of the respective localities.
When pronounced in this manner, they become
in general perfectly intelligible to an Irish scholar
— as much so as the names Queenstown and New-
castle are to the reader. Lisnanees is the name

4 The Irish Local Name System. [PAUT i.

:>f a place near Letterkenny, and whoever would
indertake to interpret it as it stands would pro-
bably find himself puzzled ; but it becomes plain
enough when you hear the natives pronounce it
with a g at the end, which has been lately
dropped : — Lios-na-naosg [Lisnaneesg], the fort
of the snipes (naosg, a snipe).

There is a small double lake, or rather two
little lakes close together, three miles from Glen-
garriff in Cork, on the left of the road to Castle-
town Bearhaven. They are called on the map?
Lough Avaul — a name I could never understand,
till I heard the local pronunciation, which at once
removed the difficulty ; the people pronounce it
Lough- aw-woul, which anyone with a little know-
ledge of Irish will recognise as Loch-dha-bhall,
the lake of the two spots, a name that describes it
with perfect correctness.

Take as another example Ballylongford near
the Shannon in Kerry : as it stands it is deceptive,
the first part of the name being apparently Bally
a town, which in reality it is not. I have a
hundred times heard it pronounced by the natives,
who always call it in Irish Beal-atha-longphuirt
[Bellalongfort], the ford-mouth of the fortress.
The name was originally applied to the ford over
the little river, long before the erection of the
bridge ; and it was so called, no doubt, because
it led to the longphort or fortress of Carrigaf oyle,
two miles distant. (See Ballyshannon).

Of this mode of arriving at the original forms
of names I have made ample use ; I have had
great numbers of places named in Irish, either in
the very localities, or by natives whom I have met
from time to time in Dublin ; and in this respect
I have got much valuable information from the
national schoolmasters who come twice, a year

CHA?. i.] Hou) Meanings have been ascertained. 5

from every part of Ireland to the Central Training
Establishment in Dublin. But in this method,
also, the investigator must be very cautious ; names
are often corrupted in Irish as well as in English,
and the pronunciation of the people should be
tested, whenever possible, by higher authority.

The more intelligent of the Irish-speaking pea-
santry may often assist the inquirer in determining
the meaning also ; but here he must proceed with
the utmost circumspection, and make careful use
of his own experience and judgment. It is very
dangerous to depend on the etymologies of the
people, who are full of imagination, and will
often quite distort a word to meet some fanciful
derivation; or they will account for a name by
some silly story obviously of recent invention, and
so far as the origin of the name is concerned, not
worth a moment's consideration.

The well-known castle of Carrigogunnell near
the Shannon in Limerick, is universally under-
stood by the inhabitants to mean the candle rock,
as if it were Carraig-na-gcoinneall ; and they tell
a wild legend, to account for the name, about a
certain old witch, who in times long ago lived on
it, and every night lighted an enchanted candle,
which could be seen far over the plain of Limerick,
and which immediately struck dead any person
who caught even its faintest glimmer. She was
at last vanquished and destroyed by St. Patrick ;
but she and her candle are immortalised in many
modern tourist books, and, among others, in Mrs.
Hall's "Ireland," where the reader will find a
well-told version of the story. But the Four
Masters mention the place repeatedly, and always
call it Carraig-0-gCoinnell, with which the pro-
nunciation of the peasantry exactly agrees ; this
admits of no exercise of the imagination, and

6 The Irish Local Name System. [PART 1.

banishes the old witch and her candle more
ruthlessly than even St. Patrick himself, for it
means simply the rock of the O'Connells, who
were no doubt the original owners.

The meaning of a name, otherwise doubtful,
will often be explained by a knowledge of the
locality. Quilcagh mountain in the north-west of
Cavan, near the base of which the Shannon rises,
is called in Irish by the inhabitants Cailceach
[Calkagh], which literally signifies chalky (Ir.
cailc, chalk ; Lat. calx] ; and the first view of the
hill will show the correctness of the name ; for it
presents a remarkably white face, due to the
presence of quartz pebbles, which are even brought
down in the beds of streams, and are used foi
garden- walks, &c.

Carrantuohill in Kerry, the highest mountain
in Ireland, is always called throughout Munster,
Carraunthoohill, and the peasantry will tell you
that it means an inverted reaping-hook, a name
which is apparently so absurd for a mountain, that
many reject the interpretation as mere silliness.
Yet whoever looks at the peak from about the
middle of the Hag's Valley, will see at once that
the people are quite right ; it descends on the
Killarney side by a curved edge, which the spec-
tator catches in profile, all jagged and serrated
with great masses of rock projecting like teeth,
without a single interruption, almost the whole
way down. The word tuathail [thoohill] means
literally left-handed ; but it is applied to anything
reversed from its proper direction or position ; and
the great peak is most correctly described by the
name Carran-tuathail, for the edge is toothed like
the edge of a carrdn, or reaping-hook ; but it
is a reaping-hook reversed, for the teeth are on a
convex instead of a concave edge.

CHAP. i.J Hoic Meanings have been ascertained. '

III. The late Dr. O'Donovan, wliile engaged in
the Ordnance Survey, travelled over a great part
of Ireland, collecting information on the traditions,
topography, and antiquities of the country. The
results of these investigations he embodied in a
series of letters, which are now deposited in the
Royal Irish Academy, bound up in volumes ; and
they form the most valuable body of information
on Irish topography in existence.

His usual plan was to seek out the oldest and
most intelligent of the Irish-speaking peasantry
in each locality, many of whom are named in his
letters; and besides numberless other inquiries,
he caused them to pronounce the townland and
other names, and used their assistance in inter-
preting them. His interpretations are contained
in what are called the Field Name Books, a series
of several thousand small parchment- covered
volumes, now lying tied up in bundles in the
Ordnance Office, Phoenix Park. The names of
all the townlands, towns, and parishes, and of
every important physical feature in Ireland, are
contained in these books, restored to their ori-
ginal Irish forms, and translated into English,
so far as O'Donovan's own knowledge, and the
information he received, enabled him to determine.

There are, however, numerous localities in every
one of the thirty-two counties that he was unable
to visit personally, and in these cases, instead of
himself hei ring the names pronounced, he was
obliged to content himself with the various modes
of spelling them prevalent in the neighbourhood,
or with the pronunciation taken down by others
from the mouths of the people, as nearly as they
were able to represent it by English letters. He
had a wonderful instinct in arriving at the mean-
ings of names, but the information he received

8 The Irish Locat Name Syi 'em. [PARTI.

from deputies often left him in great doubt, which
he not unfrequently expresses ; and his interpre-
tations, in such cases, are to be received with
caution, based, as they often are, on corrupt spell-
ing, or on doubtful information.

So far as time permitted, I have consulted
O'Donovan's letters, and the Field Name Books,
and I have made full use of the information de-
rived from these sources. I have had frequently
to use my own judgment in correcting what other
and older authorities proved to be erroneous ; but
I do not wish, by this remark, to underrate the
value and extent of the information I have re-
ceived from O'Donovan's manuscript writings.

I will give a few illustrations of names re-
covered in this way. There is a townland in
Cavan called Castleterra, which gives name to a
parish ; the proper pronunciation, as O'Donovan
found by conversation with the people, is Cussa-
tirry, representing the Irish Cos-a'-tsiwraigh, the
foot of the colt, which has been so strangely cor-
rupted ; they accounted for the name by a legend,
and they showed him a stone in the townland on
which was the impression of a colt's foot.

In the parish of Kilmore, in the same county,
the townland of Derrywinny was called by an in-
telligent old man, Doire-bhainne, and interpreted,
both by him and O'Donovan, the oak- grove of the
milk ; so called, very probably, from a grove
where cows used to be milked. Farnamurry near
Nenagh in Tipperary, was pronounced Farrany-
murry, showing that the name is much shortened,
and really signifies O'Murray's land ; and Bally-
hoos in Clonfert, Galway, was stripped of its de-
ceptive garb by being called Bile-chuais, the old
tree of the coos or cave.

IV. We have a vast quantity of topographical

CHAP, i.] How Meanings have been ascertained. 9

and other literature, written from a very early
period down to the 17th century, in the Irish lan-
guage, by native writers. Much of this has been
lately published and translated, but far the greater
part remains still unpublished.

Generally speaking, the writers of these manu-
scripts were singularly careful to transmit the
correct ancient forms of such names of places as
they had occasion to mention ; and accordingly it
may be stated as a rule, subject to occasional ex-
ceptions, that the same names are always found
spelled in the same way by all our ancient writers,
or with trifling differences depending on the period
in which they were transcribed, and not affecting
the etymology.

At those early times, the names which are now
for the most part unmeaning sounds to the people
using them, were quite intelligible, especially to
skilled Irish scholars ; and this accounts for the
almost universal correctness with which they
have been transmitted to us.

This is one of the most valuable of all sources of
information to a student of Irish local names, and
it is, of course, of higher authority than those I
have already enumerated : with the ancient forms
restored, it usually requires only a competent
knowledge of the Irish language to understand
and interpret them. I have consulted all the
published volumes, and also several of the unpub-
lished manuscripts in Trinity College and the
Royal Irish Academy. Great numbers of the
names occurring in the texts have been translated
in footnotes by the editors of the various pub-
lished manuscripts, and I have generally availed
myself of their authority. A list of the principal
works already published will be found in the
Preface.

10 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

Many of the local names occurring in these
manuscripts are extinct, but the greater number
exist at the present day, though disguised in an
English dress, and often very much altered. In
every such case it becomes a question to identify
the ancient with the modern name — to show that
the latter is only a different form of the former,
and that they both apply to the same place. A
great deal has been done in this direction by Dr.
O 'Donovan, Dr. Reeves, and other editors of the
published manuscripts, and I have generally
adopted their identifications.

This method of investigation will be understood
from the following examples : — At the year 586,
it is stated by the Four Masters that Bran Dubh,
King of Leinster, gained a battle over the Hy
Neill " at the hill over Cluain-Conaire ;" and they
also record, at the year 837, that a great royal
meeting took place there, between Niall Caille,
king of Ireland, and Felimy (son of Criffan),
king of Munster. In a gloss to the Calendar of
Aengus the Culdee, at the 16th of September,
Cluain-Conaire is stated to be "in the north of
Hy Faelain;" and this clearly identifies it with
the modern townland of Cloncurry, which gives
name to a parish in Kildare, between Kilcock and
Innfield, since we know that Hy Faelain was a
territory occupying the north of that county. As
a further corroboration of this, the old translator
of the Annals of Ulster, in rendering the record of
the meeting in 837, makes the name Cloncurry.

Once we have arrived at the form Cluain- Conaire,
the meaning is sufficiently obvious ; it signifies
Conary's lawn or meadow ; but who this Conary
was we have no means of knowing (see O'Dono-
van's Four Masters, Vol. I., p. 457).

Ballymagowan is the name of some townlands

CHAP, i.] How Meanings have been ascertained. 11

in Donegal and Tyrone, and signifies Mac Gowan's
town. But Ballymagowan near Derry is a very
different name, as will appear by reference to some
old authorities. In Sampson's map it is called
Ballygowan, and in the Act 4 Anne, " Ballygan,
alias Ballygowan :" while in an Inquisition taken
at Derry, in 1605, it is designated by the English
name Canons' land. From all this it is obviously
the place mentioned in the following record in
the Four Masters at 1537: — "The son of
O'Doherty was slain in a nocturnal assault by
Rury, son of Felim O'Doherty, at Baile-na-
gcananach [Ballynagananagh], in the Termon of
Derry." This old Irish name signifies the town
of the canons, a meaning preserved in the Inq.
of 1605 ; while the intermediate forms between
the ancient and the modern very corrupt name
are given in Sampson and in the Act of Anne.

In Adamnan's Life of St. Columba (Lib. ii.,
Cap. 43) it is related, that on one occasion, while
the saint was in Ireland, he undertook a journey,
in which " he had for his charioteer Columbanus,
son of Echuid, a holy man, and founder of a mo-
nastery, called in the Scotic tongue Snamh-Luthir."
In the Life of St. Fechin, published by Colgan
(Act. SS., p. 136 b.), we are informed that " the
place which is called Snamh-Luthir is in the re-
gion of Cairbre-Gabhra ;" and O'Donovan has
shown that Carbery-Goura was a territory situ-
ated in the north-east of Longford ; but the pre
sent identification renders it evident that it
extended northwards into Cavan.

In an Inquisition taken at Cavan in 1609, the
following places are mentioned as situated in the
barony of Loughtee: — "Trinitie Island scituate
near the Toagher, . . . Clanlaskin, Derry,
Bleyncupp, and Dromore, Snawlugher and Kille-

Ix? The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

vallie" (Ulster Inq., App. vii.) ; Snawlugher
being evidently the ancient Snamh-Luthir. We
find these names existing at the present day in the
parish of Kilmore, in this barony, near the town
of Cavan, in the modern forms of Togher, Clon-
loskan, Derries, Bleancup, Drutnmore, Killyvally,
Trinity Island ; and there is another modern
townland called Slanore, which, though more al-
tered than the others, is certainly the same as
Snawlugher. If this required further proof we
have it in the fact, that in Petty's map Slanore 19
called Snalore, which gives the intermediate step.

Snamh-Luthir is very well represented in pro-
nunciation by Snawlugher of the Inquisition.
This was shortened by Petty to Snalore without
much sacrifice of sound ; and this, by a metathesis
common in Irish names, was altered to Slanore.
Luthir is a man's name of frequent occurrence in
our old MSS., and Snamh-Luthir signifies the
swimming- ford of Luthir. This ingenious iden-
tification is due to Dr. Reeves. (See Reeves's
Adamnan, p. 173).

V. Some of the early ecclesiastical and histo-
rical writers, who used the Latin Language, very
often when they had occasion to mention places,
gave, instead of the native name, the Latin equiva-
lent, or they gave the Irish name accompanied by
a Latin translation. Instances of this kind are to
be found in the pages of Adamnan, Bede, Gir-
aldus Cambrensis, Colgan, O'Sullivan Bear, and
others. Of all the sources of information ac-
cessible to me, this, so far as it extends, is the
most authentic and satisfactory ; and accordingly
I have collected and recorded every example of
importance that I could find.

These men, besides being, many of them, pro-
foundly skilled in the Irish language, and speaking

CHAP, i.] How Meanings have been ascertained. 13

it as their mother tongue, lived at a time when the
local names of the country were well understood ;
their interpretations are in almost all cases beyond
dispute, and serve as a guide to students of the pre-
sent day, not only in the very names they have
translated, but in many others of similar structure,
or formed from the same roots. How far this is
the case will appear from the following examples.

St. Columba erected a monastery at Durrow, in
the King's County, about the year 509, and it con-
tinued afterwards during his whole life one of his
favourite places. The old Irish form of the name
is Dairmag or Dearmagh, as we find it in Adam-
nan : — " A monastery, which in Scotic is called
Dairmag ;" and for its interpretation we have also
his authority ; for when he mentions it in lab. i.,
Cap. 29, he uses the Latin equivalent, calling it
" Roboreti campus," the plain of the oaks. Bede
also gives both the Irish name and the translation
in the following passage : — " Before he (Columba)
passed over into Britain, he had built a noble
monastery in Ireland, which, from the great numbei
of oaks, is in the Scotic language called Dearmagh,
the field of the oaks" (Lib. iii., Cap. 4). Dair, an
oak ; magh, a plain.

It is hardly necessary to remark that the name
was in use ages before the time of St. Columba,
who adopted it as he found it ; and it has been
softened down to the present name by the aspira-
tion of the consonants, Dearmhagh being pro-
nounced Darwah, which gradually sunk to
Durrow.

Durrov on the borders of the Queen's County
and Kilkenny, has the same original form and
meaning, for we find it so called in O'Clery's
Calendar at the 20th of October, where St. Mael-
dubh is mentioned as " from Dermagh iL HyDuach,

14 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

in the north of Ossory," which passage also shows
that Durrow, though now included in the Queen's
County, formerly belonged to the territory of
Idough, in Kilkenny.

There are several townlands in other parts of
Ireland called Durrow, Durra, and Durha ; and
although we have no written evidence of their
ancient forms, yet, aided by the pronunciation of
the peasantry, and guided by the analogy of Dur-
row, we cannot hesitate to pronounce that they are
all modern forms of Dearmhagh.

We find the same term forming part of the name
of Dunderrow, a village and parish in Cork, whose
ancient name is preserved in the following entry
from the Book of Leinster, a MS. of the 12th cen-
tury, recording an event that occurred early in the
ninth : — " By them (i. e. the Danes) were demol-
ished Dun-der-maigi and Inis-Eoganain' (Owenan's
or Little Owen's island or river-holm, now Ini-
shannon on the river Bandon : " "Wars of GGr.," p.
233). Dunderrow signifies the fortress of the oak-
plain, and the large dun from which it was called
is still in existence in the townland of Dunderrow,
half a mile south of the village.

Drumhome in Donegal takes its name from an
ancient church originally dedicated to St. Adam-
nan (see O'Clery's Calendar at 23rd Sept). O'Clery
and the Four Masters call it Druim-tuama, which
seems to imply that they took it to mean the ridge
of the tumulus. Adamnan himself, however, men-
tions it in his life of St. Columba (Lib. iii. Cap.
23) by the equivalent Latin name Dorsum Tommce ;
and Colgan (A. SS. p. 9, n. 6) notices this, adding
the words, " for the Irish druim signifies the same
as the Latin dorsum." From which it appears
evident that both Adamnan and Colgan regarded
Tommae as a personal name ; for if it meant tumulus,

CHAP, i.] HDIC Meanings have been ascertained. 15

the former would, no doubt, have translated it as
he did the first part, and the latter would be pretty
sure to have a remark on it. The name, therefore,
signifies the ridge or long hill of Tomma, a pagan
woman's name ; and this is the sense in which
Lynch, the author of Cambrensis Eversus, under-
stands it (Camb. Evers. II. 686).

About four miles from Bantry, on the road to
Inchigeela, are the ruins of Carriganass castle,
once a stronghold of the O'Sullivans. O'Sullivan
Bear mentions it in his History of the Irish
Catholics, and calls it Torrentirupcs, which is ai
exact translation of the Irish name Carraig-an-easa,
the rock of the cataract ; and it takes its name
from a beautiful cascade, where the Ouvane falls
over a ledge of rocks, near the castle.

There is another place of the same name in the
parish of Ardagh, near Youghal, and another still
in the parish of Lackan, Mayo ; while, in Armagh
and in Tyrone, it takes the form of Carrickaness —
all deriving their name from a rock in the bed of
a stream, forming an eas or waterfall.

VI. When the Irish original of a name is not
known, it may often be discovered from an old form
of the anglicised name. These early English forms
are found in old documents of various kinds in the
English or Latin language — inquisitions, maps,
charters, rolls, leases, &c., as well as in the pages
of the early Anglo-Irish historical writers. The
names found in these documents have been em-
balmed in their pages, and preserved from that
continual process of corruption to which modern
names have been subjected ; such as they sprang
from their Irish source they have remained, while
many of the corresponding modern names have
been altered in various ways.

They were obviously, in many instances, taken

16 The Irish Local Name Si/xtem. [PAKT i.

down from the native pronunciation; and very
often they transmit the original sound sufficiently
near to suggest at once to an Irish scholar, prac-
tised in these matters, the proper Irish form. Drs.
O'Donovan and Reeves have made much use ol
this method, and I have succeeded, by means of it,
in recovering the Irish forms of many names.

Ballybough, the name of a village near Dublin,
is obscure as it stands ; but in an Inquisition of
James I., it is called Ballybought, which at once
suggests the true Irish name Baile-bocht, poor
town ; and Ballybought, the correct anglicised
form, is the name of some townlands in A.ntrim,
Kildare, Cork, and Wexford. With the article
intervening we have Ballinamought, the name of
a hamlet near Cork city, and Ballynamought near
Bantry in the same county, both meaning the town
of the poor people : — b eclipsed by m — page 22.

Cappancur near Geashill, King's County, is
mentioned in an Inquisition of James I., and
spelled Keapancurragh, which very fairly represents
the pronunciation of the Irish Ceapach-an-chur-
raigh, the tillage-plot of the currayh or marsh.

There is a townland in the parish of Aghaboe,
Queen's County, the name of which all modern au-
thorities concur in calling Kilminfoyle. It is cer-
tain, however, that the n in the middle syllable
has been substituted for /, for it is spelled in the
Down Survey map Killmullf oyle : this makes it
perfectly clear, for it is a very good attempt to
write the Irish Cill-Maolphoil, Mulfoyle's Church,
Mulfoyle being a man's name of common occur-
rence, signifying St. Paul's servant.

It would be impossible to guess at the meaning
of Ballyboughlin, the name of a place near Clara,
King's County, as it now stands ; but here also
the Down Survey opens the way to the original

CHAP. ii. J Systematic Changes. 17

name, by spelling it Bealaboclone, from which it is
obvious that the Irish name is Beal-atha-bochluana^
the ford of the cow-meadow, the last part, bochluain,
cow-meadow, being a very usual local designation.

CHAPTER II.

SYSTEMATIC CHANGES.

E are many interesting peculiarities in the
process of altering Irish topographical names from
ancient to modern English forms ; and the changes
and corruptions they have undergone are, in nu
merous instances, the result of phonetic laws that
have been in operation from the earliest times, and
among different races of people. Irish names,
moreover, afford the only existing record of the
changes that Irish words undergo in the mouths of
English-speaking people; and, for these reasons,
the subject appears to me to possess some import-
ance, in both an antiquarian and a philological
point of view.

I. Irish Pronunciation preserved. — In anglicising
Irish names, the leading general rule is, that the
present forms are derived from the ancient Irish,
as they were spoken, not as they were written.
Those who first committed them to writing aimed
at preserving the original pronunciation, by re-
presenting it as nearly as they were able in Eng-
lish letters. Generally speaking, this principle
explains the alterations that were made in the spell-
ing of names in the process of reducing them
from ancient to modern forms ; and, as in the Irish
VOL. i. 3

18 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

language there is much elision and softening oi
consonants; as, consequently, the same sound
usually take a greater number of letters to repre-
sent them in Irish than in English ; and since, in
addition to this, many of the delicate sounds of the
Irish words were wholly omitted, as impossible tc
be represented in English ; for all these reasons
the modern English forms of the names are almost
always shorter than the ancient Irish.

Allowing for the difficulty of representing Irish
words by English letters, it will be found that, on
the whole, the ancient pronunciation is fairly pre-
served. For example, Drummuck, the name of
several places in Ulster, preserves almost exactly
the sound of the Irish Druim-muc, the ridge of the
pigs ; and the same may be said of Dungarvan, in
Waterford and Kilkenny, the Irish form of which
is Dun-Garbhain (Four Mast.), meaning Garvan's
fortress. Not quite so well preserved, but still
tolerably so, is the sound of Baile-d -riclire [Bally-
ariddery], the town of the knight, which is now
called Balrothery, near Dublin. In some excep-
tional cases the attempts to represent the sound
were very unsuccessful, of which Ballyagran, the
name of a village in Limerick, may be cited as an
example ; it ought to have been anglicised Bellaha-
gran, the original form being Bel-atha-grean, the
ford-mouth of the gravel. Cases of this kind
are more common in Ulster and Leinster than in
the other provinces.

Whenever it so happens that the original com-
bination of letters is pronounced nearly the same in
Irish and English, the names are commonly
modernised without much alteration either of spel-
ling or pronunciation ; as for instance, dun, a fort,
is usually anglicised dun or doon; bo, a cow, bo ;
iruim, a long hill, drum; leitir, a wet hill- side,

CHAP, it.] Systematic Changes. 19

letter, &c. In most cases, however, the same letters
do not represent the same sounds in the two lan-
guages ; and, accordingly, while the pronunciation
was preserved, the original orthography was in
almost all cases much altered, and, as I have said,
generally shortened. The contraction in the spell-
ing is sometimes very striking, of which Lorum in
Carlow affords a good illustration, the Irish name
being Leamhdhruim [Lavrum], the drum or ridge
of the elms.

II. Aspiration. — The most common causes of
change in the reduction of Irish names are aspi-
ration and eclipsis ; and of the effects of these
two grammatical accidents, it will be necessary to
give some explanation.

0 'Donovan defines aspiration — " The changing
of the radical sounds of the consonants, from being
stops of the breath to a sibilance, or from a
stronger to a weaker sibilance ; so that the aspira-
tion of a consonant results in a change of sound."
There are nine of the consonants which, in certain
situations, may be aspirated : b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s,
and t. The aspiration is denoted either by placing
a point over the letter (cj, or an h after it (ch) ;
by this contrivance letters that are aspirated are
still retained in writing, though their sounds are
wholly altered. But as in anglicising names these
aspirated sounds were expressed in English by
the very letters that represented them, there was,
of course, a change of letters.

B and m aspirated (bh, mh\ are both sounded
like v or w, and, consequently, where we find bh or
mh in an Irish name, we generally have v or w in
the English form : examples, Ardvally in Sligo and
Donegal, from the Irish Ard-bhaik, high town ;
Ballinvana in Limerick, Baik-an-bhana, the town
of the green field; Ballinwully in Roscommon,
Baile-an-mhullaigh, the town of the summit.

20 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

Very often they are represented by / in Eng-
lish, as we see in Cloondaff in Mayo, from Cluain-
damh, ox-meadow ; Boherduff, the name of several
townlands in various counties, Bdthar-dubh, black
road. And not unfrequently they are altogether
suppressed, especially in the end of words, or
between two vowels, as in Knockdoo in Wicklow,
the same as Kuockduff in other places, Cnoc-dubh,
black hill ; Knockrour or Knockrower in the
southern counties, which has been made Knock-
ramer, in Armagh, all from Cnoc-reamhar, fat or
thick hill.

For c aspirated see next Chapter.

D and <7 aspirated (dk, gh], have a faint guttural
sound not existing in English ; it is something
like the sound of y (in yore), which occasionally
represents it in modern names, as in Annayalla in
Monaghan, Eanaigh-gheala, the white marshes, so
called, probably, from whitish grass or white bog
flowers. But these letters, which even in Irish
are, in some situations not sounded, are generally
altogether unrepresented in English names, as in
Lisnalee, a common local name in different parts
of the country, which represents the Irish Lios-
na-laegh, the fort of the calves, a name having its
origin in the custom of penning calves at night
within the enclosure of the lis ; Reanabrone near
Limerick city, Reidh-na-bron, the marshy flat of
the mill-stone or quern ; Ballintoy in Antrim,
Baile-an-tuaidh, the town of the north.

F aspirated (fh) totally loses its sound in Irish,
and of course is omitted in English, as in Bauran-
eag in Limerick, Barr-an-fhiaigh, the hill-top of
the deer; Knockanree in Wicklow, Cnoc-an-
fhraeigh, the hill of the heath.

P aspirated (ph], is represented by /, as in
Ballinfoyle, the name of a place in "Wicklow, and

CHAP. ii. J Systematic Changes. 21

of another near Galway, Baile-an-phoill, the town
of the hole; Shanlongford in Deny, Sean-longphort,
the old longfort or fortification.

-S and t aspirated (sA, th), both sound the same
as English h, as in Drumhillagh, a townland name
of frequent occurrence in some of the Ulster
counties, Druim-shaileach, the ridge of the sallows,
which often also takes the formDrumsillagh, where
the original « sound is retained; Drumhuskert
in Mayo, Druimthuaisceart, northern drum or ridge.

III. Eclipsis. — O'Donovan defines eclipsis,
" The suppression of the sounds of certain radical
consonants by prefixing others of the same organ."
When one letter is eclipsed by another, both are
retained in writing, but the sound of the eclipsing
letter only is heard, that of the eclipsed letter,
which is the letter proper to the word, being
suppressed. For instance, when d is eclipsed by
n it is written n-d, but the n alone is pronounced.
In representing names by English letters, however,
the sound only was transmitted, and, consequently
the eclipsed letter was wholly omitted in writing,
which, as in case of aspiration, resulted in a
change of letter.

"All initial consonants that admit of eclipsis
are eclipsed in all nouns in the genitive case
plural, when the article is expressed, and some-
times even in the absence of the article " (O'Dono-
van's Grammar). S is eclipsed also, under similar
circumstances, in the genitive singular. Although
there are several other conditions under which con-
sonants are eclipsed, this, with very few excep-
tions, is the only case that occurs in local names.

The consonants that are eclipsed are b, c, d,f,
g, p, s, t, and each has a special eclipsing letter
of its own.

B is eclipsed by m. Lugnamuddagh near Boyle,

22 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

Hoscommon, represents the Irish Lug-na-mbodach,
the hollow of the bodaghs or churls ; Knocknamoe
near Abbeyleix, Queen's County, Cnoc-na-mbo,
the hill of the cows ; Mullaghnamoyagh in Derry,
Mullach-na-mboitheach, the hill of the byres, or
cow-houses.

C is eclipsed by g. Knocknagulliagh, Antrim,
is reduced from the Irish Cnoe-na-gcoilleach, the
hill of the cocks or grouse ; Cloonagashel near
Ballinrobe, ought to have been anglicised Coolna-
gashel, for the Four Masters write the name Cuil-
na-(jcaiseal, the angle of the cashels or stone forts.

7) and g are both eclipsed by n. Killynamph,
in the parish of Aghalurcher, Fermanagh, Coitt-
na-ndamh, the wood of the oxen ; Mullananallog in
Monaghan, Mu^ach-na-ndealg, the summit of the
thorns or thorn-bushes. The eclipsis of g very
seldom causes a change, for in this case the n and
g coalesce in sound in the Irish, and the g is
commonly retained and the n rejected in the
English forms ; as, for instance, Cnoc-na-ngabhar
[Knock-nung-our], the hill of the goats, is angli-
cised Knocknagore in Sligo and Down, and Knock-
nagower in Kerry.

F is eclipsed by bh which is represented by v
in English. Carrignavar, one of the seats of the
Mac Carthys in Cork, is in Irish Carraig-na-bhfear,
the rock of the men ; Altnaveagh in Tyrone and
Armagh, Alt-na-bhfiach, the cliff of the ravens;
Lisnaviddoge near Templemore, Tipperary, Lios-
na-bhfeadog, the lis or fort of the plovers.

P is eclipsed by b. Gortnaboul in Kerry and
Clare, Gort-na-bpoll> the field of the holes : Cor-
nabaste in Cavan, Cor-na-bpiast, the round-hill of
the worms or enchanted serpents.

8 is eclipsed by t, but this occurs only in the
genitive singular, with the article, and sometimes

CHAP. ii. j Systematic Changes. 23

without it. Ballintaggart, the name of several
places in various counties from Down to Kerry,
represents the Irish Baile-an-tsagairt, the town of
the priest, the same name as Ballysaggart, which
retains the s, as the article is not used ; Knock-
atancashlane near Caherconlish, Limerick, Cnoc-
a'-tsean-chaisledin, the hill of the old castle ; Kil-
tenanlea in Clare, Cill-tSenain-leith, the church of
Senan the hoary ; Kiltenan in Limerick, Cill-
tSenain, Senan' s church.

T is eclipsed by d. Ballynadolly in Antrim
Baile-na-dtulach, the town of the little hills ; Gort-
nadullagh near Kenmare, Gort-na-dtulach, the
field of the hills ; Lisnadurk in Fermanagh, Lios-
na-dtorc, the fort of the boars.

IY. Effects of the Article. — The next series of
changes I shall notice are those produced under
the influence of the article. Names were occa-
sionally formed by prefixing the Irish definite
article an to nouns, as in the case of Anveyerg
in the parish of Aghnamullan, Monaghan, which
represents thelrish An-bheith-dkearg,ihe red birch-
tree. When the article was in this manner placed
before a word beginning with a vowel, it was
frequently contracted to n alone, and this n was
often incorporated with its noun, losing ultimately
its force as an article, and forming permanently a
part of the word. The attraction of the article is
common in other languages also, as for instance
in French, which has the words Ihierre, lendemain,
luette, Lisle, Lami, and many others, formed by
the incorporation of the article /.

A considerable number of Irish names have
incorporated the article in this manner ; among
others, the following : Naul, the name of a village
near Balbriggan. The Irish name is an dill, i. e. the
rock or cliff, which was originally applied to the

24 The Irish Local Name System. [PART. i.

perpendicular rock on which the castle stands —
rising over the little river Delvin near the village.
The word was shortened to naill, and it has de-
scended to us in the present form Naul, which
very nearly represents the pronunciation.

The parish of Neddans in Tipperary, is called
in Irish na feadain, the brooks or streamlets, and
it took its name from a townland which is now
often called Fearann-na-bhfeadan, the land of the
streamlets. Ninch in Meath, the inch or island.
Naan island in Lough Erne, the ain or ring, so
called from its shape; Nart in Monaghan, an
fheart, the grave.

Nuenna river in the parish of Freshford, Kil-
kenny— an uaithne [an oohina], the green river.
The river Nore is properly written an Fheoir, i. e.
the Feoir ; Boate calls it " The Nure or Oure,"
showing that in his time (1645) the article had
not been permanently incorporated. Nobber in
Meath; the obair or work, a name applied ac-
cording to tradition, to the English fortress
erected there. Mageognegan, in his translation
of the " Annals of Clonmacnoise," calls it " the
Obber."

It is curious that in several of these places a
traditional remembrance of the use of the article
still exists, for the people often employ the
English article with the names. Thus Naul is
still always called " The Naul," by the inhabi-
tants : in this both the Irish and English articles
are used together ; but in " The Oil " (the aill or
rock), a townland in the parish of Edermine,
Wexford, the Irish article is omitted, and the
English used in its place.

While in so many names the article has been
incorporated, the reverse process sometimes took
place ; that is, in the case of certain words which

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Changes. " 25

properly began with n, this letter was detached in
consequence of being mistaken for the article.
The name tfacAow##/m7[Oohongwal], is an example
of this. The word Congbhail means a habitation,
but it was very often applied to an ecclesiastical
establishment, and it has been perpetuated in the
names of Conwal, a parish in Donegal ; Conwal in
the parish of Rossinver, Leitrim ; Cunnagavale*
in the parish of Tuogh, Limerick ; and other places.
With nua (new) prefixed, it became Nuachong-
bhail, which also exists in several parts of Ireland,
in the forms of Noughaval and Nohoval. This
word is often found without the initial n, it being
supposed that the proper word was Uachongbhaii
and n merely the article. In this mutilated state
it exists in the modern names of several places, viz. :
Oughaval in the parish of Kilmacteige, Sligo ; the
parish of Oughaval in Mayo ; and Oughaval in the
parish of Stradbally, Queen's County ; which last
is called by its correct name Nuachongbhail, in
O'Clery's Calendar at the 15th May. This is also
the original name of Faughanvale in Derry, which
is written Uachongbhaii by the Four Masters. This

* This place is called Cunnaghabhail in Irish by the people,
and it is worthy of notice, as it points directly to what appears
to be the true origin of Congbhail, viz., congabhaU. 1 am
aware that in O'Clery's Glossary, Congbhail is derived from
combhaile (con + baile). But in a passage in the " Book of
Armagh," as quoted by Dr. W. Stokes in his Irish Glosses, I
find the word congabaim used in the sense of habito ; and
O'Donovan states that congeb = he holds (Sup. to O'R. Diet.).
The infinitive or verbal noun formation is congabail or con-
gabhail, which, according to this use, means habitatio; and as
Colgan translates Congbhail by the same word habitatio, there
can be, I think, no doubt that congbhail is merely a contracted
form of congabhaU. CongabhaU literally means conceptio, i.e.
comprehending or including ; and as applied to a habitation,
would mean the whole of the premises included in the establish

26 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

old name was corrupted to Faughanvale by peo-
ple who, I suppose, were thinking of the river
Faughan ; which, however, is three miles off, and
had nothing whatever to do with the original name
of the place.

The word Uachongbhail has a respectable anti-
quity in its favour, for "The Book of Uachong-
bhail" is mentioned in several old authorities, among
others the Book of Ballymote, and the Yellow
Book of Lecan ; the name occurs also in the Four
Masters at 1197. Yet there can be no doubt that
Nuachongbhail is the original word, for we have
the express authority of Colgan that nua not ua is
the prefix, as he translates Nuachongbhail by nova
liabitatio ; indeed ua as a prefix could, in this case,
have scarcely any meaning, for it never signifies
anything but " a descendant."

The separation of the n may be witnessed in
operation at the present day in Kerry, where the
parish of Nohoval is locally called in Irish some-
times Uachobhail and sometimes an Uachobhail, the
n being actually detached and turned into the
article. (See O'Donovan's Letter on this parish.)
That the letter n may have been lost in this man-
aer appears also to be the opinion of Dr. Graves,
for in a paper read before the R. I. Academy in
December, 1852, he remarks that the loss of the
initial n in the words oidhche (night) and uirnhir
(a number) " may perhaps be accounted for, by
supposing that it was confounded with the n of the
article."

The words eascu (or easgan), an eel, and eas (or
easog), a weasel, have, in like manner, lost the
initial n, for the old forms, as given in Cormac's
Glossary, are naiscu and ness. Dr. Whitley Stokes,
also, in his recent edition of this Glossary, directs
attention to the Breton Ormandi for Normandy,

CHAP, ii.] (Systematic Changes. 27

and to the English adder as compared with the
Irish nathir (a snake) and Lat. natrix; but in these
two last examples it is probahle that the article
has nothing to do with the loss of the n.

As a further confirmation of this opinion regard-
ing the loss of n in Uachongbhail, I may state that
the letter / is sometimes lost in French and Italian
words from the very same cause ; as in Fr. once
(Eng. ounce, an animal), from Lat. lynx; it was
formerly written lonce, and in the It. lonza, the / is
still retained. Fr. azur (Eng. azure), from lazulus.
So also It. uscigmiolo, the nightingale, from Im-
cinia ; and It. orbacca, a berry, from laun-bacca.

Even in English there are some cases both of
the loss and of the accession of the article : "an
eft" has been made " newt ;" and the reverse pro-
cess is seen in the word " adder," which has been
corrupted from " nadder." There seems a ten-
dency to prefix n (whether the article or not), as
in Nell for Ellen, Ned for Edward, &c. At one
time " tother" was very near being perpetuated for
'' the other" — " The creature's neither one nor
t'other."

Another change that has been, perhaps, chiefly
produced by the influence of the article, is the
omission or insertion of the letter/. The article
causes the initial consonants of feminine nouns
(and in certain cases those of masculine nouns
also) to be aspirated. Now aspirated / is wholly
silent ; and being omitted in pronunciation, it
was, in the same circumstances, often omitted in
writing. The Irish name of the river Nore affords
an instance of this. Keating and O'Heeren write
it Feoir, which is sounded Eoir when the article is
prefixed (an Fheoir). Accordingly, it is written
without the / quite as often as with it ; the Four
Masters mention it three times, and each time

28 The Irish Local Name System. [PA-RT i.

they call it Eoir. The total silence of this lettei
in aspiration appears to be, to some extent at
least, the cause of its uncertain character. In the
case of many words, the writers of Irish seem
either to have inserted or omitted it indifferently,
or to have been uncertain whether it should be
inserted or not ; and so we often find it omitted,
even in very old authorities, from words where it
was really radical, and prefixed to other words to
which it did not belong. The insertion of /is very
common in the south of Ireland. (See O'Donovan's
Gram., p. 30, and O'Brien's Irish Diet., p. 446.)

The following words will exemplify these
remarks : from dill, a rock or cliff, we have a great
number of names — such as Aillenaveagh in Gal-
way, Aill-na-bhfiach, the raven's cliff, &c. But it
is quite as often called faill, especially in the
south ; and this form gives us many names, such
as Foilduff in Kerry and Tipperary, black cliff ;
Foylatalure in Kilkenny, the tailor's cliff. Aill I
believe to be the most ancient form of this word,
for Aill-finn (Elphin) occurs in the Tripartite
Life of St. Patrick. So with uar and fuar, cold ;
and Fahan on Lough Swilly, is sometimes written
Fathain, and sometimes Athain, and Othain, by
the Four Masters.

The /has been omitted by aspiration in the
names Lughinny in the parish of Killahy, Kil-
kenny, and in Lughanagh in the parish of
Killosolan, Galway, both of which represent the
Irish an fhliuchaine [an luhiny], the wet land;
and also in Ahabeg, in the parish of Carrigparson,
Limerick, anfhaithche beag, the little green. In
these names, the article, after having caused the
aspiration of the/, has itself dropped out ; but it
has held its place in Nurchossy near Clogher in
Tyrone, the Irish name of which is an fliuar-

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Changes. 29

chosach, the cold foot or cold bottom-land, $o called
probably from its wetness. A place of this name
Fuarchosach) is mentioned by the Four Masters
at 1584, but it lies in Donegal : there is a little
island in Lough Corrib, two miles and a half
north-east from Oughterard, with the strange
name of Cussafoor, which literally signifies " cold
feet ; " and Derreenagusfoor is the name of a town-
land in the parish of Kilcummin in Galway,
signifying the little oak-wood of the cold feet.

The /has been affixed to the following words to
which it does not radically belong : fan for an, stay ;
fiolar for iolar, an eagle ; fainne for ainne, a ring,
&c. It has also been inserted in Culfeightrin, the
name of a parish in Antrim, which is properly
Cuil-eachtrann, the corner or angle of the strangers.
Urney in Tyrone is often called Furny, as in the
record of Primate Colton's Visitation (1397), and
the / is also prefixed in the Taxation of Down,
Connor, and Dromore (1306), both showing that
the corruption is not of recent origin.

I must notice yet another change produced by
the article. When it is prefixed to a masculine
noun commencing with a vowel, a t should be in-
serted between it and the noun, as anam, soul, an
tanam, the soul.* In the case of a few names, this
t has remained, and has become incorporated with
the word, while the article has disappeared. For
example, Turagh in the parish of Tuogh, Limerick,
i. e. an t-iubhrach, the yew land ; Tummery in the
parish of Dromore, Tyrone, an t-iomaire, the ridge ;
so also Tassan in Monaghan, the assan or little
cataract , Tardree in Antrim, an tard-fhraeigh, the
height of the heather. The best known example

* This t is really a part of the article ; but the way in
which I have stated the case will be more familiar to readers
of modern Irish.

30 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

of this is Tempo in Fermanagh, which is called in
Irish an t-Iompodh deisiol [antimpo deshil], iompodh
meaning turning, and deisiol, dcxtrosum — from left
to right. The place received its name, no doubt,
from the ancient custom of turning sun-ways, i. e.
from left to right in worship. (See deas, in 2nd
Volume. )

V. Provincial Differences of Pronunciation. —
There are certain Irish words and classes of words,
which by the Irish-speaking people are pro-
nounced differently in different parts of the
country ; and, in accordance with the general rule
to preserve as nearly as possible the original pro-
nunciation, these provincial peculiarities, as might
be anticipated, are reflected in the modern names.
This principle is very general, and large numbers
of names are affected by it ; but I shall notice
only a few of the most prominent cases.

In the southern half of Ireland, the Irish letters
a and o are sounded in certain situations like ou
in the English word ounce* Gabhar, a goat, is
pronounced gowr in the south, and gore in the
north ; and so the name Lios-na-ngabhar (Four
Mast. : the lis or fort of the goats) is anglicised
Lisnagower in Tipperary, and Lisnagore in Mo-
naghan. See also Ballynahown, a common town-
land name in the south (Baik-na-habhann, the
town of the river), contrasts with Ballynahone,
an equally common name in the north. Fionn
(white or fair), is pronounced feoun or fiune in
Minister, as in Bawnfoun in Waterford, and
Bawnfune in Cork, the white or fair-coloured
field. In most other parts of Ireland it is pro-
nounced fin, as in Findrum in Donegal and
Tyrone, which is written by the Four Masters

* For this and the succeeding provincial peculiarities see
O'Donovan's Grammar, Part I., Chaps, i. and IL

CHAP. ii. J Systematic Changes. 31

Findmim, white or fair ridge ; and this form is
often adopted in Munster also, as in Finnahy in
the parish of Upperchurch, Tipperary, Fionn-
fhaithche, the white plat or exercise-field.

The sound of b aspirated (bh = v) is often sunk
altogether in Munster, while it is very generally
retained in the other provinces, especially in
Connaught. In Derrynanool in the parish of
Marshalstown, Cork (Doire-na-nabhall, the grove
of the apples), the bh is not heard, while it is
fully sounded in Avalbane in the parish of Clon-
tibret, Monaghan (Abhall-bdn, white orchard),
and in Killavil in the parish of Kilshalvy, Sligo
(Cill-abhaill, the church of the apple-tree).

In certain positions adh is sounded like Eng.
eye, in the south ; thus clad/i, which generally
means a raised dyke of clay, but sometimes a sunk
ditch or fosse, is pronounced cly in the south, as
in Cly duff in Cork, Limerick, and King's County,
black dyke. More northerly the same word is
made da or claw ; as in Clawdowen near Clones,
deep ditch ; Clawinch, an island in Lough Ree,
the island of the dyke or mound.

Adh in the termination of words is generally
sounded like oo in Connaught; thus madadh, a
dog, is anglicised maddoo in Carrownamaddoo, the
quarterland of the dogs, the name of three town-
lands in Sligo, while the same name is made
Carrownamaddy in Roscommon and Donegal.

One of the most distinctly marked provincial
peculiarities, so far as names are concerned, is the
pronunciation that prevails in Munster of the
final gh, which is sounded there like English hard
g in. Jig. Great numbers of local names are in-
fluenced by this custom. Ballincollig near Cork
is Bailc-an-chullaigh, the town of the boar ; and
Ballintannig in the parish of Ballinaboy, Cork,

32 The Irish Local Name System. [PART. 1.

Baik-an-t-seanaigh, the town of the fox. The
present name of the river Maigue in Limerick is
formed on the same principle, its Irish name, as
written in old authorities, being Maigh, that is
the river of the plain. Nearly all the Munster
names ending in g hard are illustrations of this
peculiar pronunciation.

It is owing to a difference in the way of pro-
nouncing the original Irish words, that cluain (an
insulated bog meadow) is sometimes in modern
names made cloon, sometimes don, and occasionally
clone; that dun (a fortified residence) is in one
place spelt doon, in another dun, and in a third
down ; that in the neighbourhood of Dublin, bally
is shortened to bal; in Donegal rath is often made
rye or ray; and that disert is sometimes made ister
and tristle, &c. &c.

VI. Irish Names with English Plurals. — It is
very well known that topographical names are
often in the plural number, and this is found to
be the case in the nomenclature of all countries.
Sometimes in transferring foreign names of this
kind into English, the original plurals are re-
tained, but much oftener they are rejected, and
replaced by English plurals, as in the well-known
examples, Thebes and Athens.

Great numbers of Irish topographical names
are in like manner plural in the originals. Very
frequently these plural forms have arisen from
the incorporation of two or more denominations
into one. For example, the townland of Rawes in
the parish of Tynan, Armagh, was originally two,
which are called in the map of the escheated
estates (1609) Banragh and Douragh (Ban-rath,
and Dubh-rath, white rath and black rath) ; but
they were afterwards formed into a single town-
land, which is now called Rawes, that is Raths.

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Changes. 33

There is a considerable diversity in the manner
of anglicising these plural forms. Very often
the original terminations are retained ; as in
Milleeny in the parish of Ballyvourney, Cork,
Millinidhe, little hillocks, from meall, a hillock.
Oftener still, the primary plural inflection is re-
jected, and its place supplied by the English
termination. Keeloges is the name of about
twenty- six townlands scattered all over Ireland ;
it means " narrow stripes or plots," and the Irish
name is Caeloga, the plural of caelog. Carrigans
is a common name in the North, and Carrigeens
in the South; it is the anglicised form of Car-
raiginidhe, little rocks. Daars, a townland in the
parish of Bodenstown, Kildare, means "oaks,"
from dairghe, plural of dair, an oak. So Mullans
and Mullauns, from muttdin, little flat hills ; Der-
reens, from doirmidhe, little derries or oak-groves •
Bawnoges, from bdnoga. little green fields, &c.

In other names, the Irish plural form is wholly
or partly retained, while the English termination
is superadded ; and these double plurals are very
common. Killybegs, the name of a village in
Donegal, and of several other places in different
parts of Ireland, is called by the Four Masters,
Cealla-beaga, little churches. The plural of cluain
(an insulated meadow) is cluainte, which is angli-
cised Cloonty, a common townland name. With
s added it becomes Cloonties, the name of some
townlands, and of a well-known district near
Strokestown, Roscommon, which is called Cloon-
ties, because it consists of twenty-four townlands,
all whose names begin with Cloon.

VII. Transmission of Oblique Forms. — In the

transmission of words from ancient into modern

European languages, there is a curious principle

very extensive in its operation, which it will be

VOL. i. 4

34 The Irish Local Name System [PART i.

necessary to notice briefly. When the genitive
case singular of the ancient word differed mate-
rially from the nominative, when, for instance, it
was formed by the addition of one or more con-
sonants, the modern wcrd was very frequently
derived, not from the nominative, but from one of
the oblique forms — commonly the dative.

All English words ending in ation are examples
of this, such as nation : the original Latin is natw,
gen. nationis, abl. natione, and the English has
preserved the n of the oblique cases. Lat. pars,
gen. partis, &c. ; here again the English word
part retains the t of the genitive.

This principle has been actively at work in the
reduction of names from Irish to modern English
forms. There is a class of nouns, belonging to
the fifth declension in Irish, which form their
genitive by adding n or nn to the nominative, as
itrsa, a door jamb, genitive ursan, dative ursain;
and this n is obviously cognate with the n of the
third declension in Latin.

Irish names that are declined in this manner
very often retain the n of the oblique cases in
their modern English forms. For example, Car-
hooii, the name of a place in the parish of Kil-
brogan, Cork, and of two others in the parishes of
Beagh and Tynagh, Galway, is the genitive or
•iative of Carhoo, a quarter of land: — Irish
ceathramha, gen. ceathramhan. In this manner,
we get the modern forms, Erin, Alban, Rathlin,
from Eire, Alba (Scotland), Reachra.

Other forms of the genitive, besides those of
the fifth declension, are also transmitted. Even
within the domain of the Irish language, the
same tendency may be observed, in the changes
from ancient to modern forms ; and we find this
very often the case in nouns ending in ach, and

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Changes. 35

which make the gen. in aigh. Tulach, a hill, for
instance, is tulaigh in the genitive; this is now
very often used as a nominative, not only by
speakers, but even by writers of authority, and most
local names beginning with Tully are derived
from it ; such as Tully alien on the Boyne, above
Drogheda, which is most truly described by its
Irish name Tulaigh- dlainn, beautiful hill.

The genitive of teach, a house, is tighe, dative
tigh, and at the present day this last is the uni-
versal name for a house all over the south of
Ireland. Many modern names beginning with Ti
and Tee are examples of this ; for, although the
correct form teach is usually given in the Annals,
the modern names are derived, not from this, but
from tigh, as the people speak it.

There is an old church in King's County, which
has given name to a parish, and which is called
in the Calendars, Teach-Sarain, Saran's house.
St. Saran, the original founder of the church, was
of the race of the Dealbhna, who were descended
from Olioll Olum, King of Munster (O'Clery's
Cal. 20th Jan.) ; and his holy well, Tobar-Sarain,
is still in existence near the church. The people
call the church in Irish, Tigh-Sarain, and it is
from this that the present name Tisaran is de-
rived.

VIII. Translated Names. — "Whoever examines
the Index list of townlands will perceive, that
while a great preponderance of the names are ob-
viously Irish, a very considerable number are plain
English words. These English names are of three
classes, viz., really modern English names, imposed
by English-speaking people, such as Kingstown,
Castleblakeney, Charleville ; those which are
translations of older Irish names ; and a third
class to which I shall presently return. With

36 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

the first kind — pure modern English names — I
have nothing to do; I shall only remark that
they are much less numerous than might be at
first supposed.

A large proportion of those townland names
that have an English form, are translations, and
of these I shall give a few examples. The Irish
name of Cloverhill in the parish of Kilmacowen,
Sligo, is Cnoc-na-seamar, the hill of the shamrocks ;
Skinstown in the parish of Rathbeagh, Kilkenny,
is a translation of Baile-na-gcroiceann ; and Nutfield,
in the parish of Aghavea, Fermanagh, is correctly
translated from the older name of Aghnagrow.

Among this class of names, there are not a few
whose meanings have been incorrectly rendered ;
and such false translations are generally the re-
sult of confounding Irish words, which are nearly
alike in sound, but different in meaning. Fresh-
ford in Kilkenny should have been called Fresh-
field ; for its Irish name is Achad-ur (Book of
Leinster), which, in the Life of St. Pulcherius
published by Colgan, is explained, "Achadh-ur,
i. e. green or soft field, on account of the moisture
of the rivulets which flow there." The present
translation was adopted because achadh, a field,
was mistaken for ath, a ford. The Irish name of
Strokestown in Roscommon, is not Baik-na-
mbuille, as the present incorrect name would imply,
but Bel-atha-na-mbuille, the ford (not the town) of
the strokes or blows. In Castleventry, the name of
a parish in Cork, there is a strange attempt at pre-
serving the original signification. Its Irish name
is Caislean-na-gaiet/ie, the castle of the wind, which
has been made Castleventry, as if ventry had some
connection in meaning with ventus.

In the parish of Red City, in Tipperary, there
formerly stood, near the old church, an ancient

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Changes. 37

caher or fort, built of red sandstone, and called
from this circumstance, Caherderg, or red fort.
But as the word caher is often used to signify a
city, and as its application to the fort was for-
gotten, the name came to be translated Red City,
which ultimately extended to the parish.

In some of the eastern counties, and especially
in Meath, great numbers of names end in the
word town ; and those derived from families are
almost always translated so as to preserve this
termination, as Drakestown, Gernonstown, Cruice-
town, &c. But several names are anglicised very
strangely, and some barbarously, in order to force
them into compliance with this custom. Thus
the Irish name of Mooretown, in the parish of
Ardcath, is Baile-an-churraigh, the town of the
moor or marsh ; Crannaghtown in the parish of
Balrathboyne, is in Irish Baile-na-gcrannach, the
town of the trees. There is a place in the parish
of Martry, called Phosnixtown, but which in an
Inquisition of James I. is written Phenockstown ;
its Irish name is Baile- na-bhfionnog [Ballyna-
vinnog], the town of the scaldcrows, and by a
strange caprice of error, a scaldcrow or finnoge is
here converted into a phoenix !

Many names, again, of the present class, are
only half translations, one part of the word being
not translated, but merely transferred. The
reason of this probably was, either that the un-
changed Irish part was in such common use as a
topographical term, as to be in itself sufficiently
understood or that the translators were ignorant
of its English equivalent. In the parish of Bally-
carney, Wexford, there is a townland taking its
name from .a ford, called in Irish Sgairbh-an-
Bhreathnaigh [Scarriff-an-vranny], Walsh's scariff,
or shallow ford, and this with an obvious altera-

38 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

tion, has given name to the barony of Scarawalsh.
In Cargygray, in the parish of Annahilt, county
of Down, gray is a translation of riabhacha and
cargy is the Irish for rocks; the full name is
Cairrge-riabhacha, grey rocks. The Irish name
of Curraghbridge, near Adair in Limerick, is
Droichet-na-corra, the bridge of the weir or dam,
and it is anglicised by leaving corra nearly un-
changed, and translating droichet to bridge. I
shall elsewhere treat of the term Eochaill (yew
wood) and its modern forms : there is a townland
near Tullamore, King's County, with this Irish
name, but now somewhat oddly called the Wood of
0. In some modern authorities, the place is
called The Owe ; so that while chaill was correctly
translated wood, it is obvious that the first syllable,
co (yew), was a puzzle, and was prudently left
untouched.

IX. Irish Names simulating English Forms. —
The non-Irish names of the third class, already
alluded to, are in some respects more interesting
than those belonging to either of the other two.
They are apparently English, but in reality Irish;
and they have settled down in their present forms,
under the action of a certain corrupting influence,
which often comes into operation when words are
transferred (not translated) from one language
into another. It is the tendency to convert the
strange word, which is etymologically unintelli-
gible to the mass of those beginning to use it,
into another that they can understand, formed by
a combination of their own words, more or less
like the original in sound, but almost always
totally different in sense. This principle exists
and acts extensively in the English language, and
it has been noticed by several writers — among
others by Latham, Dr. Trench, and Max Muller,

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Cnanges.- 39

the last of whom devotes an entire lecture to it
under the name of " Popular Etymology." These
writers explain by it the formation of numerous
English words and phrases ; and in their writings
may be found many amusing examples, a few of
which I shall quote.

The word " beefeater " is corrupted from buff-
etier, which was applied to a certain class of
persons, so called, not from eating beef, but be-
cause their office was to wait at the buffet. Shot-
over Hill, near Oxford, a name which the people
sometimes explain by a story of Little John
shooting an arrow over it, is merely the French
Chateau Vert. The tavern sign of "The goat
and compasses " is a corruption of the older sign-
board, "God encompasseth us;" "The cat and
the wheel" is "St. Catherine's wheel;" Brazenose
College, Oxford, was originally called Brazenhuis,
i. e. brew-house, because it was a brewery before
the foundation of the college ; " La rose des
quatre saisons " becomes " The rose of the quarter
sessions ; " and Bellerophon is changed to " Billy
ruffian," &c., &c.

This principle has been extensively at work in
corrupting Irish names, much more so indeed
than anyone who has not examined the subject
can imagine ; and it will be instructive to give
some characteristic instances.

The best anglicised form of coill, a wood, is kill
or kyle ; in many names, however, chiefly in the
north of Ireland, it is changed to the English
word field. Cranfield, the name of three town-
lauds in Down, Antrim, and Tyrone, is in Irish
creamhchoill [cravwhill], i. e. wild garlick-wood.
Leamhchoill [lavwhill], a very usual name, mean-
ing "elm-wood," is generally transformed into
the complete English word Longfield, which forms

40 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

the whole or part of a great many townland
names. The conversion of choill into field seems a
strange transformation, but every step in the
process is accounted for by principles examined in
this and next chapter, namely, the conversion of
ch into f, the addition of d after /, and the tend-
ency at present under consideration, namely, the
alteration of the Irish into an English word.
There are many townland names in the South,
as well as in the North, in which the same word
coill is made hill. Who could doubt but that
Coolhill in the parish of the Rower, Kilkenny,
means the cool or cold hill ; or that Boy -hill in the
parish of Aghavea, Fermanagh, is the hill of the
boys ? But the first is really cukhoill [coolhilll,
backwood, and the second buidhechoill [bwee-hill],
yellow- wood. So also Scaryhill in Antrim, rocky-
wood ; Cullahill in Tipperary, and Queen's County,
hazel-wood ; and many others.

Mointedn [moan-thaun], boggy land, and Moin-
tin [moantheen], a little bog, are in the South
very generally anglicised mountain, as in Ballyna-
mountain, Kilmountain, Coolmountain, &c., all
townland names ; and in both North and South,
uachtar, upper, is frequently changed to water, as
in Ballywater in Wexford, upper town ; Bally-
watermoy in Antrim, the town of the upper plain ;
Kilwatermoy in Waterford, the church of the
upper plain. Braighid, a gorge, is made broad, as
in Knockbroad in Wexford, the hill of the gorge ;
and the genitive case of conadh, firewood, appears
as honey, as in Magherahoney in Antrim, the field
of the firewood.

Many of these transformations are very ludic-
rous, and were probably made under the influence
of a playful humour, aided by a little imagination.
There is a parish in Antrim called Billy ; a town-

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Changes. 41

land in the parish of Kinawly, Fermanagh, called
Molly ; and another, in the parish of Ballinlough,
Limerick, with the more ambitious name of
Cromwell ; but all these sail under false colours,
for the first is bile [bille], an ancient tree; the
second mdlaighe [mauly] , hill-brows, or braes ;
and Cromwell is nothing more than crom-choill
[crumwhill], stooped (crom) or sloping- wood. The
pointed little hill over the Ballycorus lead mines,
near Enniskerry, is well known by the name of
Katty Gollagher ; but the correct name is Carrig-
Ollaghan or Carrig- Uallaghan, Ollaghan's or Hoola-
han's rock.

There is a townland in Kerry and another in
Limerick with the formidable name Knockdown,
but it has a perfectly peaceful meaning, viz.,
brown hill. It required a little pressure to force
Tuaim-drecon (Four Masters : Brecon's burial
mound) into Tomregan, the name of a parish on
the borders of Fermanagh and Cavan ; Tuaim-coill,
the burial mound of the hazel, a name occurring
in several parts of "Wexford and Wicklow, is very
fairly represented in pronunciation by the present
name Tomcoyle ; Barnycarroll would be taken as
a man's name by anyone; for Barny (Bernard)
is as common in Ireland as a Christian name, as
Carroll is as a surname ; but it is really the name
of a townland in the parish of Kilcolman in Mayo,
representing exactly the sound of Bearn-Ui-
Chearbhaitt, O'Carroll's gap; and in case of
Laithreach-Chormaic, in Derry (Cormac's larha or
house-site), the temptation was irresistible to call
it as it is now called, Larrycormac.

There are several places in Tipperary and
Limerick called by the Scriptural name Mount-
sion : but mount is only a translation of cnoc, and
sion, an ingenious adaption of sidhedn [sheeawn],

42 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

a fairy mount ; the full Irish name being
Cnoc-d-tsidheain [Knocateean], fairy-mount hill:
and Islafalcon in the parish of Ardtramon,
Wexford, is not what it appears to be, the
island of the falcon, but Oiledn-a'-phocdin [Ilaun-
a-fockaun], the island or river holm of the buck
goat.

"We have a very characteristic example of this
process in the name of the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
This word Phoenix (as applied to our park) is a
corruption of fionn-uisg* [feenisk], which means
clear or limpid water. It was originally the
name of the beautiful and perfectly transparent
spring well near the phoenix pillar, situated just
outside the wall of the Viceregal grounds, behind
the gate lodge, and which is the head of the
stream that supplies the ponds near the Zoolo-
gical Gardens. To complete the illusion, the
Earl of Chesterfield, in the year 1745, erected a
pillar near the well, with the figure of a phoenix
rising from its ashes on the top of it ; and most
Dublin people now believe that the Park received
its name from this pillar. The change from
fionn-uisg1 to phoenix is not peculiar to Dublin, for
the river Finisk, which joins the Blackwater
below Cappoquin, is called Phoenix by Smith in
his History of Waterford.

X. Retention of Irish written Forms. — To the
general rule of preserving the pronunciation, there
is a remarkable exception of frequent occurrence.
In many names the original spelling is either
wholly or partly preserved ; — in other words, the
modern forms are derived from the ancient, not
as they were spoken, but as they were written.
In almost all such cases, the names are pronounced
in conformity with the powers of the English
letters ; and accordingly whenever the old ortho'

CHAP. IT.] Systematic Changes. 43

graphy is retained, the original pronunciation is
generally lost.

This may be illustrated by the word rath, which
is in Irish pronounced raw. There are over 400
townland names beginning with this word in the
form of ra, rah, raw, and ray ; these names are
derived from the spoken, not the written originals ;
and, while the pronunciation is retained, the spell-
ing is lost. There are more than 700 names com-
mencing with the word in its original form, rath,
in which the correct spelling is preserved ; but the
pronunciation is commonly lost, for the word is
pronounced rath to rhyme with bath. It is worthy
of remark, however, that the peasantry living in
or near these places, to whom the names have been
handed down orally, and not by writing, generally
preserve the correct pronunciation ; of which
Rathmines, Rathgar, Rathfarnham, and Rathcoole
are good examples, being pronounced by the peo-
ple of the localities, Ra-mines, Ra-gar, Ra-f arnham,
and Ra-coole.

The principal effect of this practice of retaining
the old spelling is, that consonants which are aspi-
rated in the original names, are hardened or re-
stored in the modern pronunciation. To illustrate
these principles I have given the following short
list of words that enter frequently into Irish names,
each containing an aspirated letter ; and after each
word, the names of two places of which it forms a
part, In the first of each pair, the letter is aspi-
rated as it ought to be, but the original spelling is
lost ; in the second, the orthography is partly or
wholly preserved, and the letter is not aspirated,
but sounded as it would indicate to an English
reader, and the proper pronunciation is lost : —

1. Ath [ah], a ford : Agolagh in Antrim, Ath-
gobhlach, forked ford ; Athenry in Galway, a cor-

44 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

nipt form from Ath-na-riogh (Four Masters), the
ford of the kings. 2. Gaoth, wind (gwee) ; Mas-
tergeeha, two townlands in Kerry, Masteragwee
near Coleraine, and Mostragee in Antrim, the
master of the wind, so called from the exposed
situation of the places ; Balgeeth, the name of some
places in Meath, windy town, the same as Ballyna-
geeha and Ballynagee in other counties. 3. Tamh-
nach, a green field [tawnagh] ; Fintona in Tyrone,
written by the Four Masters Fionn-tamhnach, fair-
coloured field ; Tamnyagan in the parish of Ban-
agher, Derry, O'Hagan's field. 4. Damh [dauv],
an ox ; Davillaun near Inishbofin, Mayo, ox-
island ; Madame in the parish of Kimaloda, Cork,
Magh-damh, the plain of the oxen.

A remarkable instance of this hardening process
occurs in some of the Leinster counties, where the
Irish word bothar [boher] , a road, is converted into
batter. This word " batter" is, or was, well under-
stood in these counties to mean an ancient road ;
and it was used as a general term in this sense in
the patents of James I. It signifies in "Wexford, a
lane or narrow road : — " Bater, a lane bearing to a
high read." (" Glossary of the dialect of Forth
and Bargy." By Jacob Poole : Edited by "William
Barnes, B.D.). "As for the word Bater, that in
English purpozeth a lane bearing to an highway, I
take it for a meer Irish worde that crept unawares
into the English, through the daily intercourse of
the English and Irish inhabitants." (Stanyhurst
quoted in same).

The word occurs in early Anglo-Irish documents
in the form of bothir, or bothyr, which being pro-
nounced according to the powers of the English
letters, was easily converted into batter or batter.
It forms a part of the following names : — Batters-
town, the name of four townlands in Meath, which

CHAP, ii.] Systematic Changes. 45

were always called in Irish Baile-an-bh6thair, i.e.,
the town of the road ; and anglicised by changing
bothar to batter, and translating bails to town. Bat-
ter John and Ballybatter are also in Meath. Near
Drogheda there is a townland called Grreenbatter;
and another called Yellowbatter, which are called
in Irish, Boherglas and Boherboy, having the same
meanings as the present names, viz. green road and
yellow road.

"We have also some examples in and around Dub-
lin, one of which is the well-known name of Stony-
batter. Long before the city had extended so far,
and while Stonybatter was nothing more than a
country road, it was — as it still continues to be —
the great thoroughfare to Dublin from the districts
lying west and north-west of the city ; and it wae
known by the name of Bothar-na-g clock [Boherna-
glogh], i.e. the road of the stones, which was
changed to the modern equivalent, Stonybatter or
Stonyroad. One of the five great roads leading
from Tara, which were constructed in the second
century, viz. that called Slighe Cualann, passed
through Dublin by Ratoath, and on towards Bray ;
under the name of Bealach Duibhlinne (the road or
pass of the [river] Duibhlinn)* it is mentioned in
the following quotation from the "Book of
Rights :"—

" It is prohibited to him (the king of Erin) to go with a host
On Monday over the Bealach Duibhlinne"

The old ford of hurdles, which in those early
ages formed the only foot passage across the Lif-
fey, and which gave the name of Ath-Cliath to the
city, crossed the river where Whitworth Bridge

* Duibhlinn was originally the name of that part of the Ldffey
on which the city now stands.

46 The Irish Local Name System. [PART L

now stands, leading from Church-street to Bridge-
street ;* and the road from Tara to Wicklow must
necessarily have crossed the Liffey at this point.
There can be, I think, no doubt that the present
Stonybatter formed a portion of this ancient road
— a statement that is borne out by two independent
circumstances. First — Stonybatter lies straight
on the line, and would, if continued, meet the
Liffey exactly at Whitworth Bridge. Secondly,
the name Stonybatter, or Bothar-na-gcloch, affords
even a stronger confirmation. The most important
of the ancient Irish roads were generally paved
with large blocks of stone, somewhat like the old
Roman roads — a fact that is proved by the remains
of those that can now be traced. It is exactly this
kind of a road that would be called by the Irish —
even at the present day — Bohernaglogh ; and the
existence of this name, on the very line leading to
the ancient ford over the Liffey, leaves scarcely
any doubt that this was a part of the ancient Slighe
Cualann. It must be regarded as a fact of great
interest, that the modern-looking name Stony-
batter — changed as it has been in the course of
ages — descends to us with a history seventeen
hundred years old written on its front.

Booterstown (near Dublin) is another member
of the same family ; it is merely another form
of Batterstown, i.e. Roadtown. In a roll of about
the year 1435 it is written in the Anglo-Irish
form, BaUybothyr (Baik-an-bhothair — town of the
road), of which the present name, Booterstown, is
a kind of half translation. In old Anglo-Irish
documents frequent mention is made of a road
leading from Dublin to Bray. In a roll of the
fifteenth century it is called Bothyr-de-Bree

•Gilbert's " History of Dublin," Vol. I., chap. IX

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 47

(road of Bray) ; and it is stated that it was by this
road the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles usually came to
Dublin.* It is very probable that the Booters-
town road and this Bray road were one and tho
same, and that both were a continuation of tl c
ancient Slighe Cualann.

CHAPTER TIL

CORRUPTIONS.

WHILE the majority of names have been modern-
ised in accordance with the principles just laid
down, great numbers, on the other hand, have been
contracted and corrupted in a variety of ways.
Some of these corruptions took place in the Irish
language ; but far the greatest number were in-
troduced by the English-speaking people in trans-
ferring the words from the Irish to the English
language. These corruptions are sometimes so ex-
tremely irregular and unexpected, that it is impos-
sible to reduce them to rule, or to assign them to
any general or uniform influence except mere
ignorance, or the universal tendency to contrac-
tion. In most cases, however, they are the result
of laws or principles, by which certain consonants
have a tendency to be substituted for others, or to
be placed before or after them, some of which are
merely provincial, or attributable to particular
races of people, while the influence of others mav
be traced throughout the whole of Ireland. Some
of these laws of corruption have been noticed by Dr.

* For this information about Booterstown and Bothyr-de-
Bree, I am indebted to Mr. Gilbert.

48 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

O'Donovan and Dr. Reeves ; and I have given ex-
pression to others : I have here brought them all,
or the most important of them, under one view,
and illustrated each by a number of examples.

I. Interchange of 1, r, n, m. — The interchange of
these letters is common in most languages ; it
would be easy, if necessary, to give examples, from
every language of Europe. For instance, the
modern name Bologna is a corruption of the an-
cient Bononia ; Palermo of Panormus ; Amsterdam
of Amstel-dam (the dam of the river Amstel) ,'
Rousillon of Ruscino, &c. &c.

The substitution of these letters, one for another,
is also exceedingly common in Irish names ; and
since this kind of corruption prevails in Irish as
well as in English, the names were altered in this
particular respect, quite as much in one language
as in the other. L appears to have been a
favourite letter, and the instances are particularly
numerous in which it is substituted for the letter
r. The word sruthair [sruher], a stream, forms
the whole or part of many names ; and generally
— but not always — the r has been changed /, as in
Shrule, Shruel, Struell, Sroohill, all names of places
in different parts of Ireland. Biorar, watercress,
is now always called in Irish biolar, in which form
it enters into several names, as, for example, Agha-
viller, a parish in Kilkenny ; the Four Masters
call it Achadh-biorair [Ahabirrer], the field of the
watercresses, but the present spoken Irish name is
Achadh-bhiolair, from which the English form is
derived ; in Toberburr near Finglas, Dublin, the
original r is retained (Tobar-biorair, watercress
well). Loughbrickland in Down was anciently
Loch-Bricrenn (Four Masters), the lake of Bricriu ;
and it received its name from an Ulster poet of the
time of king Conor Mac JN"essa (1st cent.), who, on

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 49

account of the bitterness of his satires, was called
Bricriu Nemhthenga — Bricriu of the poison-tongue
(see O'Curry, Lect. III. 17).

N is also sometimes, though not often, changed
to /, as in the case of Castleconnell near Limerick,
which is the castle of the O'Connings, not of the
O'Connells, as the present form of the name
would indicate. The O'Connings, or as they are
now called Gunnings, were chiefs of the territory
of Aes-Greine, extending from Knockgrean to
Limerick ; and this was their principal castle.

The change of n to r is one of frequent occur-
rence ; an example of which is the name of Kil-
macrenan in Donegal, which is called in Irish
authorities, Cill-mac-nEnain, translated hy Colgan,
the church of the sons of Enan, who were con-
temporaries and relatives of St. Columba.

The Irish name of Limerick is Luimneach
[Liminegh : Book of Leinster, &c.], which was
formerly applied to a portion of the river Shannon ;
as the following passage from an ancient poem on
the death of St. Cuimmin of Clonfert, quoted by
the Four Masters at 561, will show : —

" The Luimneach did not bear on its bosom, of the race of

Munster, into Leath Chuinn,

A corpse in a boat so precious as he, Cummine, son of
Fiachna;"

and the modern name was derived from this, by a
change of n to r, and by substituting ck for the
guttural in the end.

The root of the word is lorn, bare, of which
luimne is a diminutive form (see for the diminu-
tive termination ne, 2nd Vol., c. n.) ; and from
this again was developed, by the addition of the
adjective postfix ach, the full name Luimneach
which signifies a bare or barren spot of land, and
which was applied to the place long before the
VOL. i. 5

60 The Irish Local Name System. [PART l

foundation of the city. Several conjectural and
legendary derivations of the name are cited by
Maurice Lenihan in the " Kilk. Arch. Jour., '
1864-6, p. 425, note 1 ; but I do not think it
necessary to notice them here.

In connection with the name of Limerick, it
may be remarked that lorn, bare, is a usual com-
ponent of local names. There is a place called
Lumcloon near the village of Cloghan in King's
County, which the Four Masters call Lomchluain,
bare cloon or meadow ; or more fully Lomchluain-
I-Fhlaithile, from the family of O'Flahily, or aa
they now call themselves, Flattery. There are
other places of the same name in Carlow and
Wicklow ; and it takes the form of Lomcloon in
Sligo. Clonlum in Armagh, and Cloonloum in
Clare, have the same meaning, the root words
being reversed.

Luimneach itself is a name of frequent occur-
rence, but only in one other place is it anglicised
Limerick, namely, in the parish of Kilcavan in
Wexford. It takes the form of Limnagh in
Sligo ; of Lumnagh near Ballyvourney in Cork ;
and of Luimnagh in Galway. Lomanagh, the
name of some places in Kerry ; Lomaunagh (-baun
and -roe, whitish and reddish) in Galway; and
Loumanagh in Cork, are slightly different in
formation ; but they have all the same meaning
as Luimneach. The word is seen compounded in
Cloonlumney in Mayo, and in Athlumney in
Meath, the meadow, and the ford, of the bare
place.

In some of the northern counties, the Irish-
speaking people cannot without difficulty articu-
late the combinations en and gn, and in order to
facilitate the pronunciation they change the n to r.
There are about forty-five townlands commencing

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 51

with the word Crock, all in Ulster, except only a
few in Connaught and Leinster ; and a person
unacquainted with the present peculiarity might
be puzzled by this prefix, or might perhaps con-
sider it an anglicised form of cruach, a rick or piled-
up hill. But all these Crocks are really Knocks
disguised by the change of this one letter. In
the Ulster counties, the termination nagrow or
nagrew is often found in townland names, as in
Tullynagrow in the parish of Muckno, Monaghan ;
this termination has been similarly corrupted,
Tullynagrow being properly Tulaigh-na-gcno, the
hill of the nuts.

The change of I to r is not very common, but it
is found in some names. Dromcolliher in Limerick
is properly Dniim-collchoille, the ridge or hill of
the hazel-wood ; and Ballysakeery, a parish in
Mayo, is called in Mac Firbis's "Hy Fiachrach,"
Baile-easa-caoile [Ballysakeely], the town of thft
narrow cataract. Killery harbour in Conneinara
is called at the present day in Irish Caol-shaire
[Keelhary], from which the present name is
formed ; but it should be Caol-shaile, or, as it is
written more fully by the Four Masters, Caol-
shaile-ruadh, i. e. the reddish narrow-sea-inlet, a
most appropriate name.

The change of m to n, or vice versd, is not of
frequent occurrence. In Rathangan in Kildare,
the first n should be m, the correct name as
written by the Four Masters being Rath-iomghain,'
Imgan's rath ; and the old rath is still to be seen
just outside the town, in a field near the church.
The barony of Glenquin in Limerick takes its name
from a townland (now divided into three), near
Newcastle ; the proper anglicised form would be
Glenquim, for the Irish name is Crleann-a'-chuim,
the glen of the coom or hollow.

52 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

N is changed to m in Kilmainham (near
Dublin), which should have been called Kilmainen;
it is written Kilmanan by Boate, which shows
that it has been corrupted within the last two or
three hundred years. It took its name from St.
Maighnenn, who was bishop and abbot there
early in the seventh century, and who is comme-
morated in the Calendars at the 18th of December.
The termination of the last name seems to have
been formed in imitation of the common English
topographical suffix ham, home. In Moyacomb,
the name of a parish in Wicklow, there is a
genuine change of n to m, the Irish name being
Magh-da-chon [Moyacon : Four Masters] the plain
of the two hounds. We see the same in Slieve
Eelim, the name of a mountain range east of
Limerick city, which is Sliabh-Eibhlinne [Slieve-
Evlinna] in the Annals, Ebliu's or Eblinn's moun-
tain ; and it was so called, according to an ancient
legend in Lebor na hUidhre, from Ebliu, the step-
mother of Eochaidh, who gave name to Lough
Neagh, mentioned further on.

Several of the letter changes now examined
have been evidently caused, or at least facilitated,
by the difficulty of articulating the same letter
twice in immediate succession, and this is a prin-
ciple of considerable influence in corrupting lan-
guage. It is easier to say Aghaviller than the
right name Aghavirrer, and so on in several
other cases.

II. Change of ch, gh, dh, and th, to f. — The
guttural sound of c aspirated (ch), as heard in
loch, cannot be pronounced at all by a speaker of
mere English ; and as it constantly occurs in
names, it is interesting to observe the different
ways in which English substitutes are provided.
WTien it comes in the end of words, it is often

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 53

passed over altogether, being neither represented
in writing nor in pronunciation, as in Ballymena
in Antrim, which is in Irish Baik-meadhonack,
middle town, the same as Ballymenagh in other
places. Sometimes, both in the middle and end
of words, it is represented by gh, which is often
sounded by the English-speaking natives, like the
proper guttural ch, as in Lough, Lughany, while
those who cannot sound the guttural, pronounce
it as k or h (Lock, Luhany) ; but if this gh occur
at the end of words, it is commonly not sounded
at all, as in Fermanagh, Kilnamanagh, &c. In
the middle of words its place is often supplied by
\ alone, as in Crohane, the name of a parish in
Pipperary, and of several townlands, which repre-
sents cruachdn, a little rick or hill ; and in many
cases it is represented by k or ck, as in Foorkill
near Athenry, Galway, Fuarchoill, cold wood.

Sometimes it is changed to wh, of which a good
example is seen in Glenwhirry, a parish in An-
trim, taking its name from the river which runs
by Kells into the Main. It is called Glancurry
in the Inquisitions, and its Irish name is Gkann-
a'-choire, the glen of the river Curry, or Coire,
this last name signifying a caldron. The caldron
is a deep pool formed under a cataract ; and a
rocky hill near it is called Sceir-a?-choire, the rock
of the caldron, which, in the modernised form
Skerrywhirry, is the name of a townland.

But there is a more remarkable change which
this aspirate undergoes in common with three
others. In many names, the sounds of the Irish
aspirated letters ch, gh, dh, and th, are converted
into the sound of/; and this occurs so frequently
as to preclude all supposition of mere accident.
Ch is a hard guttural, as heard in the common
word lough (loch] ; gh or dh (both which have the

54 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

same sound) is the corresponding soft guttural ;
th is sounded exactly like English h.

The sound of ch is changed to that of / in the
following names. Knocktopher in Kilkenny is
in Irish Cnoc-a'-tochair, the hill of the togher or
causeway, and it was so called from an ancient
togher across a marsh ; Luffany, the name of two
to wnlands in Kilkenny, anfhliuchaine [an luhany],
the wet land ; Clif den, the name of a well-known
village in Galway, is a very modern corruption of
Clochdn, which is still its Irish name, and which
means a beehive-shaped stone house ; but accord-
ing to some, the Clochdn was here a row of stepping-
stones across the Owenglin river ; Lisnafiffy, the
name of two townlands in Down, Lios-na-faithche,
the Us of the faha or exercise-green ; Fidorfe,
near Ratoath in Meath, Fidh-dorclia, dark-wood.

The change of gh or dh to f is not quite so
common, but we find it in Muff, the name of two
villages, one in Donegal, and the other in Derry,
and of eight townlands, all in the northern half
of Ireland ; it is merely a form of magh, a plain ;
and the Irish name, as now pronounced in the
localities, comes very near the English form.
Balief in Kilkenny is Baik-Aodha, Hugh's town.
In some cases, instead of the hard labial fy it is
turned into the corresponding soft labial v, as in
Lough Melvin in Leitrim ; which is called in the
Annals, Loch-Meilghe, from Meilghe, king of
Ireland, A. M. 4678. Adrivale in the parish of
Drishane, Cork, Eadar-ghabhal, a place between (the
prongs of) a fork, i. e. a fork formed by rivers.

The change of th to f is often met with ; but
it is really a change from the sound of English h
(which is equal to Irish th) to that of /. The
parish of Tiscofiin in Kilkenny took its name from
an < Id church called Tiah-Scoithin [Tee-scoheen] i.e.

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 56

Scoithin's house ; St. Scoithin was a relative of St.
Ailbe of Emly, and erected his primitive ch/arch
here towards the close of the sixth century (see
O'Clery's Gal. 2nd Jan., and Colgan, A. SS., p. 9).
Cloonascoffagh in the parish of Kilmacshalgan,
Sligo, cluain-na-scothach, the meadow of the flowers.
In accordance with the same law, a sruthdn or
streamlet, is often called sruffane; and this is
almost always the case in some of the western
counties, as in Ballintrofaun in Sligo, Baik-an-
tsrothain, the town of the streamlet. Enniscorthy
in Wexf ord is generally called by the peasantry of
the neighbourhood Enniscorfy ; and John Dymmok
(about 1600 A.D.), writes it Ennerscorfy ; it may
be doubted whether this is not a genuine change
of English th to/.

The greater number of the alterations noticed
under this heading are attributable to the English
language ; but there are several instances of words
and names corrupted similarly by the speakers of
Irish. For example, the word chuaidh (past tense
of the verb teidh, go), is pronounced foo in the
fiouth ; and O'Donovan, in one of his Derry letters,
informs us that magh, a plain, is there pronounced
in Irish " something between mugh and muff"
thereby facilitating or suggesting its conversion
into the present name, Muff.

Anyone who had studied the English language
and its letter-changes might, however, anticipate
that the Irish gutturals would sometimes be con-
verted into English/. Words transplanted directly
from Irish, as might be expected, conform in many
instances to the letter-changing laws of the Eng-
lish language ; of which names beginning with the
word knock may be taken as an illustration. In
such English words as "knight," " knife," " knee,"
&c., the k sound is now entirely omitted in pro-

56 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

nunciation ; but in the Anglo-Saxon originals
cnight, cnif, cneow, both letters — the c hard and the
n — were pronounced (Max Miiller, "Lectures," 2nd
Series, p. 186). The Irish cnoc is subjected to the
same law; for while both letters are heard in Irish,
the anglicised form knock is always pronounced
nock.

There is a similar compliance with English cus-
tom in the change of the Irish gutturals to/. The
English language, though it has now no gutturals,
once abounded in them, and in a numerous class
of words the guttural letters are still retained in
writing, as in daughter, laughter, night, straight,
plough, &c. While in many such words the sound
of the gutturals was wholly suppressed, in others
it was changed to tH sound of /, as in trough,
draught, cough, rough. &c. It is curious that the
struggle between these two sounds has not yet
quite terminated ; it is continued to the present
day in Scotland and the north of Ireland, where
the peasantry still pronounce such words with the
full strong guttural.

It will be seen, then, that when the Irish gut-
turals are corrupted to f, the change is made, not
by accident or caprice, but in conformity with a
custom already existing in the English language.

III. Interchange of d and g. — The letters d and
g when aspirated (dh and gh], are sounded exactly
alike, so that it is impossible to distinguish them
in speaking. This circumstance causes them to be,
to some extent, confounded one with the other ; in
modern Irish, gh is very generally substituted for
the older dh. In topographical names, this aspir-
ated g is often hardened or restored (after the man-
ner shown at page 43) ; and thus many names have
been corrupted both in writing and pronuncia-
tion, by the substitution of g for dh. But as far

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 57

as I have examined, I find only one example of the
reverse — d for gh.

There are four townlands called Gargrim in the
counties of Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, and Ty-
rone, which should have been called Gardrim, for
the Irish name is Gearrdhruim, i. e. short ridge or
hill, and it is correctly anglicised in Gardrum, the
name of two townlands in Fermanagh and Tyrone.
In exactly the same way was formed Fargrim, the
name of two townlands, one in Fermanagh, and
the other in Leitrim ; it is in Irish, Fardhruim or
Fordhruim (outer ridge or hill), in which form it
appears in the Four Masters at A.D. 1153; in its
correct anglicised form, Fardrura, it occurs in Fer-
managh and Westmeath. Drumgonnelly in the
parish and county of Louth, should have been
called Drumdonnelly, from the Irish Druim-Dhon-
ghaile, the ridge or hill of the Donnellys ; Sliguff
in Carlow, would be more correctly anglicised Sli-
duff, the Irish name being Slighe-dhubh, black road ;
and the townland of Rossdagamph in the parish
of Inishmacsaint, Fermanagh, is Ros~da-dhamht
the promontory of the two oxen. It was a mistake
the reverse of this, that gave their present English
name to the Ox Mountains in Sligo. The Irish
name, in all our Annals, is Sliabh-ghamh (which
means stormy mountain) ; but the natives be-
lieving it to be Sliabh-dhamh, i. e. the mountain
of the oxen, have perpetuated the present incorrect
name.

IV. Interchange of b and m. — These letters are
often substituted one for the other ; but so far as I
have observed, the change of b to m occurs oftener
than the reverse. The tendency to change btom
appears to be greatly assisted by the grammatical
law of eclipsis (see p. 21, supra) ; in other words,
as the sound of m is, in case of eclipsis, correctly

58 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

substituted for that of b, there is a tendency to
inaket he same change where there is no eclipsis at
all to justify it, in which case the change is merely
a corruption.

When the preposition a, signifying " in," comes
before a noun beginning with b, the b is then regu-
larly eclipsed by m ; and this m has in some cases
remained after the preposition has been omitted,
exactly as t was retained in Turagh after the re-
moval of the article (see Turagh, p. 29, supra).
The name of Managher in, the parish of Agha-
dowey in Derry, is a good example of this : for it
is in reality the same as Banagher (a place of gables
or pointed rocks: see Banagher, further on).
When the preposition a is used, the form of ex-
pression is a-mBeannchair , which is pronounced in
speaking, a-managher ; and the omission of the
preposition left the name as it now stands : —
Managher. This form of phrase is very common
in the Irish language both spoken and written :
we find it, for example, in. case of this very name,
Beannchair, in the Four Masters at A.D. 1065.
where it is recorded that the king of Ulidia wai
killed atBangor (Ro marbhadh an ri a mBeannchair.
the king was killed at Bangor).

It is curious that Stamboul, the modern name
of Constantinople, exhibits a complete parallel to
this ; for it appears that this name is a contrac-
tion of the Greek phrase " es tan polin," i. e. " in
the city " (Rev. Isaac Taylor's " Words and
Places "), a phrase corresponding with the Irish
a-mBeannchair, and the s of the Greek preposition
has been retained, just as m has been in Managher.

B is eclipsed by m in some cases where it is
hard to assign the eclipsis to any grammatical rule ;
as in case of Cill-mBian [Kilmean] mentioned by
the Four Masters at A.D. 583 : but here perhaps

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 59

Bian is in the genitive plural (see p. 21, supra).
It is evidently something like this that takes pl&ce
in the popular pronunciation of Lisbellaw, often
heard in the county Fermanagh, viz. Lismellaw ;
which I do not believe to be a corruption, but the
correct phonetic representative of Lios-mbel-atha
(see Lisbellaw further on) .

In Derry the word bo-theach, cow-house, which
should be anglicised boyagh, is very commonly
made moyagh. It was evidently under the "same
influence that Emlygrennan, the name of a parish
near Kilmallock in Limerick, was corrupted from
the proper Irish name, Bile-Ghroidhnin [Billa-
grynin], Grynan's bile or ancient tree; though here
the change appears to have been helped by a desire
to assimilate the name to that of Emly, a well-
known place in Tipperary, not very far off.

Ballybodonnel in the parish of Killaghtee in
Donegal (the town of Donnell's both, booth or tent),
is often locally pronounced Ballymodonnell ; Bally -
bofey in the same county is generally made Bally -
mofey. Mohercrom, the name of a place near
Bailieborough in Cavan, is corrupted from Boher-
crom (crooked road), for so it is pronounced by
the old Irish-speaking natives. Many other ex-
amples of this change might be given.

The change of m to b, of which there are some
undoubted examples, is a mere corruption, not
admitting even partially, like the reverse change,
of any grammatical explanation. Ballymoney, in
Antrim, is usually called Ballyboney in early
Anglo-Irish records (Reeves: Eccl. Ant. p. 80,
note u), but I am convinced that Ballymoney is the
correct form ; and the family name O'Amergin or
Mergin, is now corruptly made Bergin (O'Donovan :
Battle of Moyr, p. 290, note x). The name of
Bannady near Ballaghaderreen in Mayo, originally

60 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

began with m, for the Four Masters write it Meann-
oda. There is a place called Bunnafedia in the
parish of Dromard in Sligo, which is anglicised
from its present Irish name, Bun-na-fede, the mouth
of ihefead or streamlet (see Faddan further on).
Duald Mac Firbis, in his Hy Fiachrach, writes the
name Bun-fede ; but in a poem in the Book of
Lecan, written by his ancestor more than 200
years earlier, the place is called Muine-na-fede (the
shrubbery of the streamlet) ; and as this is no doubt
the original form, there is here a change from m
to b. A change much the same as this occurs in
the name of Bunnyconnellan in the parish of Kil-
garvan in Mayo, which was corrupted from the
correct name Muine-Chonallain (Conallan's shrub-
bery) as we find it written by Mac Firbis in Hy
Fiachrach.

Y. Insertion oft between s and r. — The combina-
tion sr is one of rare occurrence in modern Euro-
pean languages; there is not a single word in
English, French, German, Greek, or Latin, begin-
ning with it, though many of their words are un-
doubtedly derived from roots commencing with
these two letters.

The Irish language has retained this combina-
tion, and in the Irish dictionaries, a considerable
number of words will be found commencing with sr.
Of these there are only four that enter often into
topographical names. These are srdid, a street^
srath, a holm or inch — the lowland along a river;
sron, literally a nose, but in a secondary sense,
applied to points of hills, promontories, &c. ; and
srutft, a stream, with its derivatives. It was not
to be expected that the English language, which
within its own domain does not admit of the union
of s and r, would receive these names in all cases
without alteration. Of the modern townland names

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 61

containing the four words just named, the sr has
been retained in less than half ; in about forty ' or
fifty, it has been changed to shr, a combination
admitted in English ; and in all the rest it has
been corrupted by the insertion of a t.

There are about 170 modern names commen-
cing with sir, and many more containing these
letters intermediate. In all these, with hardly an
exception, the t is a late insertion ; for although
we have words in Irish beginning with sir, there
are no names derived from them, except perhaps
about half a dozen. The insertion of a t is one of
the expedients for avoiding the combination sr,
which is found in several languages, and which
has been in operation from the earliest times. We
find it, for instance, in the O. H. German stroum
(Eng. stream), and in the name of the well-known
Thracian river Strymon, both of which are de-
rived from a Sanscrit root, sru, meaning to flow*

A few names will illustrate these remarks. In
Srugreana near Caherciveen, Kerry (Sruth-grea-
nach, gravelly stream), and in Srananny in
parish of Donagh, Monaghan (Srath-an-eanaigh
[Srahananny], the strath or holm of the marsh),
the initial sr has been retained. It has been
changed to shr in Shrough, near Tipperary, from
sruth, a stream ; and also in Shronedarragh, near
Killarney, the nose or point of the oak.

In the following names, a t has been inserted: —
Strancally, above Youghal, the well-known seat
of the Desmonds ; whose castle, now in ruins, was
built on a point of rock jutting into the Black-
water, called Srbn-caillighe (Shronekally : Surv.
1584), the hag's nose or promontory. Ardstraw
in Tyrone, which the annal sts write Ard-sratha

« See Dr. Whitley Stokes' " Irish Glosses ; " and Dr. W. K.
Sullivan's Translation of Ebel's ' ' Celtic Studies."

62 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

[Ard-sraha] , the height of (or near) the river
holm ; Stradone in Cavan, and Stradowan in
Tyrone, deep srath or holm.

This corruption — the insertion of t — is found
more or less all over Ireland, but it prevails more
in the northern counties than anywhere else. In
Ulster, the combination sr is scarcely admitted at
all ; for out of about 170 townland names in all
Ireland, beginning with these two letters, there
are only twelve in this province, and these are
wholly confined to Donegal, Fermanagh, and
Monaghan.

VI. Addition ofd. after n, 1, andr\ and o/b after
m. — The most extensive agency in corrupting lan-
guage is contraction, i. e. the omission of letters ;
first, in pronunciation, and afterwards in writing.
This is what Max Miiller calls phonetic decay, and
he shows that it results from a deficiency of mus-
cular energy in pronunciation, in other words, from
laziness. There are cases, however, in which this
principle seems to be reversed, that is, in which
words are corrupted by the addition of anomalous
letters. In English, for instance, a d is often added
after n, and in Greek, after both n and /; as in Eng.
thunder from Ang. Sax. thunor ; cinder from Lat.
(cinis) cineris, &c. ; and in Gr. aner, gen. androsr &c.
This tendency in English is also noticed by Lhuyd
in his " Archaeologia" (p. 9). Another corruption
similar to this, which is found in several languages,
is the addition of b after m ; as in Eng. slumber from
Ang. Sax. slumerian ; Fr. nombre from numerus ;
Lat. comburo from com (con), and uro ; Gr. gambros
for gamros, &c. Max Miiller shows, however, that
the insertion of these letters is due to the same
laziness in pronunciation that causes omission in
other cases.*

* See Max Miiller's " Lectures," 2nd Series, p. 178.

CHAP, in.] Corruptions. 63

These corruptions are very frequent in Irish
names, viz., the letter d is often placed after n
and /, and sometimes after r ; and the letter b after
m. In the following names the of is a mere excre-
scence, and has been added in recent times : Terry-
land near Galway, which the Four Masters write
Tir-oilein, the district of the island ; Killashandra
in Cavan is in Irish Cill-a'-sean-ratha, the church
of the old rath, and it was so called because the
original church was built within the inclosure oi
an ancient rath which still exists ; Rathfryland in
Down is from Rath-Fraeileann, Freelan's rath;
Tullyland in parish of Ballinadee, Cork, Tulaigh-
Eileain, Helena's hill.

D is added after / in the word " field," when this
word is an anglicised form of coill, a wood, as in
Longfield, Cranfield, &c., which names have been
examined at page 39. The same corruption is found
in the ancient Welsh personal name, Gildas, and
in the Irish name Mac Donald, which are more
correctly written Gillas and Macdonnell.

Lastly, d is placed after r in Lifford, which is in
j Irish Leithbhearr (Four Mast- ) ; this is a compa-
ratively modern corruption ; for Spencer, in his
" View of the State of Ireland," calls it Castle-
liffer. It is to be observed that this adventitious
d is placed after n much oftener than after the
other two letters, / and r.

The addition of b to m occurs only seldom ; we
find it in Cumber or Comber, which is the name of a
town in county Down, and of several townlands in
different counties, both singly and in composition.
It is the Irish comar, the confluence of two waters,
and it is correctly anglicised Cummer and Comer
in many other places.

All these changes were made in English, but in
the Irish language there w<is once a strong ten-

64 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

dency in the same direction. In what is called
middle Irish (from the 10th to the 15th century),
and often also in old Irish, the custom was very
general of using nd for nn. For instance, the
word cenn (a head) is cited in this form by Zeuss
from MSS. of the eighth century ; but in middle
Irish MSS. it is usually written cend. In all such
words, however, the proper termination is restored
in modern Irish ; and so strong was this counter-
current, that the d was swept away not only from
words into which it was incorrectly introduced,
but also from those to which it properly and radi-
cally belonged. For example, the middle Irish
word Aiffrend (the Mass) is spelled correctly with
a dy for it is derived from Lat. offerenda ; but in
modern Irish it is always spelled and pronounced
Aiffnonn.

Some of the words and names cited under this
section afford a curious example of the fickleness
of phonetic change, and, at the same time, of the
regularity of its action. We find words spelled in
old Irish with nn ; in middle Irish, a d is intro-
duced, and the nn becomes nd; in modern Irish
the d is rejected, and there is a return to the old
Irish nn ; and in modern anglicised names, the d
is reinstated, and nd seems to remain in final pos-
session of the field.

There is a corruption peculiar to the northern
and north-western counties, which is very similar
to the one now under consideration, namely, the
sound of aspirated m (wA=Eng. v) is often repre-
sented in the present names by mph. This mode
of spelling is probably an attempt to represent the
half nasal, half labial-aspirate sound of mh, which
an ear unaccustomed to Irish finds it very difficult
to catch. Under the influence of this custom
damh, an ox, is converted into damph, as in Derry

CHAP, in.] Conniptions. 65

damph in the parish of Knockbride, Cavan, Do^re-
damh, the oak- grove of the oxen ; creamh, wild
garlic, is made cramph, as in Annacramph in the
parish of Grange, Armagh, Eanach- creamha, wild
garlic marsh.*

VII. The letter s prefixed. — The Irish word
teach or tigh, a house or church, as I shall show
elsewhere, enters extensively into topographical
names all over Ireland, in the anglicised forms of
ta, tagh, tee, ti, ty, &c. In some of the eastern
counties this word is liable to a singular corrup-
tion, viz., the Irish ta or ti is converted into sta or
sti, in a considerable number of names, of which
the following are examples. Stillorgan is in Irish
Tigh-Lorcain [Teelorkan], Lorcan's church ; and
it may have received its name from a church
founded by St. Lorcan or Laurence O'Toole,
Archbishop of Dublin at the time of the English
invasion; Stabannon in Louth, ought to be Ta-
bannon, Banon's house ; Stackallan in Meath, is
written Teach-collain, by the Four Masters, i. e.
Collan's house. So also Stirue in Louth, red
house ; Stapolin near Baldoyle, Dublin, the house
of Paulin, or little Paul ; and Stalleen near Donore
above Drogheda, is called in the Charter of Melli-
font, granted by King John in 1185-6, Teachlenni,
i. e. Lenne's house.

This corruption is almost confined to the counties
of Dublin, Meath, and Louth ; I can find only very
few examples outside these counties, among which
are, the parish of Stacumny in Kildare, Stakally
in the parish of Powerstown, Kilkenny, and
Tyrella in Down, which is called in the well-known

* For full information on the subject of letter changes in
various languages, see Max Miiller's most interesting lecture
on " I'honetic Change " (Lectures on the Science of Language ,
Second Series).

VOL. 1. 6

66 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

Taxation (1306), published by Dr. Reeves, Stagh-
reel. But its Irish name is Tech-Riaghla [Tahreela :
O'C. Cal.], the house of St. Riaghal or Regulus,
who is commemorated on 17th Sept. There are
altogether in Dublin, Heath, and Louth, about
twenty- three names which commenced originally
with Ta or Ti, in about two-thirds of which it has
become Sta or Sti.

The Irish word leacht, a sepulchral monument,
is also, in some of the Ulster counties, corrupted
by prefixing an « ; for example, Slaghtneill and
Slaghtmanus, both in Londonderry, ought to be
Laghtneill and Laghtmanus, signifying respec-
tively Niall's and Manus's monument; and we
also find Slaghtfreeden, Slaghtybogy, and a few
others.

This corruption is met with in connection with
a few other words, as in case of Slyne Head
(which see further on) : but it is far more frequent
in the two preceding words than in any other,
and more common in teach than in leacht.

It will be recollected that all the corruptions
hitherto noticed were found capable of explana-
tion, on some previously established principle of
language : the reason of the alteration now under
consideration, however, is not so evident. In case
of the conversion of ta and ti into sta and sti, I
would suggest the following as the probable ex-
planation. The fact that this peculiarity is almost
confined to Dublin, Meath, and Louth, renders it
not unlikely that it is a Danish corruption. In all
the northern languages there are whole classes of
words commencing with st, which mean habita-
tion, place, &c. For example, Ang. Sax. stow, a
dwelling-place, a habitation; stede, a place, a
station ; Danish, sted, locus, tkjdes ; stad, urbs,
oppidum ; stede, statio ; Icelandic, stadr, statio,

HAP. in.] Corruptions. 67

urbs, oppidum ; stofa, curta domus ; sto, static.
And I may add, that in Iceland, Norway,
and other northern countries, several of these
words are extensively used in the formation of
names of places ; of which anyone may satisfy
himself by only looking over a map of one of
these countries.

It appears to me, then, sufficiently natural that
the northern settlers should convert the Irish ta
and ti into their own significant sta and sti. The
change was sufficiently marked in character to
assimilate to some extent the names to their own
familiar local nomenclature, while the alteration
t,f form was so slight, that the words still remained
quite intelligible to the Irish population. It would
appear more natural to a Dane to say Stabannon
(meaning Bannon's house) than Tabannon ; and
an Irishman would understand quite well what
he meant.

This opinion is further supported by these two
well-known facts : first, many places on the eastern
coast have Danish names, as Waterford, Leixlip,
Howth, Ireland's Eye, &c. ; and secondly, the
Danes frequently changed the Irish inis, an island,
into their own equivalent word, ey, as in the last-
mentioned name. If it be objected that Tabannon
could not be converted on this principle into
Stabannon, because the northern method of form
ing such names is to place the limiting term first,
not last, as in Irish (for instance, the Irish order
is Sta-bannon, but the northern Bannon-sta] ; il
may be answered that, in anglicising Irish names,
it is very usual to convert each part of a compound
wholly or partly into an English word, leaving
the whole at the same time in the original Irish
order ; as, for instance, Batter John, Castledonovan,
Downpatrick, Port Stewart, &c , in which the

68 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i

proper English order would be John's Batter.
Donovan's Castle, &c.

It is only fair to state, however, that Worsae
does not notice this corruption, though in his
"Account of the Danes and Norwegians in
England, Scotland, and Ireland," he has collected
every vestige he could find of the Danish rule in
these countries.

Notwithstanding the variety of disturbing
causes, and the great number of individual names
affected by each, only a small proportion of the
whole are corrupted, the great majority being,
as already stated, anglicised correctly, or nearly
so. When it is considered that there are more
than 60,000 townlands in Ireland, and when to
the names of these are added the countless names
of rivers, lakes, mountains, &c., it will be seen
that even a small fraction of all will form a num-
ber large enough to give sufficient play to all the
corrupting influences enumerated in this chapter.

I have now examined, in this and the preceding
chapter, seventeen different sources of change in
Irish names ; and I have selected these, because
they are the most striking and important, as well
as the most extensive in their influence. There
are other letter changes of a less violent character,
such as those caused by metathesis, &c., which I
have not thought sufficiently important to notice.
The interchange of hard and soft mutes (or tenues
and medice] is extremely common ; but this, too,
as not causing considerable obscuration of the
names, I shall dismiss with a single remark. In
the formation of anglicised names from Irish, the
change from hard to soft is comparatively rare,
while the reverse occurs very frequently. Dulane
near Kells is an example of the former, its ancient
name, as spelled by the Four Masters, being Tuilen

CHAP, iv.] False Etymologies. 69

or Tuldn, i.e. the little tul or hill ; as examples
of the latter, it will be sufficient to mention the
frequent change of dubh (black) to duff, garbh
(rough), to gariff, carraig (a rock) to carrick, &c.,
in the two former of which the sound of v is con-
verted to that of /, and in the last, the sound of
g (in got] is changed to that of k. There are also
corruptions of an exceptional and unexpected
character, which 1 have not been able to reduce
to any principle ; but I shall not dwell on them,
as the object of these chapters is not so much the
examination of individual names as the develop-
ment of general laws.

CHAPTER IV.

FALSE ETYMOLOGIES.

IN no department of Irish antiquities have writers
indulged to such an extent in vague and useless
conjecture as in the interpretation of local names.
Our county histories, topographical dictionaries,
tourists' handbooks, &c., abound in local etymo-
logies ; but, if we leave out of the question a few
topographical works lately published, it may be
safely asserted that these interpretations are,
generally speaking, false, and a large proportion
of them inexpressibly silly. Instead of seeking
out the ancient forms of the names, in authentic
Irish documents, which in many cases a small
amount of inquiry would enable them to do, or
ascertaining the pronunciation from natives,
writers of this class, ignoring both authority and
analogy, either take the names as they stand in
English, or invent original forms that they never

70 The Irish Local Name System. [PARTI.

had, and interpret them, each according to his
own fancy, or to lend plausibility to some favourite
theory.

There are laws and method in etymology, as
well as in other sciences, and I have set forth in
the three preceding chapters the principles by
which an inquirer must be guided in the present
branch of the subject. But when we see men
pronouncing confidently on questions of Irish
etymology, who not only have no knowledge of
these principles, but who are totally unacquainted
with the Irish language itself, we cannot wonder
that their conjectures regarding the signification
of Irish names are usually nothing better than
idle and worthless guesses.

The first who to any extent made use of the
etymology of Irish names, as an instrument of
historical investigation, was Vallancey. He built
whole theories regarding the social condition and
religious belief of the early inhabitants of Ireland,
chiefly on false etymologies : but his system has
been long exploded, and no one would now think
of either quoting or refuting his fanciful conjec-
tures. He was succeeded by a host of followers,
who in their literary speculations seem to have
lost every vestige of judgment and common sense;
and the race, though fast dying out under the
broad sunlight of modern scholarship, is not yet
quite extinct. I shall not notice their etymologi-
cal fancies through this book, for indeed they are
generally quite beneath notice, but I shall bring
together in the present chapter a few characteristic
examples.

In Ferguson's " River Names of Europe," there
are near fifty Irish names, whose meanings are
discussed. Of these, a few are undoubtedly correct ;
there are about twenty on which I am not able to

CHAP. iv. J False Etymofogies. 71

offer an opinion, as I know nothing certain of
their etymology, and the author's conjectures' are
far more likely to be wrong than right, for they
are founded on the modern forms of the names.
A full half are certainly wrong, and of these one
example will be sufficient. The name Nenagh
(river) is derived from Sansc. ni, to move, Gael.
nigh, to wash ; but a little inquiry will enable
anyone to see that Nenagh is not the name of the
river at all, but of the town ; and that even if it
were, it could not be derived from any root be-
ginning with n, since the original name is Aenach,
the initial n being merely the Irish article. The
real name of the river, which is now almost for-
gotten, is Owen O'Coffey, the river of the
O'Coffeys, the family who anciently inhabited the
district. (See Nenagh, farther on.)

In Gibson's Etymological Geography, a con-
siderable number of Irish names are explained ;
but the author was very careful to instance those
only whose meanings are obvious, and consequently
he is generally right. Yet he calls Inishbofin off
the coast of Mayo, Inishbosine, and interprets it
Easiness island ! and he confounds Inishcourcy in
Down with Enniscorthy in Wexford, besides
giving an erroneous etymology for both.

The Rev. Isaac Taylor, who also deals frequently
with Irish names, in a work of great ability,
" Words and Places," is more cautious than either.
But even he sometimes falls into the same error ;
for instance, he takes Armagh as «2 stands, and
derives it from the preposition ar (on), and magh
(a plain), though among the whole range of Irish
names there is scarcely one whose original form
(Ard-Macha] is better known (see p. 77, infra}.

There is a parish near Downpatrick, taking its
name from an old church, now called Inch, i.e. the

72 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

island, because it was built on a small island or
peninsula, on the west side of Strangford Lough.
The full name is Inishcourcy ; and as it is a his-
torical fact that an abbey was founded there by
John de Courcy about the year 1180, it is not to
be wondered at that Harris (in his History of
Down), and Archdall, fell into the error of believ-
ing that the name was derived from him. But an
earlier monastery existed there, called Inis-Cumh-
scraigh [Inishcooscry], Cooscragh's island, long
before John de Courcy was born ; and this name
was gradually corrupted to Inishcourcy, both on
account of the curious similarity of sound, and of
that chiefs connection with the place.

All this will be rendered evident by reference
to the Annals. We find it recorded in the Four
Masters that in 1001 " Sitric son of Amlaff set
out on a predatory excursion into Ulidia in his
ships; and plundered Kilclief and Inis-Cumh-
scraigh ; " and Tighernach, who died in 1088, re-
cords the same event. Moreover, Hugh Maglanha,
abbot of Inis-cumhscraigh, was one of those who
signed the Charter of Newry, a document of about
the year 1160.

Dr. Reeves has conjectured, what is highly
probable, that the person who gave name to this
place was Cumhscrach, one of the sons of Conor
Mac Nessa, who succeeded his father as king of
Ulster in the first century.

It has been said by a philosopher that words
govern men, and we have an excellent example of
this in the name of the Black Valley, near Killar-
ney. Many of our guide-books, and tourists with-
out number, desciibe it as something wonderful
in its excessive blackness ; and among them is one
^ell-known writer, who, if we are to judge by his
description, either never saw it at all, or wrote
from memory.

CHAP, iv.] False Etymologies. 73

It may be admitted that the direction of this
valley with regard to the sun, at the time of clay
when visitors generally see it, has some influence
in rendering the view of it indistinct ; but it cer-
tainly is not blacker than many other valleys
among the Killarney mountains ; and the ima-
gination of tourists is led captive, and they are
betrayed into these descriptions of its gloominess,
because it has been called the Black Valley, which
is not its name at all.

The variety of ways in which the original ia
spelled by different writers — Coomdhuv, Cooma-
dhuv, Coomydhuv, Cummeendhuv, &c. — might
lead anyone to suspect that there was something-
wrong in the translation ; whereas, if it were in-
tended for black valley, it would be Coomdhuv,
and nothing else. To an Irish scholar, the 'pro-
nunciation of the natives makes the matter per-
fectly clear ; and I almost regret being obliged to
give it a much less poetical interpretation. They
invariably call it Coom-ee-wiv* (this perfectly re-
presents the pronunciation, except only the w,
where there is a soft guttural that does not exist
in English), which will be recognised as Ciim-ui-
Dhuibh, O'Duff's vaUey. Who this O'Duff was,
I have not been able to ascertain.

Clonmacnoise is usually written in the later
Annals Cluain-mic-Nois, which has been trans-
lated, and is very generally believed to mean,
" the retreat of the sons of the noble," a name
which it was thought to have received, either be-
cause the place was much frequented by the

* The popular pronunciation is also preserved in a slightly
different form by the writer of a poem in the " Kerry Maga-
zine," vol. i. p. 24 : —

" And there the rocks that lordly towered above ;
And there the shady vale of Coomewove."

74 The Irish Local Name System. [PART I.

nobility as a retirement in their old age, or
because it was the burial-place of so many kings
and chiefs. But this guess could never be made
by anyone having the least knowledge of Irish,
for in the original name the last two S}rllables are
in the genitive singular, not in the genitive plural.
JVos (gen. nois), indeed, means noble, but here it
is the name of a person, who is historically known,
and Cluain-mic-Nois means the meadow of the son
of Nos.

Though the Irish name given above is generally
used by the Four Masters, yet at 1461 they call
the place Cluain-muc-Nois-mic-Fiadaigh, by which
it appears that this Nos's father was Fiadhach
[Feeagh], who was a chief belonging to the tribe
of the Dealbhna-Eathra (now the barony of Garry-
castle in King's County), in whose territory Clon-
macnoise was situated. Cluain-muc-Nois would
signify the meadow of Nos's pigs; but though
this form is used by Colgan in the Tripartite Life,
the correct original appears to be Cluain-maccu-
Nois, for it is so written in the older Annals, and
in the Carlsruhe Manuscript of Zeuss, which is
the most ancient, and no doubt the most trust-
worthy authority of all : this last signifies the
meadow of the sons of Nos.

Askeaton in Limerick is transformed to Eas-
cead-tinne, in a well-known modern topographical
work on Ireland : the writer explains it " the
cataract of the hundred fires," and adds, " the
fires were probably some way connected with the
ritual of the Druids, the ancient Irish Guebres."
The name, however, as we find it in many Irish
authorities, is Eas-Gephtine, which simply means
the cataract of Gephtine, some old pagan chief.
The cataract is where the Deel falls over a ledge
of rocks near the town.

CHAP, iv.] Fake Etymologies. 75

I may remark here that great numbers of thetee
fanciful derivations were invented to prove that
the ancient Irish worshipped fire. In order to
show that the round tower of Balla, in Mayo, was
a fire temple, Vallancey changes the name to
Beilagh, which he interprets " the fire of fires."
But in the Life of St. Mochua, the founder, pub-
lished by Colgan (at the 30th of March), we are
told that before the saint founded his monastery
there, in the beginning of the seventh century,
the place was called Ros-dairbhreach, i.e. oak-
grove ; that he enclosed the wells of his religious
establishment with a "balla" or wall (a practice
common among the early Irish saints) ; and that
"hence the town received the new name Balla,
and Mochua himself became known by the cog-
nomen Ballensis."

Aghagower, in the same county, Vallancey also
explains " fire of fires," and with the same object,
as a round tower exists there. He was not aware
that the original name was Achadh-fobhair, for so
it is called in the Four Masters and in the most
ancient Lives of St. Patrick : it signifies " the
field of the spring," and the place took its name
from a celebrated well, which is now called St.
Patrick's Well. Its name must have been cor-
rupted at an early date, for Duald Mac Firbis calls
it Achadh-gabhair ("Hy Fiachrach," p. 151) ; but
even this does not signify " fire of fires," but a
very different thing — " the field of the goat."

Smith, in his History of Cork, states that the
barony of Kinalmeaky means "the head of the
noble root," from cean, head, neat, noble, and
meacan, a root. The true form of the name,
however, is Cinel-mBece (O'Heerin), which was
originally the name, not of the territory, but of
the tribe that inhabited it, and which means " the

7b The Irish Local Name System. [PART I

descendants (cinel) of Bece," who was the ancestor
of the O'Mahonys, and flourished in the seventh
century.

In Seward's Topographical Dictionary it is
stated that Baltinglass (in "Wicklow) " is derived
from Beal-tinne-glas, or the fire of Beal's mysteries,
the fires being lighted there by the Druids in
honour of the sun ;" and the writer of a Guide to
Wicklow (Curry, Dublin, 1834) says that it is
"Bal-teach-na-glass, or the town of the grey houses ;"
and he adds, " certainly the appearance of them
bears us out in this'" This is all pure invention,
for neither of the original forms here given is the
correct one, and even if it were, it would not bear
the meaning assigned, nor indeed any meaning at
all. In ancient documents the name is always
given Bealach- Chonglais [Ballaconglas : Dinnsen-
chus], the pass or road of Cuglas, a personage
connected with the locality, about whom there is
a curious and very ancient legend : in Grace's
Annals it is anglicised Balkynglas, which is nearer
the original than the modern corrupt name. There
was another Beaktch-Chonglais near Cork city, but
the name is now lost, and the exact situation of
the place is not known.

CHAPTER Y.

THE ANTIQUITY OF IRISH LOCAL NAMES.

IN an essay on Irish local names it may be ex-
pected that I should give some information
regarding their antiquity. In various individual

CHAP, v.] The Antiquity of Irish Local Names. 77

cases through this book I have indicated the da/.e,
certain or probable, at which the name was im-
posed ; or the earliest period when it was known
to have been in use ; but it may be of interest to
state here some general conclusions, to which the
evidence at our command enables us to arrive.

When we wish to investigate the composition
and meaning of a name, we are not warranted in
going back farther than the oldest actually existing
manusciipts in which it is found written, and upon
the form given in these we must found our con-
clusions. But when our object is to determine
the antiquity of the name, or, in other words, the
period when it was first imposed, we have usually
a wider scope and fuller evidence to guide us.

For, first, if the oldest existing manuscript in
which the name occurs is known as a fact to have
been copied from another still older, not now in
existence, this throws back the age of the name to
at least the date of the transcription of the latter.
But, secondly, the period when a name happens to
be first committed to writing is no measure of its
real antiquity ; for it may have been in use hun-
dreds of years before being embalmed in the pages
of any written document. While we-«re able to
assert with certainty that the name is at least as
old as the time of the writer who first mentioned
it, the validity of any further deductions regarding
its absolute age depends on the authenticity of our
history, and on the correctness of our chronology.

I will illustrate these remarks by an example : —
The city of Armagh is mentioned in numerous
Irish documents, many of them of great antiquity,
such as the Book of Leinster, &c., and always in
the form Ard-Macha, except when the Latin
equivalent is used. The oldest of these is the
Book of Armagh, which is known to have been

78 The Irish Local Name System. C*ART *•

transcribed about the year 807 ; in this we find
the name translated by Altitudo Machce, which de-
termines the meaning, namely, Macha's height.

But in this same Book of Armagh, as well as
in many other ancient authorities, the place is
mentioned in connection with St. Patrick, who is
recorded to have founded the cathedral about the
year 457, the site having been granted to him by
Daire, the chief of the surrounding district ; and
as the history of St. Patrick, and of this founda-
tion, is accepted on all hands as authentic, we have
undoubted evidence that the name existed in the
fifth century, though we possess no docament of
that age in which it is written. And even without
further testimony we are able to say that it is
older, for it was in use before St. Patrick's arrival,
who only accepted the name as he found it.

But here again history, though of a less reliable
character, comes to our aid. There is an ancient
tract called Dinnsenchus, which professes to give
the origin of the names of the most celebrated
localities in Ireland, and among others that of
Armagh. It is a fact admitting of no doubt that
the place received its name from some remarkable
woman named Macha, and the ancient writer in
the Dinnsenchus mentions three, from one of
whom the name was derived, but does not decide
which. The first was Macha, the wife of Newy,
who led hither a colony about 600 years after the
deluge; the second, Macha of the golden hair,
who founded the palace of Emania, 300 years
before the Christian era ; and the third, Macha,
wife of Crunn, who lived in the reign of Conor
Mac Nessa in the first century. The second
Macha is recorded to have been buried there ; and
as she was by far the most celebrated of the three,
she it was, most probably, after whom the place

CHAP, v.] The Antiquity of Irish Local Na-mei, 79

was called. We may conclude, therefore, w<ith
every appearance of certainty, that the name has
an antiquity of more than two thousand years.

Following this method of investigation, we are
able to determine, with considerable precision, the
age of hundreds of local names still in use ; and as
a further illustration, I shall enter into some detail
concerning a few of the most ancient authorities
that have come down to us.

The oldest writer by whom Irish places are
named in detail is the Greek geographer, Ptolemy,
who wrote his treatise in the beginning of the
second century. It is well known that Ptolemy's
work is only a corrected copy of another written
by Marinus of Tyre, who lived a short time before
nim, and the latter is believed to have drawn -his
materials from an ancient Tyrian atlas. The
names preserved by Ptolemy are, therefore, so far
as they are authentic, as old at least as the first
century, and with great probability much older.

Unfortunately very few of his Irish names have
reached our time.* In the portion of his work
relating to Ireland, he mentions over fifty, and
of these only about nine, can be identified with
names existing within the period reached by our
history. These are Senos, now the Shannon;
Birgos, the Barrow ; Bououinda, the Boyne;
Hhikina, Kechra or Rathlin ; Logia, the Lagan ;
Nagnatai, Connaught ; Isamnion Akron, Rinn
Seimhne (now Island Magee), i. e. the point of
Seimhne, an ancient territory ; Eblana, Dublin ;
and another (Edros) to which I shall return pre-
sently.

The river that he calls Oboka appears, by its
position on the map, to be the same as the Wicklow

* The following observations refer to Mercator's Edition, 1605.

80 The Irish Local Name System. [PART''.

river now so well known as the Ovoca; but
this last name has been borrowed from Ptolemy
himself, and has been applied to the river in very
recent times. Its proper name, as we find it in
the Annals, is Avonmore, which is still the name
of one of the two principal branches that form the
" Meeting of the Waters."

He places a town called Dounon near the Oboka.
It is now impossible to determine the place that
is meant by this; but the record is valuable, as
the name is obviously the Keltic dun, with the
Greek inflexion on postfixed, which shows that
this word was in use as a local appellative at that
early age.

There is one very interesting example of the
complete preservation of a name unchanged, from
the time of the Phoenician navigators to the pre-
sent day. Just outside Eblana there appears a
small island, which is called Edri Deserta on the
map, and Edrou Heremos in the Greek text, i. e.
the desert of Edros ; which last name, after re-
moving the Greek inflexion, and making allowance
for the usual contraction, regains the original form
Edar. This is exactly the Irish name of Howth,
used in all our ancient authorities, either as it
stands, or with the addition of Ben (Ben-Edair,
the peak of Edar) ; still well known throughout
the whole country by speakers of Irish ; and per-
petuated to future time in the names of several
villa residences built within the last few years on
the hill.

Some writers have erroneously identified Edrou
Heremos with Ireland's Eye, probably because the
former is represented as an island. The perfect
coincidence of the name is alone sufficient to prove
that Ben-Edar is the place meant ; but I may add,
that to the ancient navigators who collected the

CHAP, v.] The Antiquity of Irish Local Names. 81

information handed down to us by Ptolemy, Ire-
land's Eye would be barely noticeable as tfoey
sailed along our coasts, whereas the bold headland
of Ben-Edar formed a prominent landmark, certain
to be remembered and recorded ; and connected as
it was with the mainland by a low, narrow isthmus,
it is no wonder they mistook it for an island.
" Hoath, a great high mountain, . . . having
the sea on all sides, except the west side ; where
with a long narrow neck it is joined to the land ;
which neck being low ground, one may from
either side see the sea over it ; so that afar off it
seemeth as if it were an island." — (Boate : JN"at.
Hist, of Ireland). Besides, as we know from our
most ancient authorities, Howth was a celebrated
locality from the earliest times reached by history
or tradition ; whereas Ireland's Eye was a place
of no note till the seventh century, when it was
selected, like many other islands round the coast,
as a place of religious retirement by Christian
missionaries.

According to some Irish authorities, the place
received the name of Ben-Edair from a Tuatha De
Danann chieftain, Edar, the son of Edgaeth, who
was buried there ; while others say that it was
from Edar the wife of Gann, one of the five Fir-
bolg brothers who divided Ireland between them.
The name Howth is Danish. It is written in
ancient letters Ho/da, Houete, and Howeth, all dif-
ferent forms of the northern word /loved, a head
(Worsae).

The Irish names orginally collected for this an-
cient atlas were learned from the natives by sailors
speaking a totally different language ; the latter
delivered them in turn, from memory, to the com-
piler, who was of course obliged to represent them
by Phoenician letters ; and they were ultimately
VOL. i. 7

82 The Irish Local Name System. [FART 1.

transferred by Ptolemy into the Greek language.
It appears perfectly obvious, therefore, that the
names, as we find them on Ptolemy's map, must
in general be very much distorted from the proper
forms, as used at the time by the inhabitants.

Enormous changes of form have taken place in
our own time in many Irish names that have been
transferred merely from Irish to English, under
circumstances far more favourable to correctness.
If some old compiler, in drawing a map of Ireland,
had removed the ancient Ceann Leime (the head
of the leap) twenty or thirty miles from its proper
position (as Ptolemy does in case of several places),
and called it by its present name Slyne Head, and
if all intermediate information were lost, it is
highly probable that it would never be recognised.

When we reflect on all this, and remember be-
sides that several of the names are no doubt
fantastic translations, and that with great proba-
bility many of them never existed at all, except
in the imagination of the voyagers, we shall cease
to be surprised that, out of more than fifty, we
are able to identify only about nine of Ptolemy's
names.

The next writer after Ptolemy who has men-
tioned many Irish localities, and whose works
remain to us, is a native, namely, Adamnan, who
wrote his Life of St. Columba in the seventh
century, but the names he records were all in use
before the time of Columba in the sixth century.
In this work about forty Irish places are men-
tioned, and here we have Ptolemy's case reversed.
The number of names totally lost, or not yet re-
cognised, does not amount to half-a-dozen. All
the rest have been identified in Reeves's edition of
Adamnan ; of these, nine or ten, though now ob-
solete, occur frequently in Irish MSS., and have

CHAP, v.j The Antiquity of Irish Local Names. 83

been in use down to recent times ; the remainder
exist at the present day, and are still applied to
the localities.

It will not be necessary to detail the numerous
writers, whose works are still extant, that flourished
at different periods from Adamnan down to the
time of Colgan and the O'Clerys ; or the ancient
MSS. that remain to us, enumerating or describing
Irish localities. It will be enough to say that in
the majority of cases the places they mention are
still known by the same names, and have been

identified in our own day by various Irish

, T J J

sc lolars.

The conclusion naturally following from this is,
that the names by which all places of any note
were known in the sixth and succeeding centuries
are, with some exceptions, the very names they
bear at the present day.

A vast number of names containing the words
dun, rath, Its, caher, carn,fert, cloon, &c., are as old
at least as the advent of Christianity, and a large
proportion much older ; for all these terms are of
pagan origin, though many of them were adopted
by Christian missionaries. And in various parts
of this book will be found numbers of territorial
designations, which were originally tribe names,
derived from kings and chieftains who flourished
at different times from the foundation of the palace
of Emania (300 years B.C.) to the ninth century
of the Christian era.

Those ecclesiastical designations that are formed
from the names of saints after such words as kill,
temple, donagh, aglish, ti, &c., were generally im-
posed at various times from the fifth to the eighth
or ninth century ; and among these may be enu-
merated the greater number of our parish names.
One example will be sufficient to illustrate this,

84 The Irish Local Name System. [PART i.

but many will be found through the book, espe-
cially in the next three or four chapters.

We have undoubted historic testimony that the
name of Killaspugbrone, near Sligo, is as old as
the end of the fifth century. It took its name
from one of St. Patrick's disciples, Bron or
Bronus, who was also a contemporary and friend
of St. Brigid of Kildare, and became bishop of
Cassel Irra, in the district of Cuil-Irra, the penin-
sula lying south-west of Sligo. In the Book of
Armagh, and in the Tripartite Life, it is stated
that after St. Patrick had passed from the For-
ragh, or assembly place, of the sons of Awly, he
crossed the Moy at Bartragh, and built the church
of Cassel Irra for his disciple, Bishop Bronus, the
son of Icnus. Bronus died on the 8th June, 512,
on which day he is commemorated in O'Clery'a
Calendar. And the name Killaspugbrone is very
little altered from the original CiU-easpuig-Broin
(Four Mast.), the church of Bishop Bronus. A
ruined little church still remains on the very spot,
but it cannot be the structure erected by St.
Patrick, for the style of masonry proves that it
belongs to a very much later period.

The process of name-forming has continued
from those early ages down to recent times. It
w.as in active operation during the twelfth, thir-
teenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, for we
have great numbers of names derived from Eng-
lish families who settled amongst us during these
periode. It has never entirely ceased, and pro-
bably never will ; for I might point to some
names which have been imposed within our own
memory.

The number of names given within the last two
centuries is so small, however, that we may regard
the process as virtually at an end, only making

CHAP, v.] The Antiquity of Irish Local Names. 85

allowance for those imperceptibly slow changes
incidental to language in its cultivated stage. The
great body of our townland and other names are
at least several hundred years old ; for those that
we find in the inquisitions and maps of the six-
teenth and seventeenth centuries, which are nume-
rous and minute, exist, with few exceptions, at the
present day, and generally with very slight altera-
tions of form.

PART II.

NAMES OF HISTORICAL AND LEGENDARY
ORIGIN.

CHAPTER I.

HISTORICAL EVENTS.

HE face of the country is
5; a book, which if it be
•' deciphered correctly, and
read attentively, will un-
fold more than ever did the
cuneiform inscriptions of
Persia, or the hieroglyphics
of Egypt. Not only are his-
torical events and the names of innumerable
remarkable persons recorded, but the whole social
life of our ancestors — their customs, their super-
stitions, their battles, their amusements, their
religious fervour, and their crimes —are depicted
in vivid and everlasting colours. The characters
are often obscure, and the page defaced by time,
but enough remains to repay with a rich reward
the toil of the investigator. Let us hold up the
scroll to the light, and decipher some of these in-
teresting records.

One of the most noted facts in ancient Irish
and British history is the migration of colonies
from the north of Ireland to the neighbouring

CHAP. i.J Historical Events. 8?

coasts of Scotland, and the intimate intercourse
that in consequence existed in early ages between
the two countries. The first regular settlement
mentioned by our historians was made in the latter
part of the second century, by Cairbre Biada,
son of Conary the second, king of Ireland. This
expedition, which is mentioned in most of our
Annals, is confirmed by Bede in the following
words : — " In course of time, Britain, besides the
Britons and Picts, received a third nation, the
Scoti, who, issuing from Hibernia under the leader-
ship of Reuda, secured for themselves, either by
friendship or by the sword, settlements among the
Picts, which they still possess. From the name
of their commander they are to this day called
Dalreudini ; for in their language Dal signifies a
part" (Hist. Eccl., Lib. I. Cap. 1).

There were other colonies also, the most re-
markable of which was that led by Fergus, Angus,
and Loarn, the three sons of Ere, in the year
506, which laid the foundation of the Scottish
monarchy. The country colonised by these emi-
grants was known by the name of Airer-Oaedhil
[Arrer-gale], ("Wars of GGr.), i.e. the territory of
the Gael or Irish ; and the name is still applied to
the territory in the shortened form of Argyle, a
living record of these early colonisations.

The descendants of Loarn were called Kinel-
Loarn, the family or race of Loarn (see Ginel
further on), and gave their name to the territory
of Lome in Scotland; from which again the
Marquis of Lome has his title.

The tribes over whom Carbery ruled were, aa
Bede and our own Annals record, called from him
Dalriada, Riada's portion or tribe ; of which there
were two — one in Ireland, and the other and more
illustrious in Scotland. The name has boen long

38 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

forgotten in the latter country, but still remains
in Ireland, though in such a worn down and frag-
mentary state, that it requires the microscope of
the philologist and historian to recognise it.

The Irish Dalriada included that part of Antrim
extending from the Ravel water northwards, and
the same district is called at the present day the
Route, or by Latin writers Ruta, which is consi-
dered by Ussher and O'Flaherty to be a corruption
of the latter part of DsH-Hiada. If this opinion
be correct — and I see DO reason to question it —
there are few local names in the British islands
more venerable for antiquity than this, preserving
with little alteration, through the turmoil of
seventeen centuries, the name of the first leader of
a Scotic colony to the coasts of Alban.

The name of Scotland also commemorates these
successive emigrations of Irishmen ; it has, more-
over, an interesting history of its own, and exhibits
one of the most curious instances on record of the
strange vicissitudes to which topographical names
are often subjected, having been completely trans-
ferred from one country to another.

The name Scotia originally belonged to Ireland,
and the Irish were called Scoti or Scots ; Scot-
land, which was anciently called Alba, subse-
quently got the name of Scotia Minor, as being
peopled by Scots from Ireland, while the parent
country was for distinction often called Scotia
Major. This continued down to about the eleventh
century, when Ireland returned to the other native
name Mire, and "Scotia" was thenceforward ex-
clusively applied to Scotland. The name Ireland
is merely the Anglo-Saxon name Iraland, i. e.
Eire-land (see Ireland in second volume).

That the Scoti were the inhabitants of Ireland
\rould be sufficiently proved by the single quota-

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. 89

tion given above from Bede ; but besides, i we
find it expressly stated by several other ancient
authorities ; and the Irish are called Scoti in
Cormac's Glossary, as well as in other native
writings. Adamnan often uses Hibernia and
Scotia synonymously : thus in his Life of Columba
we find the following passage : — " On a certain
day the holy man ordered one of his monks named
Trenan of the tribe of Mocuruntir, to go on a

commission to Scotia (ad Scotiam] : The

saint answering him, ' Go in peace ; you shall have
a favourable and erood wind till you arrive in
Hibernia (ad Hiberniam] ;; you shall find a man
coming to meet you from a distance, who will be
the first to seize the prow of your ship in Scotia
(in Scotia) ; he will accompany you in your
journey for some days in Hibernia." (Lib. L,
Cap. 18).

Many testimonies of this kind might be adduced
from other writers; and if another clear proof
were necessary, we find it in an ode of the poet
Claudian, celebrating a victory of Theodosius over
the three nations of the Saxons, the Picts, and
the Scots, in which the following passage occurs:— -
" The Orcades flowed with Saxon gore ; Thule
became warm with the blood of the Picts ; and icy
lerne wept her heaps of (slaughtered) Scots "

The foundation of the celebrated palace of
Eamhuin or Emania, which took place about 300
years before the Incarnation, forms an important
epoch ; it is the limit assigned to authentic Irish
history by the annalist Tighernach, who asserts
that all accounts of events anterior to this are
uncertain. The following are the circumstances
of its origin as given in the Book of Leinster.
Three Kings, Aedh-ruadh [Ayroo]. Dihorba, and
Ciombaeth [Kimbay], agreed to reign each for

90 Historical and Legendary Names- [PART n.

seven years in alternate succession, and they each
enjoyed the sovereignty for three periods, or
twenty-one years, when Aedh-ruadh died. His
daughter, the celebrated Macha of the golden hair,
asserted her right to reign when her father's turn
came, and being opposed by Dihorba and his sons,
she defeated them in several battles, in one of
which Dihorba was killed, and she then assumed
the sovereignty.

She afterwards married the surviving monarch,
Embay, and took the five sons of Dihorba pri-
soners. The Ultonians proposed that they should
be put to death: — "Not so," said she, "because
it would be the defilement of the righteousness of
a sovereign in me ; but they shall be condemned
to slavery, and shall raise a rath around me, and
it shall be the chief city of Ulster for ever." The
account then gives a fanciful derivation of the
name ; " And she marked for them the dun with
her brooch of gold from her neck," so that the
palace was called Eomuin or Eamhuin, from eo, a
brooch, and muin the neck (see Armagh, p. 77,
and O'Curry's Lectures, p. 527).

The remains of this great palace are situated
about a mile and a half west of Armagh, and
consist of a circular rath or rampart of earth with
a deep fosse, enclosing about eleven acres, within
which are two smaller circular forts. The great
rath is still known by the name of the Navan
Fort, in which the original name is c iriously
preserved. The proper Irish form is JEamhuin,
which is pronounced aven, E mania being merely
a latinised form. The Irish article an, contracted
as usual to n, placed before this, makes it nEam-
huin, the pronunciation of which is exactly repre-
sented by Navan (see page 23, supra}.

This ancient palace was destroyed in A.D. 332,

CHAP. ].] Historical Events. 91

after having flourished as the chief royal resi-
dence of Ulster for more than 600 years ; and it
would perhaps be difficult to identify its site with
absolute certainty, were it not for the singular
tenacity with which it has retained its name
through all the social revolutions of sixteen hun-
dred years.

The Red Branch Knights of Ulster, so cele-
brated in our early romances, and whose renown
has descended to the present day, flourished in
the first century, and attained their greatest glory
in the reign of Conor Mac Nessa. They were a
kind of militia in the service of the monarch, and
received their name from residing in one of the
houses of the palace of Emania, called Craebh-.
ruadh [Creeveroe] or the Red Branch, where they
were trained in valour and feats of arms. The
name of this ancient military college is still pre-
served in that of the adjacent townlandof Creeve-
roe ; and thus has descended through another
medium, to our own time, the echo of these old
heroic days.

Another military organisation not less cele-
brated, of somewhat later date, was that of the
Fians, or Feni, or, as they are often called, the
Fianna of Erin. They flourished in the reign of
Cormac mac Art in the third century, and formed
a militia for the defence of the throne ; their leader
was the renowned Finn mac Cumhail [Finn mac
Coole], who resided at the hill of Allen in Kil-
dare, and whom Macpherson attempted to transfer
to Scotland under the name of Fingal. Finn and
his companions are to this day vividly remembered
in tradition and legend, in every part of Ireland ;
and the hills, the glens, and the rocks still attest,
not merely their existence, for that no one who
has studied the question can doubt, but the

92 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

important part they played in the government and
military affairs of the kingdom.

One of the principal amusements of these old
heroes, when not employed in war, was hunting ;
and during their long sporting excursions they
had certain favourite hills on which they were in
the habit of resting and feasting during the inter-
vals of the chase. These hills, most of which are
crowned by earns or moats, are called Suidhe-Finn
[Seefin], Finn's seat or resting place, and they
are found in each of the four provinces ; the name
appears to have belonged originally to the earns,
and to have extended afterwards to the hills.

There is one among the Dublin mountains, a
few miles south of Tallaght ; another among the
Galties ; and the fine mountain of Seefin termi-
nates the Ballyhoura range towards the north-east,
three miles south of Kilfinane in Limerick. Im-
mediately under the brow of this mountain
reposes the beautiful vale of Glenosheen, whose
name commemorates the great poet and warrior,
Oisin, the son of Finn; and in several of the
neighbouring glens there are rocks, which are
associated in the legends of the peasantry with
the exploits of these ancient warriors. There are
also places called Seefin in Cavan, Armagh (near
Newry), Down, King's County, Galway, Mayo,
and Sligo ; while in Tyrone we find Seein, which
is the same name with the /aspirated and omitted.
Finn's father, Cumhal [Coole], was slain by Gaul-
mac-Morna at the terrible battle of Cnucha or
Castleknock, near Dublin ; he is believed to have
had his residence at Rathcoole (Cumhal's rath),
now a small town nine miles south-west of the
city ; but I cannot find that any vestige of his
rath remains.

There are numerous places in every part of

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. 93

Ireland, where, according to tradition, Finn's
soldier's used to meet for various purposes ; and
many of them still retain names that speak plainly
enough of these assemblies. In the county Mo-
naghan we find Lisnaveane, that is, Lios-na-
bhFiann, the fort of the Fianna ; in Donegal
Meenavean, where on the meen, or mountain flat,
they no doubt rested from the fatigues of the
chase ; near Killorglin in Kerry, Derrynafeana
(Deny, an oak-wood), and in another part of the
same county is a river called Owennafeana; in
Westmeath, Carnlyan and Skeanaveane (Skea, a
bush) ; and many other such names.

The name of Leinster is connected with one of
the most remarkable of the very early events
recorded in the history of Ireland. In the third
century before the Christian era, Coffagh Gael
Bra murdered his brother, Leary Lore, monarch
of Ireland, and the king's son, Olioll Aine, and
immediately usurped the throne. Maen, after-
wards called Labhradh Linshagh (Lavra the ma-
riner), son of Olioll, was banished by the usurper ;
and having remained for some time in the south
of Ireland, he was forced to leave the country,
and crossed the sea to Gaul. He entered the
military service of the king of that country, and
after having greatly distinguished himself, he
returned to his native land with a small army of
foreigners, to wrest the crown from the murderer
of his father and grandfather.

He landed at the mouth of the Slaney in Wex-
ford, and after having been joined by a number
of followers, he marched to the palace of Dinn
Righ [Dinree, the fortress of the kings], in which
Coffagh was then holding an assembly with thirty
native princes and a guard of 700 men. The
palace was surprised by night, set on fire, and all

94 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART il.

its inmates — king, princes, and guards — burned
to death. Maen then assumed the sovereignty,
and reigned for nineteen years.

The exact description of the annalists identifies
very clearly the position of this ancient palace, the
great mound of which still exists, though its name
has been long forgotten. It is now called Bally-
knockan moat, and lies on the west bank of the Bar-
row, a quarter of a mile south of Leighlinbridge

Lavra's foreign auxiliaries used a peculiarly-
shaped broad-pointed spear, which was called
laighen [layen] ; and from this circumstance, the
province in which they settled, which had pre-
viously borne the name of Galian, was afterwards
called Laighen, which is its present Irish name.
The syllable " ster " (for which see farther on)
was added in after ages, and the whole word pro-
nounced Laynster, which is the very name given
in a state paper of the year 1515, and which
naturally settled into the present form Leinster.

Lavra's expedition is mentioned by Tighernach,
and by most of the other annalists who treat of
that period; but as his adventures have been
amplified into a romantic tale in the Book of
Leinster,* which is copied by Keating and others,
the whole story, if it were not confirmed, would
probably be regarded as a baseless legend. The
word Gall has, however, been used in the Irish
language from the remotest antiquity to denote a
foreigner. For some centuries before the Anglo-
Norman invasion it was applied to the Danes,
and since that period to the English — both appli-
cations being frequent in Irish manuscripts; —
but it is obvious that it must have been origi-
nally applied to a colony of Gauls, sufficiently

* For which see O'Curry's Lectures, p. 25-°

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. 95

numerous and important to fix the word in the
language.

We find it stated in Cormac's Glossary that the
word Gall was applied to pillar stones, because
they were first erected in Ireland by the Galli, or
primitive inhabitants of France ; which not only
corroborates the truth of the ancient tradition of
a Gaulish colony, but proves also that the word
Gall was then believed to be derived from this
people. Thus the story of Lavra's conquest is
confirmed by an independent and unsuspicious
circumstance ; and as it is recorded by the accu-
rate Tighernach, and falls within the limits of
authentic Irish history as fixed by that annalist
(about 300 years B. c.), there seems no sufficient
reason to doubt its truth.

The little island of Inchagoill in Lough Corribj
midway between Oughterard and Cong, is one of
the few examples we have remaining, in which
the word Gall is applied in its original significa-
tion, i. e. to a native of Gaul ; and it corroborates,
moreover, an interesting fragment of our ancient
ecclesiastical history. The name in its present
form is anglicised from Inis-an-Ghoill, the island
of the Gall, or foreigner, but its full name, as
given by O'Flaherty and others, is Inis an-Ghoill-
chraibhthiyh [crauvy], the island of the devout
foreigner. This devout foreigner was Lugnat or
Lugnaed, who according to several ancient autho-
rities, was the lumaire or pilot of St. Patrick, and
the son of his sister Liemania. Yielding to the
desire for solitude, so common among the ecclesi-
astics of that early period, he established himself,
by permission of his uncle, on the shore of Lough
Mask, and there spent his life in prayer and
contemplation.

This statement, which occurs in the Tripartite

96 Histwical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Life of St. Patrick, as well as others relating to
the family history of the saint, was by many
impugned as unworthy of credit, till it received
an unexpected confirmation in the discovery on
the island of Lugnaed's headstone by Dr. Petrie.
It is a small pillar-stone, four feet high, and it
bears in old Roman characters this inscription : —
"LiE LUGNAEDON MACC LiMENUEH," the stone of
Lugnaed the son of Limenueh, which is the
oldest Roman letter inscription ever discovered in
Ireland.* Near it is the ruin of a small stone
church called Templepatrick, believed — and with
good reason according to Petrie — to have been
founded by St. Patrick : if this be so, it is pro-
bable that it is the very church in which Lugnaed
worshipped.

In several old authorities, this saint's name is
written Lugna [Loona], in which form we find it
preserved in another locality. Four miles north-
north-east from Ballinrobe, in the demesne of
Ballywalter, is an ancient church which is be-
lieved, in the traditions of the inhabitants, to be
the third church erected in Ireland. Near the
burial-ground is a holy well, now known by the
name of Toberloona, but which is called Tobar-
Lugna in Mac Firbis's Poem in the Book of Lecan",
i. e. Lugna's well. It is well known that among
St. Patrick's disciples, his own nephew was the
only one that bore the name of Lugna, and as
this well is in the very neighbourhood where he

* I find that Dr. W. Stokes, in his recent edition of Cormac's
Glossary, has given a somewhat different reading of this in-
scription, viz.: — " LIE LUGU^EDON MACCI MENUEH, " the stone
of Lugeed, the son of Menueh. Whether this reading is incon-
sistent with the assumption that the stone marks the grave of
Lugnat, St. Patrick's nephew, I will not now undertake to
determine ; but the matter deserves investigation.

HAP. i.] Historical Events. 97

settled, it appears quite clear that it was dedicated
to him, and commemorates his name.

We have at least two interesting examples of
local names formed by the word Gall as applied
to the Danes — Fingall and Donegal. A colony of
these people settled in the district lying north of
Dublin, between it and the Delvin river, which
in consequence, is called in our authorities (O'C.
Cal., Wars of GG., &c.), Fine- Gall, the territory
or tribe of the Galls or Danes ; and the same
territory is still well known by the name of Fin-
gall, and the inhabitants are locally called Fin-
gallians.

Donegal is mentioned in several of our Annals,
and always in the form of Dun-na-nGall, the
fortress of the foreigners. These foreigners must
have been Danes, and the name was no doubt
applied to an earthen dun occupied by them ante-
rior to the twelfth century ; for we have direct
testimony that they had a settlement there at an
early period, and the name is older than the
Anglo-Norman invasion. Dr. Petrie quotes an
ancient Irish poem (Irish Penny Journal, p. 185),
written in the tenth century, by the Tyrconnellian
bard, Flann mac Lonan, in which it is stated that
Egnahan, the father of Donnel, from whom the
O'Donnells derive their name, gave his three
beautiful daughters, Duvlin, Bebua, and Bebinn,
in marriage to three Danish princes, Caithis,
Torges, and Tor, with the object of obtaining
their friendship, and to secure his territory from
their depredations ; and the marriages were cele-
brated at Donegal, where Egnahan then resided
But though we have thus evidence that a fort
existed there from a very remote time, it is pretty
certain that a castle was not erected there by the
O'Donnells till the year 1474.

VOL. i. 8

98 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

The Annals of Ulster relate that the Danish
fortress was burned in 1159, by Murtough
M'Loughlin, king of the Northern Hy Neill:
not a vestige of it now remains, but O'Donovan
considers it likely that it was situated at a ford
which crossed the river Esk, immediately west of
the old castle, and which the Four Masters at
1419 call Ath-na-nGall, the ford of the foreigners.

There are several other places through the
country called Donegal or Dungall, having the
same general meaning; we have no evidence
to show whether the foreigners were Danes or
English ; possibly they were neither. Dungall
in the parish of Kirkinriola in Antrim, takes its
name from one of the grandest circular forts in
Ireland, which is certainly far older than either
Danes or English.

There are great numbers of names in all parts
of Ireland, in which this word Gall commemorates
English settlements. Galbally in Limerick is
called in the Four Masters, Gfallbhaile, English-
town, and it probably got its name from the
Fitzgeralds, who settled there at an early period ;
and there are besides, a dozen other places of the
same name, ten of them being in Tyrone and
Wexford. Galwally in Down, Galvally in Derry,
and Gallavally in Kerry are all the same name,
but the b is aspirated as it ought to be.

Ballynagall, Ballynagaul, and Ballygall, all
townland names of frequent occurrence, mean also
the town of the Englishmen ; and I am of opinion
that Gaulstown, a name common in Kilkenny and
Meath, is a translation of Ballynagall. The ter-
minations^//, nagall, gill, and guile, are exceedingly
common all over Ireland ; the two former generally
mean "of the Englishmen," and the two latter
' of the Englishman ; " Clonegall in Carlow, and

CHAP, i.j Historical Events. 99

Clongall in Meath, signify the Englishmen's
meadow ; Moneygall in King's County, the shrub-
bery of the strangers ; Clongill in Meath, the
Englishman's meadow ; Ballinguile and Ballyguile
in Cork and Wicklow, the town of the English-
man.

Gallbhuaile [Galvoola] is a name that often
occurs in different anglicised forms, meaning
English-booley, i.e. a booley or dairy place belong-
ing to English people. In Tipperary it gives
name to the parish of Galbooly ; in Donegal it is
made Galwolie ; while in other places we find it
changed to Galboley and Galboola.

The mouth of the Malahide river, near Dublin,
is called by the strange name of Muldowney among
the people of the locality, a name which, when
fully developed under the microscope of history,
will remind us of a colony still more ancient than
those I have mentioned. The Firbolgs, in their
descent on Ireland, divided themselves into three
bodies under separate leaders, and landed at three
different places. The men of one of these hordes
were called Firdomnainn [Firdownan], or the men
of the deep pits, and the legendary histories say
that they received this name from the custom of
digging deeply in cultivating the soil.

The place where this section landed was for
many ages afterwards called Inver-Domnainn
(Book of Leinster), the river mouth of the Dom-
naniis, and it has been identified, beyond all dispute,
with the little bay of Malahide ; the present vulgar
name Muldowney, is merely a corruption of Maeil-
Domnainn, in which the word maeil, a whirlpool,
is substituted for the inbher of the ancient name.
Thus this fugitive-looking name, so little remark-
able that it is not known beyond the immediate
district, with apparently none of the marks of age

100 Historical, and Legendary Names. [PART n.

or permanency, can boast of an antiquity "beyond
the misty space of twice a thousand years," and
preserves the memory of an event otherwise for-
gotten by the people, and regarded by many as
mythological ; while, at the same time, it affords
a most instructive illustration of the tenacity with
which loose fragments of language often retain
the footmarks of former generations.

According to our early histories, which in this
particular are confirmed by Bede (Lib. I., Cap. I.),
the Picts landed and remained some time in Ireland,
on their way to their final settlement in Scotland.
In the Irish Annals, they are usually called
Cruithne [Cruhne], which is also the term used
by Adamnan, and which is considered to be
synonymous with the word Picti, i.e. painted,
from cruith, colour. After their establishment
in Scotland, they maintained intimate relations
with Ireland, and the ancient Dalaradia, which
extended from Newry to the Ravel "Water in.
Antrim, is often called in our Annals the country
of the Crutheni. It is probable that a remnant
of the original colony settled there ; but we know
besides that its inhabitants were descended through
the female line, from the Picts ; for Irial Glunmore
(son of Conall Carnagh), the progenitor of these
people, was married to the daughter of Eochy,
king of the Picts of Scotland.

Several places in the north of Ireland retain
the name of this ancient people. Duncrun, in the
parish of Magilligan, Derry, was in old days a
place of some notoriety, and contained a church
erected by St. Patrick, and a shrine of St. Columba ;
it must have originally belonged to a tribe of Picts,
for it is known in the Annals by the name of Dun-
Cruithne (Four Masters), which Colgan (Tr. Th.,
p. 181, n. 187), translates drx Cruthcenorum, the

CHAP. T.] Historical Events. 101

fortress of the Cruthnians. In the parish of
Macosquin, in the same county, there is a town-
land called Drumcroon, and one in the parish of
Devenish, Fermanagh, with the name of Drum-
croohen, both of which signify the Picts' ridge.

After the Milesian conquest of Ireland, the
vanquished races, consisting chiefly of Firbolgs
and Dedannans, were kept in a state of subjection
by the conquerors, and oppressed with heavy
exactions, which became at last so intolerable
that they rose in rebellion, early in the first
century, succeeded in overthrowing for a time the
Milesian power, and placed one of their own chiefs,
Carbery Kincat, on the throne. After the death
of this king the Milesian monarchy was restored
through the magnanimity of his son Moran.
These helot races, who figure conspicuously in
early Irish history, are known by the name of
Aitheach-Tuatha [Ahathooha], which signifies
literally, plebeian races ; and they are considered
by some to be the same as the Attacotti, a tribe
who are mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus and
by St. Jerome, as aiding the Picts and Scots against
the Britons.

In the barony of Carra, county of Mayo, there
is a parish called Touaghty, preserving the name
of the ancient territory of Tuath-Aitheachta [Thoo-
ahaghta], so written by MacFirbisin "Hy Fiach-
rach," which received its name from having been
anciently occupied by a tribe of Firbolgs: the
name signifies the tuath or district of the Attacotti
or plebeians.

To travellers on the Great Southern and Western
Railway, the grassy hill of Knocklong, crowned by
its castle ruins, forms a conspicuous object, lying
immediately south of the Knocklong station. This
hill was, many ages ago, the scene of a warlike

102 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART IL

gathering, the memory of which is still preserved
in the name.

In the middle of the third century, Cormac mac
Art, monarch of Ireland, undertook an expedition
against Fiacha Muilleathan [Mullahan], king of
Munster, to reduce him to submission, and lay the
province under additional tribute ; and his army
marched from Tara unopposed, till they pitched
their tents on this hill, which was up to that time
called Druim-damhghaire [da vary], the bill of the
oxen. The Munster king marched to oppose him,
and encamped on the slope of the opposite hill,
then called Slieve Claire, but now Slievereagh (grey
mountain), lying south of Knocklong, and north-
east of Kilfinane.

After a protracted struggle, and many combats
in the intervening plain, Cormac, defeated and
baffled, was forced to retreat without effecting his
object. He was pursued, with great loss, as far
as Ossory, and obliged by Fiacha to give security
that he would repair the injury done to Munstel
by this expedition. And from this event the hill
of Knocklong received its name, which is in Irish,
Cnoc-luinge, the hill of the encampment.

These are the bare historical facts. In the Book
of Lecan there is a full narrative of the invasion
and repulse ; and it forms the subject of a histori-
cal tale called the Forbais or Siege of Dmim,'
damhghaire, a copy of which is found in the Book
of Lismore Like all historical romances, it is
embellished by exaggeration, and by the introduc-
tion of fabulous circumstances ; and the druids of
both armies are made to play a conspicuous part
in the whole transaction, by the exercise of their
magical powers.

It is related that Cormac's druids dried up, by
their incantations, the springs, lakes, and rivers of

CHAP, i,} Historical Events. 103

the district, so that the men and horses of, the
Munster army were dying of thirst. Fiacha, in
this great distress, sent for Mogh-Ruith [Mo-rih],
the most celebrated druid of his time, who lived
at Dairbhre [Darrery], now Valentia island in
Kerry; and he came, and the men of Munster
besought him to relieve them from the plague of
thirst.

Mogh-Ruith called far his disciple Canvore, and
said to him, " Bring me my magical spear ;" and
his magical spear was brought, and he cast it high
in the air, and told Canvore to dig up the ground
where it fell. " What shall be my reward?" said
Canvore. " Your name shall be for ever on the
stream," said Mogh-Ruith. Then Canvore dug
the ground, and the living water burst asunder
the spells that bound it, and gushed forth from
the earth, in a great stream ; and the multitudes
of men and horses and cattle threw themselves
upon it, and drank till they were satisfied. Cormac
was then attacked with renewed vigour, and his
army routed with great slaughter.

I visited this well a few years ago. It lies on
the road side, in the townland of Glenbrohane,
near the boundary of the parish of Emlygrennan,
three miles to the south of Knocklong; and it
springs from a chasm, evidently artificial, dug in
the side of Slievereagh, forming at once a very
fine stream. It is still well known in the district
by the name of Tober Canvore, Canvore' s well, as
I found by a very careful inquiry ; so that Canvore
has received his reward.

That the Munster forces may have been oppressed
by an unusual drought which dried up the springs
round their encampment, is nothing very impro-
bable ; and if we only suppose that the druid pos-
sessed some of the skill in discovering water with

104 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

which many people in our own day are gifted, we
shall not find it difficult to believe that this mar-
vellous narrative may be in the main true ; for
all unusual occurrences were in those days ac-
counted supernatural. And this view receives
some confirmation from the prevalence of the
tradition at the present day, as well as from the
curious circumstance, that the well is still called
Tober Canvore.

There is a village on the east side of the rivei
Moy, a kind of suburb of Ballina, called Ardnarea.
a name which discloses a dark tale of treachery
and murder ; it was originally applied to the hill
immediately south of the village, which is now
called Castle Hill, from a castle that has long since
disappeared. The event that gave origin to this
name is very fully related by Mac Firbis in his
account of the Tribes and Customs of the Hy
Fiachrach, and the same story is told in the Dinn-
senchus. The persons concerned are all well-
known characters, and the event is far within the
horizon of authentic history.

Guaire Aidhne *£Ainy] was king of Connaught
in the seventh century — a king whose name has
passed into a proverb among the Irish for his hos-
pitality. Though a powerful and popular monarch,
he was not the true heir to the throne ; the right-
ful heir was a man who in his youth had aban-
doned the world, and entered the priesthood, and
who was now bishop of Kilmore-Moy ; this was
Cellach, or Kellagh, the son of the last monarch,
Owen Bel, and fourth in descent from the cele-
brated Dathi. Cellach was murdered at the in-
stigation of Guara, by four ecclesiastical students —
the four Maels, as they were called, because the
names of all began with the syllable Mael — who
were under the bishop's tuition, and who, it appears

CHAP i.] Historical Events. 1 05

by another account, were his own foster-brothers.
The bishop's brother, however, soon after pursued
and captured the murderers, and brought them in
chains to the hill overlooking the Moy, which
was up to that time called Tulach-na-faircsiona
[Tullanafarkshina], the hill of the prospect, where
he hanged them all ; and from this circumstance
the place took the name of Ard-na-riaghadh [Ard-
narea], the hill of the executions.

They were buried at the other side of the river,
a little south of the present town of Ballina, and
the place was called Ard-na-Mael, the hill of the
(four) Maels. The monument erected over them
remains to this day ; it is a cromlech, well known
to the people of Ballina, and now commonly called
the Table of the Giants. The name Ard-na-Mael
is obsolete, the origin of the cromlech is forgotten,
and bishop Cellach and his murderers have long
since ceased to be remembered in the traditions of
the people.

When we consider how prominently the Danes
figure in our history, it appears a matter of some
surprise that they have left so few traces of their
presence. We possess very few structures that can
be proved to be Danish ; and that sure mark of
conquest, the change of local names, has occurred
in only a very few instances : for there are little
more than a dozen places in Ireland bearing Danish
names at the present day, and these are nearly all
on or near the east coast.

Worsae (p. 71) gives a table of 1373 Danish and
Norwegian names in the middle and northern
counties of England, ending in thorpe, by, thwaite,
with, toft, beck, nces, ey, dale, force, fell, tarn, and
haugh. We have only a few Danish terminations,
&sford, which occurs four times ; ey, three times ;
ster, three times ; and ore, which we find in one

106 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

name, not noticed at all by Worsae ; and in contrast
with 1373 names in one part of England, we have
only about fifteen in Ireland, almost all confined
to one particular district. This appears to me to
afford a complete answer to the statement which
we sometimes see made, that the Danes conquered
the country, and their chiefs ruled over it as
sovereigns.

The truth is the Danes never, except in a few
of the maritime towns, had any permanent settle-
ments in Ireland, and even there their wealth was
chiefly derived from trade and commerce, and they
seem to have had only very seldom any territorial
possessions. Their mission was rather to destroy
than to build up ; wherever they settled on the
coast, they were chiefly occupied either in preda-
tory inroads, or in defending their fortresses against
the neighbouring Irish ; they took no permanent
hold on the country ; and their prominence in our
annals is due to their fierce and dreadful ravages,
from which scarcely any part of the country was
free, and the constant warfare maintained for three
hundred years between them and the natives.

The only names I can find that are wholly or
partly Danish are Wexford, Waterford, Carling-
ford, Strangford (Lough), Olderfleet, Carnsore
Point, Ireland's Eye, Lambay Island, Dalkey,
Howth, Leixlip and Oxmantown ; to these may be
added the Lax- weir on the Shannon, the termi-
nation ster in the names of three of the provinces,
the second syllables of such names as Fingall and
Donegal ; probably Wicklow and Arklow, and the
s prefixed to some names near the eastern coast
(for which see p. 65).

The termination ford, in the first four names is
the well-known northern word fiord, an inlet of
the sea. Waterford, Wexford, and Strangford

CHAP. T.] Historical Events. 107

are probably altogether Danish ; the first two are
called respectively by early English writers Vadre>
fiord and Weisford. The Danes had a settlement
somewhere near the shore of Strangf ord Lough, in
the ninth and tenth centuries ; and the Galls of
Lough Cuan (its ancient and present Irish name) are
frequently referred to in our Annals. It was
these who gave it the very appropriate name of
Strangf ord, which means strong fiord, from the
well-known tidal currents at the entrance, which
render its navigation so dangerous.

The usual Irish name of Carlingford, as we
find it in our Annals, is Cairlinn ; so that the full
name, as it now stands, signifies the fiord of
Cairlinn. In O'Clery's Calendar it is called
Snamh-ech, the swimming- ford of the horses;
while in " "Wars of GG," and several other autho-
rities, it is called Snamh-Aighnech.

The last syllable of the name of Olderfleet
Castle, which stands on the little neck of land
called the Curran, near Larne in Antrim, is a
corruption of the same word fiord ; and the name
was originally applied, not to the castle, but to
the harbour. One of the oldest known forms of
the name is Wulfrichf ord ; and the manner in
which it gradually settled down to " Olderfleet "
will be seen in the following forms, found in
various records : — Wulvricheford, Wokingis-
f yrth, "Wolderf rith, Wolverflete, Ulderfleet, Older-
fleet. It is probable, as Dr. Reeves remarks, that
in the first part of all these, is disguised the
ancient Irish name of the Larne water, viz.,
Ollorbha [Ollarva] ; and that the various forms
given above were only imperfect attempts at re-
presenting the sound of Ollarva-fiord.

Carnsore Point in Wexford is known in Irish
by the simple name Cam, i. e. a monumental heap.

108 Histo rical and Legendary Names. £PART n.

The meaning of the termination will be rendered
obvious by the following passage from Wbrsae : —
" On the extremity of the tongue of land which
borders on the north the entrance of the Humber,
there formerly stood a castle called Ravensore,
raven's point. Ore is, as is well known, the old
Scandinavian name for the sandy point of a pro-
montory" (p. 65). The ore in Carnsore, is evi-
dently the same word, and the name written in
full would be Cam's ore, the " ore " or sandy
point of the Carn.

Ptolemy calls this cape Hieron Akron, i. e. the
Sacred Promontory; and Camden (Britannia,"
Ed. 1594, p. 659), in stating this fact, says he has
no doubt but that the native Irish name bore the
same meaning. This conjecture is probably well
founded, though I cannot find any name now ex-
isting near the place with this signification.
Camden, however, in order to show the reasonable-
ness of his opinion, states that Bannow, the name
of a town nearly twenty miles from it, where the
English made their first descent, signifies sacred
in the Irish language. The Irish participle bean-
naighte [bannihe] means blessed, and this is
obviously the word Camden had in view ; but it
has no connection in meaning with Bannow. The
harbour where Robert Fitzstephen landed was
called in Irish Cuan-an-bhainbh (O'Flaherty, lar
Connaught) the harbour of the bonnwe or sucking
pig ; and the town has preserved the latter part of
the name changed to Bannow.

"It is doubtful whether Wicklow derives its
name from the Norwegians, though it is not im-
probable that it did, as in old documents it is called
Wykynglo, Wygyngelo, and Wykinlo, which re-
mind us of the Scandinavian vig, a bay, or Viking "
(Worsae, p. 325). Its Irish name is Kilmantan,

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. 109

St. Mantan's church. This saint, according , to
Mac Geoghegan (Annals of Clonmacnoise), and
other authorities, was one of St. Patrick's com-
panions, who had his front teeth knocked out by
a blow of a stone from one of the barbarians who
opposed the saint's landing in Wicklow ; hence he
was called Mantan, or the toothless, and the
church which was afterwards erected there was
called after him, Cill-Mantain (Four Mast.) . It is
worthy of remark that the word mantach [moun-
thagh] — derived from mant, the gum — is still
used in the South of Ireland to denote a person
who has lost the front teeth.

Leixlip is wholly a Danish name, old Norse
Laxhlaup, i. e. salmon leap : this name (which is
probably a translation from the Irish) is derived
from the well known cataract on the Liffey, still
called the Salmon Leap, a little above the village.
Giraldus Cambrensis (Top. Hib. II., 41), after
speaking of the fish leaping up the cataract,
says: — "Hence the place derives its name of
Saltus Salmonis (Salmon Leap)." From this word
salt, a leap, the baronies of Salt in the county
Kildare, have taken their name. According to
Worsae, the word lax, a salmon, is very common
in the local names of Scotland, and we have
another example of it in the Lax-weir, i. e. Salmon
weir on the Shannon, near Limerick.

The original name of Ireland's eye was Inis-
Ereann ; it is so called in Dinnsenchus, and the
meaning of the name is, the island of Eire or
Eria, who, according to the same authority, was
a woman. It was afterwards called Inis-mac-
Nessan (Four Mast.), from the three sons of
Nessan, a prince of the royal family of Leinster,
namely, Dicholla, Munissa, and Nadsluagh, who
erected a church on it in the seventh century, the

110 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

ruins of which remain to this day. They are
commemorated in O'Clery's Calendar, in the
following words : — " The three sons of Nesan, of
Inis Faithlenn, i. e. Muinissa, Nesslugh, and Dui-
choill Derg ; " from which it appears that Inis
Faithlenn, or, as it would be now pronounced,
Innisfallen, was another ancient name for the
island ; this is also the name of a celebrated island
in the lower lake of Killarney (Inis Faithlenn,
Book of Leinster) ; and in both cases it signifies
the Island of Fathlenn, a man's name, formerly of
common occurrence.

The present name, Ireland's Eye, is an at-
tempted translation of Inis-Ereann, for the trans-
lators understood Ereann to be the genitive case
of Eire, Ireland, as it has the same form ; accord-
ingly they made it Ireland's Ey (Ireland's island,
instead of Eria's island), which in modern times
has been corrupted to Ireland's Eye. Even Ussher
was deceived by this, for he calls the island
Oculus HibernicB. The name of this little island
has met with the fate of the Highlander's ances-
tral knife, which at one time had its haft renewed,
and at another time its blade : one set of people
converted the name of Eire, a woman, to Ireland,
but correctly translated Inis to ey ; the succeeding
generations accepted what the others corrupted,
and corrupted the correct part; between both,
not a vestige of the ancient name remains in the
modern.

Eire or Eri was formerly very common in this
country as a woman's name, and we occasionally
find it forming part of other local names ; there
are, for instance, two places in Antrim called
Carnearny, in each of which a woman named
Eire must have been buried, for the Four Masters
write the name Carn-Ereann, Eire's monumental
mound.

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. Ill

Lambay is merely an altered form of Lambrey,
i, e. Lamb-island ; a name which no doubt origi-
nated in the practice of sending over sheep from
the mainland in the spring, and allowing them to
yean on the island, and remain there, lambs and
all, during the summer. Its ancient Irish name
was Rechru, which is the form used by Adamnan,
as well as in the oldest Irish documents ; but in
later authorities it is written Eechra and Reachra.
In the genitive and oblique cases, it is Rechrinn,
Reachrainn, &c., as, for example, in Leabhar
Breac: — " Fothaighis Colam-cille eclats irrachraind
oirthir Bregh," "Columkill erects a church on
Rachra in the east of Bregia" (O'Don. Gram., p.
155). So also in the poem on the history of the
Picts printed from the Book of Ballymote by
Dr. Todd (Irish Nennius, p. 127) :—

"From the south (i. e. from near the mouth of the Slaney)

was Ulfa sent,

After the decease of his friends ;
In Rachra, in Bregia (In Itachrand im Breagaibh)
He was utterly destroyed."

Though the name Rachra, as applied to the
island, is wholly lost, it is still preserved, though
greatly smoothed down by the friction of long
ages, in the name of Portraine, the parish ad-
joining it on the mainland. In a grant to Christ
Church, made in the year 1308, the island is called
Rechen, and the parish to which it belonged,
Port-rahern, which is merely an adaptation of the
old spelling Port-Rachrann, and very well repre-
sents its pronunciation ; in the lapse of 500 years
Port-rahern has been worn down to Portraine
(Reeves). The point of land there was, in old
times, a place of embarkation for the island and
elsewhere, and this is the tradition of the inhabi-

112 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

tants to the present day, who still show some
remains of the old landing-place ; hence the name
Port-Rachrann ; the port or landing-place of
Rachra-

Other islands round the coast were called Rachra
which are now generally called Rathlin, from the
genitive form Machrann, by a change from r to i
(see pages 34 and 48). The use of the genitive
for the nominative must have begun very early,
for in the Welsh, "Brut y Tywysogion" or Chro-
nicle of the Chieftains, we read "Ac y distrywyd
Rechrenn," " and (the Danes) destroyed Rechrenn"
(Todd, Wars of GGK, Introd., p. xxxii).

The best known of these is Rathlin on the
Antrim coast, which Ptolemy calls Rikina, and
whose name has been modified in various ways by
foreign and English writers ; but the natives still
call it Raghery, which correctly represents the
old nominative form. Ussher (Br. Ecc. Ant., c.
17) says : " our Irish antiquaries call this island
Ro-chrinne," and he states further, that it was so
called from the great quantity of trees with which
it was formerly covered. The island, however,
was never called Rochrinne, but Rachra, in which
no n appears, which puts out of the question its
derivation from crann a tree.

Dalkey is called in Irish, Delginis (O'Cl. Cal.,
Four Masters, &c.), thorn island. The Danes
who had a fortress on it in the tenth century,
called it Dalk-ei, which has the same meaning as
the Irish name, for the Danish word dalk signifies
a thorn: the present name Dalkey is not much
changed from Delginis, but the I, which is now
silent, was formerly pronounced. It is curious
that there has been a fortress on this island from
the remotest antiquity to the present day. Our
early chronicles record that Seadhgha [sha], one

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. 113

of the chiefs of the Milesian colony, erected the
Dun of Delginis ; this was succeeded by * the
Danish fort ; and it is now occupied by a martello
tower.

Oxmantown or Ostmantown, now a part of the
city of Dublin, was so called because the Danes
or Ostmen (i. e. eastmen) built there a town of
their own, and fortified it with ditches and walls.

According to Worsae (p. 230), the termination
ster in the names of three of the provinces is the
Scandinavian stadr, a place, which has been added
to the old Irish names. Leinster is the place (or
province) of Laighen or Layn; Ulster is con-
tracted from Ula-ster, the Irish name Uladh being
pronounced Ulla ; and Munster from Moon-ster,
or Mounster (which is the form found in a State
paper of 1515), the first syllable representing the
pronunciation of the Irish Humhan.

Many of the acts of our early apostles are pre-
served in imperishable remembrance, in the names
of localities where certain remarkable transactions
took place, connected with their efforts to spread
the Gospel. Of these I will give a few examples,
but I shall defer to another chapter the considera-
tion of those places which commemorate the
names of saints.

Saul, the name of a village and parish near
Downpatrick, preserves the memory of St. Patrick's
first triumph in the work of conversion. Dichu,
the prince of the district, who hospitably enter-
tained the saint and his companions, was his first
convert in Ireland ; and the chief made him a
present of his barn, to be used temporarily as a
church. On the site of this barn a church was
subsequently erected, and as its direction hap-
pened to be north and south, the church was also
placed north and south, instead of the usual direc-
VOL. i, 0

114 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

tion, east and west. On this transaction the
following are Ussher's words: — "Which place,
from the name of that church, is called in Scotic
to this day, Sabhatt Patrick ; in Latin, Zabulum
Patricii vel Horreum Patricii" (Patrick's barn).
It is still called in Irish Sabhall, which is fairly
represented in pronunciation by the modern form
Saul.

It is highly probable that several churches
were erected in other districts, in imitation of St.
Patrick's primitive and favourite church at Saul,
which were also placed north and south, and
called by the same name. We know that among
the churches of Armagh, one, founded probably
by the saint himself, was in this direction, and
called by the same name, Sabhall, though this
name is now lost. And it is not unlikely that a
church of this kind gave name to Saval, near
Newry, to Drumsaul in the parish of Ematris,
county Monaghan, and to Sawel, a lofty mountain
in the north of Tyrone. This supposition super-
sedes the far-fetched explanation of the last name,
given in the neighbourhood, which for several
reasons I have no hesitation in pronouncing a
very modern fabrication.

Very similar in the circumstances attending its
origin is the name of Elphin, in the county Eos-
common. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick
(Lib. II. c. 38), we are told that a noble Druid
named Ona, lord of the ancient district of Cor-
caghlan in Roscommon, presented his residence,
called Emlagh-Ona (Ona's marsh) to St. Patrick,
as a site for a church. The church was built
near a spring, over which stood a large stone, and
from this the place was called Ail/inn, which Colgan
interprets "the rock of the clear spring;" the
stone is now gone, but it remained standing in its

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. 115

original position until forty or fifty years ago.
The townland of Emlagh, near Elphin, still'pre-
serves the name of Ona's ancient residence.

The manner in which St. Brigid's celebrated
establishment was founded is stereotyped in the
name of Kildare. According to a tale in the
Book of Leinster, quoted by O'Curry (Lectures,
p. 487), the place was called Druim-Criaidh
[Drumcree] before the time of St. Brigid ; and it
received its present name from "a goodly fair
oke " under the shadow of which the saint con-
structed her little cell.

The origin and meaning of the name are very
clearly set forth in the following words of Ani-
mosus, the writer of the fourth Life of St. Brigid,
published by Colgan : — " That cell is called . in
Scotic, Cill-dara, which in Latin sounds Cella-
quercus (the church of the oak) . For a very high oak
stood there, which Brigid loved much, and blessed
it ; of which the trunk still remains, (i. e. up to the
close of the tenth century, when Animosus wrote) ;
and no one dares cut it with a weapon." Bishop
Ultan, the writer of the third Life, gives a similar
interpretation, viz., Cetta roboris.

If we may judge by the number of places whose
names indicate battle scenes, slaughters, murders,
&c., our ancestors must have been a quarrelsome
race, and must have led an unquiet existence.
Names of this kind are found in every county in
Ireland ; and various terms are employed to com-
memorate the events. Moreover, in most of these
places, traditions worthy of being preserved, re-
garding the occurrences that gave origin to the
names, still linger among the peasantry.

The word cath [cah] signifies a battle, and its
presence in many names points out, with all the
certainty of history, the scenes of former strife

116 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

"We see it in Ardcath in Heath, and Mullycagh in
Wicklow, both signif ying battle height ; in Doon-
caha in Kerry and Limerick, the fort of the battle ;
Derrycaw and Derryhaw, battlewood, in Armagh ;
and Drumnagah in Clare, the ridge of the battles.

One party must have been utterly defeated,
where we find such names as Ballynarooga (in
Limerick), the town of the defeat or rout (mag) •
Greaghnaroog near Carrickmacross, and Maulna-
rouga in Cork, the marshy flat and the hillock
of the rout ; Rinnarogue in Sligo, and Bingarogy,
the name of an island near Baltimore, on the
south coast of Cork, both signifying the rinn or
point of the defeat. And how vivid a picture
of the hideousness of a battle-field is conveyed by
the following names : — Heenagorp in Tyrone, in
Irish Min-na-gcorp, the mountain flat of the
corpses ; Kilnamarve near Carrigallen, Leitrim,
the wood of the dead bodies (Coill-na-marbh) ;
Ballinamara in Kilkenny, the town of the dead
(Bai!e-na-marbJi) , where the tradition of the battle
is still remembered ; Lisnafulla near Newcastle in
Limerick, the fort of the blood ; Onamhchoill
[knawhill] (Book of Leinster), a celebrated place
near the town of Tipperary, now called Cleghile
(by a change of n to I — see p. 49), whose name
signifies the wood of bones : the same Irish name
is more correctly anglicised Knawhill in the pa-
rish of Knooktemple, Cork.

Many of these sanguinary encounters, in which
probably whole armies were almost annihilated,
though lost to history, are recorded with perfect
clearness in names like the following, numbers of
which are found all over the country : — Glenanair,
a fine valley near the boundary of Limerick and
Cork, five miles south of Kilfinane, the glen of
slaughter, where the people still preserve a vivid

CHAP, i.j Historical Events. 117

tradition of a dreadful battle fought at a *'ord
over the river; and with the same root word (ar,
slaughter), Drumar near Ballybay in Monaghan,
Glashare, a parish in Kilkenny, the ridge, and
the streamlet of slaughter; and Coumanare (Coum
a hollow), in the parish of Ballyduff, a few miles
from Dingle in Kerry, where numbers of arrow
heads have been found, showing the truthfulness
of the name ; which is also corroborated by a local
tradition of a great battle fought in the valley.
In Cork they have a tradition that a great and
bloody fight took place at some distant time on
the banks of the little river Ownanare (river 01
slaughter), which joins the Dalua one mile above
Kanturk.

The murder of any near relative is termed in
Irish fionghal [finnal] which is often translated
fratricide ; and the frequent occurrence of names
containing this word, while affording undeniable
avidence of the commission of the crime, demon-
strates at the same time the horror with which it
was regarded by the people. We have, for in-
stance, Lisnafinelly in Monaghan, and Lisfennell
in Waterf ord, where in both cases the victim met
his doom in one of the lonely forts so common
through the country; Cloonnafinneela near Kilnyn
in Kerry (cloon a meadow) ; Tattanafinnell near
Clogher in Tyrone, the field (tate) of the fratri-
cide ; Drumnafinnila in Leitrim, and Drumnafin-
nagle near Kilcar in Donegal, the ridge of the
fratricide, in the last of which places there is a
vivid tradition accounting for the name: — that
one time long ago, the clan of Mac Gilla Carr
(now called Carr), fell out among themselves, and
slaughtered each other almost to annihilation
(" Donegal Cliff Scenery" by "Kinnfaela," pp
60, 61). And occasionally the murdered man's

118 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

name is commemorated by being interwoven with
the name of the spot, as may be seen in Gortmar-
rahafineen, near Kenmare in Kerry, which repre-
sents the Irish Gort-marbhtha-Finghin, the field of
Fineen's murder. A name of this kind is recorded
in the annals of Lough Key (II., 368), viz.,
Ath-Marbhtha-Cathail, the ford of the killing of
Cathal, which in the anglicised form Aghawara-
cahill, is now the name of a townland in the
parish of Kilmore in Roscommon, south of the
village of Drumsna. But no one knows who this
unfortunate Cathal was. "We have also in the
parish of Clones in Fermanagh, Cornamramurry,
the round hill of the dead woman — Cor-na-mna-
mairbhe (bean, a woman ; genitive mna).

In "A Tour through Ireland, by two English
Gentlemen" (Dublin, 1748), we read :— " The
poorer sort of Irish Natives are mostly Roman
Catholicks, who make no scruple to assemble in
the open Fields. As we passed Yesterday in a
Bye-road, we saw a Priest under a Tree, with a
large Assembly about him, celebrating Mass in
his proper Habit; and, though at a great Distance
from us, we heard him distinctly. These sort of
People, my Lord, seem to be very solemn and
sincere in their devotion" (p. 163).

The Irish practice of celebrating Mass in the
open air appears to be very ancient. It was more
general, however, during the period preceding the
above tour than at other times, partly because
there were in many places no chapels, and partly
because, during the operation of the penal laws,
the celebration of Mass was declared illegal. And
the knowledge of this, if we be wise enough to
turn it to right account, may have its use, by
reminding us of the time in which our lot is cast,
the people have their chapel in every parish,

CHAP, i.] Historical Events. 119

and those prohibitory enactments are made mere
matters of history, by wise and kind legislation.

Even in our own day we may witness the cele-
bration of Mass in the open air ; for many will
remember the vast crowds that congregated on
the summit of Brandon hill in Kerry, on the 28th
of June, 1868, to honour the memory of St.
Brendan. The spots consecrated by the celebra-
tion of the sacred mysteries are at this day well
known, and greatly revered by the people ; and
many of them bear names formed from the word
Aiffrlon (affrin), the Mass, that will identify them
to all future time.

Places of this kind are found all over Ireland,
and many of them have given names to townlands;
and it may be further observed that the existence,
of such a name in any particular locality indi-
cates that the custom of celebrating Mass there
must have continued for a considerable time.

Sometimes the lonely side of a hill was chosen,
and the people remember well, and will point out
to the visitor, the very spot on which the priest
stood, while the crowd of peasants worshipped
below. One of these hills is in the parish of
Kilmore, county Roscommon, and it has left its
name on the townland of Ardanaffrin, the height
of the Mass ; another in the parish of Donagh-
tnore, county Donegal, called Corraffrin (cor, a
round hill) ; a third in the parish of Kilcommon.
Mayo, namely, Drumanaff rin ; a fourth in CavaiL
MullanafErin (mullach, a summit) ; and still ano
ther, Knockanaffrin, in Waterford, one of the
highest hills of the Cummeragh range.

Sometimes, again, the people selected secluded
dells and mountain gorges ; such as Clashanaffrin
in the parish of Desertmore, county of Cork
(clash, a trench or fosse), and Lugganaffrin in the

120 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

county of Galway, the hollow of the Mass. And
occasionally they took advantage of the ancient
forts of their pagan ancestors, places for ages
associated with fairy superstitions; and while
they worshipped they were screened from observa-
tion by the circumvallations of the old fortress.
The old palace of Greenan-Ely near Londonderry
was so used ; and there is a fort in the townland
of Rahanane, parish of Kilcummin in Kerry,
which still bears the name of Lissanaffrin, the
fort of the Mass.

Many other names of like formation are to be
met with, such as Glenanaffrin, Carriganaffrin,
Lough Anaffrin, &c. Occasionally the name re-
cords the simple fact that Mass was celebrated, as
we find in a place called Effrinagh, in the parish
of Kiltoghert, Leitrim, a name which signifies
simply " a place for Mass." And sometimes a
translated name occurs of the same class, such as
Mass-brook in the parish of Addergoole, Mayo,
which is a translation of the Irish Sruthan-an-
Aiffrinn.

There are other words also, besides Affrin,
which are used to commemorate these Masses;
such as altoir, an altar, which gives name to a
townland, now called Altore, in the parish of
Kiltullagh, B/oscommon ; and to another named
Oltore, in the parish of Donaghpatrick, Galway.
There is also a place called "Altore cross-roads,"
near Inchigeelagh, Cork ; and we find Carrow-
. naltore (the quarter land of the altar) in the
parish of Aglish Mayo.

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 121

CHAPTER H.

HISTORICAL PERSONAGES.

OUR annals generally set forth with great care the
genealogy of the most remarkable men — kings,
chieftains, or saints — who flourished at the different
periods of our history ; and even their character
and their personal peculiarities are very often
given with much minuteness. These annals and
genealogies, which are only now beginning to be
known and studied as they deserve, when examined
by the internal evidence of mutual comparison,
are found to exhibit a marvellous consistency;
and this testimony of their general truthfulness is
fully corroborated by the few glimpses we obtain
of detached points in the long record, through the
writings of English and foreign historians, as well
as by the still severer test of verifying our fre-
quent records of natural occurrences.

Nor are these the only testimonies. Local
names often afford the most unsuspicious and
satisfactory evidences of the truth of historical
records, and I may refer to the preceding chapter
for instances. It is with men as with events.
Many of the characters who figure conspicuously
in our annals have left their names engraven in
the topography of the country, and the illustration
of this by some of the most remarkable examples
will form the subject of the present chapter.

Before entering on this part of the subject, it
will be necessary to make a few remarks on the
origin of the names of our ancient tribes and
territories, and to explain certain terms that are
often used in their formation.

122 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

" It is now universally admitted that the ancient
names of tribes in Ireland were not derived from
the territories they inhabited, but from certain of
their distinguished ancestors. In nine cases out
of ten, names of territories and of the tribes in-
habiting them are identical "* (the former being
derived from the latter). The names of tribes
were formed from those of their ancestors, by
prefixing certain words or postfixing others, the
most important of which are the following : —

Cinel [kinel], kindred, race, descendants ; Cinel-
Aedha [Kinelea : O'Heeren], the race of Aedh
[Ay] or Hugh, a tribe descended from Aedh
(father of Failbhe Flann, king of Munster, in
A. D. 636), who were settled in the county Cork,
and gave name to the barony of Kinalea. Kinelarty
a barony in Down, Cinel-Fhaghartaigh (Four
Mast.), the race of Fagartagh, one of the ances-
tors of the Mac Artans.

Clann, children, descendants, race; in the
Zeuss MS. it is given as the equivalent of progenies.
The barony of Clankee in Cavan derives its name
from a tribe who are called in Irish Clann-an-
Chaoich [Clanankee: Four Mast.], the descend-
ants of the one-eyed man ; and they derived this
cognomen from Niall Caoch O'Reilly (caoch [kee],
i.e. one-eyed, Lat. ccecus), who was slain in 1256.
The baronies of Clanwilliam in Limerick and
Tipperary, from the clann or descendants of Wil-
liam Burke ; Clanmaurice, a barony in Kerry, so
called from the Fitzmaurices, the descendants of
Maurice Fitzgerald. Besides several historic
districts, this word gives name to some ordinary
townlands ; such as Clananeese Glebe in Tyrone,

* From O'Donovan's Introduction to the "Topographical
Poems of O'Dugan and O'Heeren," where the reader will
find a valuable essay on tribe and family names.

OHAP. IT.] Historical Personages. 123

from the race of Aengus or .^Eneas ; Clanhugh
Demesne in Westmeath, the descendants of Aedh
or Hugh.

Core, corca, race, progeny. Corcomohide, the
name of a parish in Limerick, is written in Irish
Corca-Muichet (Book of Lismore), the race of
Muichet, who in the " Forbais Dromadamhghaire"
are stated to have been descended from Muichet,
one of Mogh Ruith's disciples (see p. 102, supra).

Muintir, family, people; Muntermellan and
Munterneese in Donegal, the family of Miallan
and Aengus ; Munterowen in Galway, the family
of Eoghan or Owen ; Munterloney, now the name
of a range of mountains in Tyrone, from the
family of O'Luinigh or O'Looney, who were chiefs
of the surrounding district.

Siol [shiel], seed, progeny. Shillelagh, now a
barony in Wicklow, was so called from the tribe
of Siol-Elaigh (O'Heeren), the descendants of
Elach : this district was formerly much celebrated
for its oak-woods, a fact that has given origin to
the well-known word shillelagh as a term for an
oak stick. Shelburne in "Wexford, from the tribe
of Siol-Brain (O'Heeren), the progeny of Bran ;
Shelmaliere in the same county, the descendants
of Maliere or Maelughra.

Tealach [tellagh], family. The barony of
Tullyhaw in Cavan was so called from the
Magaurans, its ancient proprietors, whose tribe
name was Tealach- Echach (O'Dugan), i.e. the
family of Eochy.

Ua signifies a grandson, and, by an extension
of meaning, any descendant : it is often written
hua by Latin and English writers, and still oftener
0, which is the common prefix in Irish family
names. In Scotland they still retain it ; for among
speakers of English they call a grandson oe. The

124 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

nominative plural is ui [ee : often written in Latin
and English, hui or hy], which is applied to a
tribe, and this word still exists in several
territorial designations. Thus Offerlane, now a
parish in Queen's County, was the name of a tribe,
called in Irish Ui-Foircheallain [Hy Forhellane :
Four Mast.], the descendants of Foircheallan ;
[da, now the name of a barony in Kilkenny,
which represents the sound of Ui-Deaghaigh, the
descendants of Deaghadh ; Imaile, a celebrated
district in Wickjow, Ui Mail (O'Heeren), the
descendants of Mann Mai, brother of Cahirmore,
king of Ireland in the second century.

The ablative plural of ua is uibh [iv], and this
form is also found occasionally in names (see p. 33,
VII.). Thus Iverk, now a barony in Kilkenny,
which O'Heeren writes Ui-Eirc (ablat. Uibh-Eirc],
the descendants of Ere; Iveleary in Cork (the
descendants of Laeghaire), taking its name from
the O'Learys, its ancient proprietors ; Iveruss,
now a parish in Limerick, from the tribe of Uibh-
Rosa.

That the foregoing is the proper signification of
this word in its three cases, we have authorities
that preclude all dispute ; among others that of
Adamnan, who in several passages of his Life of
Columba, translates ua by nepos, ui by nepotes,
and uibh by nepotibus.

The word tuath [tua] meant originally populus
(people), which it glosses in the Wb MS. of Zeuss ;
but, in accordance with the custom of naming the
territory after its inhabitants, it came ultimately
to signify district, which is now the sense in
which it is used. Near Sheephaven in Donegal is
a well-known district called the Doe : its ancient
name, as given by O'Heeren, is Tuath Bladhach ;
but by the Four Masters and other authorities it

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 125

is usually called Tuatha, i. e. districts. It was the
inheritance of the Mac Sweenys, the chief of
whom was called Mac Sweeny na dTuath, or, as
it is pronounced and written in English, na Doe,
i. e. of the districts ; and it is from this appellation
that the place came to be corruptly called Doe.

With the preceding may be enumerated the
word Fir or Feara, men, which is often prefixed
to the names of districts to form tribe names.
The old tribe called Fir-tir8 (the men of the ter-
ritory), in Wicklow, is now forgotten, except so
far as the name is preserved in that of the river
Yartry. The celebrated territory of Fermoy in
Cork, which still retains its name, is called in
Irish Feara-muig he-Feme, or more shortly, Feara-
muighe (O'Heeren), the men of the plain. It is
called in the Book of Rights Magh Fian, the
second part of which was derived from the Fians
or ancient militia (p. 91) ; and the full name
Feara-muighe-Feine means the men of the plain of
the Fians.

There are also a few words which are suffixed
to men's names, to designate the tribes descended
from them; such as raidhe [ree], in the word
Calraidhe. There were several tribes called
Calraidhe or Calry (the race of Cal), who were
descended from Lewy Cal, the grand-uncle of
Maccon, king of Ireland in the third century.
The names of some of these are still extant : one
of them was settled in the ancient Teffia, whose
name is preserved by the mountain of Slievegolry,
near Ardagh, county Longford, Sliabh g Calraidhe,
the mountain of the (people called) Calry. There
is a townland called Drumhalry (Druim- Chalraidhe
the ridge of the Calry), near Carrigallen in
Leitrim ; and another of the same name in the
parish of Killoe, county Longford ; which shows

126 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

that Calry of north Teffia extended northward as
far as these two townlands. Calry in Sligo and
Calary in Wicklow also preserve the names of
these tribes.

The monarsh Hugony the Great, who reigned
3Oon after the foundation of Emania, divided
Ireland into twenty-five parts among his twenty-
five children ; and this division continued for
about three centuries after his time. Several of
these gave names to the territories allotted to them,
but all those designations are now obsolete, with
a single exception. To one of his sons, Lathair
[Laher], he gave a territory in Ulster, which was
called from him Latharna [Laharna : Book of
Rights], a name which exists to this day,
shortened to Larne. Though now exclusively
applied to the town, it was, in the time of Colgan,
the name of a district which extended north-
wards along the coast towards Glenarm : the
town was then called Inver-an-Laharna, the river-
mouth of (the territory of) Laharna, from its
situation at the mouth of the Ollarbha, or Larne
Water. In the Down Survey Map it is called
" Inver alias Learne ; " and the former name is
still retained in the adjacent parish of Inver.

Many of the remarkable persons who flourished
in the reign of Conor mac Nessa, king of Ulster
in the first century, still live in local names. The
descendants of Beann, one of Conor's sons, were
called from him Beanntraighe [Bantry : Book of
Rights], i. e. the race of Beann ; a part of them
settled in Wexford, and another part in Cork, and
ihe barony of Bantry in the former county, and the
.own of Bantry in the latter, retain their name.

When the three sons of Usnagh were murdered
at the command of Conor, Fergus mac Roy, ex-
king of Ulster, who had guaranteed their safety,

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 127

" indignant at the violation of his safe conduct,
retired into exile, accompanied by Cormac Con-
lingas, son of Conor, and by three thousand
warriors of Uladh. They received a hospitable
welcome at Cruachan from Maev [queen of Con-
naught], and her husband Ailill, whence they
afterwards made many hostile incursions into
Ulster,"* taking part in that seven years' war
between Ulster and Connaught, so celebrated by
our historians and romancers as the "Tain bo
Cuailnge," the cattle spoil of Cooley (near Car-
lingford).

Fergus afterwards resided in Connaught, and
Maev bore him three sons, Ciar [Keer], Conmac,
and Modhruadh [Moroo], who became the heads
of three distinguished tribes. Ciar settled in
Munster, and his descendants possessed the terri-
tory west of Abbeyfeale, and lying between
Tralee and the Shannon ; they were called Ciar-
raidhe [Kerry : Book of Rights], i. e. the race of
Ciar, and this name was afterwards applied to the
district ; it was often called Ciarraidhe Luachra,
from the mountain tract of Sliabh Luachra (rushy
mountain, now Slievelougher), east of Castle-
island. This small territory ultimately gave the
name of Ciarraidhe or Kerry to the entire
county.

The descendants of Conmac were called Con-
maicne [Conmacne : ne, a progeny] ; they were
settled in Connaught, where they gave their
name to several territories. One of these, viz.,
the district lying west of Lough Corrib and Lough
Mask, from its situation near the sea, was called,
to distinguish it from the others, Conmaicne-mara
^O'Dugan : muir, the sea, gen. mara), or the sea-
side Conmaicne ; which name is still applied to the

* From " The Irish before tlie Conquest," by Lady Ferguson.

128 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

very-same district, in the slightly contracted and
well-known form Connemara.

The posterity of the third son, Modhruadh,
were called Corca-Modhruadh, or Corcomruad (Book
of Leinster), the race of Modhruadh ; they settled
in the north of the county of Clare, and their ter-
ritory included the present baronies of Burren and
Corcomroe, the latter of which retains the old
name.

Another son of Fergus (not by Maev), was.
Finn or Cufinn (fair-haired hound), from whom
were descended the tribe of the Ddl-Confinn (ddl, a
tribe), who afterwards took the family name of
O'Finn. They inhabited a district in Connaught,
which was called from them Cuil-0'bhFinn [Cool-
ovin : Four Mast.], the corner of the O'Finns ;
and the same name in the modernised form of
Coolavin is still applied to the territory which now
forma a barony in Sligo.

When the Connaught forces under Maev marched
to invade the territory of Conor, the task of de-
fending the different fords they had to cross was
allotted to Cuchullin, the great Ulster champion ;
and the various single combats with the Con-
naught warriors, in all of which he was victorious,
are described with great minuteness in the heroic
romance of " Tain bo Cuailnge." One of these
encounters took place at a ford of the little
river Nith (now called the Dee, in Louth), where
afterwards grew up the town of Ardee; and
Cuchullin's antagonist was his former friend, the
youthful champion Ferdia, the son of Daman, of
the Firbolgic tribe Gowanree, who inhabited Erris.
After a long and sanguinary combat Ferdia was
slain, and the place was ever after called Ath-
Fhirdia [Ahirdee: Leabhar na hUidhre], Fer-
dia's ford. The present form Ardee is a very

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 129

modern contraction ; by early English writers it
is generally called Atherdee, as by Boate (Chap.
i., Sect, vi.), which preserves, with little change,
the original Irish pronunciation.

In the reign of Felimy the Lawgiver (A. D.
Ill to 119), the men of Munster seized on Ossory,
and all the Leinster territories, as far as Mullagh-
mast. They were ultimately expelled, after a
series of battles, by an Ulster chief, Lughaidh
Laeighseach [Lewy Leeshagh], son of Laeigh-
seach Canvore, son of the renowned Conall Cear-
nach, chief of the Red Branch Knights of Ulster
in the first century (see p. 91). For this service
the king of Leinster granted Lewy a territory in
the present Queen's County ; and as his descen-
dants, the O'Moores, were called from him by the
tribe name Laeighis [Leesh], their territory took
the same name, which in English is commonly
written Leix — a district that figures conspicuously
in Irish and Anglo-Irish Chronicles.

The name of this principality has altogether
disappeared from modern maps, except so far as it
is preserved in that of the town of Abbeyleix,
i. e. the abbey of the territory of Leix, which it
received from a monastery founded there in 1183
by Conor O'Moore.

The first battle between the Munstermen and
the forces of Lewy was fought at Ath- Truisden, a
ford on the river Greece, near Mullaghmast, and
the former retreated to the Barrow, where at
another ford there was a second battle, in which a
Munster chief, Ae, the foster-father of Ohy Finn
Fohart (p. 131), was slain; and from him the
place was called Aih-I (wars of GGK), the ford of
Ae, now correctly anglicised Athy.

From Fiacha Raidhe [Ree], grandson of king
Felimy, descended the tribe named Corcn-Raeidhe
VOL. i. 10

130 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

(O'Dugan), whose name is still borne by the
barony of Corkaree in "Westmeath, their ancient
patrimony. This territory is mentioned by Adam-
nan (Lib. I. cap. 47), who calls it Korkureti ; and
in the Book of Armagh the name is translated
Regionez Moide, i. e. the territories of Raidhe or
xlee.

The fanciful creations of the ancient Irish story-
tellers have thrown a halo of romance round the
names of many of the preceding personages ; never-
theless I have treated of them in the present
chapter, because I believe them to be historical.
As we descend from those dim regions of extreme
antiquity, the view becomes clearer, and the cha-
racters that follow may, with few exceptions be
considered as standing out in full historical dis-
tinctness.

Cahirmore was monarch of Ireland from A. D.
120 to 123 ; he is well known in connection
with the document called the "Will of Cahir-
more," which has been translated and published
by O'Donovan in the Book of Rights. According
to our genealogical writers (see O'Flaherty's
Ogygia, Part III. c. 59 ), he had thirty sons, but
only ten are mentioned in the Will, two of whom
are commemorated in well-known modern names.

His eldest son was Ros-failghe [faly], i. e. Ros
of the rings (fdill, a ring, pi. fdilghe), whom the
monarch addresses as " my fierce Ros, my vehe-
ment Failghe." His descendants were called Hy
Failghe (O'Dugan), i. e. the descendants of Failghe;
they possessed a large territory in Kildare and in
King's and Queen's Counties, to which they gave
their tribe name ; and it still exists in the form of
Offaly, which is now applied to two baronies in
Kildare, forming a portion of their ancient in-
heritance. Another son, Ceatach, also named in

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 131

the Will, was probably the progenitor of the tribe
that gave name to the barony of Ikeathy, in
Kildare — Hy Ceataigh, the race of Ceatach. Others
of Cahirmore's sons were the ancestors of tribes
but their names have been long extinct.

The barony of Idrone in Carlow, perpetuates
the memory of the tribe of Hy Drona (Book of
Rights), who formerly possessed this territory,
and whose family name was O'Ryan ; their ances-
tor, from whom they derived their tribe name, was
Drona, fourth in descent from Cahirmore.

The county Fermanagh was so called from the
tribe of the Fir-Monach (O'Dugan), the men of
Monach, who were originally a Leinster tribe, so
named from their ancestor Monach, fifth in descent
from Cahirmore, by his son Daire Barrack. They
had to fly from Leinster in consequence of having
killed Enna, the son of the king of that province ;
one part of them was located in the county of
Down, where the name is extinct ; another part
settled on the shore of Lough Erne, where they
acquired a territory extending over the entire
county Fermanagh. Enna Kinsellagh, king of
Leinster in the end of the fourth century, was
fourth in descent from Cahinnore. He had a son
named Felimy, from whom descended the sept of
Hy Felimy (Four Mast.) ; one branch of them
settled in the county Carlow, and their name is
still preserved in that of the parish of Tullow-
Offelimy, or Tullowphelim (which was also applied
to the town of Tullow) i. e. the tulach or hill of the
territory of Hy Felimy ', which included this parish.

Cahirmore was slain by the celebrated Conn of
the Hundred Battles, who ascended the throne in
A. D. 123. After a reign of thirty-five years,
Conn's two brothers, Fiacha and Eochy Fine
Fothart, betrayed him into the hands of Tibraide

132 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART IT.

Tireach, king of Ulster, who murdered him as he
was making preparations to celebrate the Feis or
convention of Tara.

Conary II., his successor (from A.D. 212 to
220), had three sons — the three Carberys — who
are renowned in Irish History ; — Carbery Muse,
Carbery Baskin, and Carbery Riada. From Car-
bery Muse were descended and named all the
tribes called Muscraidhe [Muskerry: O'Heerin],
i. e. the race of Muse ; of which, according to
O'Heerin, there were six, all in Munster. The
names of all these have recently disappeared
except that of one, Muscraidhe Mitaine, or Mus-
craidhe O'Flynn, which now forms the two baronies
of Muskerry in Cork. From Carbery Baskin was
named the ancient territory of Corcobaskin in the
south-west of Clare, but the name has become
obsolete. Carbery Riada was the most celebrated
of the three, for whom see page 87. Carbery
Muse had a son named Duibhne [Divne], whose
descendants gave name to the district of Corca-
Duibhne (O'Heerin), i. e. Duibhne's race ; and a
portion of this territory still retains the name,
though somewhat corrupted, viz., the barony of
Corkaguiny (dh changed to g ; p. 56), in Kerry,
which comprises the peninsula between Tralee and
Dingle bays.

Art, the son of Con of the Hundred Battles,
succeeded Conary, and immediately on his acces-
sion he banished his uncle, Ohy Finn Fothart
[Fohart], from Munster. Ohy proceeded to Lein-
ster, and the king of that province bestowed on
him and his sons certain districts, the inhabitants
of which were afterwards called Fotharta [Fo-
harta : Book of Rights] . from their ancestor. Of
these, the two principal still retain the name, viz.,
the baronies of Forth in Wexford and Carlow ;

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 133

the former called in the Annals, for distinction,
Fotharta of the Cam, i. e. of Carnsore Point ; and
the latter, Fotharta Fea, from the plain anciently
called Moy Fea, lying east of the town of Carlow.

After Art, the son of Con, had reigned thirty
years, he was slain in the year 195, in the battle
of Magh Mucruimhe [Muckrive] near Athenry, by
Lewy Maccon and his followers. It is stated in
the " History of the Cemeteries " in Leabhar na
hUidhre, that Art believed in the Faith the day
before the battle, and predicted the spread of
Christianity. It would appear also that he had
some presentiment of his death; for he directed
that he should not be buried at Brugh on the
Boyne, the pagan cemetery of his forefathers, but .
at a place then called Dumha Dergluachra (the
burial-ground of the red rushy-place), "where
Treoit is at this day " (Trevet in the county Meath).
" When his body was afterwards carried eastwards
to Dumha Dergluachra, if all the men of Erin were
drawing it thence, they could not, so that he was in-
terred at that place, because there was a Catholic
church to be afterwards at the place where he was
interred, for the truth and the Faith had been re-
vealed to him through his regal righteousness"
'Hist, of Cemeteries; seePetrie's R. Towers, p. 100).

In the historical tale called "The Battle of
Magh Mucruimhe" it is stated that, when Art was
buried, three sods were dug in honour of the
Trinity ; and that hence the place, from that time
forward, got the name of Tre-foit (O'Clery's Cal.,
&c.), i. e. three fods or sods, which is very little
changed in the present name Trevet.

The celebrated Mogh Nuadhat [Mo Nuat], or
Owen More, was king of Munster during the
reign of Con of the Hundred Battles; he con-
tended with that monarch for the sovereignty of

131 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART li.

all Ireland, and after defeating him in ten battles,
he obliged him to divide the country equally
between them — the well-known ridge of sand
hills called Esker Riada, extending from Dublin
to Galway, being adopted as the boundary. From
Owen descended a long line of kings, and he was
the ancestor of the most distinguished of the great
Munster families.

He spent nine years in Spain, and the king oJ
that country gave him his daughter Beara in
marriage : on his return to Ireland, accompanied
by Spanish auxiliaries, to make war against Conn,
he landed on the north side of Bantry bay, and he
called the harbour Beara in honour of his wife.
It is now called Bearhaven ; the island that shel-
ters it is called Great Bear Island ; and the
barony is also known by the name of Bear.

Owen derived his alias name of Mogh Nuadhat
(which signifies Nuadhat's slave) from his fostei
father Nuadhat, king of Leinster. From this
king, acording to O'Donovan (Cambr. Evers.,
note, f\. 473, Yol. I.), Maynooth derives its
name : — Ma gh- Nuadhat, i. e. Nuat's plain.

Olioll Olum, the son of Owen, succeeded him
as king of Munster, and was almost as renowned
as his father ; he is usually taken as the starting-
point in tracing the genealogies of the Munster
families. Three of his sons — Owen, Cormac Cas,
and Cian [Kean] — became very much celebrated.

In the year 226 was fought the battle of Crinna
in Meath, between Cormac mac Art, king of Ire-
land, and the TJlstermen, under Fergus, son of
Imchadh ; Cormac defeated, the Ulster forces, by
the assistance of Tadg [Teige], son of Cian; and
for this service the king bestowed on him a large
territory, extending ?rom the Liffey northwards to
Drumiskin. in Louth. Tads's descendants were

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 135

called Cianachta [Keenaghta : O'Dugan], i. e. the
race of Cian, from his father ; and the territory
was afterwards known by this name. It is for-
gotten in Leinster, but in Ulster it is still the
name of a barony in the north-west of London-
derry, called Keenaght, from the O'Coaors of
Glengiven, who formerly ruled over it, and who
were a branch of the tribe of Keenaghta, having
been descended from Connla the son of Tadg.
The name is also preserved in Coolkeenaght, in
the parish of Faughanvale, Deny ; Cuaitte- Cian-
achta (Four Mast.), the bare tree or pole of
Keenaght.

The barony of Ferrard in Louth indirectly keeps
up the memory of this ancient tribe. The range .
of heights called Slieve JBregh, running from
near Collon in Louth, eastwards to Clogher Head,
was anciently called Ard- Cianachta (Four Mast. ;
Ard-Ceanachte, Adamuan), the height of the
territory of Keenaght, and the inhabitants were
called Feara-Arda-C'ianachta, or more shortly,
Feara-Arda (Four Mast.), i. e. the men of the
height, from which the modern name Ferrard has
been formed.

Tadg, the son of Cian, had a son named Cormac
Gaileng (Cormac of the dishonoured spear; see
Knockgrean, 2nd Vol.), who having fallen under
the displeasure of his father, fled from Munster to
Connaught, where he obtained from Cormac mac
Art, king of Ireland, a district which had pre-
viously been inhabited by the Firbolgs or "At-
'cacots." The descendants of Cormac Gaileng
and his son Luigh, or Lewy, were known by the
two names Gaiknga (O'Dugan), or the race of
Gaileng, and Luighne [Leyny : O'Dugan], the
posterity (ne) of Luigh. These were originally
only various names for the same tribe, but they

136 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART IL

are at the present day applied to different dis-
tricts— one, in the modern form of Gallen, to a
barony in Mayo, and the other to a barony in
Sligo, now called Leyny.

A branch of the same tribe settled in Leinster,
where there were two territories called respectively
Mor-Gaiknga and Gaiknga-beag (O'Dugan), or the
great and little Gaiknga ; the latter is obsolete,
but the former is still retained in the name of
the modern barony of Morgallion in Meath.

Eile, the seventh in descent from Cian, was the
ancestor of the tribes called Eile or Ely, who gave
name to several districts, all in the ancient Mumha
or Munster, and of which O'Carroll was king.
The only one of these whose name has held its
ground is Ely O'Fogarty, so called from its ancient
possessors, the O'Fogartys ; and the name is now
applied to a barony in Tipperary, in the shortened
form of Eliogarty.

Eochy Liathanach [Lehanagh] was fifth in de-
scent from Olioll Olum, and from him the tribe of
O'Liathain, who now call themselves O'Lehane or
Lyons, are derived. Castlelyons in Cork was
situated in their territory, and still retains its
name — Caiskn-ui-IAathain [Cashlan - ee - Leehan],
the castle of the territory of Hy-Liathain.

Settled in different parts of Connaught and
Leinster were formerly seven tribes — three in the
former province and four in the latter — all with
the same tribe name of Dealhhna [Dal'vana] ;
they were an offshoot of the Dalcassians of north
Munster, and were descended from Lewy Deal-
bhaeth [Dal way], who was the son of Gas Mac
Tail (seventh in descent from Olioll Olum), the
ancestor of the Dalcassians. They derived their
tribe name from Lewy Dealbhaeth : — Dealbhna, i. e.
the descendants of Dealbhaeth. None of these

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 137

tribes have left their name in our present territorial
nomenclature except one, namely, Dealbhna mor,
or the great Dealbhna, which is now the barony of
Delvin in Westmeath.

From Conal, the ninth from Olioll Olum, de-
scended the tribe of Hy Conaill Gabra (Book of
Leinster), who possessed a territory in the county
of Limerick, a part of which still retains the
name, viz., the baronies of Upper and Lower
Connello.

I have already mentioned (p. 90) the destruc-
tion of the palace of Emania, in the year 332, by
the three Collas; these were Colla Uais, Colla
Meann, and Colla da Chrioch, who were the an-
cestors of many noble families in Ulster and
Scotland, and the first of whom reigned as king
of Ireland from A.D. 323 to 326. He was the
progenitor of the several tribes known by the
name of Ui mic Uais [Ee-mic-oosh], one of which
was seated somewhere in the north of Ireland,
another in East Meath, near Tara, and a third in
Westmeath. This last is the only one of the
three whose name has survived ; whose territory
is now a barony, and known by the name of
Moygoish, which is an attempt at pronouncing
the original Ui mic Uais.

Caerthann [Kieran], the great-grandson of
Colla Uais, was the ancestor, through his son
Forgo, of the tribe called Hy Mic Caerthainn
(Four Mast.) ; the territory they inhabited, which
was situated in the west of the present county of
Deny, was called from them Tir-mic- Caerthainn
(the land of Kieran's son), or more shortly, Tir-
Chaerthainn, which is still the name of a barony,
now called Tirkeeran.

The barony of Cremorne in Monaghan pre-
serves the name of the ancient district of Crioch-

138 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Mughdhorn [Cree-Mourne], i. e. the country
(crioch] of the people call Mughdhorna, who were
descended and named from Mughdhorn [Mourne],
the son of Colla Meann. About the middle of the
12th century, a tribe of the Mac Mahons emi-
grated from Cremorne, and settled in the south of
the present county of Down, to which they gave
their tribe name of Mughdhorna, and which is now
known as the barony Mourne.

The Mourne mountains owe their name to the
same event, having been previously called Beanna-
Boirche [Banna borka]. The shepherd Boirche,
according to the Dinnsenchus, herded on these
mountains the cattle of Ross (son of Imchadh),
king of Ulster in the third century, and the ac-
count states that his favourite look-out point was
the summit of Slieve Slanga, now Slieve Donard,
the highest peak in the range ; hence these moun-
tains received the very appropriate name of
Beanna-Boirche, Boirche's peaks.

Niallan, descended in the fourth degree from
Colla Da Chrioch [Cree], was the progenitor of
the tribe called Hy Niallain (i. e. Niallan's race) ;
and their ancient patrimony forms the two baro-
nies of Oneilland in Armagh, which retains the
name.

The descendants of Eochy Moyvane, king of
Ireland from A.D. 358 to 365, branched into a
vast number of illustrious families, the earlier
members of which have left their names impressed
on many localities. The following short genea-
logical table exhibits a few of his immediate de-
scendants, viz., those concerned in the present
inquiry, and it will render what I have to say
regarding them more easily understood : —

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 139

Eochy Moyvane.

I I I

Fiachra. Olioll.* Niall of the Nine Hostages

Dathi. Awly. Leary. Owen. Conall, Carbery;

| Gulban.

Fiachra Ealgach.

Fiachra [Feecra], son of Eochy Moyvane was
the ancestor of the Hy Fiachrach, which branched
into a great number of families. Amhalgaidh
[Awly], his son, brother of the monarch Dathi
[Dawhy], was king of Connaught, and gave name
to Tir-Amhalgaidh, i. e. Awly's district, now the
barony of Tirawly in Mayo. >

Fiachra Ealgach, son of Dathi, gave his name
to Tir-Fhiachrach (Four Masters), Fiachra's dis-
trict ; and the sound is very well preserved in the
modern name Tireragh, which is applied to a
barony in Sligo. The barony of Tirerrill in the
same county was possessed by the descendants of
Olioll, son of Eochy Moyvane, and from him it
got the name of Tir-Oliolla (Hy Fiachrach),
which, by a change of / to r, has been corrupted
to the present name.

The great monarch Niall of the Nine Hostages,
king of Ireland from A.D. 379 to 405, had four-
teen sons, eight of whom had issue, and became
the ancestors of many great and illustrious fami-
lies : of these eight, four remained in Meath, viz.,
Laeghaire [Leary], Conall Criffan, Fiacha, and
Maine; and four settled in Ulster — Eoghan or
Owen, Conall Gulban, Carbery, and Enna Finn.
The posterity of Niall are usually called Hy Neitt,
the southern Hy Neitt being descended from the
first four, and the northern Hy Neill from the
others.

140 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART 11.

Laeghaire was king of Ireland from A. D. 428
to 458, and his reign was rendered illustrious by
the arrival of St. Patrick ; he erected one of the
forts at Tara, which still exists, and retains the
name Rath- Laeghaire ; and the old name of Kings-
town— Dunleary, Laeghaire's Dun — was, in the
opinion of some, derived from him.

Owen and Conall Gulban are renowned in Irish
history as the heads of two great branches of the
northern Hy Neill, the Kinel Owen and Kinel
Connell. Owen, who died in A. D. 465, was the
ancestor of the O'Neills, and his descendants
possessed the territory extending over the counties
of Tyrone and Londonderry, and the two baronies
of Raphoe and Inishowen in Donegal ; all this
district was anciently called Tir-Eoghain (Wars of
GO-.), Owen's territory, which is now written
Tyrone, and restricted to one county. The penin-
sula between Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly
received also its name from him, Inishowen, i. e.
Owen's island.

Conall, who received the cognomen Gulban
from having been fostered near the mountain
Binn-Gulbain (Gulban's peak ; now Binbulbin) in
Sligo, died in 464; he was the ancestor of the
O'Donnells, and his posterity ultimately possessed
the county of Donegal, which from him was called
Tirconnell, Conall' s district.

One of the sons of Conall Gulban was Enna
Boghaine [Boana], and he became the ancestor of
a tribe called Kinel Boghaine ; the district they
inhabited was called Tir-Boghaine (Four Mast. ),
and frequently Baghaineach [Bawnagh], i. e.
Boghaine' s territory ; and this latter still holds its
place in the form of Banagh, which is the name of
a modern barony, a portion of the ancient
district.

CHAP, ii.] Historical Personages. 141

Baeighill [Boyle], who was tenth in descent
from Conall Ghilban, was the ancestor of the
O'Boyles, and the district they possessed was
called from them Baeighellach (Four Mast.), or
Boylagh, which is still the name of a barony in
the south-west of Donegal.

Flaherty, also descended from Conall Gulban,
was king of Ireland from A. D. 723 to 729 :
fifth in descent from him was Cannanan, from
whom is derived the family of O'Cannanan (or,
as they now call themselves, Cannon), who were
anciently chiefs or kings of Tirconnell, till they
ultimately sank under the power of the O'Donnells.
From this family Letterkenny in Donegal received
its name, which is a shortened form of Letter'.
Cannanan, the O'Cannanans' hill-slope.

Carbery, another of NialTs sons, was the ances-
tor of the Kinel- Carbery ; a part of them settled
in the north of the present county of Longford,
where the mountain Slieve-Carbury retains theif
name ; and another portion took possession of a
territory in the north of Sligo, which is now
known as the barony of Carbury. The baronies
of Carbery in Cork derive their name from a
different source. When Cathal O'Donovan left
his native district, Cairbre-Aebhdha in Limerick,
in the beginning of the 14th century, and settled
in the south of Cork, he called his newly acquired
territory Cairbre, the tribe name of his family ;
and it has retained this name ever since.

142 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

CHAPTER III.

EARLY IRISH SAINTS.

OUR early ecclesiastical writers have left us ample
records of the most remarkable of those illustrious
men and women, who in the fifth and succeeding
centuries devoted their lives to the conversion of
the Irish nation. There are, on the other hand,

treat numbers, of whom we possess only meagre
etails, sometimes obscure and conflicting, and
often very perplexing to the student of those early
times. And many passed silently to their reward,
leaving their names, and nothing more, to attest
their participation in the good work.

Most of these saints settled in particular dis-
tricts, and founded churches, monasteries, or
schools, which continued for ages to be centres of
civilisation, and of knowledge both secular and
religious. Whoever understands the deep religi-
ous feeling of our people, and the fidelity with
which they cling to the traditions of their ances-
tors, will not be surprised that in most cases they
retain to this day in the several localities, a vivid
recollection of the patron saints, and cherish
their memory with feelings of affection and
veneration.

These churches generally retain the names of
their founders, suffixed to such words as Kill and
Temple (a church), Tee, or Ty (a house), &c.
Names of this kind abound in every part of the
country ; and in all Ireland there are probably
not less than ten thousand that commemorate the
names of the founders, or of the saints to whom
the churches were dedicated, or that in some other
way indicate ecclesiastical origin.

To attempt an enumeration of even the princi-

CHAP, in.] Early Irish Saints. 143

pal saints that adorned our country from the fifth
to the eighth or ninth century, and who are com-
memorated in local names, would far exceed the
limits of a chapter ; but I shall here select a few
for illustration, passing over, however, some of
the great saints, such as Patrick, Brigid, and
Columba, whose lives, and the religious establish-
ments that retain their names are, generally speak-
ing, sufficiently well-known.

Soon after St. Patrick's arrival in Ulster, and
tfhile he was in the neighbourhood of Down-
patrick, he met and converted a young man
named Mochaei [Mohee], whose mother was
Bronach, daughter of the pagan chief Milcho,
with whom the saint had spent seven years of his
youth in captivity. After having baptised him,
he tonsured and dedicated him to the Church ; and
according to O'Clery's Calendar he was the first
of the Irish saints to whom St. Patrick presented
a crosier and a book of the Gospels.

This Mochaei, who was also called Caelan (i. e.
a slender person), became afterwards very much
distinguished, and ultimately attained the rank of
bishop: he died in the year 497. He built a
church and established a school at a place called
Naendruim, or Nendrum, in Strangford Lough,
which was long a puzzle to topographers, and was
generally confounded with Antrim, till Dr.
Reeves, in his " Description of Nendrum," identi-
fied the place, and corrected the long- established
error. It forms the eastern portion of Ballinakill
parish, and in memory of the saint it was also
called Inis Mochaei or Mahee island, which last
name it retains to this day. Even yet this place
retains the relics of its former distinction, namely,
the remains of a round tower, and of a triple
cashel or wall surrounding the foundations of the

144 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART u.

old church. The name Naendruim signifies " nine
ridges ;" for so it is explained in MS. H. 3. 18 :—
" Naendruim, i. e. the name of a church, i. e. nine
hillocks in the island in which it is " (see Naen-
druim in App. to O'R. Diet.).

Another of St Patrick's disciples was St.
Domhanghart [Donart], bishop, son of Eochy, king
of Ulidia. He founded two churches — one at a
place called Rath-murbhuilg, near the foot of
Slieve Donard, and the other " on the very sum-
mit of the mountain itself, far from all human
habitation " (Colgan, A.SS., p. 743). The ruins
of this little church existed down to a recent
period on Slieve Donard ; and the name of the
mountain stands as a perpetual memorial of the
saint, who is still held in extraordinary veneration
among the Mourne mountains, and of whom the
peasantry tell many curious legends.

The ancient name of this mountain was Slieve
Slaing8, so called from the bardic hero Slain ge,
the son of Parthalon, who was buried on its sum-
mit ; and the great earn raised over him still ex-
ists, and forms a very conspicuous object. Giral-
dus Cambrensis, writing in the twelfth century,
records the two names of the mountain, but St.
Domhanghart' s name he latinizes Dominicus : —
" A very high mountain which hangs over the
sea flowing between Britain and Ireland, is called
Salanga, from the second [son of Bartholanus,
namely, Salanus, i. e. Slainge] ; but because St.
Dominicus many ages afterwards built a noble
monastery at its base, it is now more usually called
the mountain of St. Dominicus" [i. e. Slieve
Donard : Top. Hib., Dist., III. Cap. n.].

The " noble monastery " of Cambrensis is the
church mentioned by Colgan (A. SS., p. 743) as
"formerly called Rath-murbhuilg , now called

CHAP, in.j Early Irish Saints. 145

Machaire-ratha" and which he states is at the foot
of the mountain. This identifies it with Maghera,
now the name of a village and parish, north of
the mountain ; Machaire-ratha (the plain of the
fort) being pronounced Maghera-rdha, which was
shortened to Maghera. The old name Rath-murbh-
uilg (which signifies the rath of the sea-inlet),
was of course originally applied to a fort, but it
was afterwards transferred to the church, and
thence to the parish. The change of name was
effected by first dropping murbhuilg, and after-
wards prefixing machaire ; and the intermediate
stage appears in the taxation of 1306, in which
the church is called simply Rath.

The murbholg from which it took its original
name is the small inlet near it, entering from
Dundrum Bay ; and it is a curious confirmation
of the authenticity of the foregoing history of
the name, that on its shore there are still two
townlands (originally one) called Murlough, which
is the anglicised form of Murbholg.

There is a village in Derry called Maghera,
which is also contracted from Machaire-ratha. It
was anciently called Rath-Luraigh (Four Mast.),
i. e. the fort of St. Lurach, or, as he is now called,
Lowry, the patron saint, whom O'Clery's Calen-
dar, at the 17th of February, designates as
" Lurach of the Poems, son of Guana, of the
race of Colla Uais, monarch of Ireland : " he is
well remembered in the place, and his church,
grave, and holy well are still to be seen. From
this church, the level land where the town stands
took the name of Machaire-Ratha-Luraidh (the
plain of Rathlowry), contracted to Machaire-ratha,
and modernised to Maghera.

The patron of Kinawly in Fermanagh is St.
Natalis, or as he is called in Irish, Naile [Nawly],
VOL. i. 11

146 Historical and Legendary Names. [PARTII

and from him the place is called Cill-Naile (O'Cl.
Cal.), which ought to have been anglicised Kil-
nawty. In O'Clery's Calendar, the following
notice of him occurs at the 27th of January : —
" Naile of Inbher-Naile, in Tir-Baghuine in Cinel-
Conaill (the barony of Banagh in Donegal), and
afterwards abbot of Cill-Naile, and Daimhinis in
Feara-Manach" (Devenish in Fermanagh). Inbher-
Naile (Naile's river-mouth), is the present village
of Inver, west of Donegal, of which he is also the
patron, and where he is still remembered ; and his
name is preserved in that of Legnawly Glebe
(Naile's lug or hollow), near the village.

Another Natalia or Naile is the patron saint of
Kilmanagh, west of Kilkenny (Cill-Manach, Mart
Taml., the church of the monks) ; and it may be
assumed that the church of Killenaule in Tippe-
rary (which is not far from Kilmanagh), was
dedicated to, and named from him.

Some, and among others Colgan, are of opinion
that the two Nailes are identical, but this is dis-
puted by Dr. Lanigan. The O'Clerys make them
different, and state that Naile of Kinawly was the
son of Aengus, that king of Munster of whom is
told the celebrated anecdote, that, when he was
baptised by St. Patrick in Cashel, his foot was
accidentally pierced by the crosier, and so deep
was his fervour that he bore it without a word,
thinking it was part of the ceremony. Whoever
tries to disentangle this question by referring to
the calendars, will find it involved in much con-
fusion ; but it seems certain that they were two
different persons : that Naile of Fermanagh was
really the son of Aengus ; and that the other
Naile flourished somewhat later, for it is stated
that he died in 564.

Ardbraccan (Brecan's height) in Meath, was

CHAP, in.] Early Irish Saints. 147

founded by St. Brecan, about whose history,
although he was a very remarkable man, there
hangs considerable obscurity. The most probable
accounts represent him as the son of Eochy Ball-
derg, prince of Thomond, who was baptised by
St. Patrick at Singland near Limerick. Brecan,
after having erected a church at Ardbraccan, re-
moved to the Great Island of Arran, where he
fixed his principal establishment; and here are
still to be seen the ruins of his church, and his
tombstone, inscribed with his name, in very
ancient Roman characters (see Petrie's R. Towers,
p. 138). He is also venerated at Kilbreckan
(Brecan' s church), in the parish of Doora in Clare
(O'Cl. Gal., p. 117).

St. Ite, or Ide, virgin, who is often called the
Brigid of Munster, was one of the most illustrious
saints in an age abounding with illustrious men
and women. She was born about the year 480, of
the noble race of the Desii in "Waterford, being
descended from Fiacha, the son of Felim the
Lawgiver. She was from her earliest years filled
with the spirit of piety, and when she came of
age, obtained her parents' consent to devote herself
to a religious life. After having received the
veil, she proceeded to the territory of Hy Conaill
in Limerick, where she selected a spot called
Cluain Credhuil [Clooncrail] for her residence.
She was soon visited by great numbers of pious
maidens, who placed themselves under her direc-
tion ; and in this manner sprang up her nunnery,
which was the first in that part of the country,
and which afterwards attained to great celebrity.
The name of the place was changed to Cill-Ide
(O'Cler. Cal.), or as it is now called Killeedy,
which gives name to a parish ; and at the
present day the place contains the ruins of a

148 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

very ancient, and exquisitely beautiful little
church.

This virgin saint is remembered with intense
veneration all over Munster, and especially in
Limerick. Her name is sometimes changed to
Mide (by prefixing Mo*), and in this form we find
it in the names of churches dedicated to her, of
which there are several, and which are now called
Kilmeedy ; one of them giving name to a village
in Limerick

St. Brendan of Clonfert, or as he is often called
Brendan the navigator, was the son of Finlogh of
the race of Ciar (see p. 127) ; and was born near
Tralee in Kerry in the year 484. He received the
rudiments of his education under a bishop Ere,
and was an intimate friend of St. Ite of Killeedy.
After having studied with St. larlath at Tuam,
and with St. Finnian at Clonard, he visited Brit-
tany, where he founded a monastery. It was
previous to this last visit that he undertook his
famous voyage, in which he is said to have spent
seven years sailing about on the western sea, and
to have landed on various strange shores.

He founded the monastery of Clonfert in Gal-
way about the year 553, where he drew together
a vast number of monks; it soon became one
of the most celebrated religious establishments in
Ireland ; and in memory of the founder the place
is generally called in the Annals Clonfert Brendain.

* The syllables mo (my) and do or da (thy), were often pre-
fixed to the names of Irish saints as terms of endearment or
reverence ; thus Conna became Mochonna, and Dachonna.
The diminutives an, in, and 6g were also often postfixed ; as
we find in Ernan, Ernog, Baeithin, Baethan, &c. Sometimes
the names were greatly changed by these additions ; thus
Aedk is the same name as Maedhog (Mo-Aedh-6g, my little
Aedh), though when pronounced they are quite unlike, Aedh
being pronounced Ai (to rhyme with day), and Maedhog,
Alogue; Ai = Mogue! (See 2nd Vol., c. II.).

CHAP, in.j Early Irish Saints. 149

He also founded the monastery of Ardfert, in his
native county (which is also called Ardfert Bren-
dain], where a beautiful ancient church still
remains. There are several places in Ireland
called Clonfert, which name is written in the
Book of Leinster Cluain-ferta, the meadow of the
grave ; and Ardfert is written by the Four Mas-
ters Ard-ferta, the height of the grave. There is
a parish in the King's County called Kilclonfert
(the church of the meadow of the grave : St.
Colman patron), the ancient name of which as
given in O'Clery's Cal., is Cluain-ferta- Mughaine.

There are two remarkable mountains in Ireland
called Brandon Hill from this saint. One is near
Inistioge in Kilkenny ; and the other is the well-
known mountain — one of the highest in Ireland —
west of Tralee in Kerry, on the summit of which
are the ruins of his oratory, with an ancient stone-
paved causeway leading to it, which are probably
coeval with St. Brendan himself.

There were many saints named Ciaran or Kie-
ran, but two of them were distinguished beyond
the others — St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, of whom
I shall not speak here, and St. Ciaran of Ossory.
Regarding the exact period when the latter flou-
rished, there is much uncertainty ; but according
to the most reliable accounts he became a bishop
about the year 538. He was born in the island of
Cape Clear ; but his father, Lugneus, was a native
of Ossory, and of kingly descent.

Ciaran was one of the numerous band of saints
who attended St. Finnian's school at Clonard ; and
having retired to a solitary place called Saighir
[Sair], in the territory of Eile in Minister, he
after some time erected a monastery there, which
gradually grew and became the nucleus of a town.
He subsequently employed himself partly in the care

150 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

of his monastery, and partly in preaching the
Gospel to the Ossorians and others, of whom he
converted great numbers.

According to a gloss in the Felire of Aengus at
the 5th of March (Ciaran's festival day), Saighir
was the name of a fountain ; after the saint's time
it was called Saighir- Ciarain, which is now con-
tracted to Seirkieran, the name of a parish near
Parsonstown. Ciaran is also the patron of Rath-
kieran in Kilkenny, where he probably built his
church near a pagan rath, which took his name.

On the island of Cape Clear, traditions of St.
Ciaran still flit among the peasantry. An ancient
little church retains the name of Kilkieran ; and
a strand in one part of the island is called Tra-
kieran (Ciaran's strand), on which stands a primi-
tive stone cross, said to have been made by the
saint's own hands.

St. Ciaran established a nunnery near Seir-
kieran for his mother Liadhan [Leean], or Lieda-
nia ; and from her the place has since borne the
name of Killyon (Liadhan's church). It is highly
probable that it is from her also that the parish of
Killyon in Meath, and the townland of Killyon
in the parish of Dunfierth, Kildare, received their
names. The parish of Killian in Galway, which
is written Killithain in the Register of Clonmac-
noise, took its name from some saint of this name,
but whether from St. Ciaran's mother, or another
Liedania, is uncertain.

There were several saints called Baeithin [Bwee-
heen], of whom the most distinguished was
Baeithin of lona, so called because he was a com-
panion, relative, and disciple of St. Columba, and
governed the monastery for four years after that
saint's death: he died the 9th of June, 600. This
saint, whom Columba very much loved, is often

CHAP, in.] Early Irish Saints. 151

mentioned by Adamnan ; and in O'Clery's Calen-
dar lie is spoken of in these words : — "Baeithin,
abbot of Icolumkille after Columkille himself;
and Tech-Baeithin (Baeithin's house), in Cinel-
Conaill (Donegal) was his chief church, for he was
of the race of Conall Grulban, son of Niall of the
Nine Hostages." His memory is still revered at
this church, which is now called Taughboyne, and
gives name to a parish in Donegal.

There is another Tech-Baeithin in the ancient
territory of Airteach in Roscommon, which also
gives name to a parish, now called Tibohine, the
patron saint of which is a different Baeithin. He
is mentioned in O'Clery's Calendar at the 19th of
February (his festival day) : — " Baeithin, bishop,
(son of Cuana) of Tech-Baeithin in Airteach, or in
the west of Midhe (Meath). He was of the race
of Enda, son of Niall" [of the Nine Hostages].
He Was one of the ecclesiastics to whom the apos-
tolic letter was written in the year 640, on the
subject of the time for celebrating Easter (see
Bede, Hist. Eccl., Lib. II., Cap. xix.).

The church " in the west of Midhe," mentioned
above, is Taghboyne, in the parish of Churchtown,
"Westmeath, where he is also patron. He built
another church near an ancient rath, not far from
Kells in Meath, and the rath remains, while the
church has disappeared ; hence it was called Rath-
Baeithin, and in recent times Balrathboyne, the
town of Baeithin's rath, which is now the name
of a parish.

Another Baeithin, son of Finnach, of the race
of Laeighsech Ceannmhor (see p. 129), built a
church at Ennisboyne (Baeithin's island or river
holm), in the parish of Dunganstown. Wicklow,
where there is still an interesting church ruin.
He is supposed to have flourished about the begin-

152 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

ning of the seventh century. Crossboyne in
Mayo is called in " Hy Fiachrach," Cros-BaeUhin,
i. e. St. Baeithin's cross ; but who this Baeithin
was I have not been able to ascertain.

St. Ninny, the patron of Inishmacsaint in Fer-
managh, is commemorated in O'Clery's Calendar
at the 17th of January, in the following words : —
"Ninnidh, bishop of Inis-muighe-samh, in Loch
Erne ; and he was Ninnidh Saebhruisc (saebhruisc,
i. e. torvi oculi), who was of the race of Enda, son
of Niall " [of the Nine Hostages] ; and at the
16th of January he is mentioned in the Mart.
Taml. aa "Ninnid Lethderc" (i. e. one-eyed).
He was a disciple of St. Finnian of Clonard, and
was a contemporary of St. Columba.

Knockninny, a hill in the south of Fermanagh,
which gives name to a barony, is called Cnoi
Ninnidh (Ninny's hill) by the Four Masters ; and
though we have no written record of St. Ninny's
connection with it, the uniform tradition of the
place is, that the hill derived its name from him.

St. Molaga, or, as he is sometimes called,
Lochein, was born in the territory of Fermoy in
Cork, where he also received his education ; and
after distinguishing himself by piety and learning,
he established a monastery at a place called
Tulach-Min (smooth little hill), in the same
district.

He visited Connor, in Ulster, and thence pro-
ceeded to North Britain and Wales. On his re-
turn he settled for some time in Fingal, north of
Dublin, where he kept a swarm of bees, a portion
of the bees brought over from Wales by St.
Modomnoc of Tibberaghny in Kilkenny. From
this circumstance the place was called Lann-
beachaire [backera : O'Clery's Cal.], the church

CHAP, in.] Early Irish Saints. 153

of the bee-man.* This is the ruined church and
cemetery of Bremore, a little north of Balbrig-
gan, now nameless, but which in the Reg. Alani
of the see of Dublin is called Lambeecher. He
returned to Tulach-mm, and died there on the
20th of January, some short time after the year 664.

He is the patron saint of Templemolaga near
Mitchelstown in Cork, where on the bank of the
Puncheon, in a sequestered spot, is situated his
church; it is called in the Book of Lismore,
Eidhnen Malaga — Molaga's little ivy (church), a
name which most truly describes the present ap-
pearance of this venerable little ruin. It is now
called Templemolaga, and gives name to the
parish ; and near it is situated the saint's well,
Tober-Molaga. About four miles north-east of
Templemolaga is the ruined church of Labbamo-
laga, Molaga's bed or grave, which gives name to
a townland. The place called Tulachmin was ob-
viously identical with, or in the immediate
neighbourhood of, Templemolaga ; but the name
is now obsolete.

Timoleague, in the south of Cork, is called by
the Four Masters, Teach-Molaga, Molaga's house ;
we have no record of St. Molaga's connection with
this place, but there can be little doubt that he
built a church there, from which the name is
derived ; and the place is still well known for its
fine abbey ruins.

* Giraldus, among others, relates this circumstance of the
importation of bees by St. Modomnoc, or Domnoc, or as he
calls him, Dominicus : — " St. Dominicus of Ossory, as some
say, introduced bees into Ireland, long after the time of
Solinus" (Top. Hib., Dist. L, c. v.). Some records say that
these were the first bees brought to Ireland, but Lanigan (Vol.
II. p. 3B1) shows that there were bees in the country before
St. Domnoc's time. It is evident that he merely imported
hive or domesticated bees.

154 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

St. Mocheallog [Mohallog] or Dacheallog flou-
rished in the beginning of the seventh century.
According to Lanigan, he spent some time under
the instruction of St. Declan of Ardmore, and
died between the years 639 and 656. He founded
a church at Kilmallock in Limerick, which the
same author says is supposed to be a contraction
of Cill-Mocheallog ; but there can be no doubt at
all that it is so, and for two sufficient reasons : —
first, because in the Felire of Aengus it is stated
at the 26th of March, St. Mocheallog's festival
day, that Cill-Dacheallog is in the territory of Hy
Carbery in Munster, which identifies it with
Kilmallock, as Hy Carbery included the barony
of Coshma ; and, secondly, the inhabitants at this
day, when speaking Irish, always call the town
Cill-Mocheallog, St. Mocheallog's Church.

Finan was the name of many saints, of whom
Finan surnamed Lobhar, or the leper, because for
thirty years he was afflicted with some kind of
leprosy, was the most remarkable. He was a
native of Ely O'Carroll in King's County, then
forming part of Munster, and governed for some
time as abbot the monasteries of Swords near
Dublin, and Clonmore-Mogue in Leinster. He is
mentioned in O'Clery's Calendar at the 16th of
March, in the following words : — " Finan the leper
of Sord, and of Cluain-mor in Leinster ; and of
Ard-Fionain in Munster ; he was of the race of
Oian, son of Olioll Olum." He died between the
years 675 and 695.

He founded a monastery in the island of Innis-
f alien (see p. 110), in the lower lake of Killarney ;
and that of Ardfinnan in Tipperary (mentioned
above), which preserves his name. Kilfinane in
Limerick doubtless owes its foundation to this
Finan also, being called in Irish Cill-Fhionain, i. e

CHAP, in.*] Early Irish Saints. 155

Finan's church ; his well still exists, and his festi-
val was formerly celebrated there, but all memory
of the exact day is lost.

Another Finan, who was surnamed Cam, i. e.
crooked, because, as the Mart. Taml. has it,
" there was an obliquity in his eyes," flourished
in the sixth century. He was a native of Corka-
guiny in Kerry, and was descended from Carbery
Muse. He is the patron of Kinnitty, in King's
County — Ceann-Eitigh, Etech's head — so called
according to a gloss in the Felire of Aengus at the
7th of April, the saint's festival day, because the
head of Etech, an ancient Irish princess, was
buried there. Derrynane, the well-known seat of
the O'Connell family, took its name from him. —
Doire-Fhiondin (Fh silent) — Finan's oak-grove ;
and his house, one of the beehive-shaped struc-
tures, is still to be seen on Church Island, in
Currane Lough, four miles north of Derrynane.
His name is also preserved in Rahinnane, Finan's
fort, now a townland near Yentry, so called from
a fine rath, in the centre of which stand the ruins
of a castle.

One of the brightest ornaments of the Irish
Church in the seventh and eighth centuries was
the illustrious Adamnan, abbot of lona, and the
writer of the well-known Life of St. Columba ;
whom the Venerable Bede designates as " a wise
and good man, and most eminently learned in the
science of the Holy Scriptures " (Hist. Eccl., Lib.
V., Cap. xv.). We have no direct record of the
exact place or time of his birth, but there is good
reason to believe that he was a native of Donegal,
and that he was born about the year 627. He
was elected abbot of lona in the year 679. In
685 he was sent to Alfrid, king of the Northum-
brian Saxons, to solicit a restoration of some

156 ' Historical and Legendary Names. [PART 11.

captives that had been carried ofi the previous
year from the territory of Meath by Saxon pirates ;
and in this mission he was eminently successful.
About the year 703 he visited Ireland for the last
time, and succeeded in inducing most of the
northern Irish to adopt the Roman method of
computing the time for Easter. He returned to
lona in 704, in which year he died, in the 77th
year of his age.

The name Adamnan is, according to Cormac's
Glossary, an Irish diminutive of Adam. It
is generally pronounced in three syllables, but its
proper Irish pronunciation is Awnaun, the d and
m being both aspirated (Adhamhndn). The saint's
name is commemorated in several places in
Ireland, and always, as might be expected, in
this phonetic form.

He is the patron of Raphoe, where he was
called Eunan, but no place there retains the name.
He is also patron of Ballindrait in the parish of
Clonleigh, Donegal, the Irish name of which is
Droichet-Adhamhnain, St. Adamnan's bridge.
The modern designation has not preserved the
name of the saint ; Ballindrait is contracted from
the Irish Baik-an-droichit, the town of the bridge.

Errigal in Londonderry has Adamnan also for
its patron, and hence it was called in Irish Aire-
cal-Adhamhnain, Adamnan's habitation. The old
church was situated in the townland of Ballin-
temple (the town of the church] ; south of which
is the only local commemoration of the saint's
name, viz., a large stone called "Onan's rock."

In the life of St. Farannan, published by
Colgan, we are informed that Tibraide, lord of
Hy Flachrach, bestowed on St. Columba a place
called Cnoc-na-maoile ; but that it was subsequently
called Serin- Adhamhnain from a shrine of that

CHAP, in.] Early Irish Saints. 157

saint afterwards erected there. From this shrine
the parish of Skreen in Sligo derived its name.
He is there called Awnaim, and his well, Tober-
awnaun (which gives name to a townland), lies a
few perches from the old church.

There is a townland called Syonan in the parish
of Ardnurcher in Westmeath, which, according
to the Annals of Clonmacnoise, received its name
from him. The tradition of the place is, that
Adamnan in one of his visits to Ireland preached
to the multitude on the hill there, which has ever
since been called Suidhe-Adhamhnain [Syonan],
Adamnan's seat. Killonan in the parish of Derry-
galvin in Limerick, may also have been called so
from him, but of this we have no evidence.*

The Martyrology of Tallaght, at the 3rd of
March, mentions St. Moshacra, the son of Senan,
of Teach-Sacra; and in O'Clery's Calendar we
find, " Moshacra, abbot of Clonenagh, and of
Teach Sacra, in the vicinity of Tallaght."

This Moshacra or Sacra was one of the fathers
who composed the synod held at Armagh about
the year 696, at which Adamnan attended from
lona. He was the founder and abbot of the
monastery at Teach-Sacra (Sacra's house), a name
afterwards changed to Tassagard (Grace's Annals)
and subsequently contracted to Saggart, which is
now the name of a village and parish near
Tallaght in Dublin.

One of the most remarkable among the early
saints of Ireland was St. Moling, bishop of Ferns.
He was descended from Cahirmore, monarch of
Ireland in the second century ; his mother was
Nemnat, a native of Kerry, and he is therefore

* See the Very Rev. Dean Reeves' Edition of Adamnan's
Life of St. Columba, from which the above account has been
taken.

158 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

often called Moling Luachra, from the district of
Luachair, on the borders of Cork, Kerry, and
Limerick. At his intercession, and in opposition
to the advice of St. Adamnan, Finaghta, king of
Ireland remitted the Borumha or cow-tribute to
the Leinstermen, which had been exacted for cen-
turies, and which was reimposed many years
afterwards by Brian Borumha. He died on the
17th of May, 697.

He is mentioned in O'Clery's Calendar as " Mo-
ling Luachra, bishop and confessor, of Tigh-
Moling." This place is situated on the Barrow, in
the south of the county of Carlow, and was origi-
nally called Eosbroc, badger wood ; but the saint
erected a church there about the middle of the
seventh century, and it was afterwards called
Tigh-Moling [Tee-Moling], i. e. St. Moling's house,
which is now reduced to St. Mullins. The village
of Timolin in Kildare, took its name from a church
erected there by him, and it preserves more cor-
rectly the original form, Tigh-Moling.

St. Aengus the Culdee — or, as he is often called,
Aengus the Hagiologist — embraced a religious
life in the monastery of Clonenagh, in Queen's
County ; and having made great progress in
learning and holiness, he entered the monastery of
Tallaght, near Dublin. There he spent several
years under St. Maelruin, whom he assisted to
compile a Calendar of saints, which is well known
as the Marty rology of Tallaght. He was the
author of a still more celebrated work, which is
now commonly known as the Felire of Aengus, a
metrical calendar, in which the saints of each day
are commemorated in a stanza of four lines. He
died, according to the most probable accounts,
about the year 824.*

* See the Life of St. Aengus the Culdee, by the Rev. John
O'Hanlon.

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 159

He built a cell for himself in a lonely spot near
Clonenagh, to which he frequently retired for
meditation and prayer, and it was called from him
Disert-Aengusa, Aengus's hermitage, now modern-
ised to Dysartenos. Dysert near Croom in Lime-
rick was formerly called Dysert-Enos, and it
probably received its name from the same saint.
The place is now well known for its very ancient
church ruin and its round tower.

CHAPTER IV.

LEGENDS.

MANY of the legends with which the early history
of our country abounds are no doubt purely fabu-
lous, the inventions of the old shanachies or story
tellers. Great numbers, on the other hand, are
obviously founded on historical events ; but they
have been so distorted and exaggerated by succes-
sive generations of romances, so interwoven with
strange or supernatural circumstances, or so far
removed from their true date into the regions of
antiquity, that they have in many cases quite lost
the look of probability. It is impossible to draw
an exact line of demarcation between what is
partly real and what is wholly fictitious; but
some of these shadowy relations possess certain
marks, and are corroborated by independent cir-
cumstances, which render it extremely probable
that they have a foundation of truth.

It must be carefully borne in mind that the
correctness of the interpretations given in this
chapter is not at all affected by the truth or false-

160 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

hood of the legends connected with the names.
It is related in the Dinnsenchus, that Conall
Cearnach, one the most renowned of the Red
Branch Knights of Ulster in the first century,
lived in his old age at Cruachan, the royal palace
of Maev, queen of Connaught. Olioll More,
Maev's husband, was slain by the old warrior with
a cast of a javelin ; and the men of Connaught
pursued and overtook him at a ford over a river in
the present county of Cavan, where the village of
Ballyconnel now stands. There they slew him, so
that the place was ever after called Bel-atha-
Chonaill [Bellaconnell] ; and this event is still
remembered in the traditions of the neighbour-
hood.

The reader may or may not believe this story j
nevertheless the name signifies ConalTs ford-
mouth, for we find it always written in Irish
authorities, and pronounced at this day by the
natives, Bel-atha-Chonaitt ; and it is certain that it
took its name from some man named Conall,
whether it be Conal Cearnach or not.

The accounts handed down to us of the early
colonies belong to the class of historical legends.
I have included some of them in the chapter on
historical events, and others I shall bring in here;
but in this case too it is difficult, and sometimes
impossible, to determine the line of separation.
They have been transmitted from several ancient
authorities, and always with remarkable consist-
ency; many of them are reflected in the tradi-
tions of the peasantry ; and the truth of several is
confirmed by present existing monuments. But
to most of them the old historians have assigned
an antiquity so incredible or absurd, that many
reject them on this account as a mass of fables.

The first who led a colony to Ireland, according

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 161

to our bardic histories, was a woman named Cea-
sair or Casar, who came forty days before the
deluge, with fifty young women and three men —
Bith [Bih], Ladhra [Lara], and Fintan. Ceasair
and the three IT en died soon after their arrival, and
gave names to four different places ; but they are
all now forgotten with one exception. Bith was
buried on a mountain, which was called from him
Sliabh Beatha [Slievebaha] . It is well known
and retains the very same name in Irish ; but it
is called in English Slieve Beagh — a range situ-
ated on the confines of Monaghan, Fermanagh,
and Tyrone. Bith's cairn still exists, and is a
large and conspicuous monument on the top of a
hill, in the townland of Carnmore (to which it
gives name), parish of Clones, Fermanagh ; and
it may be seen from the top of the moat of Clones,
distant about seven miles north-west.*

The first leader of a colony after the flood was
Parthalon, who, with his followers, ultimately took
up his residence on the plain anciently called Sean-
mhagh Ealta-Edair [Shan-va-alta-edar], the old
plain of the flocks of Edar, which stretched along the
coast by Dublin, from Tallaght to Edar, or Howth.
The legend — which is given in several very ancient
authorities — relates that after the people of this
colony had lived there for 300 years, they were
destroyed by a plague, which in one week carried
off 5,000 men and 4,000 women ; and they were
buried in a place called, from this circumstance,
Taimhleacht-Mhuintire-Parthaloin (Four Mast.), the
Tamlaght or plague-grave of Parthalon's people.
This place, which lies about five miles from
Dublin, still retains the name Taimhleacht, mo-
dernised to Tallaght; and on the hill lying beyond

* See O'Dcmovan'a Four Masters, Vol. I., p. 3.
VOL. I. 12

162 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

the village, there is to be seen at this day a re-
markable collection of ancient sepulchral tumuli,
in which cinerary urns are found in great
numbers.

The word Taimhkacht, a plague-monument — a
place where people who died of an epidemic were
buried — is pretty common as ;. local appellative in
various parts of Ireland, under different forms :
it is of pagan origin, and so far as I know is not
applied to a Christian cemetery, except by adop-
tion, like other pagan terms. In the northern
counties it is generally made Tamlaght and
Tamlat, while in other places it takes the forms of
Tawlaght, Towlaght, and Toulett.

In combination with other words, the first t is
often aspirated, which softens it down still more.
Thus Derryhowlaght and Derryhawlagh in Fer-
managh, is the oak-grove of the plague-grave;
Doohamlat in Monaghan, and Doohallat in Cavan,
black grave. Magherahamlet in Down, is called
on the Down Survey, Mayherehowktt, and in a
patent of James I., MagJwrhamlaght, both of which
point to the Irish Machaire-thaimhkachta [Mahera-
navlaghta], the field of the plague-grave.

The Fomorians — a race of pirates who infested
the coasts of Ireland, and oppressed the inhabi-
tants— are much celebrated in our histories. They
came to Ireland in the time of Nemed (who led
another colony, thirty years after the destruction
of Parthalon's people) ; and their principle strong-
hold was Tory island. Balor of the great blows
was their chief, and two of the tower-like rocks
on the east side of Tory are still called Balor'e
castle and Balor's prison.

His wife, Cethlenn (Kehlen), seems to have
been worthy of her husband. She fought at the
second battle of Moytura, and inflicted a wound

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 163

on the Dagda, the king of the Dedannans, of which
he afterwards died. It is stated in the Annals of
Clonmacnoise that Enniskillen received its name
from her: in the Irish authorities it is always
called Inis-Cethlenn, Cethlenn's island.

At this time there lived on the mainland, oppo-
site Tory, a chieftain named Mac Kineely, who
was the owner of the Glasgavlen, a celebrated
cow, remembered in tradition all over Ireland.
Balor possessed himself of the Glas by a stratagem,
and carried her off to Tory ; and then Mao Kineely,
Acting on the directions of a fairy called Biroge of
the mountain, concerted a plan of revenge, which
many years after led to the death of Balor. "When
Balor became aware of this, he landed with his
band on the mainland coast, and seized on Mac
Kineely ; and, placing his head on a large white
stone, he cut it clean off with one blow of his
sword.

Hence the place was called Clock- Chinnfhaelaidh,
which is the name used by the Four Masters and
other authorities, signifying Kinfaela's or Kineely's
ptone ; and the pronunciation is well preserved in
the present name of the place, Cloghineely. The
stone is still to be seen, and is very carefully pre-
served ; it is veined with red, which is the stain
of Mac Kineely's blood that penetrated to its
centre ; and the tourist who is a lover of legend
may indulge his taste among the people, who will
tell endless stories regarding this wonderful stone.*

From the same people the Giant's Causeway
has derived its name. It is called in Irish Clochan-
na-bhFomharaigh [Clohanavowry : O'Brien'B Diet,
voce Fomhar~\ — the cloghan, or stopping-stones, 01

* See O'Donovan's Four Masters, Vol. I., p. 18, for a very
full version of this legend.

164 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

causeway of the Fomorians; and as those sea
rovers were magnified into giants in popular
legend, the name came to be translated " Giant's
Causeway."

The celebrities of the Dedannan colony have
left their names on many localities. From the
princess Danann some suppose they derive their
name ; and from her also two remarkable moun-
tains in Kerry were called Da-chich-Danainne, the
two paps of Danann, now well known as The
Paps.

One of the most celebrated characters among
this people was Manannan Mac Lir, of whom we
are told in Cormac's Glossary and other ancient
authorities, that he was a famous merchant who
resided in, and gave name to Inis Manann, or the
Isle of Man; that he was the best merchant in
western Europe ; and that he used to know, by
examining the heavens, the length of time the fair
and the foul weather would last.

He was also called Orbsen ; and he was killed by
Ullin, grandson of Nuad of the silver hand, in a
battle fought at Moycullen near Lough Corrib, in
which the two chiefs contended for the sovereignty
of Connaught ; and when his grave was dug, it
was then Loch Orbsen burst [out of the grave]
over the land, so that it is from him that Loch
Orbsen is named. (Yellow Book of Lecan, quoted
by O'Curry, Atlantis, VII., p. 228). This lake is
called Loch Orbsen (Orbsen's lake^ in all our autho-
rities ; and this was changed to the present name,
Lough Corrib, by omitting the final syllable, and
by the attraction of the c sound from Loch to
Orbsen; Boate has it in the intermediate form,
Lough Corbes.

Many of the legendary heroes of the Milesian
eolonv are also remembered m local names. When

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 165

the sons of Milesius came to invade Ireland, a
storm was raised by the incantations of the
Dedannans which drove them from Inver Sceine,
or Kenmare bay, where they had attempted to
land, scattered their fleet along the coast, and
drowned many of their chiefs and people. Donn,
one of the brothers, and all the crew of his ship
were lost on a range of rocks off Kenmare bay,
afterwards called in memory of the chief, Teach-
Dhoinn, i. e. Donn's House, which is the name
used by the Irish-speaking peasantry at the pre-
sent day ; but they are called in English, the Bull,
Cow, and Calf.

Colpa the swordsman, another of the brothers,
was drowned in attempting to land at the mouth
of the Boyne, and that part of the river was called
from him Inver Colptha [Colpa : Four Mast.],
Colpa's river-mouth. This name is no longer ap-
plied to it ; but the parish of Colp, lying on its
southern bank, retains the name with little change.
Eimher [Eiver], son of Milesius, landed with
his followers at Inver Sceine, and after three days
they fought a battle against a party of the
Dedannans at Slieve Mish, near Tralee, where
fell Scota, the wife of Milesius, and Fas, wife of
Un. Fas was interred in a glen, called from her
Gleann-Faisi (Four Mast.) ; it is now called Gleno-
faush, and is situated at the base of Caherconree
mountain about seven miles west of Tralee. The
Four Masters state that " the grave of Scota is to
be seen between Slieve Mish and the sea ; " it is
still well known by the name of Scota' s grave, and
is situated by the Finglas stream; the glen is
called Grlenscoheen, Scotina's or Scota' s glen ; and
the monument, which was explored some years
ago by a party of antiquaries, still remains.

A decisive battle was afterwards fought at

166 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART 11.

Tailltenn or Teltown in Meath, in which the
Dedannans were finally routed. In following up
the pursuit, two distinguished Milesian chief-
tains were slain, namely, Fuad and Cuailnge, the
sons of Brogan, grandfather of Milesius. The
former fell at Sliabh Fuaid (Four Mast. : Fuad's
mountain), near Newtownhamilton in Armagh,
which still retains the name of Slieve Fuad ; it is
the highest of the Fews range ; but the two words,
Fuad and Feios, have no connection, the former
being much the more ancient.

The place where Cuailnge [Cooley] fell was
called Sliabh Cuailnge (Four Mast.) ; it is the
mountainous peninsula lying between the bays of
Dundalk and Carlingford, and the range of heights
still bears tie name of the Cooley Mountains.
From Bladh [Blaw], another of Brogan's sons,
wap named Sliabh Bladhma ( Slieve-Blawma ; Four
Masters), now called Slievebloom. Whether this
is the same person who is commemorated in Lick-
bla in Westmeath, I cannot tell; but the name
signifies " Bladh's flagstone," for the Four Mas-
ters write it Liag-Bladhma.

Fial, the wife of Lewy (son of Ith, the uncle oi
Milesius), gave name to the river Feale in Kerry ;
tho legend says that her husband unexpectedly
came in sight, while she stood naked after bathing
in tlie stream ; and that she, not recognising him,
imr\ediately died through fear and shame. An
abbey, built in later ages on its banks, was called
in Irish Mainistir-na-Feik, i. e. the abbey of the
river Feale, which is now called Abbeyfeale, and
gives name to the town.

Legends about cows are very common. Our
Annals relate that Breasal Boidhiobhadh [Bo-
yeeva] son of Rury, ascended the throne of Ire-
land, A.M. 5001. He received his cognomen,

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 167

because there was a great mortality of cows in his
reign : bo, a cow, diobhadh, death. The Annals of
Clonmacnoise mention this event in the following
words : — " In his time there was such a morren of
cows in this land, as there were no more then left
alive hut one Bull and one Heiffer in the whole
kingdom, which Bull and Heiffer lived at a place
called Q-leann Sawasge." This glen is situated in
the county of Kerry, in the parish of Templenoe,
north-west of Kenmare, and near the valley of
Glencare ; and it is still called Okann-samhaisce
[sowshke], the valley of the heifer. The tradition
is well remembered in the county, and they tell
many wonderful stories of this bull and heifer,
from which, they maintain, the whole race of
Irish cows is descended.

There is a small lake in the island of Inishbofin,
off the coast of Connemara, in which there livea
an enchanted white cow, or bo-Jinn, which appears
above the waters at certain times ; hence the lake
is called Loch-bo-finne, the lake of the white cow,
and it has given name to the island. Bede calls
the island Inis-bo-finde, and interprets it " the
island of the white cow."

There is another Inishbofin in Lough Eee on the
Shannon, which in Colgan's Life of St. Aidus is
similarly translated; another off the coast of
Donegal, south of Tory island. We find also several
lakes in different parts of Ireland called Lough
Bonn, the white cow's lake ; Lough Boderg (of
the red cow), is a lake on the Shannon south of
Carrick-on-Shannon ; Corrabofin near Ballybay in
Monaghan (properly Carrowbofin, the quarter-
land of the white cow) ; Gortbofinna (Gort, a field),
near Mallow in Cork, Drombofinny (Drom, a
ridge) in the parish of Desertserges, same county ;
Lisbofin in Fermanagh and Armagh ; LisbodufF

168 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

(the fort of the black cow), in Cavan, and many
others. It is very probable that these names also
are connected with legends.

There are several places in Ireland whose names
end with urcher, from the Irish word urchur, a
throw, cast, or shot. In every such place there is
a legend of some remarkable cast of a weapon,
memorable for its prodigious length, for killing
some great hero, a wild animal, or infernal ser-
pent, or for some other sufficient reason. For
example, Urcher itself is the name of three town-
lands in Armagh, Cavan, and Monaghan ; and in
the last- mentioned county, in the parish of Currin,
there is a place called Drumurcher, the ridge of
the cast.

The most remarkable of these mighty casts is
commemorated at the place now called Ardnurcher,
in Westmeath — a cast that ultimately caused the
death of Conor Mac Nessa, king of Ulster in the
first century. The name Ardnurcher is a cor-
ruption, and the proper form would be Athnurcher ;
the Four Masters, in recording the erection of the
castle in 1192, whose ruins are still there, call it
Ath-an-urchair ; and the natives still call it in
Irish Baile-atha-an-urchair, which they pronounce
Blaanurcher.

Conall Cearnach, on a certain occasion, slew in
single combat a Leinster chieftain named Mesgedh-
ra [Mesgera], whose brains — according to the
barbarous custom then prevalent — he mixed with
lime, and made of them a hard round ball, which
he kept both as a weapon and as a trophy. There
was at this time a war raging between Ulster and
Connaught, and Ceat [Keth] mac Magach, a Con-
naught chief, having by stratagem obtained pos-
session of the ball, kept it always slung from his
girdle ; for it had been prophesied that Messera

CHAP, iv.j Legends. 169

would be revenged of the Ulstermen after his
death, and Keth hoped that this prophecy would
be fulfilled by means of the ball.

Keth went one time with his band, to plunder
some of the Ulster territories, and returning with
a great spoil of cattle, he was pursued and over-
taken by an army of Ulstermen under the com-
mand of Conor, and a battle was fought between
them. The Connaught chief contrived to separate
the king from his party, and watching his oppor-
tunity he cast the ball at him from his tabhall or
sling ; and the ball struck the king on the head,
and lodged in his skull. His physician, Fingen,
was brought, and he declared that the king would
die immediately if the ball were removed ; but
that if it were left so, and provided the king kept
himself free from all inquietude, he would live.

And his head was stitched up with a golden
thread, and he lived in this state for seven years,
till the day of our Lord's crucifixion ; when ob-
serving the unusual darkness, he sent for Bacrach,
his druid, and asked Him what it meant. Bacrach
told him that the Son of God was on that day
crucified by the Jews. " That is a pity," said
Conor ; " were I in his presence, I would slay those
who were around my king, putting him to death."
And with that he rushed at a grove that stood
near, and began hewing it with his sword, to show
how he would deal with the Jews ; and from the
excessive fury which seized him, the ball started
from his head, and some of his brain gushed out ;
and in that way he died.

The place where Conor was wounded was called
Ath-an-urchair, the ford of the cast ; which
Michael O'Clery, in a fly-leaf note in O'Clery's
Calendar, identifies with Ath-an-urchair or Ard-
nurcher in Westmeath (see O'Curry's Lect., p.
636).

1 70 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Many other legendary exploits of the heroic
times are commemorated in local names, as well
as casts of a spear. A favourite mode of exhibit-
ing physical activity among the ancients, as well
as the moderns, was by a leap ; but if we are to
believe in the prodigious bounds ascribed by legend
to some of our forefathers, the members of our
athletic clubs may well despair of competing with
them. The word ttim, a leap, will be discussed
hereafter, but I may remark here that it is gene-
rally applied to these leaps of the ancient heroes.

The legend that gave name to Loop Head in
Clare is still well remembered by the people.
Cuchullin [Cuhullin], the chief of the Red
Branch knights of Ulster, endeavouring once to
escape from a woman named Mai, by whom he
was pursued, made his way southwards to the ex-
tremity of the county of Clare, where he un-
happily found himself in a cul-de-sac, with the
furious termagant just behind him. There is a
little rock called Bullan-na-le'ime (leap rock),
rising over the waves, about twenty-five feet
beyond the cape, on which the chief alighted with
a great bound from the mainland ; and the woman,
nothing daunted by the raging chasm, sprang
after him; when, exerting all his strength, he
leaped back again to the mainland — a much more
difficult feat than the first — and his pursuer, at-
tempting to follow him, fell short into the boiling
sea. Hence the cape was called L6im- Chonchuillinn,
Cuchullin's Leap, which is the name always used
by ancient Irish writers, as for instance by the
Four Masters ; afterwards it was more commonly
called, as it is at the present day in Irish, Ceann-
Ltime [Canleama], the head of the leap, or Leap
Head, which seems to have been modified into
the present name Loop Head by the Danes of the

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 171

lower Shannon : Danish hlaup, a leap. The
woman's body was swept northwards by the tide,
and was found at the southern point of the clifEu
of Moher, which was therefore called Ceann cail-
lighe [Cancallee] or Hag's Head: moreover the
sea all along was dyed with her blood, and it was
called Tonn-Mal or Mai's Wave, but it is now
known by the name of Mai Bay. Ceann-Ltime is
also the Irish name of Slyne Head in Galway ;
but I do not know the legend, if there be one
(see page 82, supra).

There are several places whose names contain
this word Uim in such a way as to render it prob-
able that they are connected with legends. Such
for example is Leamirlea in the parish of KilmaJ.-
kedar, Kerry, Leim-fhir-kith, the leap of the
grey man ; Leamydoody and Leamyglissan in
Kerry, and Lemybrien in Waterford ; which
mean, respectively, O'Dowd's, O'Gleeson's, and
O'Brien's leap ; Carrigleamleary near Mallow,
which is called in the Book of Lismore, Carraig-
leme-Laeguiri, the rock of Laeghaire's or Leary's
leap. Leap Castle in King's County, near Ros-
crea, the ruins of which are still to be seen, is
called by the Four Masters Leim-ui-Bhanain
[Leamyvannan], O'Banan's leap.

The name of Lough Derg, on the Shannon, re-
minds us of the almost unlimited influence of the
bards in old times, of the merciless way in which
they often exercised it, and the mingled feelings
of dread and reverence with which they were re-
garded by all, both nobles and people. This great
and long- continued power, which some of the
Irish monarchs found it necessary to check by
severe legislation, is an undoubted historic fact ;
and the legend transmits a very vivid picture of
it, whether the circumstance it records happened

172 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART 11.

or not. It is one of the incidents in an ancient
tale called Talland Etair, or the Siege of Howth
(see O'Curry's Lect., p. 266).

Aithirne [Ahirny], a celebrated Ulster poet of
the time of Conor mac Nessa, once undertook a
journey through Ireland, and of every king
through whose territories he passed, he made the
most unreasonable and outrageous request he could
think of, none of whom dared refuse him. Eochy
mac Luchta was at that time king of south Con-
naught and Thomond, and had but one eye. The
malicious poet, when leaving his kingdom, asked
him for his eye, which the king at once plucked
out and gave him ; and then desiring his atten-
dant to lead him down to the lake, on the shore of
which he had his residence, he stooped down and
washed the blood from his face. The attendant
remarked to him that the lake was red with his
blood ; and the king thereupon said : — " Then
Loch-Dergdherc [Dergerk] shall be its name for
ever ; " and so the name remains. The lake is
called by this name, which signifies " the lake of
the red eye," in all our old authorities, and the
present name Lough Derg is merely a contraction
of the original.

In the parish of Kilgobban in Kerry, about
eight miles west of Tralee, is situated the beauti-
ful valley of Glannagalt ; and it was believed not
only in Kerry, but over the whole of Ireland,
wherever the glen was known, that all lunatics,
no matter in what part of the country, would ul-
timately, if left to themselves, find their way to
this glen to be cured. Hence the name, Gkann-
na-ngealt, the valley of the lunatics. There are
two wells in the glen, called Tobernagalt, the
lunatics' well, to which the madmen direct their
way, crossing the little stream that flows through

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 173

the valley, at a spot called Ahagaltaun, the mad-
man's ford, and passing by Cloghnagalt, the
standing stone of the lunatics ; and they drink of
the healing waters, and eat some of the cresses
that grow on the margin ; — the water and the
cress, and the secret virtue of the valley will re-
store the poor wanderers to sanity.

The belief that gave origin to these strange
pilgrimages, whatever may have been its source,
is of great antiquity. In the ancient Fenian tale
called Cath Finntragha, or "The battle of
Ventry," we are told that Dara Dornmar, " The
monarch of the world," landed at Ventry to sub-
jugate Erin, the only country yet unconquered ;
and Finn-mac- Cumhail and his warriors marched
southwards to oppose him. Then began a series
of combats, which lasted for a year and a day, and
Erin was successfully defended against the inva-
ders. In one of these conflicts, Gall, the son of
the king of Ulster, a youth of fifteen, who had
come to Finn's assistance, " having entered the
battle with extreme eagerness, his excitement soon
increased to absolute frenzy, and after having per-
formed astounding deeds of valour, he fled in a
state of derangement from the scene of slaughter,
and never stopped till he plunged into the wild
seclusion of this valley" (O'Curry, Lect., p. 315).
O'Curry seems to say that Gall was the first
lunatic who went there, and that the custom
originated with him.

There is another legend, well known in Do-
negal, which accounts for the name of Lough
Finn, and of the river Finn, which issues from
it and joins the Mourne near Lifford. The
following is the substance, as taken down from the
peasantry by O'Donovan ; but there is another and
somewhat different version in " The Donegal

174 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Highlands." Finn Mac Cumhail once made a
great feast in the Finn Valley, and sent two of his
heroes, Gaul and Fergoman, to bring him a fierce
bull .that grazed on the borders of the lake. On
their way they fell in with a litter of young pigs,
which they killed and left there, intending to call
for them on their way back, and bring them for
the feast ; but Finn who had a foreknowledge of
some impending evil, ascended a hill, and with a
mighty voice, called to the heroes to return by a
different route.

They returned each with his half of the bull ;
Gaul obeyed Finn's injunction, but Fergoman,
disregarding it, approached the spot where he had
left the litter, and saw an enormous wild sow, the
mother of the brood, standing over their bodies.
She immediately rushed on him to revenge their
death, and a furious fight began, the sow using
her tusks, the warrior his spear.

Fergoman had a sister named Finn, who was
as warlike as himself ; and after long fighting,
when he was lacerated by the sow's tusks and in
danger of death, he raised a great shout for his
sister's help. She happened to be standing at the
same side of the lake, but she heard the echo of
the shout from the cliffs on the opposite side ; she
immediately plunged in, and swam across, but as
she reached the shore, the voice came from the
side she had left, and when she returned, the
echo came resounding again from the opposite
cliffs. And so she crossed and recrossed, till the
dreadful dying shouts of Fergoman so over-
whelmed her with grief and terror, that she sank
in the middle of the lake and was drowned. Hence
it was called Loch Finne, the lake of Finn, and
gave also its name to the river.

The place where the heroes killed the young

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 175

pigs, and where Fergoman met his fate, is still
called Meenanall, in Irish Min-an-dil, the meen or
mountain flat of the litter ; and the wild sow gave
name to Lough Muck, the lake of the pig, lying a
little south of Lough Finn.

Whatever may be thought of this wild legend,
it is certain that the lake received its name from
a woman named Finn, for it is always called iu
Irish Loch Finn&, which bears only one interpre-
tation, Finn's or Finna's lake ; and this is quite
consistent with the name given by Adamnan to
the river, namely, Finda. The suggestion some-
times put forth, that the name was derived from
the word^ww, white or clear, is altogether out of
the question ; for the waters of both, so far from
being clear, are from their source all the way
down to Lifford, particularly remarkable for their
inky blackness.

Among the many traditions handed down by
the Irish people, none are more universal than
that of the bursting forth of lakes. Almost every
considerable lake in Ireland has its own story of
an enchanted well, which by the fatal neglect of
some fairy injunction, or on account of an affront
offered to its guardian spirit, suddenly overflowed
the valley, and overwhelmed the inhabitants with
their cattle and their houses in one common ruin.

Nor is this tradition of recent origin, for we
find lake eruptions recorded in our most ancient
annals ; and nearly all the principal lakes in Ire-
land are accounted for in this manner. There is
one very remarkable example of an occurrence of
this kind — an undoubted fact — in comparatively
recent times, namely, in the year 1490 ; at which
year the Four Masters record : — " There was a
great earthquake (maidhm talmhan, an eruption of
the earth) at Sliabh Gamh (the Ox Mountains).

176 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART 11.

by which a hundred persons were destroyed,
inong whom was the son of Manus Crossagh
O'Hara. Many horses and cows were also killed
by it, and much putrid fish was thrown up ; and
a lake in which fish is [now] caught sprang up in
the place." This lake is now dried up, but it has
left its name on the townland of Moymlough, in
Irish Maidhm-loch, the erupted lake, in the parish
of Killoran, county of Sligo ; and a vivid tradi-
tion of the event still prevails in the county
(see O'Donovan's Four Masters, Vol. IV., p.
1185).

I will digress here for a moment to remark that
the word madhm [maum or moym] is used in the
western counties from Mayo to Kerry, and espe-
cially in Connemara, to denote an elevated moun-
t*on pass or chasm ; in which application the
primary sense of breaking or bursting asunder is
maintained. This is the origin of the several
places called Maum in these counties, some of which
are well known to tourists — such as Maum
Hotel ; Maumturk, the pass of the boars ; Mauma-
keogh, the pass of the mist, &c. In Mayo we
find Maumnaman, the pass of the women; in
Kerry Maumnahaltora, of the altar ; and in Fer-
managh Mullanvaum, the summit of the elevated
pass.

The origin of Lough Erne in Fermanagh, is
pretty fully stated in the Annals of the Four
Masters ; and it is also given in the Book of
Invasions, and in O'Flaherty's Ogygia. Fiacha
Labhruinne [Feeha Lavrinna] was king of Ire-
land from A. M. 3727 to 3751 ; and it is related that
he gained several battles during his reign, in one
of which he defeated the Ernai, a tribe of Fir-
bolgs, who dwelt on the plain now covered by the
lake. "After the battle was gained from them,

CHAP, iv.] Legends. 177

the lake flowed over them, so that it was from
them the lake is named [Loch Eirne~\, that is a
lake over the Ernai."

Our most ancient records point to the eruption
of Lough Neagh as having occurred in the end of
the first century. From the universality of the
tradition, as well as its great antiquity, it seems
highly probable that some great inundation actu-
ally occurred about the time mentioned. Giraldus,
who evidently borrowed the story from the native
writers, relates that it was formed by the over-
flowing of a fairy fountain, which had been
accidentally left uncovered ; and mentions what
the people will tell you to this day, that the
fishermen sometimes see the lofty and slender
ecclesiastic® turres, or round towers, beneath its
waters — a belief which Moore has embalmed in
the well-known lines : —

" On Lough Neagh's banks as the fisherman strays,

When the clear cold eve's declining,

He sees the round towers of other days

In the wave beneath him shining."

The ancient name of the territory now covered
by the lake, was Liathmhuine [Leafony: grey
shrubbery], and it was taken possession of by a
Munster chieftain named Eochy Mac Maireda,
after he had expelled the previous inhabitants.
He occupied the plain at the time of the eruption,
and he and all his family were drowned, except
one daughter and two sons. Hence the lake was
called Loch-nEchach [Lough Neagh], i. e. Eochy's
lake, which is its name in all our ancient writings,
and of which the present name has preserved the
sound, a little shortened. The N which now
forms the first letter does not belong to the word ;
it is what is sometimes called the prosthetic n,
VOL. i. 13

178 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

and is a mere grammatical accident. The name
often occurs without it ; for instance, in the Book of
Leinster it is given both ways — Loch-nEthach,
and Loch-Echach ; and we find it spelled Lough
Eaugh in Camden, as well as in many of the mapa
of the 16th and 17th centuries.

This eruption is mentioned in an ancient poem,
published by Dr. Todd (Irish Nennius, p 267)
from the Book of Leinster ; and from this also it
appears that Linnmhuine [Linwinny], the linn or
lake of the shrubbery, in allusion to the old name
of the territory, was another name for the lake : —

" Eochy Maireda, the rebellious son,

Of wonderful adventure,
Who was overwhelmed in lucid Linnmhuine,
With the clear lake over him."

Eochy's daughter, Liban, is the subject of an
exceedingly wild legend, for which see Joyce's
" Old Celtic Romances," p. 97.

CHAPTER V.

FAIRIES, DEMONS, GOBLINS, AND GHOSTS.

IT is very probable that the belief in the exist-
ence of fairies, so characteristic of the Celtic race
of these countries, came in with the earliest colo-
nies. On this question, however, I do not intend
to enter : it is sufficient to observe here that the
belief, in all its reality, is recorded in the oldest of
our native writings, and that with a distinctness
and circumstantiality that prove it to have been,
at the time of which they treat, long established
and universallv received.

CHAP, v.] Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 179

It was believed that these supernatural beings
dwelt in habitations in the interior of pleasant
hills, which were called by the name of sidh or
sith [shee]. Colgan's explanation of this term is
so exact, and he gives such an admirable epitome
of the superstition respecting the sidh and its
inhabitants, that I will here translate his words : —
" Fantastical spirits are by the Irish called men
of the sidh, because they are seen as it were to
come out of beautiful hills to infest men ; and
hence the vulgar belief that they reside in certain
subterraneous habitations within these hills ; and
these habitations, and sometimes the hills them-
selves, are called by the Irish sidhe or siodha"

In Colgan's time the fairy superstition had de-
scended to the common people — the vulgus; for
the spread of the Faith, and the influence of
education, had disenthralled the minds of the better
classes. But in the fifth century, the existence of
the DuinS sidhe [dinna-shee ; people of the fairy
mansions], was an article of belief with the high
as well as with the low ; as may be inferred from
the following curious passage in the Book of
Armagh, where we find the two daughters of
Laeghaire [Leary], king of Ireland, participating
in this superstition : — " Then St. Patrick came to
the well which is called Clebach, on the side of
Cruachan towards the east; and before sunrise
they (Patrick and his companions) sat down near
the well. And lo! the two daughters of king
Laeghaire, Ethnea the fair and Fedelma the ruddy,
came early to the well to wash, after the manner
of women ; and they found near the well a synod
of holy bishops with Patrick. And they knew
not whence they came, or in what form, or from
what people, or from what country: but they
supposed them to be DuinS sidhe, or gods of the

180 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

earth, or a phantasm" (Todd's Life of St Patrick,
p. 452). Dr. Todd adds in a note : — "Duing sidhe,
the men of the sidhe, or phantoms, the name given
by the Irish to the fairies — men of the hills ; the
word sidlw or siodha signifies the habitations sup-
posed to belong to these aerial beings, in the hollows
of the hills and mountains. It is doubtful whether
the word is cognate with the Lat. sedes, or from
a Celtic root, side, a blast of wind."

The belief of king Laeghaire's daughters re-
garding these aerial beings, as related in a MS.
copied in the year 807, is precisely the same as it
was in the time of Colgan, and the superstition
has descended to our own time in all its integrity.
Its limits are indeed further circumscribed ; but
at the present day the peasantry in remote dis-
tricts believe that the fairies inhabit the sidhe, 01
hills, and that occasionally mortals are favoured
with a view of their magnificent palaces.

To readers of modern fairy lore, the banshee ia
a well-known spirit : — Irish bean-sidhe, woman of
the fairy mansions. Many of the old Milesian
families are attended by a banshee, who foretells
and laments the approaching death of a member
of the favoured race by keening round the house in
the lonely night. Numberless banshee stories are
related with great circumstantiality, by the pea-
santry all over Ireland, several of which are
preserved in Crofton Croker's fairy legends.

In our old authorities it is very often stated
that the fairies are the Dedannans ; and the
chiefs of this race — such as the Dagda, Bove
Derg, &c. — are frequently referred to as the archi-
tects and inhabitants of the sidhe. For example,
in a copy of the "History of the Cemeteries''
contained in the MS. H. 3. 17, T.C.D., the fol-
lowing statement occurs relating to the death oJ

CHAP: v.] Fairies, t)emons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 181

Cormac mac Art : — " Or it was the siabhra [shee-
vra] that killed him, i. e. the Tuatha de Dananns,
for they were called siabhras." In some cases,
however, the sidhe were named after the chiefs of
the Milesian colony, as in case of Sidh-Aedha
at Bally shannon (see page 183) ; but at present
the Dedannan origin of these aerial beings
seems to be quite forgotten ; for almost all raths,
cashels and mounds — the dwellings, forts, and
sepulchres of the Firbolgs and Milesians, as well
as those of the Dedannans — are considered as
fairy haunts,

Of this ancient Dedannan people our know-
ledge is very scant indeed ; but, judging from
many very old tales and references in our MSS.,
and from the works supposed to be executed
by this race, of which numerous remains still
exist — sepulchral mounds, gracefully formed spear-
heads, &c. — we may conclude that they were a
people of superior intelligence and artistic skill,
and that they were conquered and driven into
remote districts, by the less intelligent but more
warlike Milesian tribes who succeeded them. Their
knowledge and skill procured for them the repu-
tation of magicians; and the obscure manner in
which they were forced to live after their subju-
gation, in retired and lonely places, gradually
impressed the vulgar with the belief that they were
supernatural beings.

It is not probable that the subjugation of the
Dedannans, with the subsequent belief regarding
them, was the origin of Irish fairy mytholgy.
The superstition, no doubt, existed long previously;
and this mysterious race, having undergone a
gradual deification, became confounded and identi-
fied with the original local gods, and ultimately
superseded them altogether.

182 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

The most ancient and detailed account of their
final dispersion is found in the Book of Fermoy,
a MS. of the year 1463 ; where it is related
in the tale of Curchog, daughter of Manannan
Mac Lir that the Dedannans, after the two dis-
astrous battles of Tailtenn and Druim Lighean,
held a meeting at Bruga on the Boyne, under the
presidency of Manannan ; and by his advice they
distributed and quartered themselves on the plea-
sant hills and plains of Erin. Bodhbh [Bove]
Derg, son of the Dagda, was chosen king; and
Manannan, their chief counsellor, arranged the dif-
ferent places of abode for the nobles among the
hills.

Several of the sidhs mentioned in this narrative
are known, and some of them are still celebrated
as fairy haunts. Sidh Buidhbh [Boov], with Bove
Derg for its chief, was on the shore of Lough
Derg, somewhere near Portumna. Several hills
in Ireland, noted fairy haunts, took their names
from this chief, and others from his daughter,
Bugh [Boo]. One of the former is Knockavoe
near Strabane. The Four Masters mention it at
A.D. 1522, as " Cnoc-Buidhbh, commonly called
Cnoc-an-Bhogha ; " which shows that the former
was the correct old name, and that it had been
corrupted in their time to Cnoc-an-Bhogha, which
is its present Irish name, and which is represented
in sound by the anglicised form, Knockavoe. They
mention it again at 1557 ; and here they give it
the full name Cnoc-Buidhbh-Derg, Bove-Derg'shill.
It was probably the same old chief who left his
name on Raf wee in the parish of Killeany in Gal-
way ; which in an ancient authority quoted by
Hardiman (lar C. 370), is called Rath-Buidhbh,
B^ve's fort. From his daughter is named Canbo,
in the parish of Killummod, Roscommon, which

CHAP, v.] Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. ±83

Duald Mac Firbis writes Ceann-Bugha, i. e. Bugh's
head or hill.

Sidh Truim, under the guardianship of Midir,
was situated a little to the east of Slane, on
the Boyne, but its name and legend are now
forgotten. Sidh Neannta, under Sidhmall, is now
called Mullaghshee or Fairymount, and is situated
in the parish of Kilgeffin, near Lanesborough, in
the county Roscommon. Sidh Meadha [Ma], ovei
which presided Finnbharr [Finvar], is the well-
known mountain now called Knockma, five miles
south west of Tuam ; the tradition respecting it is
still preserved in all its vividness ; and the exploits
of Finvara, its guardian fairy, are celebrated all
over Ireland.

Sidh Aedha Ruaidh, another of these celebrated
fairy resorts is the hill now called Mullaghshee,
on which the modern church is built, at Bally-
shannon in Donegal. The Book of Leinster and
other ancient authorities relate that Aedh-Ruadh
[Ay-roo],the father of Macha, founder of Emania
(see p. 89), was drowned in the cataract at Bally-
shannon, which was thence called after him,
Eas-Ruaidh, or Eas- Aedha- Ruaidh [Assroo, Assay-
roo], Aedh Ruadh's waterfall, now shortened
to Assaroe. He was buried over the cataract, in
the mound which was called from him Sidh
Aedha — a name still partly preserved in Mullagh
shee, the hill of the sidh or fairy palace.

This hill has recently been found to contain sub-
terranean chambers, which confirms our ancient
legendary accounts, and shows that it is a greai
sepulchral mound like those on the Boyne. How
few of the people of Ballyshannon know that the
familiar name Mullaghshee is a living memoria
of those dim ages when Aedh Ruadh held sway,
and that the great king himself has slept here in

184 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

his dome-roofed dwelling for more than two thou-
sand years !

These are a few illustrations of the extent to
which tho fairy mythology was accepted in Ire-
land in remote ages But, even if history were
wholly silent regarding the former prevalence of
this belief, it would be sufficiently attested by the
great numbers of places, scattered all over the
country, whose names contain the word sidh, or,
as it is usually modernised, shee. It must be borne
in mind that every one of these places was once
firmly believed to be a fairy mansion, inhabited by
those mysterious beings, and that in case of many
of them, the same superstition lurks at this day in
the minds of the peasantry.

Sidh, as we have seen, was originally applied to
a fairy palace, and it was afterwards gradually
transferred to the hill, and ultimately to the fairies
themselves ; but this last transition must have
begun at a very early period, for we find it ex-
pressly stated in a passage in the Leabhar-na-
hTJidhre, that the ignorant called the fairies side.
At the present day, the word generally signifies a
fairy, but the diminutive sidheog [sheeoge] is more
commonly employed. When sidh forms part of a
name, it is often not easy to determine whether
it means the fairies themselves or their habitations.

Shee and its modifications constitute or begin
the names of about seventy townlands, which are
pretty equally distributed over the four provinces,
very few being found, however, in the counties of
Louth, Dublin, and Wicklow. Besides these,
there are many more places whose names contain
this word in the middle or end ; and there are in-
numerable fairy hills and forts through the
country, designated by the word shee, which have
not communicated their names to townlands.

CHAP, v.] Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 185

Sidh-dhruim [Sheerim], fairy ridge — the old
name of the Rock of Cashel and of several other
ancient fairy haunts — is still the name of six
townlands in Armagh under the modern form
Sheetrim ; the change from d to t (in druim) must
have begun a long time ago, for Sidh-druim is
written Sith-truim in Torna Eigas's poem (" Hy
Fiachrach," p. 29) : Sheerevagh, in Roscommon
and Sligo, grey shee ; Sheegorey near Boyle, the
fairy hill of Guaire or Gorey, a man's name.
There is a townland in the parish of Corbally,
Tipperary, called the Sheehys, or in Irish Na
sithe [na sheeha], i. e. the fairy mounts ; and a range
of low heights south of Trim in Meath, is well
known by the name of the Shee hills, i. e. the f airy
hills.

There is a famous fairy palace on the eastern
shoulder of Slievenaman mountain in Tipperary.
According to a metrical romance contained in the
Book of Lismore and other authorities, the De-
dannan women of this sidh enchanted Finn mac
Cumhail and his Fianna ; and from these women
the mountain took its name. It is now called in
Irish, Sliabh-na-mban-fionn, which would signify
the mountain of the fair-haired women ; but
O'Donovan shows that the true name is Slidbh-na-
mban-Feimhinn [Slievenamon Fevin], the moun-
tain of the women of Feimhenn, which was an
ancient territory coextensive with the barony of
Iffa and Offa East ; and this was shortened to the
present name, Sliabh-na-mban, or Slievenaman.

The word occurs still more frequently in the
end of names ; and in this case it may be generally
taken to be of greater antiquity than the part of
the name that precedes it. There is a parish in
Longford called Killashee, which was probably so
called because the church was built near or on the

186 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

site of one of these mounts. Killashee in Kildare,
has however a different origin. Cloonshee near
Elphin in the county Roscommon, is called by the
Four Masters Cluain-sithe, fairy meadow ; and
there are several other places of the same name.
Rashee in Antrim, where St. Patrick is recorded
to have founded a church, is in Irish Rath-sithe
/Four Masters), the fort of the fairies; and the
good people must have often appeared, at some
former period, to the inhabitants of those places
now called Ballynashee and Ballynasheeoge, the
town of the fairies.

The word sidh undergoes several local modifica-
tions ; for example, Knocknasheega near Cappoquin
in Waterford, is called in Irish Cnoc-na-sige, the
hill of the fairies ; and the name of Cheek Point
on the Suir below Waterford, is merely an adap-
tation from Sheega point; for the Irish name is
P6inte-na-sige [Pointa-na-sheega], the point of the
fairies. The townland of Sheegys (i. e. fairy hills)
in the parish of Kilbarron, Donegal, was once no
doubt a favourite resort of fairies ; and on its
southern boundary, near high-water mark, there
is a mound called Mulnasheefrog, the hill of the
fairy dwellings. In the parish of Aghanagh,
Sligo, there are two townlands, called Cuilshee-
ghary, which the people call in Irish, Coittsioth-
chaire, the fairies' wood, for a large wood formerly
stood there.

While sidheog means a fairy, the other diminu-
tive sidhedn [sheeawn] is always applied to a fairy
mount. The word is used in this sense all over
Ireland, but it is particularly common in Con-
naught, where these sheeauns are met with in great
numbers ; they are generally beautiful green round
hillocks, with an old fort on the summit. Their
numbers would lead one to believe that in old

CHAP, v.] Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 187

times, some parts of Connaught must have been
more thickly peopled with fairies than with men.

Great numbers of places have taken their names
from these haunted hills ; and the word assumes
various forms, such as Sheaun, Sheehaun, Sheean,
and Shean, which give names to about thirty
townlands scattered through the four provinces.
It is not unfrequently changed to Sion, as in the
parish of Laraghbryan in Kildare, where the place
now so called evidently took its name from a
sheeaun, for it is written Shiane in an Inquisition
of James I. ; and there are several other instances
of this odd corruption. Near Ballybay in Mona-
ghan, is a place called Shane, another form of the
word ; and the plural Shanes, fairy hills, occurs
in the parish of Loughguile, Antrim. Sheena in
Leitrim, Sheeny in Meath and Fermanagh, and
Sheeana in Wicklow, are different forms of the
Irish plural sidhne [sheena], fairy hills.

The sound of the s is often eclipsed by t (p.
23), and this gives rise to further modifications.
There is a castle called Ballinteean giving name
to a townland in the parish of Ballysakeery,
Mayo, which is written by Mac Firbis, Baile-an-
tsiodhain, the town of the fairy hill; the same
name occurs near Ballinrobe in the same county
and in the parish of Kilglass, Sligo : in Down
and Kildare it takes the form of Ballintine ; and
that this last name is derived from sidhean is
shown by the fact that Ballintine near Blaris in
Down is written Shiane in an Inquisition of James
I. Aghintain near Clogher in Tyrone, would be
written in the original, Achadh-an-tsiadhain
[Aghanteean], the field of the fairy mount.

Most of the different kinds of fairies, so well
known at the present day to those acquainted with
the Irish peasantry, have also been commemorated

188 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

in local names. A few of those I will here briefly
mention, but the subject deserves more space than
I can afford.*

The Pooka — Irish puca — is an odd mixture of
merriment and malignity ; his exploits form the
subject of innumerable legendary narratives ; and
every literary tourist who visits our island, seems
to consider it a duty to record some new story of
this capricious goblin. Under the name of Puck,
he will be recognised as the " merry wanderer of
the night," who boasts that he can " put a girdle
round about the earth in forty minutes ; " and the
genius of Shakspeare has conferred on him a kind
of immortality he never expected.

There are many places all over Ireland where
the Pooka is still well remembered, and where,
though he has himself forsaken his haunts, he
has left his name to attest his former reign of
terror. One of the best known is Pollaphuca in
Wicklow, a wild chasm where the Liffey falls
over a ledge of rocks into a deep pool, to which
the name properly belongs, signifying the pool or
hole of the Pooka. There are three townlands in
Clare, and several other places in different parts
of the country, with the same name; they are
generally wild lonely dells, caves, chasms in rocks
on the seashore, or pools in deep glens like that
in Wicklow — all places of a lonely character,
suitable haunts for this mysterious sprite. The
original name of Puckstown in the parish of
Mosstown in Louth, and probably of Puckstown,
near Artaine in Dublin, was Pollaphuca, of which
the present name is an incorrect translation.
Boheraphuca (boher, a road) four miles north of
Roscrea in Tipperary, must have been a dangerous

* See Crofton Croker's " Irish Fairy Legends," and Wilde'a
" Irish Popular Superstitions."

CHAP. v.~| Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 189

place to pass at night, in days of old. Carriga-
phooca (the Pooka's rock) two miles west of
Macroom, where on the top of a rock overhanging
the Sullane, stand the ruins of the Mac Carthy's
castle, is well known as the place whence Daniel
O'Rourke began his adventurous voyage to the
moon on the back of an eagle ; and here for many
a generation the Pooka held his " ancient solitary
reign," and played pranks which the peasantry
will relate with minute detail.

About half way between Kilfinane in Limerick,
and Mitchelstown in Cork, the bridge of Aha-
phuca crosses the Ounageeragh river at the junc-
tion of its two chief branches, and on the boundary
of the two counties. Before the erection of the
bridge, this was a place of evil repute, and not
without good reason, for on stormy winter nights,
many a traveller was swept off by the flood in
attempting to cross the dangerous ford; these
fatalities were all attributed to the malice of the
goblin that haunted the place ; and the name —
the Pooka's ford — still reminds us of his deeds of
darkness.

He is often found lurking in raths and lisses ;
and accordingly there are many old forts through
the country called Lissaphuca and Rathpooka,
which have, in some cases, given names to town-
lands. In the parish of Kilcolman in Kerry, are
two townlands called Rathpoge on the Ordnance
map, and Rathpooke in other authorities —
evidently Rathpuca, the Pooka's rath. Sometimes
his name is shortened to pook or puck ; as, for
instance, in Castlepook, the goblin's castle, a black,
square, stern-looking old tower, near Doneraile in
Cork, in a dreary spot at the foot of the Bally -
houra hills, as fit a place for a pooka as could be
conceived. This form is also found in the name

190 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

of the great moat of Cloghpook in Queen's
County (written Cloyth-an-puka in a rental book
of the Earl of Kildare, A. D. 1518), the stone or
stone fortress of the pooka ; and according to
O'Donovan, the name of Ploopluck near Naas in
Kildare, is a corruption — a very vile one indeed —
of the same name.

The word siabhra [sheevra] is now very fre-
quently employed to denote a fairy, and we have
found it used in this sense in the quotation at
page 181 from the "History of the Cemeteries."
This term appears in the names of several places :
there is, for example, a townland called Drum-
sheaver, in the parish of Tedavnet, Monaghan,
but which is "written in several modern authorities,
Drumshevery, the ridge of the sheevras ; and they
must have also haunted Glennasheevar, in the
parish of Inishmacsaint in Fermanagh.

Nor is the leprechaun forgotten — the merry
sprite " Whom maids at night, Oft meet in glen
that's haunted," who will give you the spardn
scillingS, an inexhaustible fairy purse, if you can
only manage to hold him spell-bound by an un-
interrupted gaze. This lively little fellow is
known by several different names, such as lupra-
chaun, luricane, lurrigadane, cluricane, luppercadane,
loughryman, &c. The correct original designation
from which all these have been corrupted, is
luchorpan, or as we find it in the MS. H. 2, 16
(col. 120), lucharban ; from lu, " everything small"
(Cor. Gl., voce "luda" ), and corpdn, a diminutive
of corp, a body, Lat. corpus; so that luchorpan
signifies " an extremely little body " (see Stokes' s
Cor. Gl. p. 1). There is a good sized lake in
Donegal, four miles west of Ardara, called Lough
Nalughraman, the lake of the loughrymam : but
here the people say the loughryman is a kind of
trout.

CHAP. v.J Fames, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 191

In the townland of Creevagh, near Cong in
Mayo, there is a cave called Mullenlupraghaun,
the leprechauns' mill, " where in former times the
people left their caskeens of corn at nightfall, and
found them full of meal in the morning " (Wilde's
Lough Corrib) — ground by the leprechauns. And
it is certain that they must have long chosen, as
favourite haunts, Knocknalooricaun (the hill of
the looricauns), near Lismore in Waterford, and
Poulaluppercadaun (poul, a hole), near Killorglin
in Kerry.

Every one knows that fairies are a merry race
and that they enjoy immensely their midnight
gambols ; moreover, it would seem that they in-
dulge in many of the ordinary peasant pastimes.
The fairy fort of Lisfarbegnagommaun stands in
the townland of Knocknagraigue East, four miles
from Corrofin in Clare ; and whoever cautiously
approaches it on a calm moonlight night, wiU
probably see a spectacle worth remembering — the
little inhabitants, in all their glory, playing at the
game of coman, or hurley. Their favourite
amusement is told clearly enough in the name
Lios-fear-beg-na-gcomdn, the fort of the little men
of the hurlets, that is, of the little hurlers (see
Aughnagomaun). Sam Lover must have been
well acquainted with their pastimes when he wrote
his pretty song, " The fairies are dancing by brake
and by bower ; '' and indeed he probably saw them
himself, " lightly tripping o'er the green," in
one of the many forts, where they indulge in
their nightly revelry, and which are still called
Lissarinka, the fort of the dancing (see Skeheena-
rinka).

Readers of Crofton Croker will recollect the
story of the rath of Knockgraffon, and how the
little man, Lusmore, sitting down to rest himself

192 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

near the fort, heard a strain of wild music from
the inside. Knockgraffon is not the only " airy "
place where the cedlsidhe, or fairy music, is heard :
in fact this is a very common way of manifesting
their presence ; and accordingly certain raths in
the south of Ireland are known by the name of
Lissakeole, the fort of the music (ceol). Neilson
(Irish Gram., page 55) mentions a hill in the
county of Down, called Knocknafeadalea, whist-
ling hill, from the music of the fairies which was
often heard to proceed from it ; and the townland
of Lisnafeddaly in Monaghan, and Lisnafeedy in
Armagh, both took their names (signifying the
fort of the whistling : fead or fid, a whistle) from
lisses, with the same reputation.

The life of a fairy is not, however, all merri-
ment. Sometimes the little people of two neigh-
bouring forts quarrel, and fight sanguinary battles.
These encounters always take place by night ; the
human inhabitants are terrified by shrill screams
and other indescribable noises ; and in the morn-
ing the fields are strewn with drops of blood,
little bones, and other relics of the fight. Certain
forts in some of the northern counties, whose in-
habitants were often engaged in warfare, have,
from these conflicts, got the name of Lisnascragh,
the fort of the screeching (screach}.

Very often when you pass a lonely fort on a
dark night, you will be astonished to see a light
shining from it ; the fairies are then at some work
of their own, and you will do well to pass on and
not disturb them. From the frequency of this
apparition, it has come to pass that many forts
are called Lisnagannell and Lisnagunnell, the fort
of the candles ; and in some instances they have
given names to townlands, as, for example, Lisna-
gonnell in the county Down; Lisnageenly in

CHAP, v.] Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 193

Tipperary ; Lisgonnell in Tyrone ; and Liscunnell
in Mayo. We must not suppose that these fearful
lights are always the creation of the peasant's
imagination ; no doubt they have been in many
instances actually seen, and we must attribute
them to that curious phenomenon, ignis fatuus, or
Will-o'-the-wisp. But the people will not listen to
this, for they know well that all such apparitions
are the work of the good people.

Fairies are not the only supernatural beings let
loose on the world by night : there are ghosts,
phantoms, and demons of various kinds ; and the
name of many a place still tells the dreaded scenes
nightly enacted there. The word dealbh [dallivj,
a shape or image (delb, effigies, Zeuss, 10) is often
applied to a ghost. The townland of Killeenna-
gallive in the parish of Templebredon, Tipperary,
took its name from an old churchyard, where the
dead must have rested unquietly in their graves ;
for the name is a corruption (p. 56) of Cillin-na-
ndealbh, the little church of the phantoms. So
also Drumnanaliv in Monaghan, and Clondallow
in Bong's County, the ridge and the meadow of
the spectres. And in some of the central counties,
certain clusters of thorn bushes, which have the
reputation of being haunted, are called by the
name of Dullowbush (dullow, i. e. dealbh), i. e. the
phantom bush.

There is a hideous kind of hobgoblin generally
met with in churchyards, called a dullaghan, who
can take off and put on his head at will — in fact
you generally meet him with that member in his
pocket, under his arm, or absent altogether ; or if
you have the fortune to light on a number of them
you may see them amusing themselves by flinging
their heads at one another, or kicking them for
footballs. Ballindollaghan in the parish of Bas-
VOL. i. *4

194 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

lick, Roscommon, must be a horrible place to live
in, if the dullaghan that gave it the name ever
shows himself now to the inhabitants.

Everyone knows that a ghost without a head is
very usual, not only in Ireland, but all over the
world ; and a little lake in the parish of Donagh-
more in Donegal, four miles south of Stranolar, is
still called Lough Gillagancan, the headless man's
lake, from having been haunted by one of these
visitants (giolla, a fellow ; gan, without ; ceann, a
head). But I suppose it is only in Ireland you
could meet with a ghost without a shirt. Several
of these tasteless fellows must have at some former
period roamed nightly at large in some of the
northern counties, where there are certain small
lakes, which are now called Lough Gillagan-
leny or Gillaganleane, the lake of the shirtless
fellow (teine, a shirt) : one for instance, two miles
east of the northern extremity of Lough Eask,
near the town of Donegal ; and another in the
parish of Rossinver in Leitrim, five miles from
Manorhamilton, and one mile west from the vil-
lage of Kiltyclogher.

Glennawoo, a townland in the parish of Kilmac-
teige, Sligo, must have been, and perhaps is still,
a ghastly neighbourhood, for the name Gleann-na-
bhfuath [Glennawoo] signifies the glen of the
spectres ; and in the parish of Aghavea, Ferman-
agh, is a place which was doubtless almost as bad,
viz., Drumarraght, the ridge of the arraght or ap-
parition. Near the church of Kilnamona in Clare,
there is a well called Toberatasha ; it is in the
form of a coffin, and its shape is not more dismally
suggestive than its name, Tobar-a'-taise, the well
of the fetch or ghost. What kind of malignant
beings formerly tormented the people of Druma-
baire in Leitrim, it is now impossible to tell ; and

CHAP, v.] Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 195

we should be ignorant of their very existence if
our annalists had not preserved the true form of
the name — Druim-da-ethiar [Drum-a-ehir ; Four
Masters], the ridge of the two air-demons (eithiar,
pron. ehir, an air-demon).

Besides the celebrated fairy haunts mentioned
at p. 182, there are several other places in different
parts of Ireland, presided over, each by its own
guardian spirit, and among them several female
fairies, or banshees. Some of these are very famous,
and though belonging to particular places, are cele-
brated by the bards over the whole of Ireland.

Cliodhna [Cleena] is the potent banshee that
rules as queen over the fairies of South Munster ;
and you will hear innumerable stories among the
peasantry of the exercise of her powerful spells.
Edward Walsh makes his lover of " O'Donovan's
Daughter " thus express himself : —

" God grant 'tis no fay from Knockfierna that woos me ;
God grant 'tis not Cleena the queen that pursues me ;
That my soul, lost and lone, has no witchery wrought her,
While I dream of dark groves and O'Donovan's daughter.'

In the Dinnsenchus there is an ancient poetical
love story, of which Cleena is the heroine : wherein
it is related that she was a foreigner, and that she
was drowned in the harbour of Glandore, near
Skibbereen in Cork. In this harbour the sea, at
certain times, utters a very peculiar, deep, hollow,
and melancholy roar, among the caverns of the
cliffs, which was formerly believed to foretell the
death of a king of the south of Ireland ; and this
surge has been from time immemorial called Tonn-
Cleena, Cleena' s wave. Cleena had her palace in
the heart of a great rock, situated about five miles
south-south-west from Mallow ; it is still well
known by the name of Carrig- Cleena, and it ^a.p
given name to fr»x) towitjands.

196 Historical and Legendary Name*. [PART n,

Aeibhell [Eevil], or more correctly Aebhinn
[Eevin], whose name signifies "beautiful," was
another powerful banshee, and presided over North
Munster : she was in an especial manner the
guardian spirit of the Dalcassians. When the
Dalcassian hero, Dunlang or Dooling O'Hartigan,
the friend and companion of Murchadh [Murraha],
Brian Boru's eldest son, was on his way to the
battle of Clontarf, she met him and tried to dis-
suade him from fighting that day. For she told
him that he would fall with Murchadh : and she
offered him the delights and the immortality of
Fairyland, if he would remain away. But he re-
plied that nothing could induce him to abandon
Murchadh in the day of battle, and that he was
resolved to go, even to certain death. She then
threw a magical cloak around him which made
him invisible, warning him that he would cer-
tainly be slain if he threw it off.

He rushed into the midst of the battle, and
fought for some time by the side of Murchadh,
making fearful havoc among the Danes. Mur-
chadh looked round him on every side, and at last
cried out, " I hear the sound of the blows of Dun-
lang O'Hartigan, but I cannot see him !" Then
Dunlang could no longer bear to be hidden from
the eyes of Murchadh ; and he threw off the cloak,
and was socn after slain according to the fairy's
prediction.

The aged king, Brian, remained in his tent
during the day. And towards evening the tent
was left unguarded in the confusion of the battle ;
and his attendants urged him to mount his horse
and retire, for he was in danger from straggling
parties of the Danes. But he answered : "Retreat
becomes us not, and I know that I shall not leave
this Dlace alive. For Aeibhell of Craglea came to

CHAP.V.] Fairies, Demons, Goblins, and Ghosts. 197

me last night, and told me that I should be killed
this day" (see Wars of GGK, p. 201).

Aeibhell had her palace two miles north of Kil-
laloe, in a rock called Crageevil, but better known
by the name of Craglea, grey rock. The rock is
situated in a silent glen, under the face of a moun-
tain ; and the peasantry affirm that she forsook
her retreat, when the woods which once covered
the place were cut down. There is a spring in the
face of the mountain, still called Tobereevil,
Aeibhell's well.

There is a legend common over all Ireland, con-
nected generally with lakes, that there lives at the
bottom a monstrous serpent or dragon, chained
there by a superior power. The imprisonment of
these demoniac monsters is commonly attributed
to St. Patrick, who, when he cleared the country
of demons, chose this mode of disposing of some
of the most ferocious : — and there they must re-
main till the day of judgment. In some places
it is said that they are permitted to appear above
the water, at certain times, generally every seven
years ; and then the inhabitants hear the clanking
of chains, or other unearthly noises.

During the period of St. Patrick's sojourn in
Connaught, he retired on the approach of Lent to
the mountain of Croaghpatrick, and there spent
some time in fasting and prayer. To this histo-
rical fact has been added a fabulous relation, which
Jocelin in his Life of St. Patrick, written in the
twelfth century, appears to have been the first to
promulgate, but which is now oue of Ireland's
most celebrated legends, namely, that the saint
brought together on the top of the mountain all
the serpents and venomous creatures and demons
of Ireland, and drove them into the sea. There
is a deep hollow on the northern face of the moun-

198 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

tain, called to this day Lugnademon, the lug or
nollow of the demons, into which they all re-
treated on their way to final banishment.

This story, however, is not found in the early
authentic lives of the saint ; and that it is a com-
paratively recent invention is evident from the
fact, that Ireland's exemption from reptiles is
mentioned by Solinus, who wrote in the third
century ; and Bede mentions the same fact, but
without assigning any cause ; whereas, if such a
remarkable occurrence had been on record, doubt-
less he would not fail to notice it.

Legends of aquatic monsters are very ancient
among the Irish people. We find one mentioned
by Adamnan (Lib. II., cap. 27), as infesting Loch
Ness, in Scotland. In the Life of St. Mochua of
Balla, it is related that a stag which was wounded
in the chase took refuge in an island in Lough Ree ;
but that no one dared to follow it "on account of
a horrible monster that infested the lake, and was
accustomed to destroy swimmers." A man was at
last prevailed on to swim across, " but as he was
returning the beast devoured him." O'Flaherty
(lar Connaught, c. 19) has a very circumstantial
story of an " Irish crocodil," that lived at the bot-
tom of Lough Mask ; and in O'Clery's Calendar
(p. 145) we read about the upper lake of Glenda-
lough: — "They say that the lake drains in its
middle, and that a frightful serpent is seen in it,
and that from fear of it no one ever durst swim
in the lake." And in some of the very ancient
tales of the Lebor-na-hUidhre we find heroes
encountering enormous lake- serpents.

This legend assumes various forms in individual
cases, and many are the tales the people can re-
late of fearful encounters with a monster covered
Avith long hair and a mane ; moreover, they are

CHAP, v.] Fairies, Demons, Cfoblins, and Ghosts. 199

occasionally met with in old castles, lisses, caves,
&c., as well as in lakes. The. word by which
they are most commonly designated in modern
times, ispiast ; we find it in Cormac's Glossary in
the old Irish form bdist, explained by the Lat.
bestia, from which it has been borrowed ; and it
is constantly used in the Lives of the Irish saints,
to denote a dragon, serpent, or monster. Several
lakes in different parts of the country are called
Loughnapiast, or more correctly, Loch-na-peiste,
each of which is inhabited by a demoniacal ser-
pent ; and in a river in the parish of Banagher,
Deny, there is a spot called Lig-na-peiste (Lig, a
hollow or hole), which is the abode of another.

When St. Patrick was journeying westward, a
number of them attempted to oppose his progress
at a place in the parish of Ardcarn in Roscom-
mon, which is called to this day Knocknabeast,
or in Irish, Cnoc-na-bpiast, the hill of the serpents.
In the parish of Drumhome in Donegal, stands afort
which gives name to a townland called Lisnapaste ;
there is another with a similar name in the town-
land of Gullane, parish of Kilconly, Kerry, in
which the people say a serpent used to be seen ;
and near Freshford in Kilkenny, is a well called
Tobernapeastia, from which a townland takes its
name. There is a townland near Bailieborough in
Cavan, called Dundragon, the fort of the dragon,
where some frightful monster must have formerly
taken up his abode in the old dun.

Sometimes the name indicates directly their
supernatural and infernal character ; as, for in-
stance, in Pouladown near Watergrasshill in
Cork, i. e. Poll-a-deamhain, the demon's hole.
There is a pool in the townland of Killarah,
parish of Kildallan, Cavan, three miles from
llaijyconnell, called Loughandoul, or, in Irish,

200 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n

Loch-an-diabJiail, the lake of the devil ; and
Deune Castle, in the parish of Kilconly in Kerry,
is the demon's castle, which is the signification of
its Irish name, Caislen-a' -deamhain.

CHAPTER VI

CUSTOMS, AMUSEMENTS, OCCUPATIONS.

THE pagan Irish divided their year, in the first
instance, into two equal parts, each of which was
afterwards subdivided into two parts or quarters.
The four quarters were called Earrach, Samhradh,
Foghmhar, and Geimhridh [Arragh, Sowra, Fowar,
Gevre] : Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter,
which are the names still in use ; and they began
on the first days of February, May, August, and
November, respectively. We have historical tes-
timony that games were celebrated at the begin-
ning of Summer, Autumn, and Winter ; and it
may be reasonably inferred that Spring was also
ushered in by some sort of festivity.

The first day of May, which was the beginning of
the summer half year, was called Bealltaine [Bel-
tany] ; it is still the name always used by those
speaking Irish ; and it is well known in Scotland,
where Beltane has almost taken its place as an
English word : —

" Ours is no sapling, chance sown by the fountain,
Blooming at Beltane in winter to fade."

Tuathal [Thoohal] the Acceptable, king of Ire-
iand in the first century, instituted the feast of
Bealltaine at Uisneach, now the hill of Ushnagh in
Westmeath, where, ever after, the pagan Irish

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 201

celebrated their festivities, and lighted their
Druidic fires on the first of May ; and from these
fires, according to Cormac's Glossary, the festival
derived its name : — " Belttaine, i. e. bil-tene, i. e.
tene-bil, i. e. the goodly fire (tene, fire), i. e. two
goodly fires which the Druids were used to make,
with great incantations on them, and they used to
bring the cattle between them against the diseases
of each year."

While Ushnagh was regarded as the chief centre
of these rites, there were similar observances on
the same day in other parts of Ireland ; for Keat-
ing informs us that " upon this occasion they were
used to kindle two fires in every territory in the
kingdom, in honour of the pagan god." Down to
a very recent period these fires were lighted, and
the May-day games celebrated both in Ireland and
Scotland ; and even at this day, in many remote
districts, some relics of the old druidic fire super-
stitions of May morning still linger among the
peasantry.*

The May-day festivities must have been for-
merly celebrated with unusual solemnity, and for
a long succession of generations, at all those places
now called Beltany, which is merely the angli-
cised form of Bealltaine. There are two of them
in Donegal — one near Raphoe, and the other in
the parish of Tulloghobegly ; there is one also
near Clogher in Tyrone, and andther in the parish
of Cappagh in the same county. In the parish of
Kilmore, Armagh, we find Tamnaghvelton, and in
Donegal, Meenabaltin, both signifying the field of
the Beltane sports ; and in Lisbalting, in the parish
of Kilcash, Tipperary, the old lis where the fes-
tivities were carried on is still to be seen. There

* See Wilde's Irish Popular Superstitions ; Petrie's Round
Towers ; and O'Donovan's Introduction to the Book of Rights.

202 Historical and Legendary Name*. [PART n.

is a stream joining the River Galey near Athea in
Limerick, called Glasheennabaultina, the glasheen
or streamlet of the May-day games.

One of the Dedannan kings, Lewy of the long
hand, established a fair or gathering of the
people, to be held yearly on the 1st day of
August, at a place on the Blackwater in Meath,
between Navan and Kells ; in which various games
and pastimes, as well as marriages, were cele-
brated, and which were continued in a modified
form down to the beginning of the present cen-
tury. This fair was instituted by Lewy in com-
memoration of his foster-mother, Taillte, who
was daughter of the king of Spain ; and in honour
of her he called the place Tailltenn (Tailltee, gen.
Tailltenri), which is the present Irish name, but
corrupted in English to Teltown.

The place still exhibits the remains of raths and
artificial lakes ; and according to tradition, mar-
riages were celebrated in one particular hollow,
which is slill called Lag-an-aenaigh [Laganeany,
the hollow of the fair]. Moreover, the Irish-
speaking people all over Ireland still call the first
of August Lugh-Nasadh [Loonasa], i. e. Lewy 'a
fair.

The first of November was called Samhuin
[savin or so wan], which is commonly explained
samh-fhuin, i. e. the end of samh or summer ; and,
like Bealltaine, it was a day devoted by the
pagan Irish to religious and festive ceremonials.
Tuathal also instituted the feast of Samnuin (as
well as that of BeUtaine— see p. 200) ; and < was
celebrated on that day at Tlachtga, now the Hill
of Ward near Athboy in Meath, where fires were
lighted, and games and sports carried on. It was
also on this day that the Feis or convention of
Tara was held ; and the festivities were kept up

CHAP. vi. J Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 203

three days before and three days after Samhuin.
These primitive celebrations have descended
through eighteen centuries ; and even at the pre-
sent time, on the eve of the first of November,
the people of this country practise many observ-
ances which are undoubted relics of ancient pagan
ceremonials.

While the great festival established by Tuathal
was celebrated at Tlachtga, minor festivities were,
as in case of the Belltaine, observed on the same
day in different places through the country ; and
in several of these the name of Samhuin has re-
mained as a perpetual memorial of those bygone
pastimes. Such a place is Knocksouna near Kil-
mallock in Limerick. The Four Masters, who
men ion it several times, call it Samhuin — a name
exa ly analogous to Beltany ; while in the Life
of So Finnchu, in the Book of Lismore, it is called
Cnoc- Samhna, the hill of Samhuin, which is ex-
actly represented in pronu iciation by Knocksouna.
According to this last autk "ity, the hill was more
anciently called Ard-na-rioghraidhe [reery], the
hill of the kings ; from all which we may infer
that it was anciently a place of great notoriety.
In the parish of Kiltoghert, county Leitrim, there
is a place with a name having the same significa-
tion, viz., Knocknasawna ; and a hill two miles
from Raphoe in Donegal, is called Mullasawny.
the hill-summit of Samhain.

It would appear from the preceding names, as
well as from those that follow, that these meet,
ings were usually held on hills ; and this was done
no doubt in imitation of the original festival ; for
Tlachtga or the hill of "Ward, though not high, is
very conspicuous over the flat plains of Meath.
Drumhawan near Bally bay in Monaghan, repre-
sents the Irish Druim- Shamhuin, the ridge of

204 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Samhuin ; and in the parish of Donaghmoyne in
the same county, is another place called Drumha-
man, which is the same name, for it is written
Drumhaven in an old map of 1777 ; in the parish
of Kilcronaghan, Londonderry, we find a place
called Drumsamney, and the original pronuncia-
tion is very well preserved in Drumsawna, in the
parish of Magheraculmoney, Fermanagh. Car-
rickhawna \_Carrick, a rock], is found in the
parish of Toomour in Sligo ; and Gurteenasowna
\Gfurteen, a little field), near Dunmanway in Cork.

An assembly of the people, convened for any
purpose whatever, was anciently called aenach
[ enagh] ; and it would appear that these as-
semblies were often held at the great regal c^nae-
teries. For, first, the names of many o' the
cemeteries begin with the word aenach, as At-nach-
Chruachain, Aenach- Taitttenn, Aenach-in-Broga,
&c. ; and it is said in the " History of the Ceme-
teries" (Petrie, R. Towers, p. 106), that " there
are fifty hills [burial mounds] at each Aenach of
these." Secondly, the double purpose is shown
very clearly in the accounts of the origin of Carn-
Amhalgaidh [Awly], near Killala : — " Carn-
Amhalgaidh, i. e. of Amhalgaidh, son of Fiachra-
Ealgach, son of Dathi, son of Fiachra. It was by
him that this earn was formed, for the purpose of
holding a meeting (aenach) of the Hy Amhalgaidh
around it every year, and to view his ships and
fleets going and coming, and as a place of inter-
ment for himself" (Book of Lecan, cited in Petrie's
R. Towers, p. 107. See p. 139, supra).

In modern times and in the present spoken
language, the word aenach is always applied to a
cattle fair. It is pretty certain that in some cases
the present cattle fairs are the representatives of
the ancient popular assemblies, which have con-

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 205

tinued uninterruptedly from age to age, gradually
changing their purposes to suit the requirements
of each succeeding generation. This we find in
the case of Nenagh in Tipperary, which is still
celebrated for its great fairs. Its most ancient
name was Aenach-Thete ; and it was afterwards
called — and is still universally called by speakers
of Irish — Aenach- Urmhumhan [Enagh-TJrooan],
the assembly or assembly-place of Urmhumhan or
Ormond, which indicates that it was at one time
the chief meeting-place for the tribes of east
Munster. The present name is former1, by the at-
traction of the article 'n to Aenach, vi.z., nAenach,
i. e. the fair, which is exactly represented in pro-
nunciation by Nenagh (see p. 24).

This word forms a part of a great number of
names, and in every case it indicates that a fair
was formerly held in the place, though in most
instances these fairs have been long discontinued,
or transferred to other localities. The usual forms
in modern names are -eeny, -eena, -enagh, and in
Cork and Kerry, -eanig. Monasteranenagh in
Limerick, where the fine ruins of the monastery
founded by the king of Thomond in the twelfth
century, still remain, is called by the Four Masters,
Maini$ter-an-aenaigh, the monastery of the fair.
But the fair was held there long before the founda-
tion of the monastery, and down to that time the
place was called Aenach-beag (Four Mast.), i. e.
little fair, probably to distinguish it from the
great fair of Nenagh.

The simple word Enagh is the name of about
twenty townlands in different counties, extending
from Antrim to Cork ; but in some cases, especi-
ally in Ulster, this word may represent eanach, a
marsh. The Irish name for Enagh, in the parish
of Clonlea, county Clare, is Aenagh-O'bhFloinn

206 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

[Enagh-O-VlinJ, the fair or fair-green of the
O'Flynns.

Ballinenagh is the name of a place near New-
castle in Limerick, and of another in Tipperary,
while the form Ballineanig is found in Kerry,
and Ballynenagh in Londonderry — all meaning
the town of the fair : Ardaneanig (arc?, a height),
is a place near Killarney ; and in Cork and Sligo
we find Lissaneena and Lissaneeny, the fort of
the fair. The plural of eanach is aentaigh ; and
this is well represented in pronunciation hy Eanty
(-beg and -more), in the parish of Kilcorney in
Clare.*

In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, we have
an interesting notice of one of the ancient tribe
assemblies. In the saint's progress through Con-
naught, he visited the assembly place of the tribe
of Amhalgaidh (Awley : brother of Dathi : see
p. 139), and preached to a very great multitude ;
and on that occasion he converted and baptised
the seven sons of Amhalgaidh, and 12,000 persons.
This place was called Forrach-mac-nAmhalgaidh
[Forragh-mac-nawley], i. e. the assembly place of
Amhalgaidh's clan ; the word Forrach, which
Tirechan latinises Forrgea, signifying the piece of
ground on which a tribe were accustomed to hold
their meetings. According to O'Donovan, this
name survives, and preserves the identity of this
interesting spot. About a mile and a half south-
west f rom Killala, there are two townlands, adjoin-
ing one another, one called Farragh, which is
ittle changed from the old form Forrach, as given
in the Tripartite Life ; and the other — which is
on a hill — called Mullafarry, i. e. Mullach For-

* See Mr. W. M. Hennessy's paper " On the Ourragh of
Kildare," for much valuable information on the subject of the
ancient aenachs

••HAP. vi. | Cttstoms, Amusements, Occupations. 207

raigh, the hill of the meeting-place. There is also
a hill in the same neighbourhood, called Knock-
atinnole, Cnoc-a'-tionoil, the hill of the assembly,
which commemorates gatherings of some kind;
but whether in connection with the meetings at
Farragh, or not, it is hard to say, for it lies about
five miles distant to the south-east, on the shore of
the Moy.

The word Forrach or Farrach was employed to
designate meeting-places in other parts of Ireland
also ; and we may be pretty sure that this was
the origin of such names as Farragh in the
parishes of Denn and Kilmore in Cavan ; Farra
in the parish of Drumcree, Armagh ; Farrow in
"Westmeath and Leitrim ; Fvry in Wexford ;
Furrow near Mitchelstown in Cork ; Gortnafurra
in the vale of Aherlow in Tipperary, the field of
the assembly-place ; Farraghroe in Longford, and
Forramoyle in Galway, the red, and the bald or
bare meeting-place.

Nds [nawce] is a word of similar acceptation to
aenach ; Connac's Glossary explains it a fair or
meeting-place. This term is not often used, but
there is one place celebrated in former ages, to
which it has given name, viz., Naas in Kildare.
It was the most ancient residence of the kings of
Leinster ; having been founded, according to bar-
dic history, by Lewy c I2 the long hand, who also
founded Tailltenn in Meath (see p. 202) ; it con
tinued to be used as a royal residence till the
tenth century ; and the great mound of the palace
still remains just outside the town. This word is
also found in a few other names, all in Leinster ;
euch as Nash in the parish of Owenduff, Wexford,
which is still a fair-green ; and Ballynaas in the
parish of Rathmacnee in the same county.

The word sluagh f sloo], usually translated host,

208 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

signifies any multitude, but in the Annals it is
commonly applied to an army ; it occurs in the
Zeuss MSS., where it glosses agmen, i. e. a host on
march.

This word forms a part of the names of several
places, where great numbers of people must have
been formerly m the habit of congregating, for
some purpose. One of the best known is Ballina-
sloe, on the Galway side of the river Suck. Its
Irish name as used by the Four Masters, is Bel-
atha-na-slttaigheadh [Bellanaslooa], the ford-mouth
of the hosts ; and it is very probable that these
gatherings, whatever may have been their original
purpose, are represented by the present great
horse fairs.

Very often the s is replaced by t, by eclipsis (see
page 23). Srahatloe, in the parish of Aghagower,
Mayo, is an instance, the Irish name being Srath-
a'-tsluaigh, the river-holm of the host. So also
Tullintloy in Leitrim ; Knockatloe in Clare, and
Knockatlowig near Castleventry in Cork, all
signifying the hill of the host.

Meetings or meeting-places are sometimes de-
signated by the word pobul, which signifies peo-
ple. This is not, as might be supposed from its
resemblance to the English word, of modern in-
troduction ; for it occurs in the most ancient Irish
MSS., as for instance in those of Zeuss, where it
glosses populus. It is often used to denote a con-
gregation, and from this it is sometimes employed
in the sense of " parish ; " but its primary sense
seems to be people simply, without any reference
to assemblies.

The barony of Pubblebrien in Limerick, is
called in Irish Pobul-ui-Bhriain [Pubble-ee-vreen],
O'Brien's people, for it was the patrimony of the
O'Briens ; and on the confines of Limerick, Cork,

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 209

and Kerry, is an extensive wild district, well
known by the name of Pobble O'Keeffe,
O'Keeffe's people.

There is a townland near Enniskillen, contain-
ing the remains of an old church, and another
near Ardstraw in Tyrone, both called Pubble, i.e.
a congregation or parish. The word occurs in
combination in Reanabobul in the parish of Bally-
tourney, Cork, Reidh-na-bpobuly the mountain-
flat of the congregations ; in Lispopple in Dublin
and Westmeath (Us, a fort) ; and in Skephubble,
near Finglas, Dublin, the skeagh or bush of the
congregation, where probably the young people
were formerly accustomed to assemble on a Sunday
after Mass, to amuse themselves round an ancient
whitethorn tree.

So far as conclusions may be drawn from the
evidence of local names, we must believe that the
pastime meetings of the peasantry were much
more common formerly than now. In every part
of the country, names are found that tell of those
long-forgotten joyous assemblies ; and it is in-
teresting to note the various contrivances adopted
in their formation.

The word bouchail [boohil], a boy, is of frequent
occurrence in such names ; for example, Knockan-
namohilly, in the parish of Youghalarra, Tipperary,
in Irish Cnocdn-na-mbouchaillidhe, the hill of the
boys, indicates the spot where young men used to
assemble for amusement ; and with the same sig-
nification is Knocknamohill in the parish of
Castlemacadam, Wicklow ; Knocknabohilly, the
name of a place near Cork city, and of another
near Kinsale ; and Knockanenabohilly, in the
parish of Kilcrumper, Cork — the two last names
being less correctly anglicised than the others.
We find names of similar import in the north ;
VOL. i. 15

210 Historical and Legendary Names. ^PART n.

Edenamohill is a townland in the parish of
Donaghmore, Donegal ; and there is another place
of the same name in the parish of Magheracul-
money in Fermanagh, both anglicised from Eudan-
na-mbouchail, the hill-brow of the boys ; and
Ardnamoghill (ard, a height) is the name of a
place in the parish of Killea, Donegal.

Sometimes the same idea is expressed by the
word 6g [oge], which literally signifies young, but
is often applied to a young person. Tullahogue,
or Tullyhog, near Stewartstown in Tyrone, where
the O'Hagans resided, and where they inaugurated
the chiefs of the O'Neills, is very often men-
tioned in the annals, always by the name of
Tulach-6g or TeaZach-6g, the hill of the youths ;
and the name indicates that the place was used for
the celebration of games, as well as for the inaugu-
ration of the chieftains. The fine old fort on
which the ceremonies took place in long past ages,
still remains on the top of the tulach or hill ; and
from time immemorial down to fifty or sixty years
ago, a yearly gathering of young people was held
on it, the4representative of the ancient assemblies.
In Tipperary we find Glennanoge and Ballaghoge,
the glen and the road of $ie youths. The synony-
mous term oglafih occurs in Coolnanoglagh, in the
parish of Monagay, Limerick, the hill-back of the
young persons; while in the parish of Grange,
Armagh, we find Ballygassoon, the town of the
gossoons (young boys), or in the Munster dialect,
gorsoons.

Other terms are employed to designate the
places of these meetings, which will be understood
from a few examples. There can be little doubt
that Ballysugagh near Saul in Down, has its name
from some such merry-makings; for its name,
Saile-sugach, merry-town, indicates as much.

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 211

Knoekaunavogga, in the parish of Bourney, Tip-
perary, shows a similar origin, as is seen by its
Irish name, Cnocan-a -mhagaidh, the hill of the
joking or pleasantry ; and this termination is
found in many ovuer names, such as Ardavagga
(ard, a height), in the parish of Kilmurry-Ely,
King's County ; and Cashlaunawogga, the castle
of the merriment, a ruined fortress near Kilfenora
in Clare. So also Knockannavlyman, in the
parish of Ballingarry, Limerick, Cnocan-a' -bhladh-
mainn, the hill of the boasting ; Ardingary near
Letterkenny, which the Four Masters call Ard-
an-ghaire, the hill of the shouting or laughter ;
Knocknaclogha near Pomeroy in Tyrone, the seat
of Mtcdonnel, the commander of O'Neill's gallo-
glasses, Cnoc-au-vhluiche (Four Masters), the hill
of t le game.

Not unfrequently the same idea is expressed by
ths word diomhaoin [deeveen], which signifies idle
or vain — a term imposed, we may be sure, by wise
old people, who looked upon these pastime meet-
ings as mere idleness and vanity. We see this in
such names as Drumdeevin, near Kilmacrenan in
Donegal, and Dromdeeveen, west of Dromcolliher
in Limerick, both signifying idle ridge ; Coom-
deeween in Kerry (coom, a hollow) ; Tievedeevan
in Donegal, idle hill- side (taebh).

By an examination of local names, we are en-
abled not only to point out the spots where the
peasant assemblies were held, but also often to get
a glimpse of the nature of the amusements. Dan-
cing has from time immemorial been a favourite
recreation with our peasantry; and numbers of
places have taken their names from the circum-
stance that the young people of the neighbour-
hood were accustomed to meet there in the summer
evenings, to forget in the dance the fatigues r\
~he day's labour.

212 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

The word for dance is rince or rinceadh [rinka] ;
and it is curious that, of all the Indo-European
languages, the Irish and Sanscrit have alone pre-
served the word, and that with little variation, the
Sansc. rinkha being almost identical with the
Irish.

Those who have visited the great cave near
Mitchelstown, county Cork, will remember the
name of the townland in which it is situated —
Skeheenarinky, or in Irish SceitMn-a' -rinceadh,
the little bush of the dancing ; the bush no doubt
marking the trysting-place, under which sat the
musician, surrounded by the merry juveniles. A
large stone (clock) must have served a similar
purpose in Clogharinka in the parish of Muckalee,
Kilkenny ; and we have Clasharinka, the trench
or hollow of the dance, near Castlemartyr in Cork.
A mill is generally a place of amusement ; and
that it was sometimes selected for dance meetings,
we see by Mullenaranky, the mill of the dance, in
the parish of Lisronagh in Tipperary. A merry
place must have been Ballinrink in the parish of
Killeagh, Meath, since it deserved the name of
dancing town ; and this was the original name of
Kingstown in the parish of Faughalstown in
Westmeath.

When deer roamed wild through every forest,
when wild boars and wolves lurked in the glens
and mountain gorges, and various other beasts of
chase swarmed on the hills and plains, hunting
must have been to the people both an amusement
and a necessary occupation. Our forefathers, like
most ancient people, were passionately fond of the
chase ; and our old tales and romances abound in
descriptions of its pleasures and dangers, and of
the prowess and adventures of the hunters. That
they sometimes had certain favourite spots for

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations.

this kind of sport, we have sufficient proof in such
names as Drumnashaloge in the parish of Clon-
feacle, Tyrone ; and Drumashellig near Ballyroan
in Queen's County ; in Irish, Druim-na-sealg,
the ridge of the chase. The word sealg [shallog] ,
hunting, occurs in many other names, and as it
varies little in form, it is always easy to recognise
it. Derrynashallog (Derry, an oak-wood) is in the
parish of Donagh in Monaghan ; and Bally na-
shallog, the town of the hunting, lies near the
city of Londonderry.

The very spot where the huntsman wound his
horn to collect his dogs and companions, is often
identified by such names as Tullynahearka, near
Aughrim in Roscommon, Tulaigh-na-hadhavrce, the
hill of the horn ; Killeenerk in Westmeath (Kil-
leen, a little wood), and Drumnaheark in Donegal
(Drum, a ridge) ; Knockerk, near Slane in Meath,
and Lisnahirka in Roscommon, the hill and the
fort of the horn.

Another favourite athletic exercise among the
ancient Irish, a ad which we find very often men-
tioned in old sales, was hurling ; and those who
remember the eagerness with which it was prac-
tised in many parts of Ireland twenty-five years
ago, can well attest that it had not declined in
popularity. Down to a very recent period it was
carried on with great spirit and vigour in the
Phoenix Park, Dublin, where the men of Meath
contended every year against the men of Kildare ;
and it still continues, though less generally than
formerly, to be a favourite pastime among the
people.

The hurley or curved stick with which the ball
was struck, corresponding with the bat in cricket,
is called in Irish comdn, signifying literally a
T.ttle crooked stick, from com or cam, curved. It

214 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

is by this word that the game itself is commonly
designated ; and it is called coman in most parts of
Ireland, even by the English-speaking people. It
forms a part of several names, but the initial c is
commonly made g by eclipse (see p. 22) ; and in
every case it serves to identify the places where
the game was played. Aughnagomaun, in the
parish of Ballysheehan, Tipperary, is written in
Irish Achadh-na-gcomdn, the huriing-field ; there
is a townland near Belfast called Ballygammon,
which, as it is written Ballygoman in a grant of
James I., obviously represents Baile-na-gcoman,
the town of the hurling ; and we have Gortgom-
mon in Fermanagh, and Lisnagommon in Queen's
County, the field and the fort, of the comans.

There is another word commonly used to denote
hurling — iomdn [ummaun], which literally means
driving or tossing. From this is named the town-
land of Reanahumana in the parish of Feakle in
the east of Clare, which name exactly repre-
sents the sound of the Gaelic Reidh-na-hiomdna,
the mountain-flat of the hurling (see Readoty).
From this word is also named Omaun (-more and
-beg), two townlands in the parish of Killererin in
Galway, south-east of Tuam, the name signifying
a place for hurling.

Look-out points, whether on the coast to com-
mand the sea, or on the borders of a hostile
territory to guard against surprise, or in the midst
of a pastoral country to watoh the flocks, are
usually designated by the word coimhead [covade].
This word signifies watching or guarding, and it
is generally applied to hills from which there is
an extensive prospect. Mullycovet and Mullykivet
in Fermanagh must have been used for this pur-
pose, for they are both modern forms of Mullaigh-
coimheada, the hill of the watching ; and Glencovet-

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 215

the name of a townland in Donegal, and of ano-
ther near Enniskiilen, and Drumcovet in Deny,
have a similar origin. Sometimes the m is fully
pronounced, and this is generally the case in the
south, and occasionally in the north ; as in Cloon-
tycommade near Kanturk in Cork, Gluain-tighe-
cotmheada, the meadow of the watching-house ;
and Slieve Commedagh, a high mountain near
Slieve Donard in Down, the mountain of the
watching.

The compound Deagh-choimhead [Deacovade]
signifies " a good reconnoitering station " (deagh,
good) ; and it gives name to Deehommed or De-
comet in Down, Deechomade in Sligo, Dehomad
in Clare, and a few other places.

In old Irish writings these reconnoitering sta-
tions are often mentioned. For instance, in the
ancient tale of the Battle of Moyrath, Con gal
Claen speaks to the druid, Dubdiad : — " ' Thou
art to go therefore from me, to view and recon-
noitre the men of Erin [i.e. the Irish army under
King Domhnall] ; and it shall be according to thy
account and description of the chiefs of the west,
that I will array my battalions, and arrange my
forces.' Then Dubdiad went to Ard-na-hiom-
fhairecse [Ard-na-himarksha, i.e., the hill of the
'.reconnoitering], and from it he took his view."
(Battle of Moyrath, p. 179).

Elevated stations that command an extensive
view often received names formed from the word
radharc [ryark in the south ; rayark or rawark in
the north]. The Mullaghareirk mountains lie to
the south-east of Abbeyfeale in Limerick, and the
name Mullach-a-radharc signifies the summit of
the prospect. The same word is found in Lisa-
rearke, in the parish of Currin, Monaghan (Lis, 8
fort) ; and 4n Knockanaryark, two miles east of

216 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Kenmare, prospect hill. There is a residence
near Dalkey in Dublin, with the name Rarkan-
illin, which represents the Irish Radharc-an-
oileain, the view of the island, i. e. Dalkey Island.

In an early stage of society in every country,
signal or beacon fires were in common use,
for the guidance of travellers or to alarm the
country in any sudden emergency. Fires were
lighted also on certain festival days, as I have
stated (p. 201) ; and those lighted on the eve of
St. John, the 24th of June, are continued to the
present day through the greater part of Ireland.
The tradition is, that the May -day festival was
transferred by St. Patrick to the 24th of June, in
honour of St. John, but for this we have no
written authority. The spots where signal or
festival fires used to be lighted are still, in many
cases, indicated by the names, though in almost
all these places the custom has, for ages, fallen
into disuse. The words employed are usually feme
and solas [tinne", sullas].

Teme is the general word for fire, and in modern
names it is usually found forming the termination
tinny. It is found in Kiltinny near Coleraino> the
wood of the fire ; Duntinny iu Donegal (dun, a
fort) ; Mullaghtinny near Clogher in Tyrone, the
summit of the fire. Tennyphobble near Granard
in Longford, Teine-phobail, the fire of the parish
or congregation, plainly indicates some festive
assembly round a fire. Cloghaunnatinny, in the
parish of Kilmurry Clare, was anciently, and is
still called in Irish, Clochdn-Uk-teine, the stepping-
stones of the fire-tree, from a large tree which
grew near the crossing, under which May fires
used to be lighted. These fires were no doubt
often lighted under trees, for the Four Masters
mention a place called Bile-teineadh [Bili« tinne],

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 217

the old tree of the fire ; which 0' Donovan identi-
fies with the place near Moynalty in Meath, now
called in Irish, Coill-a'-bhile, the wood of the bile,
or old tree, and in English Billywood. And in
the parish of Ardnurcher, Westmeath, there is a
place now called Creeve, but anciently Craebh-teine
[Creeve-tinng : Four Mast.] the branchy tree of
the fire.

The plural of teine is teinte [tintS], and this is
also of frequent occurrence in names, as in Clon-
tinty near Glanworth, Cork, the meadow of the
fires ; Mollynadinta, in the parish of Eossinver,
Leitrim; Mullaigh-na-dteinte, the summit of the
fires. This word, with the English plural added
(p. 32), gives names to Tents, (i.e. fires), three
townlands in Cavan, Fermanagh, and Leitrim ;
and the English is substituted for the Irish plural
in Tinnies in Valentia Island. The diminutive is
found in Clontineen in Westmeath, and in Tul-
lantintin in Cavan, the meadow and the hill of the
little fire.

Solas is the word in general use for light in the
present spoken language ; there is another form,
soillse, which is sometimes used in modern Irish,
and which is also found in the Zeuss MSS . where
it glosses lumen (Zeuss, gram. Celt., p. 257) ; and
its diminutive soillsean (sileshaun) is often found in
local names. Solas gives name to Ardsollus, the
hill of light, in Clare ; in Antrim there is a place
called Drumnasole, the ridge of the lights ; Sollus
itself is the name of a towrdand in Tyrone ; while
we find Bossolus in Monaghan, and Rostollus in
Galway (s eclipsed by t; see p. 23), the wood or
the promontory of light.

There are similar names formed from soillsean ;
as for instance, Mullaghselsana in the parish of
Errigal Trough, Monaghan, the hill of the illu-

218 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

minations ; and Corhelshinagh in the same county,
the round hill of the fires. Sileshaun, the name
of a place in the parish of Inagh, Clare, exactly
represents the pronunciation of the word ; and
this same name is shortened to Selshan on the
eastern shore of Lough Neagh, north of Lurgan.

In former days, when roads were few, and
bridges still fewer, a long journey was an under-
taking always arduous, and generally uncertain
and dangerous. Rivers were crossed by fords, and
to be able to strike exactly on the fordable point
was to the traveller always important ; while at
night, especially on a dark, wet, and stormy night,
it became not unfrequently a matter of life or
death. To keep a light of some kind burning on
the spot would suggest itself as the most natural
and effectual plan for directing travellers; and
except in a state of society downright barbarous,
it is scarcely conceivable that some such expedient
would not at least occasionally be adopted.

The particular kind of light employed, it would
now probably be vain to speculate ; a taper or
splinter of bogwood in a window pane, if a house
lay near, a lantern hung on the bough of a tree, a
blaze of dried furze or ferns kept up till the ex-
pected arrival — some or all of these we may sup-
pose would be adopted, according to circumstances.
That this custom existed appears very probable
from this fact, that many fords — now generally
spanned by bridges — in different parts of Ireland,
still go by the name of Ath-solais, the ford of the
light, variously modernised according to locality ;
and some of them have given names to townlands.
At the same time, it must be observed, that the
brightness of the water may have originated some
of the names quoted below ; for we find the word
solus sometimes applied to water in this sense.

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 219

Thus in a poem in the Book of Lecan, a certain
district is designated " Fir -tire na sreb solus,"
"Fir-tire of the bright streams" (Hy F. 24);
and near the lake of Coumshingane in the
Comeragh Mountains in Waterf ord, a stream flows
down a ravine, which, after a heavy shower, is a
hrilliant foaming torrent that can be seen several
miles off ; and this is called An t-uisge solais, the
water of light, or bright water.

A ford on the river Aubeg, three miles east of
Kanturk in Cork, has given name to the townland
of Assolas ; there is a ford of the same name,
where the road from Bunlahy in Longford, to
Scrabby, crosses a little creek of Lough Gowna ;
another on the Glenanair river near Doneraile, on
the confines of Limerick and Cork ; and Athsollis
bridge crosses the Buin^ea river, just beside the
railway, four miles south-east from Macroom.
Several small streams in different parts of the
country have names of this kind, from a ford some-
where on their course — one for instance, called
Aughsullish, in the parish of Doon, Tipperary.
The name of Lightford bridge, two miles south-
east from Castlebar, is a translation from the Irish
name which is still used, Ath-a'-solais; and Bally -
nasollus in Tyrone should have been made Bel-
lanasollus, for its Irish name is Bel-atha-na-solus,
the ford mouth of the lights. Ballysoilshaun
bridge spans the Nenagh river four miles south-
east from Nenagh ; its Irish name is Bel-atha-soill-
sedin, which was originally the name of the ford
before the bridge was built, and which has the
same meaning as the last name. There is a ford
on the river Swilly, two miles west of Letter-
kenny, which, judging from its position and its
being defended by a castle, a , well as from its
frequent mention in the Anna's must have been

220 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

in former days one of the principal passes across
the river ; and as such was no doubt often sig-
nalled by lights. The Four Masters write the
name Scairbh-sholais the scarijf, or shallow ford of
the light ; it is now called Scarriffhollis, and the
castle, which has disappeared, was called Castle -
hollis.

Places of execution have been at all times, and
in all countries, regarded by the people with feel-
ings of awe and detestation ; and even after the
discontinuance of the practice, the traditions of
the place preserve the memory of it from one
generation to another. A name indicative of the
custom is almost certain to fix itself on the spot,
of which we have instances in the usual English
names, Gallows-hill, Gallows- green, &c. ; and
such names, from the peculiarity of their history,
retain their hold, when many others of less im-
pressive signification vanish from the face of the
country.

Several terms are used in Ireland to denote such
places, the principal of which are the following : —
crock signifies literally a cross, but is almost
always understood to mean a cross as an instru-
ment of execution, or a gallows. It is of long
standing in the language, and is either cognate
with or borrowed from the Latin crux, which it
glosses in the Zeuss MSS. We find it in Knock -
nacrohy, the name of three townlands in Limerick,
Kerry, and Waterford, in Irish Cnoc-na-croiche,
the hill of the gallows ; and in Ardnacrohy in
Limerick, with the same meaning. The instru-
ment of death must have been erected in an
ancient fort, in Ranacrohy in Tipperary. The
word often takes the forms of crehy and creha in
modern names, as in Cappanacreha (Cappa, a
plot of ground), in Galway ; and Raheenacrehy

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 221

near Trim in Meath, the little fort of the
gallows.

Crochaire [crohera] signifies a hangman ; and
it is in still more frequent use in the formation of
names than crock, usually in the forms croghery
and croghera. Knockcroghery, the hangman's
hill, is a village in Roscommon, where there is a
station on the Midland Railway ; and there are
places of the same name in Cork and Mayo.
Mullaghcroghery, with a similar meaning, occurs
three times in Monaghan ; and in Cork, Glena-
croghery and Ardnagroghery, Ard-na-gcrochaire
(p. 22), the hill of the hangmen.

Sealan [shallan] signifies the rope used by an
executioner ; and it is sometimes used to desig-
nate the place where people were hanged. It
gives name to Shallon, a townland near Finglas
in Dublin ; there is another place of the same
name near Swords, and a third near Julianstown
in Meath. Shallany in the parish of Derry vullen,
Fermanagh, is the same name slightly altered ;
and Drumshallon in Louth and Armagh, signifies
the ridge of the gallows.

There is another mode of designating places of
execution, from which it appears that criminals
were often put to death by decapitation : an in-
ference which is corroborated by various passages
in Irish authorities. Names of this kind are
formed on the Irish forms eeann, a head, which is
placed in the end of words in the genitive plural,
generally taking the forms nagin, nagan, &c.

There is a place called Knocknaggin near Bal-
rothery in Dublin, where quantities of human re-
mains were found some years ago, and this is also
the name of a townland in the parish of Desert-
martin, Derry : Irish form Cnoc-na-gceann, the
hill of the heads. The termination is modified in

222 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

accordance with the Minister pronunciation in
Knocknagown in Cork, and in Knockaunnagown
in Waterford, both having the same meaning.
Loughnagin occurs in Donegal, and Gortinagin,
the little field of the heads, in the parish of Cap-
pagh in Tyrone.

In a state of society when war was regarded as
the most noble of all professions, and before the
invention of gunpowder, those who manufactured
swords and spears were naturally looked upon as
very important personages. In Ireland they were
held in great estimation ; and in the historical
and legendary tales, we find the smith was often
a powerful chieftain, who made arms for himself
and his relations. We know that Vulcan was one
of the most powerful of the Grecian gods, and
the ancient Irish had their Goban, the JDedannan
smith- god, who figures in many of the ancient
romances.

The land possessed by smiths, or the places
where they resided, may in many cases be deter-
mined by the local names. Gobha [gow] is a
smith, old Irish form go ba ; old Welsh gob, now
gof; Cornish and Breton gdf. The usual genitive
form is gobhan [gown], but it is often the same as
the nominative ; and both forms are reproduced
in names, the former being commonly made gowan
or gown, and the latter gow. Both terminations
are very common, and may be generally trans-
lated "of the smith," or if it be nagowan, "of
the smiths."

Ballygowan, Ballygow, and Ballingowan, the
town of the smith, are the names of numerous
places through the four provinces ; and there are
several townlands in Ulster and Munster called
Ballynagowan, the town of the smiths. Occa-
sionally the Irish genitive plural is made goibhne,

CHAP, vi.] Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 223

which in the west of Ireland is anglicised guivnia
givna, &c. ; as in Carrownaguivna and Ardgivna,
Sligo,the quarter-land, and the height, of the smiths.

Sometimes the genitive singular is made goe or
go in English ; as we find in Athgoe near New-
castle in Dublin, the smith's ford; Kinego in
Tyrone and Donegal, the smith's head or hill
(ceann) ; Ednego near Dromore in Down, the hill-
brow (eudan) of the smith. It takes a different
form in Clongowes in Kildare, the smith's meadow,
where there is now a Roman Catholic college —
the same name as Cloongown in Cork.

Ceard signifies an artificer of any kind; it
occurs in the Zeuss MSS. in the form of cerd or
cert, and glosses aerarius. In Scotland it has held
its place as a living word, even among speakers of
English, but it is applied to a tinker : —

"Her charms had struck a sturdy caird,
As weel as poor gut scraper." BURNS.

Aerarius, which according to the glossographer
of a thousand years ago, is equivalent to cerd,
signifies literally a worker in brass ; and curiously
enough, this corresponds exactly with the de-
cription the caird gives of himself in Burns'
poem : —

"Mybonnie lass,
I work in brass,
A tinker is my station."

This word usually enters into names with the c
eclipsed ^p. 22), forming the termination nn garde
or nagard, "of the artificers." Thus there are
several places in Antrim, Derry, Limerick, and
Clare, called Ballynagarde, in Irish Baik-na-
gceard, the town of the artificers : the same name is
corrupted to Ballynacaird in the parish of Racavan
in Antrim, and to Ballynacard in King's County,

224 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Castlegarde and Gortnagarde in Limerick, the
castle, and the field, of the artificers.

Cearda or ceardcha denotes a workshop of any
kind, but it is now generally applied to a forge :
old Irish cerddchae, officina (Zeuss). It enters
very often into names as a termination, under
several forms, indicating the spots where forges
formerly stood. It is very often contracted to cart,
as in Coolnacart in Monahan, which would be
correctly written in Irish Cul-na- ceardcha, the hill-
back of the forge. A final n is often added, in
accordance with the fifth declension ; as in Cool-
nacartan in Queen's County, the same name as the
last ; Ballycarton in Derry ; Mullaghcarton in
Antrim (mullach, a summit) ; Shronacarton and
Rathnacarton in Cork, the nose or point, and the
fort, of the forge. Other forms are exhibited in
Farranacardy in Sligo, forge land ; and Tullyna-
gardy near Newtownards in Down, Tulaigh-na-
gceardcha, the hill of the forges.

Saer, a builder or carpenter, appears in modern
names generally in the form seer ; as in Rathna-
seer in Limerick, the fort of the carpenters ;
Derrynaseer (Derry, an oak wood) the name of
several townlands in Leitrim and the Ulster coun-
ties ; Farranseer in Cavan and Londonderry, car-
penter's land. Sometimes the s becomes t by
eclipsis (page 23) ; as in Ballinteer, the name of
a place near Dundrum in Dublin, and of another
place in Londonderry, in Irish Baik-an- tsaeir, the
town of the carpenter or builder.

The ancient Celtic nations navigated their seas
and lakes in the curragh or hide-covered wicker
boat ; and it is very probable that it was in fleets
of these the Irish made their frequent descents on
the coasts of Britain and Gaul. Canoes hollowed
out of a single tree were also in extensive use in

CHAP. vi. J Customs, Amusements, Occupations. 225

Ireland, especially on the rivers and lakes, and
they are now frequently found buried in lakes and
dried-up lake beds.

Cobhlach [cowlagh] means a fleet ; but the term
was applied to a collection of boats, such as were
fitted out for lake or river navigation ; as well as
to a fleet of ships. In Munster the word is
pronounced as if written cobhaltach [coltagh], and
it is preserved according to this pronunciation in
the names of several places, the best known of
which is Carrigaholt, a village in Clare, at the
mouth of the Shannon. The Four Masters write
it Carraig-an-chobhlaigh [Carrigahowly], the rock
of the fleet ; and the rock from which it took its
name rises over the bay where the fleets anchored,
and is crowned by the ruins of a castle. The
present Irish pronunciation is Carraig-d-chobhal-
taigh [Carrigaholty], which by the omission of the
final syllable, settled into the modern name.
Another place of the same name, also well known,
and which preserves the correct Irish pronuncia-
tion, is Carrigahowly on Newport bay in Mayo,
the castle of the celebrated Grace O'Malley, the
Connaught chief tainess, who paid a visit to Queen
Elizabeth. The word, with its Munster pronuncia-
tion, appears in Bingacoltig in Cork harbour,
opposite Hawlbowline island, the rinn or point of
the fleet.

Most of the various terms employed to designate
ships and boats also find their way into local
names. According to the Book of Lecan and
other authorities, Ceasair and her people (see p.
161) landed at a place called Dun-na-mbarc, the
fortress of the barks or ships, which O'Donovan
(Four Mast., vol. i., p. 3) believes is the place now
called Dunnamark, near Bantry. And this word
bare is not, as might be thought, a loan-word from

VOL. I. 16

226 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

English, for it is used in our oldest MSS. (as in L.
na hUidhre : see Kilk. Arch. Jour. 1870, p. 100).
Long signifies a ship. According to Cormac's
Glossary, it is derived from the Saxon word lang,
long ; it appears more likely, however, that both
the Saxon and Irish words are cognate with the
Lat. longus, for we find the Irish word in the
Zeuss MSS. ( forlongis = navigatione) . It occurs oc-
casionally in local names, as in Tralong near Ross-
Carbery in Cork, the strand of the ships ; Dun-
nalong on the Foyle, five miles south of Derry,
the name of which is Irish as it stands, and sig-
nifies the fortress of the ships ; Annalong on the
coast of the county Down, Ath-na-long, the ford
of the ships, a name which shows that the little
creek at the village was taken advantage of to
shelter vessels, in ancient as well as in modern
times.

Many places take their names from bad, a boat ;
several of which spots, we may be pretty certain,
were ferries, in which a boat was always kept,
little or nothing different from the ferries of the
present day. Such a place was Rinawade on the
Liffey, near Celbridge, above Dublin — Rinn-d>-
bhdid, the point of the boat ; and Donabate near
Malahide, the church (domhnach) of the boat.

" The Irish made use of another kind of boat in
their rivers and lakes, formed out of an oak
wrought hollow (i. e. one oak), which is yet used
in some places, and called in Irish coiti, English
cott " (Harris's Ware, p. 179). The correct Irish
word is cot, of which coiti or coite is the genitive,
and it is still in constant use for a small boat or
canoe. From it is derived the name of Annacotty,
now a small village on the river Mulkear, east of
Limerick, called in Irish Ath-na-coite, the ford of
the cot or small boat ; as well as that of

CHAP. vii. J Agriculture and Pasturage. 227

cotty in Clare, the cliff of the boat : the name of
Carrickacottia on the shore of the river Erne, a
mile below Belleek, indicates that the cot for the
conveyance of passengers across, used to be moored
to the carrick or rock. A diminutive form appears
in the name of a well-known lake near Killarney,
Lough Guitane, which the people pronounce Loch-
coitedin, the lake of the little cot — a name exactly
the same as Loughacutteen in the parish of White-
church near Caher in Tipperary, only that a
different diminutive is used

CHAPTER VII,

AGRICULTURE AND PASTURAGE.

THE inhabitants of this country were, from the
earliest antiquity, engaged in agriculture and
pasturage. In our oldest records we find constant
mention of these two occupations ; and the clearing
of plains is recorded as an event worthy of special
notice, in the reigns of many of the early kings.

It has been remarked by several writers, and it
is still a matter of common observation, that many
places, especially hill-sides, now waste and wild,
show plain traces of former cultivation. Boate
(Nat. Hist. Chap. X., Sec. iii.), writes : — "It hath
been observed in many parts of Ireland, chiefly in
the county of Meath, and further northward, that
upon the top of great hills and mountains, not
only at the side and foot of them, to this day the
ground is uneven, as if it had been plowed in
former times. The inhabitants do affirm, that
fheir forefathers being much given to tillage, con-

228 historical and Legendary Names. ['PART u.

trary to what they are now, used to turn all to
plowland." The Archbishop of Dublin, in a letter
inserted in the same book says : — " For certain,
Ireland has been better inhabited than it is at
present : mountains that now are covered with
boggs, have formerly been plowed ; for when you
dig five or six feet deep, you discover a proper
soil for vegetables, and find it plowed into ridges
and furrows." And Smith (Hist, of Cork, I.,
198), speaking of the mountains round the source
of the river Lee, tells us : — " Many of the moun-
tains have formerly been tilled, for when the heath
that covers them is pulled up and burned, the
ridges and furrows of the plough are visible."

These facts tend to confirm the opening state-
ment of this ch pter, that the Irish have from all
time lived partly by tillage. Many have come to
the same conclusion as the Archbishop of Dublin,
that " Ireland has been better inhabited than it is
at present" (about 1645). But I think Boate
gives the true solution in the continuation of the
passage quoted above : — " Others say that it was
done for want of arable, because the champain was
most everywhere beset and overspread with woods,
which by degrees are destroyed by the wars."

There are several terms entering into local
names, which either indicate directly, or imply,
agricultural operations, the enclosure of the land
by fences, or its employment as pasture ; and to
the illustration of those that occur most frequently
I will devote the present chapter.

Ceapach [cappagh] signifies a plot of land laid
out for tillage; it is still a living word in Con-
naught, and is in common use in the formation of
names, but it does not occur in Ulster so frequently
as in the other provinces. Cappagh and Cappa
are the most usual anglicised forms ; and these

CHAP, vii.] Agriculture and Pasturage. 229

either alone or in combination, give names to nu-
merous places. It has been often asserted, and
seems generally believed, that Cappoquin (county
Waterford) means " The head of the house of
Conn ; " but this is a mere guess : the name is a
plain Irish compound, Ceapach-Chuinn, signifying
merely Conn's plot of land, but no one can tefl
who this Conn was.

Cappagh white in Tipperary, is called after the
family of White ; Cappaghcreen near Dunboyne,
in Meath, withered plot ; Cappanageeragh near
Geashill in King's County, the plot of the sheep
Cappateemore in Clare, near Limerick city, is in
Irish Ceapach-a'-tighe-nihoir, the plot of the great
house ; Cappanalarabaun in Galway, the plot of
the white mare ; Cappaghmore and Cappamore,
great tillage plot. The word is sometimes made
Cappy, which is the name of a townland in Fer-
managh ; Cappydonnell in King's County, Don-
nell's plot ; and the diminutive Cappog or Cappoge
(little plot), is the name of several places in Ulster,
Leinster, and Munster.

Garrdha [gara], a garden; usually made garry
or garra in modern names. About half a mile
from Banagher in King's County, are situated the
ruins of Garry Castle, once the residence of the
Mac Coghlans, the chiefs of the surrounding terri-
tory. This castle is called in the Annals, Garrdha-
an-chaislein [Garran-cashlane], i. e. the garden of
the castle ; and from this the modern name Garry-
castle has been formed, and has been extended to
the barony. The literal meaning of the old
designation is exactly preserved in the name of
the modern residence, Castle Garden, situated
near the ruins.

Garry, i. e. the garden, is the name of a place
near Ballymouey in Antrim ; and the parish of

230 Historical and Legendary Names. 'LPART J r<

Myross, west of Glandore in Cork, is called the
Garry, from its fertility compared with the sur-
rounding district. The well-known Garryowen,
near Limerick, signifies Owen's garden ; Garry-
sallagh in Cavan and other counties, dirty garden,
and sometimes, willow garden; Garryvicleheen
near Thurles in Tipperary, Mac Leheen s garden :
Ballingarry, the town of the garden, is the name
of a town on the borders of Limerick and Tip-
perary, and of fourteen townlands. The word
Garry begins the names of about ninety town-
lands scattered over the four provinces.

Gort, a tilled field : in the Zeuss MSS. it occurs
in the form gart, and glosses hortus, and Colgan
translates it prcedium. It is obviously cognate
with Fr. jardin, Sax. geard, Eng. garden, Lat.
hortus. It is a very prolific root- word, for there
are more than 1,200 townlands whose names are
f orrned by, or begin with Gort and Gurt, its usual
modern forms. Gortnaglogh, or as it would be
written in Irish, Gort-na-gcloch, the field of the
stones, is the name of a dozen townlands, some of
them in each of the four provinces; Gortmillish
in Antrim, sweetfield, so called probably from
the abundance of honeysuckle ; Gortaganniff near
Adart in Limerick, the field of the sand. The
town of Gort in Galway, is called by the Four
Masters Gort-innsi-Guaire, and this is also its
present Irish name ; it signifies the field of the
island of Guara, and it is believed that it took its
name from Guaire Aidhne, king of Connaught in
the seventh century (see p. 104).

Gr rteen, Gortin, and Gurteen (little field), three
different forms of the diminutive, are exceedingly
common, and are themselves the names of about
100 townlands and villages. The ancient form
gart is preserved in the diminutive Gartan, the

CHAP, vii.] Agriculture and Pasturage. 231

name of a parish in Donegal, well-known as the
birthplace of St. Columba ; which is written
Gortan in some ancient Irish authorities, and
Gar tan in others.

Tamhnach [tawnagh] signifies a green field
which produces fresh sweet grass. This word
enters very generally into names in Ulster and
Connaught, especially in the mountainous dis-
tricts : it is found occasionally, though seldom, in
Leinster, and still more seldom in Munster. In
modern names it usually appears as Tawnagh,
Tawny, and Tonagh, which are themselves the
names of several places ; in the north of Ulster
the aspirated m is often restored (see p. 43), and
the word then becomes Tamnagh and Tamny. In
composition it takes all the preceding forms, as
well as Tawna and Tamna.

Saintfield in Down is a good example of the use
of this word. Its old name, which was used to a
comparatively late period, and which is still well
known, was Tonaghneeve, the phonetic represen-
tative of Tamhnach-naemh, the field of saints
There is a townland near the town which still
retains the name of Tonaghmore, great field ;
originally so called to distinguish it from Tonagh-
neeve.

The forms Tawnagh and Tawna are found in
Tawnaghlahan near Donegal, broad field ; Taw-
naghaknaff in the parish of Bohola, Mayo, the
fields of the bones (cnamh, a bone), which pro-
bably points out the site of a battle ; Tawnakeel
near Crossmolina, narrow field. Tawny appears
in Tawnyeely near Mohill in Leitrim, the field of
the lime (Tamhnach-aelaigh) ; and Tawny brack in
Antrim speckled field. Tamnagh and its modifi-
cations gives names to Tamnaghbane in Armagh,
white field : Tt. iinaficarbo*- and Tamnafiglassan,

232 Historical and Legendary Names [ PART n.

both in Armagh — the first Tamhnach-feadha-car-
bait, the field of the wood of the chariot, and the
second the field of Glassan's wood ; Tamnymartin
near Maghera in Deny, Martin's field.

Rathdowney, the name of a village and parish
in Queen's County, signifies as it stands, the fort
of the church (domhnach) ; hut the correct name
would be Rathtoumey, representing the Irish Rath-
tamhnaigh, as the Four Masters write it — the fort
of the green field. This was the old pagan name,
which the people corrupted (by merely changing
t to d) under the idea that domhnach was the proper
word, and that the name was derived from the
church, which was built on the original rath.

There is a form Tavnagh, used in some of the
Ulster counties, especially in Antrim and Mona-
ghan; such as Tavnaghdrissagh in Antrim, the
field of the briers ; Tavanaskea in Monaghan, the
field of the bushes. In composition the t- is some-
times aspirated, as in Corhawnagh and Corhawny-
the rough field, or the round hill of the field, the
names of several places in Cavan and the Con-
naught counties.

Achadh [aha], a field ; translated campulus by
Adamnan. It is generally represented in modern
names by agha, agh, or augh ; but in individual
cases the investigator must be careful, for these
three words often stand for ath, a ford.

The parish of Agha in Carlow takes its name
from a very old church ruin, once an important
religious foundation, which the Four Masters call
Achadh-arghlais, the field of the green tillage.
Aghinver on Lough Erne in Fermanagh, is called
in the Annals Achadh-inbhir, the field of the invert
or river mouth. Aghmacart in Queen's County,
is in Irish Achadh-mic-Airt, the field of Art'a
son; Aghindarragh in Tyrone, the field of the

CHAP. vii. J Agriculture and Pasturage. 233

oak; Aghawoney near Kilmacrenan in Donegal,
written by the Four Masters Achadh-mhona, bog-
field. Achonry in Sligo is called in the Annals,
Achadh-Chonaire [Ahaconnary], Conary's field.
Ardagh is the name of numerous villages, town-
lands, and parishes through the four provinces ;
several of these are often mentioned in the Annals
the Irish form being always Ard-achadh, high field
In a few cases the modern form is Ardaghy.

Cluain [cloon] is often translated pratum by
Latin writers, and for want of a better term it is
usually rendered in English by " lawn" or
"meadow/' Its exact meaning, however, is a
fertile piece of land, or a green arable spot, sur-
rounded or nearly surrounded by bog or marsh on
one side, and water on the other.

The word forms a part of a vast number of
names in all parts of Ireland ; many of the religi-
ous establishments derived their names from it ;
and this has led some writers into the erroneous
belief that the word originally meant a place of
religious retirement. But it is certain that in its
primitive signification it had no reference to reli
gion ; and its frequent occurrence in our ecclesi-
astical names is sufficiently explained by the well-
known custom of the early Irish saints, to select
lonely and retired places for their own habitations,
as well as for their religious establishments.

The names of many of the religious cloons are
in fact of pagan origin, and existed before the
ecclesiastical foundations, having been adopted
without change by the founders: — among these
may be reckoned the following. Clones (pro-
nounced in two syllables) in Monaghan, where a
round tower remains to attest its former religious
celebrity ; its name is written in the Annals
Cluain-Eois [Cloonoce], Eos's meadow; and it is

234 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

not improbable that Eos was the pagan chief who
raised the great fort, the existence of which proves
it to have been a place of importance before the
Christian settlement.

Clonard in Meath, where the celebrated St.
Finian had his great school in the sixth century,
is called in all the Irish authorities, Cluain-Eraird,
from which the present name has been contracted.
Many have translated this " The retirement on
the western height ;" but this is a mere guess, and
at any rate could not be right, for the site of the
establishment is a dead flat on the left bank of the
Boyne. According to Colgan, Erard was a man's
name signifying " noble, exalted, or distinguished,
and it was formerly not unfrequent among the
Irish" (A. SS., p. 28). He then states that this
place was so called from some man named Erard,
so that Cluain-Eraird or Clonard signifies Erard's
meadow ; and since, as in case of Clones, a moat
still remains there, Erard may have been the
pagan chief who erected it, ages before the time
of St. Finian. It is worthy of remark that Erard
is occasionally met with as a personal name even
at the present time. There are several other
places in Leinster and Munster called Clonard
and Cloonard, but in these the Irish form of the
name is probably Cluain-ard, high meadow.

We find the names of some of the religious
establishments formed by suffixing the name of a
saint or some other Christian term to the word
cluain ; and, in these cases, this cluain may be a
remnant of the previous pagan name, which was
partly changed after the ecclesiastical foundation.
Clonallan, now a parish near Newry in Down, is
mentioned by Keating, Colgan, and others, who
call it Cluain- Dallain, Dalian's meadow ; the d is
omitted by aspiration (see p. 20) in the modern

CHAP, vii.] Agriculture and Pasturage. 235

name, but in the Taxation of 1306 it is retained,
the place being called Clondalan. It received its
name from Dalian Forgall, who flourished about
the year 580 ; he was a celebrated poet, and com-
posed a panegyric in verse on St. Columba, called
Amhra-Choluimcille, of which we possess copies in
a very old dialect of the Irish. From him also
the church of Kildallan in Cavan, and some other
churches derived their names (see Reeves, Eccl.
Ant., p. 114).

Except in a very few cases, cluain is represented
in the present names by either clon or cloon ; and
there are about 1,800 places in Ireland whose
names begin with one or the other of these syl-
lables. Clon is found in the following names : —
Clonmellon in Westmeath is written by the Four
Masters, Cluain-Mildin, Milan's Meadow. Clonmel
in Tipperary, they write Cluain-meala (meadow of
honey), which is the Irish name used at present :
this name, which it bore long before the founda-
tion of the town, originated, no doubt, from the
abundance of wild bees' nests. There is also a
Clonmel near Glasnevin, Dublin, and another in
King's County. Clonmult, the meadow of the
wethers, is the name of a village and parish in
Cork, and of a townland in Cavan.

With eloon are formed Cloontuskert in Roscom-
mon, which is written in the Annals Cluain-
tuaiscert, the northern meadow ; Cloonlogher, the
name of a parish in Leitrim, Cluain-luachra, the
meadow of rushes ; Cloonkeen, a very common
townland name, Cluain-caoin, beautiful meadow,
which is also very often anglicised Clonkeen.
Clonkeen in Gal way is written Cluain-cain-Cairill
in " Hy Many," from Cairell, a primitive Irish
saint : and it is still very usually called Clonkeen-
Kerrill. Sometimes the word is in composition

236 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART. 11.

pronounced din, as we see in Bracklin, the same
as Brackloon, both townland names of frequent
occurrence, derived from Breac-chluain (Four
Mast.), speckled meadow ; and of similar forma-
tion are Mucklin, Mucklone, and Muckloon, pig
meadow.

Two forms of the diminutive are in use : one
Cluainin [Clooneen], occurs in the Four Masters,
and in the form Clooneen (little meadow), it gives
name to a great many townlands, chiefly in the
west of Ireland. The other diminutive, Cluaintin,
in the anglicised form Cloonteen, is the name of
several places in Connaught and Munster. The
plural of cluain is cluainte [cloonty], and this also
enters into names. It is sometimes made cloonta,
as in Cloontabonniv in Clare, the meadows of the
bonnives or young pigs ; Cloontakillew and Cloon-
takilla in Mayo, the meadows of the wood. But
it is much oftener made Cloonty, or with the
double plural Cloonties ; which are themselves the
names of several places. Occasionally it is made
clinty in Ulster, as in Clinty in the parish of
Kirkinriola in Antrim ; Clintycracken in Tyrone,
Cluainte-croiceann, the meadows of the skins, so
called probably from being used as a place for
tanning.

Tuar [toor] signifies a bleach -green ; in an ex-
tended sense it is applied to any place where
things were spread out to dry, and very often to
fields along small streams, the articles being
washed in the stream, and dried on its banks ;
nnd it was sometimes applied to spots where cattle
used to feed and sleep. The word is used in
Munster, Connaught, and Leinster, but does not
occur at all in the Ulster counties.

Toor is the almost universal anglicised form
and this and Tooreen or Tourin (little bleach-

CHAP, vii.] Agriculture and Pasturage. 237

green) are the names of more than sixty town-
lands in the three provinces : as a part of com-
pounds, it helps to give names to a still larger
number. Toornageeha in Waterford and Kerry,
signifies the bleach-green of the wind ; Toorfune
in Tipperary, fair or white- coloured bleach- green ;
Tooreennablauha in Kerry, the little bleach-green
of the flowers (bldth) ; Tooreennagrena in Cork,
sunny little bleach-green.

It occasionally exhibits other forms in the
Leinster counties. The Irish name of Ballitore,
a village in Kildare, is Bel-atha-a'-tuair [Bella-
toor], the ford-mouth of the bleach-green, and it
took this name from a ford on the river Greece ;
Monatore (moin a bog) occurs in Wicklow and
Kildare ; Tintore in Queen's County is in Irish
Tigh-an-tuair [Teentoor], the house of the bleach-
green ; and the same name without the article
becomes Tithewer, near Newtownmountkennedy
in Wicklow.

The peasantry in most parts of Ireland use a
kind of double axe for grubbing or rooting up
the surface of coarse land ; it is called a grafdn
[graffaun], from the verb graf, to write, engrave,
or scrape, cognate with Greek grapho. Lands
that have been grubbed or grafted with this instru-
ment have in many cases received and preserved
names, formed on the verb graf, that indicates
the operation. This is the origin of those names
that begin with the syllable graf; such as Graff a,
Graffan, Graffee, Graffoge, Grafnn, and Graffy,
which are found in the four provinces, and all of
which signify grubbed land.

Ploughing by the horsetail, and burning corn in
the ear, were practised in Ireland down to a com-
paratively recent period ; Arthur Young witnessed
both in operation less than a hundred years ago :

238 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

but at that time they had nearly disappeared,
partly on account of acts of Parliament framed
expressly to prevent them, and partly through
the increasing intelligence of the people. Loisgredn
[lusgraun] is the term applied to corn burnt in
the ear ; and the particular spots where the pro-
cess was carried on are in many cases indicated by
names formed on this word.

The modern forms do not in general depart
much from what would be indicated by the origi-
nal pronunciation ; it is well represented in
Knockaluskraun and Knockloskeraun in Clare,
each the name of a hill (knock) where corn used
to be burned. The simple term gives name to
Loskeran near Ardrnore in Waterford.

Sometimes the word is pronounced lustraun;
and this form is seen in Caherlustraun near Tuam
in Galway, where the corn used to be burned in
an ancient caher or stone fort ; in Lugalustran in
Leitrim, and Stralustrin in Fermanagh, the hol-
low, and the river holm of the burnt corn.

Land burnt in any way, whether by accident or
design for agricultural purposes — as, for instance,
when heath was burnt to encourage the growth of
grass, as noticed by Boate (Nat. Hist. XIII., 4) —
was designated by the word loisgthe [luske],
burnt ; which in modern names is usually changed
to lusky, losky, or lusk. Ballylusky and Ballylusk,
i. e. Baileloisgthe, burnt town, are the names of
several townlands, the former being found in the
Munster counties, and the latter in Leinster ;
while it is made Ballylosky in Donegal : Molosky
in Clare, signifies burnt plain: — Mo = magh, a
plain.

Sometimes the word teotdn [totaun], a burning,
is employed to express the game thing, as in
Knockatotaun in Mayo and Sligo, Cnoc-a'-teotain,

CHAP, viz.] Agriculture and Pasturage. 239

the hill of the burning : Parkatotaun in Limerick,
the field of the burning.

It was formerly customary with those who kept
cattle to spend a great part of the summer
wandering about with their herds among the
mountain pastures, removing from place to place,
as the grass became exhausted. During the
winter they lived in their lowland villages, and as
soon as they had tilled a spot of land in spring,
they removed with their herds to the mountains
till autumn, when they returned to gather the
crops. (See 2nd Yol. Chap. xxvi.).

The mountain habitations where they lived, fed
their cattle, and carried on their dairy operations
during the summer, were called in Irish buaile
[boolyl, a word evidently derived from So, a cow.
This custom existed down to the sixteenth century ;
and the poet Spenser describes it very correctly,
as he witnessed it in his day : — " There is one use
amongst them, to keepe their cattle, and to live
themselves the most part of the yeare in boolies,
pasturing upon the mountaine, and waste wilde
places ; and removing still to fresh land, as they
have depastured the former " (View of the State
of Ireland; Dublin edition, 1809, p. 82).
O'Flaherty also notices the same custom : — " In
summer time they drive their cattle to the
mountaines, where such as looke to the cattle live
in small cabbins for that season " (lar-Connaught,
c. 17). The term booley was not confined to the
mountainous districts ; for in some parts of Ireland
it was applied to any place where cattle were fed
or milked, or which was set apart for dairy
purposes.

Great numbers of places retain the names of
these dairy places, and the word buaile is gene-
rally represented in modern names by the forms

240 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Booley, Boley, Boola, and Boula, which are
themselves the names of many places, and form the
beginning of a still larger number. In Boleylug
near Baltinglass in Wicklow, they must have
built their " cabbins " for shelter in the lug or
mountain hollow ; Booladurragha in Cork, and
Booldurragh in Carlow, dark booley (Buaile-
dorcha], probably from being shaded with trees ;
Booleyglass, a village in Kilkenny, green booley.

The word is combined in various other ways,
and it assinnes other forms, partly by corruption
and partly by grammatical inflexion. Farranboley
near Dundrum in Dublin, is booley land ; Augh-
volyshane in the parish of Glenkeen, Tipperary,
is in Irish Ath-bhuaile- Sheain, the ford of John's
booley. Ballyboley, the name of some townlands
in Antrim and Down, Ballyvooly in the parish of
Layd, Antrim, and Ballyvool near Inistioge, Kil-
kenny, are all different forms of Baile-buaile, the
town of the dairy place ; Ballynaboley, Ballyna-
boola, and Ballynabooley, have the same meaning,
the article na being inserted ; and Boulabally
near Adare in Limerick, is the same name with
the terms reversed. On Ballyboley hill near the
source of the Larne water in Antrim, there are
still numerous remains of the old " cabbins," ex-
tending for two miles along the face of the hill ;
they are called Boley houses, and the people retain
the tradition that they were formerly used by the
inhabitants of the valley when they drove up their
cattle in summer to pasture on the heights (see
Reeves, Eccl. Ant., p. 268).

The diminutive buailtin [boolteen], and the
plural buailte [boolty], occur occasionally : Bool-
teens and Boolteeny (see p. 32, vi.), in Kerry and
Tipperary, both signify little dairy places ; Boulty-
patrick in Donegal, Patrick's booleYS-

CHAP, vm.] Subdivisions and Measures of Land. 241

CHAPTER VIII.

SUBDIVISIONS AND MEASURES OF LAND.

AMONG a people who followed the double occupa-
tion of tillage and pasturage, according as the
country became populated, it would be divided
and subdivided, and parcelled out among the peo-
ple ; boundaries would be determined, and
standards of measurement adopted. The follow-
ing was the old partition of the country, accord-
ing to Irish authorities: — There were five pro-
vinces : Leinster, Ulster, Connaught, Munster,
and Meath, each of which was divided into trlcha-
cdds (thirty hundreds) or trichas, Meath contain-
ing 18, Connaught 30, Ulster 36, Leinster 31,
and Munster 70 ; each tricha contained 30 baile-
biataighs (victualler's town), and each Baile-bia-
tach, 12 seisreachs. The division into provinces is
still retained with some modification, but the rest
of the old distribution is obsolete. The present
subdivision is into provinces, counties, baronies,
parishes, and townlands ; in all Ireland there are
325 baronies, 2,447 parishes, and about 64,000
townlands. Various minor subdivisions and
standards of measurement were adopted in different
parts of the country ; and so far as these are
represented in our present nomenclature, I will
notice them here.*

The old term tricha or triucha [truha], is usually

* For further information the reader is referred to Dr.
Reeves's paper " On the Townland Distribution of Ireland '
(Proc. R. I. Academy, Vol. VII., p. 473), from which much of
the information in this chapter has been derived ; and to a
paper " On the Territorial Divisions of the Country," by Sir
Thomas Larcom, prefixed to the "Relief Correspondence of th«
Commissioners of i'ublic Works."

VOL. i. 17

242 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

rendered by "cantred" or "district," and we
find it giving name to the barony of Trough in
Monaghan ; to the townland of Trough near
O'Brien's Bridge in Clare ; and to True in the
parish of Killyman in Tyrone. Seisreach [shesh-
j-agh] is commonly translated " ploughland ;" it is
said to be derived from seisear, six, and each, a
horse, and it was used to denote the extent of land
a six-horse plough would turn up in one year.
We find the term in Shesheraghmore and Shesh-
eraghscanlan near Borrisokane in Tipperary ; in
Shesheraghkeale (keale, narrow) near Nenagh, the
same name as Sistrakeel (see p. 60, v.) in the
parish of Tamlaght Finlagan, Derry ; and in
Drumsastry in Fermanagh, the ridge of the plow-
land.

The terms in most common use to denote portions
of land or territory were those expressing frac-
tional parts, of which there are five that occur
very frequently. The word kath [lah] signifies
half, and we find it forming part of names all over
Ireland. Thus when a seisreach was divided into
two equal parts, each was called leath-sheisreach
[lahesheragh], half plowland, which gives name
to Lahesheragh in Kerry, to Lahesseragh in Tip-
perary, and to Ballynalahessery near Dungarvan
in Waterf 01 d, which signifies the town of the half-
plowland. In like manner, half a townland was
denoted by the term Leath-bhaile, pronounced, and
generally anglicised, Lavally and Levally, which
are the names of about thirty townlands scattered
through the four provinces. Laharan, the name
of many places in Cork and Kerry, signifies lite-
rally half land, Irish Lcath-fhearann, the initial/
mfearann (land) being rendered silent by aspira-
tion (see p. 20).

The territory of Lecale in Down, now forming

CHAP, viii.] Subdivisions and Measures of Land. 243

two baronies, is called in the Irish authorities
Leth-Cathail, Cathal's half or portion. Cathal
[Cahal], who was fifth in descent from Deman,
king of Ulidia in the middle of the sixth century,
flourished about the year 700 ; and in a division
of territory this district was assigned to him, and
took his name. It had been previously called
Magh-inis, which Colgan translates Insula campes-
tris, the level island, being a plain tract nearly
surrounded by the sea.

Trian [treen] denotes the third part of any-
thing ; it was formerly a territorial designation
in frequent use, and it has descended to the pre-
sent time in the names of several places. A tri-
partite division of territory in Tipperary gave
origin to the name of the barony of Middle-
third, which is a translation from the Irish Trian-
meadhanach [managh] as used by the Four Mas-
ters. There was a similar division in "Waterford,
and two of the three parts — now two baronies —
are still known by the names of Middlethird and
Upperthird. The barony of Duffer in in Down
is called by the Four Masters Dubh-thrian [Duv-
reen], the black third, the sound of which is very
well represented in the present name ; the same
as Diffreen in Leitrim, near Glencar lake.

Trian generally takes the form of Trean and
Trien, which constitute or begin the names of
about 70 townlands in the four provinces. Treana-
mullin, near Stranorlar in Donegal, signifies the
third part or division of the mill, i. e. having a
mill on it ; Treanf ohanaun in Mayo, the thistle-
producing third ; Treanlaur in Galway and Mayo,
middle third ; Treanmanagh in Clare, Kerry, and
Limerick, same meaning ; Trienaltenagh in Lon-
donderry, the third of the precipices or cliffs.

Ceathramhadh [carhoo or carrow] signifies a

244 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART 11.

quarter, from ceathair [cahir] four. The old town-
lands or ballybetaghs, were very often divided
into quarters, each of which was commonly desig-
nated by this word ceathramhadh, which, in the
present names generally takes one of the two
forms carrow, and carhoo ; the former being the
more usual, but the latter occurring very often in
Cork and Kerry. Carrow forms or begins the
names of more than 700 townlands, and Carhoo
of about 30 ; and another form, Carrive, occurs in
some of the northern counties.

The four quarters into which the townland was
divided were generally distinguished from one
another by adjectives descriptive of size, position,
shape, or quality of the land, or by suffixing the
names of the occupiers. Thus, there are more
than 60 modern townlands called Carrowkeel,
Ceathramhadh-cael, narrow quarter ; Carrowgarriff
and Carrowgarve, rough (garbh) quarter, is the
name of sixteen ; there are 25 called Carrowbane
and Carrowbaun, white quarter ; 24 called Car-
rowbeg, little quarter ; and more than 60 called
Carrowmore, great quarter. Lecarrow, half-
quarter, gives name to about 60 townlands, the
greater number of them in Connaught.

A fifth part is denoted by coigeadh [coga] : the
application of this term to land is very ancient, for
in the old form coiced it occurs in the Book of
Armagh, where it is translated quinta pars. In
later times it was often used in the sense of
"province," which application evidently origi-
nated in the division of Ireland into five provinces.
In its primitive signification of a fifth part — pro-
bably the fifth part of an ancient townland —
has given names to several places. Cooga, its
most usual modern form, is the name of several
townlands in Connaught and Munster ; there are

CHAP. vin/J Subdivisions and Measures of Land. 245

three townlands in Mayo called Coogue ; and
Coogaquid in Clare, signifies literally " fifth part ;"
— cuid, a part.

Seiseadh [shesha] the sixth part ; to be distin-
guished from seisreach. As a measure of land, it
was usual in Ulster and north Connaught, whore
in the forms Sess, Sessia, Sessiagh, it gives namea
to about thirty townlands. It occurs also in
Munster, though in forms slightly different ; as in
the case of Sheshia in Clare, and Sheshiv in
Limerick ; Shesharoe in Tipperary, red sixth ;
Sheshodonnell in Clare, O'Donnell's sixth part.

Several other Irish terms were employed ; such
as Ballyboe or "cow-land," which prevailed in some
of the Ulster counties, and which is still a very
common townland name in Donegal. In some of
the counties of Munster, they had in use a measure
called gniomh [gneeve], which was the twelfth
part of a plowland ; and this term occurs occasiou-
ally in the other provinces. It has given name to
about twenty townlands now called Gneeve and
Gneeves, the greater number of them in Cork and
Kerry. There is a place in the parish of Kil-
macabea, Cork, called Three- gneeves ; and in the
same county there are two townlands, each called
Two- gneeves.

In many parts of Ireland the Anglo-Norman
settlers introduced terms derived from their own
language, and several of these are now very
common as townland names. Cartron signifies a
quarter, and is derived through the French quar-
teron from the medioeval Lat. quarteronus ; it was
in very common use in Connaught as well as in
Longford, Westmeath, and King's County; and
it was applied to a parcel of land varying in
amount from 60 to 160 acres. There are about
80 townlands called Cartron, chiefly in Connaught,

246 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

and 60 others of whose names it forms the be-
ginning. The terms with which it is compounded
are generally Irish, such as Cartronganny near
Mullingar, Cartron- gainimh, sandy cartron; Car-
tronnagilta in Cavan, the cartron of the reeds ;
Cartronrathroe in Mayo, the cartron of the red
fort.

Tate or tath appears to be an English word, and
meant 60 native Irish acres. It occurs chiefly in
Fermanagh, Monaghan, and Tyrone, generally in
the forms tat, tatt, and tatty ; and, as in the case
of cartron, it usually compounds with Irish words.
Tattynageeragh in the parish of Clones in Fer-
managh, the tate of the sheep ; Tattintlieve in
Monaghan, the tate of the slieve or mountain.

In Cavan, certain measures of land were called
by the names poll, gallon, and pottle. Thus Pol-
lakeel is the narrow poll; Pollamore, great poll,
&c. In most other counties, however, poll is an
Irish word signifying a hole. Pottlebane and
Pottleboy in Cavan, signify white and yellow
pottle, respectively; Gallonnambraher the friar's
gallon, &c.

CHAPTER IX.

NUMERICAL COMBINATIONS.

names involving numerical combinations
are found all over the world, a careful examina-
tion would be pretty sure to show that each people
had a predilection for one or more particular num-
bers. During my examination of Irish proper
names, I have often been struck with the constant

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations. 247

recurrence of the numbers two and three; and
after having specially investigated the subject, I
have found, as I hope to be able to show, that
names involving these two numbers are so numer-
ous as to constitute a distinct peculiarity, and
that this is the case most especially with regard
to the number two.

I never saw it stated that the number two was
in Ireland considered more remarkable than any
other; but from whatever cause it may have
arisen, certain it is that there existed in the
minds of the Irish people a distinctly marked
predilection to designate persons or places, where
circumstances permitted it, by epithets expressive
of the idea of duality, the epithet being founded
on some circumstance connected with the object
named ; and such circumstances were often seized
upon to form a name in preference to others
equally or more conspicuous. We have, of course,
as they have in all countries, names with combi-
nations of other numbers, and those containing
the number three are very numerous ; but the
number two is met with many times more fre-
quently than all the others put together.

The Irish word for two that occurs in names is
da or dhd, both forms being used ; da is pro-
nounced daw ; but in the other form, dh, which
has a peculiar and rather faint guttural sound, is
altogether suppressed in modern names ; the word
dhd being generally represented by the vowel a,
while in many cases modern contraction has obli-
terated every trace of a representative letter.
It is necessary to bear in mind that da or dhd
generally causes aspiration, and in a few cases
eclipses consonants and prefixes n to vowels (see
pp. 19 ind 21, supra).

We find names involving the number two re-

248 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART IT.

corded in Irish history, from the most ancient
authorities down to the MSS. of the seventeenth
century, and they occur in proportion quite as
numerously as at the present day ; showing that
this curious tendency is not of modern origin, but
that it has descended, silent and unnoticed, from

of the most remote antiquity.
There is a village and parish in the north-west
of Tipperary, on the shore of Lough Derg, now
called Terryglass ; its Irish name, as used in
many Irish authorities, is Tir-da-ghlas, the terri-
tory of the two streams ; and the identity of this
with the modern Terryglass is placed beyond all
doubt by a passage in the " Life of St. Fin tan of
Clonenagh," which describes Tir-da-glas as "in
the territory of Munster, near the river Shannon."
The great antiquity of this name is proved by the
fact that it is mentioned by Adamnan in his
" Life of St. Columba" (Lib. n., Cap. xxxvi.),
written in the end of the seventh century; but
according to his usual custom, instead of the
Irish name, he gives the Latin equivalent : in the
heading of the chapter it is called Ager duorum
rivorum, and in the text JKus duum rivulorum,
either of which is a correct translation of Tir-da-
ghlas* There is a subdivision of the townland
of Clogher in the parish of Kilnoe, Clare, called
Terryglass, which has the same Irish form and
meaning as the other.

In the Book of Leinster there is a short poem,
ascribed to Finn Mac Cumhail, accounting for the
name of Magh-da-ghem, in Leinster, the plain of
the two swans; and the Dinnsenchus gives a
legend about the name of the river Owendalulagh,

* See Reeves's Adamnan, where ager duorum rivorum is
jder^rfied with Terryglass.

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations. 249

which rises on the slope of Slieve Aughty, and
flows into Lough Cooter near Gort in Gralway.
This legend states, that when Echtghe [Ekte]
a Dedannan lady, married Fergus Lusca, cup-
boarer to the king of Connaught, she brought
with her two cows, remarkable for their milk-
bearing fruitfulness, which were put to graze on
the banks of this stream ; and from this circum-
stance it was called Abhainn-da-loilgheach, the
river of the two milch cows. According to the
same authority, Slieve Aughty took its name from
this lady — Sliabh- Echtghe, Echtghe's mountain.
Several other instances of names of this class,
mentioned in ancient authorities, will be cited as
I proceed. This word loilgheach appears in the
name of a lake in the north of Armagh, near the
south-west corner of Lough TsTeagh, called Derry-
lileagh, which means the derry or oak-grove of the
milch cows.

Though this peculiarity is not so common in
personal as in local names, yet the number of
persons mentioned in Irish writings whose names
involve the number two, is sufficiently large to be
very remarkable. The greater number of these
names appear to be agnomina, which described
certain peculiarities of the individuals, and which
were imposed for the sake of distinction, after a
fashion prevalent among most nations before the
institution of surnames. (See Vol. II., Ch. ix.).

One of the three Collas who conquered Ulster in
the fourth century (see p. 137) was called Colla-
da-Chrich, Colla of the two territories. Da-chrich
was a favourite sobriquet, and no doubt, in case of
each individual, it records the fact of his connec-
tion, either by possession or residence, with two
countries or districts ; in case of Colla, it most
probably refers to two territories in Ireland and

250 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

Scotland, in the latter of which he lived some
years in a state of banishment before his invasion
of Ulster. In the Martyrology of Donegal there
are nine different persons mentioned, called Fer-
da-chrich, the man of the two territories.

The word Dubh applied to a dark-visaged per-
son is often followed by da; thus the Four
Masters mention two persons named Dubh-da-
bharc, the black (man) of the two ships ; four,
named Dubh-da-chrich ; eight, Dubh-da-bhoireann
(of the two stony districts ?) ; two, Dubh-da-inbher,
of the two estuaries ; one, Dubh-da-ingean, of the
two daughters ; four, Dubh-da-leithe, of the two
sides or parties ; and two, Dubh-da-thuath, of the
two districts or cantreds. In the "Genealogy of
Corcaluidhe " we find Dubh-da-mhagh, of the two
plains; and in the Martyrology of Donegal
Dubh-da-locha, of the two lakes.

Fiacha Muilleathan, king of Munster in the
third century, was called Fer-da-liach, the man of
the two sorrows, because his mother died and his
father was killed in the battle of Magh Mucruimhe
on the day of his birth. The father of Maine
Mor, the ancestor of the Hy Many, was Eochaidh,
surnamed Fer-da-ghiall, the man of the two hos-
tages. Many more names might be cited, if it
were necessary to extend this list ; and while the
number two is so common, we meet with few
names involving any other number except three.

It is very natural that a place should be named
from two prominent objects forming part of it, or
in connection with it, and names of this kind are
occasionally met with in most countries. The
fact that they occur in Ireland would not be con-
sidered remarkable, were it not for these two
circumstances — first, they are, beyond all compa-
rison, more numerous than could be reasonablv

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations. 251

expected ; and secondly, the word da is usually
expressed, and forms part of the names.

Great numbers of places are scattered here and
there through the country whose names express
position between two physical features, such as
rivers, mountains, lakes, &c., those between two
rivers being the most numerous. Killederdaowen
in the parish of Duniry, Galway, is called in
Irish, Coill-eder-da-abhainn, the wood between two
rivers ; and Killadrown, in the parish of Drum-
cullen, King's County, is evidently the same word
shortened by local corruption. Dromderaown in
Cork, and Dromdiraowen in Kerry, are both
modern forms of Druim- dir-dhd-abhainn, the ridge
between two rivers, where the Irish dhd is repre-
sented by a in the present names. In Cloone-
derown, Galway — the meadow between two rivers
— there is no representative of the dha, though it
exists in the Irish name ; and a like remark
applies to Ballyederown (the townland between
two rivers), an old castle situate in the angle
where the rivers Funshion and Araglin in Cork
mingle their waters. Coracow in the parish of
Killaha, Kerry, is a name much shortened from
its original Comhrac-dhd-abha, the meeting of the
two streams. The Four Masters, at A.D. 528, re-
cord a battle fought at a place called Luachair-
mor-etir-da-inbhir, the large rushy place between
two river mouths, otherwise called Ailbhe or Cluain-
Ailbhe (Ailbhe's meadow), now Clonalvy in the
county Meath.

With glaise (a stream) instead of abhainn, we
have Ederdaglass, the name of two townlands in
Fermanagh, meaning (a place) between two streams;
and Drumederglass in Cavan, the ridge between
two streams. Though all trace of da is lost in
this name, it is preserved in the Down Survey,
where the place is called Drumaderdaglass.

"252 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n

Ederdacurragh in Fermanagh, means (a place)
between two marshes ; Aderavoher in Sligo, is in
Irish Eadar-dha-bhothair (a place) between two
roads, an idea that is otherwise expressed in
Gouldavoher near Mungret, Limerick, the fork of
the two roads. Dromdiralough in Kerry, the
ridge between two lakes, and Drumederalena in
Sligo, the ridge between the two lenas or meadows ;
Inchideraille near Inchigeelagh, is in Irish Inis-
idir-dha-fhdill, the island or river holm between
two cliffs ; a similar position has given name to
Derdaoil or Dariel, a little village in the parish of
Kilmastulla, Tipperary, which is shortened from
the Irish Idir-da-fhaill, between two cliffs ; Cloon-
deravally in Sligo, the cloon or meadow between
the two bailies or townlands.

Crockada in the parish of Clones, Fermanagh,
is only a part of the Irish name, Cnoc-edar-da-
ghreuch, the hill between the two marshy flats ;
and the true form of the present name would be
Knockadder. Mogh, the name of a townland in
the parish of Rathlynin, Tipperary, is also an
abbreviation of a longer name; the inhabitants
call it Magh-idir-dha-abhainn, the plain between
two rivers.

The well-known old church of Aghadoe, near
Killarney, which gives name to a parish, is called
by the Four Masters, at 1581, Achadh-da-eo, the
field of the two yew-trees, which must have been
growing near each other, and must have been
sufficiently large and remarkable to attract general
attention. Part of the townland of Drumharkan
Glebe in the parish of Cloone, Leitrim, is called
Cooldao, the back of the two yews. In the town-
land of Cornagee, parish of KHlinagh, Cavan, there
is a deep cavern, into which a stream sinks ; it is
called Polladaossan, the hole of the two dossans or
bushes.

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations* 253

Near Crossmolina in Mayo, is a townland called
Grlendavoolagh, the glen of the two boolies or
dairy places. In the parish of Killashee, Long-
ford, there is a village and townland called Clooii-
dara, containing the ruins of what was once an
important ecclesiastical establishment ; it is men-
tioned by the Four Masters at 1323, and called
Cluain-da-rath, the meadow of the two raths ; and
there is a townland of the same name in the
narish of Tisrara, Roscommon.

The parish of Donagh in Monaghan, takes its
name from an old church, the ruins of which are
still to be seen near the village of Glasslough;
it is mentioned twice by the Four Masters, and its
full name, as written by them, is Domhnach-
maighe-da-chlaoine [Donagh-moy-da-cleena], the
church of the plain of the two slopes. Dromda-
league or Dromaleague, the name of a village and
parish in Cork, signifies the ridge of the two
stones. Ballydehob in the south of the same
county, took its name from a ford which is called
in Irish Bel-atha-da-chab, the ford of the two cabs
or mouths ; the two mouths, I suppose, describing
some peculiarity of shape.

Several places derive their names from two
plains ; thus Damma, the name of two townlands
in Kilkenny, is simply Da-mhagh two plains ;
Rosdama in the parish of Grange, same county,
the wood of the two plains. That part of the
King's County now occupied by the baronies of
Warrenstown and Coolestown, was anciently
called Tuath-da-Mhaighe, the district of the two
plains, by which name it is frequently mentioned
in the annals, and which is sometimes anglicised
Tethmoy ; the remarkable hill of Drumcaw,
giving name to a townland in this neighbourhood,
was anciently called Druim-di-mhaighe, from the

254 Historical and LegencCary Names. [PART n.

same district ; and we find Glendavagh, the glen
)f the two plains, in the parish of Aghaloo,
Tyrone.

The valley of Glendalough in Wicklow, takes
its name from the two lakes so well known to
tourists ; it is called in Irish authorities Gleann-
da-locha, which the author of the Life of St. Kevin
translates " the valley of the two lakes ; " and
other glens of the same name in Waterford, Kerry,
and Galway, are also so called from two lakes near
each other. There is an island in the Shannon,
in the parish of Killadysert, Clare, called Inish-
dadroum, which is mentioned in the " Wars of
GG." by the name of Inis-da-dromand, the island
of the two drums or backs, from its shape : and a
similar peculiarity of form has given name to
Inishdavar in the parish of Derryvullan, Ferma-
nagh (of the two barrs or tops) ; to Cornadarum,
Fermanagh, the round hill of the two drums or
ridges ; and to Corradeverrid in Cavan, the hill of
the two caps (barred}. Tuam in Galway is called
in the annals Tuaim-da-ghualann, the tumulus of
the two shoulders, evidently from the shape of the
ancient sepulchral mound from which the place
has its name.

Desertcreat, a townland giving name to a parish
in Tyrone, is mentioned by the Four Masters as
the scene of a battle between the O'Neills and the
O'Donnells, in A. D. 1281, and it is called by them
Diseart-da-chrioch, the desert or hermitage of the
two territories ; they mention also a place called
Magh-da-chairneach, the plain of the two earns ;
Magh-da-ghabhal, the plain of the two forks;
Ailiun-da-bhernach, the island of the two gaps ;
Magh-da-Chainncach, the plain of the two Cain-
neachs (men). The district between Lough Cong
and the river Moy was anciently called An Da

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations. 255

Bhac, the two bends, under which, name it is fre-
quently mentioned in the annals.

There is a townland in the parish of Rossinver,
Leitrim, called Lisdarush, the fort of the two
promontories ; on the side of Hungry Hill, west of
Glengarriff in Cork, is a small lake which is called
Coomadavallig, the hollow of the two roads ; in
Roscommon we find Cloondacarra, the meadow of
the two weirs ; the Four Masters mention Clar-
atha-da-charadh, the plain (or footboard) of the
ford of the two weirs ; and Charlemont in Tyrone
was anciently called Achadh-an-da-charadh* the
field of the two weirs. Gubbacrock in the
parish of Killesher, Fermanagh, is written in
Irish Gob-dha-chnoc, the beak or point of the two
hills.

Dundareirke is the name of an ancient castle in
Cork, built by the Mac Carthys, signifying the
fortress of the two prospects (Dun-da-radharc) ,
and the name is very suitable ; for, according to
Smith, " it is on a hill and commands a vast ex-
tended view as far as Kerry, and east almost to
Cork ; " there is a townland of the same name in
the parish of Danesfort, Kilkenny, printed in the
Ordnance Maps Dundaryark, but locally pro-
nounced Dundarerk : and the old dun does actually
command two wide views.

The preceding names were derived from con-
spicuous physical features, and their origin is
therefore natural enough, so far as each individual
name is concerned ; their great number, as already
remarked, is what gives them significance. But
those I am now about to bring forward admit in
general of no such explanation, and appear to me
to prove still more conclusively the existence of
this remarkable disposition in the minds of the
people, to look out for groups of two. Here also,

256 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

as in the preceding class, names crowd upon us
with remarkable frequency, both in ancient au-
thorities and in the modern list of townlands.

Great numbers of places have been named from
two animals of some kind. If we are to explain
these names from natural occurrences, we must
believe that the places were so called because they
were the favourite haunt of the two animals com-
memorated ; but it is very strange that so many
places should be named from just two, while there
are very few from one, three, or any other number —
except in the general way of a genitive singular
or a genitive plural. Possibly it may be explained
to some extent by the natural pairing of male and
female ; but this will not explain all, nor even a
considerable part, as anyone may see from tha
illustrations that follow. I believe that most or
all of these names have their origin in legends
or superstitions, and that the two animals were
very often supernatural, viz., fairies or ghosts, oi
human beings transformed by Dedannan enchant-
ment.

We very frequently meet with two birds — da- en.
A portion of the Shannon near Clonmacnoise was
anciently called Snamh-da-e'n [Snauv-da-ain], the
mauv or swimming-ford of the two birds. The
parish of Duneane in Antrim has got its present
name by a slight contraction from Dun-da-en, the
fortress of the two birds, which is its name in the
Irish authorities, among others, the Felire of
Aengus. There is a mountain stretching between
Lough Gill and Collooney, Sligo, which the Four
Masters mention at 1196 by the name of Sliabh-
dd-en, the mountain of the two birds, now called
Slieve Daeane ; it is curious that a lake on the
north side of the same mountain is called Lough
Dagea, the lake of the two geese, which are

CHAP. ix.J Numerical Combinations. 257

probably the two birds that gave name to the
mountain. There is a townland in the parish of
Kinawly, Fermanagh, called Rossdanean, the
peninsula of two birds; Balladian near Bally
bay in Monaghan, is correctly Bealach-a* '-da-em
(bealach, a pass) ; and Colgan (A. SS., p. 42,
note 9) mentions a place near Lough Nea^h,
called Cluain-dd-en, the meadow of the twu
birds.

Two birds of a particular kind have also given
their names to several places, and among these,
two ravens seem to be favourites. In the parish
of Kinawly, Fermanagh, is a townland called
Aghindaiagh, in Irish Achadh-an-da-fhiach, the
field of the two ravens ; in the townland of Kil-
colman, parish of same name, Kerry, is a pit or
cavern called Poll-da-fhiach, the hole of the two
ravens ; we find in Cavan, Neddaiagh, the nest of
the two ravens ; in Gralway, Cuilleendaeagh, and
in Kerry Grlandaeagh, the little wood, and the
glen of the two ravens. The parish of Balteagh
in Down is sometimes written in old documents,
Ballydaigh, and sometimes Boydafeigh, pointing
to Baik-da-fhiach or Both-da-fhiach (this last form
is used in O'Clery's Cal.), the town or the hut of the
two ravens " preserving the tradition that two
ravens flew away with the plumb-line from the
cemetery Rellick in the townland of Kilhoyle,
where the parishioners were about to erect their
church, to Ardmore, the townland where the site
was at length fixed "(Reeves: Colt. Vis. 133). With
Branog, another name for the same bird, we have
Brannock Island, near Great Aran Island, Galway
Bay, which is called in Irish Oilean-da-bhranog
(O'Flaherty, lar Connaught), the island of the two
ravens. Aghadachor in Donegal, means the field
of the two herous or cranes. There is a townland

18

258 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

in the parish of Killinvoy, Roscommon, whose
name is improperly anglicised Lisdaulan ; the
Four Masters at 1380, call it Lios da- Ion, the fort
of the two blackbirds.

Several places get their names from two hounds ;
such as Moyacomb in Wicklow (see p. 52) ; Cahir-
acon, two townlands in Clare, which are called to
this day in Irish Cathair-dha-chon, the caher or
ptone fortress of the two hounds ; and Lisdachon
in Westmeath. In the parish of Devenish, Fer-
managh, there are two conterminous townlands
called Big Dog and Little Dog ; these singular
appellations derive their origin from the modern
division into two unequal parts, of an ancient
tract which is called in the annals, Sliabh-da-
chon, the mountain of the two hounds. We find
also Cloondacon in Mayo, the meadow of the two
hounds.

In several other places we have two oxen com-
memorated, as in Cloondadauv in Gralway, which
the annalists write Cluain-dd-damh, the meadow of
the two oxen ; Rossdagamph in Fermanagh, and
Aughadanove, Armagh, the promontory and the
field of the two oxen ; in the first, d is changed to
g (see p. 56), and in the second, da prefixes n to
the vowel. At the year 606, the Four Masters
mention a lake in which a crannoge was built,
situated in Oriel, but not now known, called Loch-
da-damh, the lake of the two oxen.

Two bucks are commemorated in such names as
Ballydavock, Cappadavock, Glendavock, Lisda-
vock (town, plot, glen, fort), and Attidavock, the
site of the house of the two bucks. The parish of
Clonyhurk in .King's County, containing the town
of Portarlington, takes its name from a townland
which the Four Masters call Cluain-da-thorc, the
meadow of the two bo»rs ; Glendahurk in Mayo is

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations. 258

the glen of the two boars; and Lisdavuck in
King's County, the fort of the two pigs (muc, a

Cloondanagh in Clare is in Irish Cluain-da-
neach, the meadow of the two horses ; we find the
same two animals in Tullyloughdaugh in Ferma-
nagh, and Aghadaugh in Westmeath ; the second
meaning the field, and the first the hill of the
lake of the two horses; and Clondelara, near
Clonmacnoise, is the meadow of the two mares.
Clondalee in the parish of Killyon, Meath, is
called in Irish Cluain-da- laegh, the meadow of the
two calves. Aghadavoyle in Armagh is the field
of the two niaels, or hornless cows ; two animals
of the same kind have given name to a little island
in Mayo, viz., Inishdaweel, while we have two
yellow cows in Inishdauwee, the name of tw
townlands in Gralway.

There is a legend concerning the origin of Clon-
dagad in Clare, the cloon of the two gads or
withes, and another accounting for the nane Z)t»n-
da-kth-glas, anciently applied to the great rath at
Downpatrick, the fortress of the two broken locks
or fetters. The two remarkable mountains in
Kerry now called the Paps, were anciently called,
and are still, in Irish, Da-chich-Danainne [Da-kee-
Dannina], the two paps of Danann (see p. 164) ;
and the plain on which they stand is called Bun-
a'-da-chich, the bottom or foundation of the two
Paps; Drumahaire, the name of a village in
Leitrim, signifies the ridge of the two air- spirits
or demons 'vseep. 194).

In this great diversity it must be supposed that
two persons would find a place ; and accordingly
we find Kildaree, the church of the two king--,
the name of two townlands in Galway (for w^ich
see Sir William Wilde'.. " Lough Corrci« "'•. and

260 Historical and Legendary Names. [PARTII

of another near Crossmolina, Mayo. There is a
fort one mile south of the village of Killoscully,
Tipperary, called Lisdavraher, the fort of the two
friars ; and there is another of the same name in
the south of Ballymoylan townland, parish of
Youghalarra, in the same county. In both these
cases the friars were probably ghosts.

There is a parish called Toomore in the county
of Mayo, taking its name from an old church
standing near the river Moy ; it is also the name
of a townland in the parish of Aughrim, Roscom-
mon, and of a townland and -parish in Sligo.
This is a very curious and a very ancient name.
Toomore in Mayo is written Tuaim-da-bhodhar by
Duald Mac Firbis and the Four Masters ; and
Tuaim-da-bhodar in a poem in the "Book of
Lecan." The pronunciation of the original ia
Tooma-our, which easily sank into Toomore ; and
the name signifies the tomb of the two deaf
persons ; but who they were, neither history nor
tradition records.

The memory of the two venerable people who
gave name to Cordalea in the parish of Kilmore,
Cavan, has quite perished from the face of the
earth, except only so far as it is preserved in the
name Coa-da-liath, the hill of the two grey per-
sons. Two people of a different complexion are
commemorated in Glendaduff in Mayo, the glen
of the two black-visaged persons. Meendacal-
liagh in the parish of Lower Fahan, Donegal,
means the meen or mountain flat of the two cal-
liaghs or hags, probably a pair of those old witches
who used to turn themselves, on Good Friday,
into hares, and suck the cows.

It must occur to anyone who glances through
these names to ask himself the question — what
was the origin of this curious custom ? I cannot

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations. 261

believe that it is a mere accident of language, or
that it sprang up spontaneously without any
particular cause. I confess myself wholly in the
dark, unable to offer any explanation : I have
never met anything that I can call to mind in the
whole range of Irish literature tending in the
least degree to elucidate it. Is it the remnant of
some ancient religious belief, or some dark super-
stition, dispelled by the light of Christianity ? or
does it commemorate some widespread social
custom, prevailing in time beyond the reach of
history or tradition, leaving its track on the
language as the only manifestation of its existence ?
We know that among some nations certain num-
bers were accounted sacred, like the number seven
among the Hebrews. "Was two a sacred number
with the primitive people of this country ? I re-
frain from all conjecture, though the subject is
sufficiently tempting ; I give the facts, and leave
to others the task of accounting for them.

The number three occurs also with remarkable
frequency in Irish proper names, so much so that
it would incline one to believe that the Irish had
a predilection for grouping things in triads like
Welsh. Dr. Reeves has observed that the old
chroniclers often enumerate rivers in threes ; such
as the three Uinseanns ; the three Sucks ; the three
Finns ; the three Coimdes ; the three rivers, Sibir,
Feil, and Ercre ; the three, Fleasc, Mand, and
Labhrann ; the three black rivers, Fubhna, Torann
and Callann ; the nine Brosnachs (3 x 3) ; the
nine Righes, &c. — all these taken from the Four
Masters.

Mr. Hennessy has directed my attention to a
great number of triple combinations ; such as the
three Tuathas or districts in Connaught ; the
places called three castles in Kilkenny and Wick-

262 H*tonc*I m*d tegcmimnj Nemo. [PAKT u.

icnr ; Hemntc-tri-csrbaJ the gap of the three
lhaiiiiti. a place in the county Clare ; the earn of
the Ane uujuui at domnaauMse ; several place*
called three plains ; three Connanghts ; and many
He has also given me a long Hat, taken

Om qu^ur* ~

of the diree firtnes, a **»gBM"i^* of
Canary More), which would enable me to extend

•••a enaiBezation of tnnacBB much fti^jtff i lint aa
- . - -- - -

I ant at present concemed only about iocsi BM'""*t
I shall eontentamyaelf with simply noting Hie iaot
that names of this kind occur in great numbers in
oar old writings.

Many of these combinations were no doubt
adopted in GSbristisja times in honour of the Trinity,
of which the name Treret (see p. 133) i* an ex-
ample ; and it is probable that the knowledge of
tins mjateij diaposnd men's minds to notice more
readily conuHi>ations ox three, and to cive names

according}? y eren in eases where no direct re*
fcrenae to die Trinity was intended.

We learn die origin of Dnntryleagne
GaibaHy in Lhwrirk, from a passage in die Book
of Lismore, which states ***** " Connae Gas v^ing
•A Manster), son of OflioL Olom (see p. 134,
Kfrm) favght the bailie of Knoeboona (near
F-V •.':-.--:/ ar^i-r Eo:iv AammAnaA "Ohy-
A vnroo], king of Ulster, in which Eochy was
•lain; and Gormac was wounded (in die head}, so
tha* he was three yean under core, with his brain
firat!ninnTlj flowing from his head." Then a
goodly d*m was cocsfimcted for him, "haringin
the »»i«m» a bfmitifql clear spang, and a great
royal boose was bnflt orer die well, and three
Sfgnmt (pillar stones) were placed round it, on
which was laid the bed of the king, so that his

CHAP, n.] Numerical Combmmtio**,

head was in the middk between the tiiree pillars.
And one of his ^*tnrfrntft stood ••••^-••••IY by
him with a cop, pouring <J*» wafer of ****> well o&
his head. He died there after that, «*d was
buried in a cave within the don ; and from tins is
(derived j the name of the place, I*t*-tri-ti*f, the
fortress of the three pillar stones.*

The erection of three stone* like those at Dnn-
lijsMfJSU most have been nsoaL, for we find
•••us! names containing the compound tri fisy,
three pillar stones. It ocean simply in the form
of Trilliek, as the name of a village in Tyrone,
and of two townlands, one in Donegal and the
other in Fermanagh. In the parish of Battynnv
connick, Long&vd, there are two townlands called
respectively, Trillickacarry and TrOliekatemple,
the trittid: or three stones of the marsh, and of
the church. Xear Dromore in Down, we find
Edentrillick, and in the parish of Tvnan. Armagh,
RathtrflHck, the first the hill brow, and the second
the fort, of the three pillar stones.

Several places take their names from three
persons, who were probably joint occupiers. In
the parish of Kilbride, Heath, fhere is a town-
land called Ballintry, B*&-*M-tn, the town oi
the three (persons). The more usual word em-
ployed in this case, however, is friar [troorl,
which means, not three in tie abstract, bat HBUB
persons; and it is not improbable that in the last-
mentioned name, a final r has been lost. BaDrn-
linii in the parish of Donaghmore, Wkklow,
has the same meaning as Baflintrv. In the parish
of Eamoan. Antrim, is a hfll called Carntzoor,
where three persons most have been buried under
( earn : and in the parish of Templecorran, sante
couaiy, is another hill called Stieveatzue. whk>

264 Historical and Legendary Names. [PART n.

name appears to be a corruption from Slieveatroor,
the mountain of the three persons.

Cavantreeduff in the parish of Cleenish, Fer-
managh, has probably some legendary story con-
nected with it, fh« Irish name being Cabhan-tri-
damh, the round hill of the three oxen. The
celebrated castle of Portnatrynod at Lifford, of
which the name is now forgotten, and even its
very site unknown, is repeatedly mentioned in the
Annals, and always called Port-na-dtri-namhad
[Portnadreenaud], the port or bank of the three
enemies; who these three hostile persons were,
history does not tell, though the people of Lifford
iiave a legend about them.

There is a place in the parish of Gartan, Done-
gal, called Bunnatreesruhan, the mouth of the
three streamlets. A fort with three circumvalla-
tions is often called Lisnatreeclee, or more cor-
rectly Lisnadreeglee, i. e. in Irish, Lios-na-dtri-
gcladh, the Us of the three mounds. Ballytober
in the Glens of Antrim is a shortened form of the
correct Irish name, Baik-na-dtri-dtobar, the town
of the three springs.

We find occasionally other numbers also in
names. At the year 872, the Four Masters
mention a place called Rath-aen-bo, the fort of the
one cow. There is a place of this name, now
called Raheanbo, in the parish of Churchtown,
Westmeath, but whether it is the Rath-aen-bo of
the annals is uncertain. In the parish of Maghe-
ross, Monaghan, is a townland called Corrinenty,
in Irish Cor-an-aen-tighe, the round hill of the
one house ; and Boleyneendorrish is the name of
a place near Ardrahan, Galway, signifying the
booty or dairy-place of the one door. The island
of Inchenagh in the north end of Lough Eee,
near Lanesborough, is called by the Four Masters,

CHAP, ix.] Numerical Combinations. 265

Inis-en-daimh, the island of the one ox. In the
parish of Rathronan, Limerick, is a townland
called Kerrykyle, Ceithre-choill, four woods. A
townland in the parish of Tulla, Clare, is called
Derrykeadgran, the oak-wood of the hundred
trees ; and there is a parish in Kilkenny called
Tullahaught, or in Irish Tulach-ocht, the hill of
the eight (persons).

PART III.

NAMES COMMEMORATING AKTIFICIAL
STEUCTURES.

CHAPTER I.

HABITATIONS AND FORTRESSES.

EFOEE the introduction of Christia-
nity, buildings of all the various
kinds erected in Ireland, whe-
ther domestic, military, or se-
pulchral, were round, or
nearly round, in shape.
This is sufficiently pro-
ved by the numerous forts and
mounds that still remain all
over the country, and which
are almost universally circular.
We find, moreover, in our old
manuscripts, many passages in which the strong-
holds of the chiefs are described as of this shape ;
and in the ancient Life of St. Patrick written by
St. Evin, there is an Irish stanza quoted as the
composition of a druid named Con, in which it is
predicted, that the custom of building houses
narrow and quadrangular would be introauced
among other innovations by St. Patrick.

CHAP , i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 267

The domestic and military structures in use
among the ancient Irish were denoted by the
words Uo8y rath, dun, cathair, brugh, &c. ; and these
terms are still in use and applied to the very same
objects. A notion very generally prevails, though
much less so now than formerly, that the circular
forts which still exist in great numbers in every
county in Ireland, were erected by the Danes;
and they are hence very often called "Danish
raths." It is difficult to trace the origin of this
opinion, unless we ascribe it to the well-known
tendency of the peasantry to attribute almost
every remarkable ancient work to the Danes.
These people had, of course, fortresses of some
kind in the maritime towns where they were
settled, such as Dublin, Limerick, Waterford Do-
negal, &c. In the "Wars of GG." (p. 41), we
are told that they " spread themselves over Mun-
ster and they built duns and daingeans (strong-
holds) and caladh-phorts " (landing ports) ; the
Chronicon Scotorum at the year 845, records the
erection of a dun at Lough Ree, by the Danish
king Turgesius, from which he plundered Con-
naught and Meath; and it is not unlikely that
the Danes may have taken, and for a long time
occupied, some of the strongholds they found in
the country. But that the raths and lisses are not
of Danish origin would be proved by this fact
alone, that they are found in every part of Ireland,
and more plentiful in districts where the Danes
never gained any footing, than where they had
settlements.

There is abundance of evidence to show that
these structures were the dwellings of the people
of this country before the adoption of houses of a
rectangular form ; the larger raths belonging to
the better classes, and the great fortified duns to

'268 Artificial Structures. [PART in

the princes and chieftains. The remains still to
be seen at the historic sites — Tara, The Navan,
Rathcroghan, Bruree, &c. — places celebrated for
ages as royal residences — afford striking testimony
to the truth of this ; for here we find the finest
and most characteristic specimens of the Irish
circular forts in all their sizes and varieties.

But besides, in our ancient writings, they are
constantly mentioned as residences under their
various names of dun, rath, lios, &c. — as constantly
as houses and castles are in books of the last two
centuries. To illustrate this, I will give a few
passages, which I might extend almost indefi-
nitely, if it were necessary. In the "Feast of
Dun-na-ngedh" ("Battle of Moyrath") Congal
Claen thus addresses his foster father, king
Domhnall : — " Thou didst place a woman of thine
own tribe to nurse me in the garden of the lios in
Rrhich thou dwelledst." On which O'Donovan
remarks : — " The Irish kings and chieftains lived
at this period (A.D. 637) in the great earthen rat/is
or lisses the ruins of which are still so numerous
in Ireland." In the same tale we read of two
visitors that " they were conducted into the dun,
and a dinner sufficient for a hundred was given
to them " (p. 22) ; and in another place, king
Domhnall says to Congall : — " Gro to view the
great feast which is in the dun " (p. 24).

In the "Forbais Dromadamhghaire " (see p.
102, supra), we read that when Cormac sent to
demand tribute from the men of Munster, they
refused; but as there was a great scarcity in
Cormac's dominions, they offered to relieve him
by a gift of " a cow out of each lios in Munster ; "
and in the poem of Dubhthach-ua-Lugair in the
Book of Leinster, celebrating the triumphs of
Enna Kinsellagh, king of Leinster, it is stated

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 269

that the tribute which was paid to Enna out of
Hunster, was " an uinge of gold from every lios."

In many cases, too, we find the building of
raths or lisses recorded. Thus in the passage
quoted from the Book of Leinster (p. 90, supra],
queen Maev sentences the five sons of Dihorba to
"raise a rath" around her, which should be "the
chief city of Ulster for ever." In the "Battle
of Moylena" (p. 2) it is stated that Nuadhat, the
foster father of Owen More (see p. 134, supra],
"raised a kingly rath on Magh Feimhin." In
the Book of Armagh, and in several of the ancient
Lives of St. Patrick, it is stated that on a certain
occasion, the saint heard the voices of workmen
who were building a rath; and Jocelin, in rela-
ting the same circumstance, says the work in
which they were engaged was " Rayth, i. e. murus"

The houses in which the families lived were
built within the enclosed area, timber being, no
doubt, the material employed, in accordance with
the well-known custom of the ancient Irish ; and
the circumvallations of the rath served both for a
shelter and a defence. I might adduce many
passages to prove this, but I will content myself
with two — one from the MS. Harl. 5,280, Brit.
Mus., quoted by O'Curry (Lect., p. 618) :— " They
then went forward until they entered a beautiful
plain. And they saw a kingly rath, and a golden
tree at its door ; and they saw a splendid house in
it, under a roof -tree of findruine ; thirty feet was
its length." And the other from the tale of "The
fate of the Children of TJsnagh " (Atlantis, No.
VI.), in which we find it stated that as Deirdre's
mother "was passing over the floor of the house,
the infant shrieked in her womb, so that it was
heard all over the Us."

The circular form was not discontinued at the

270 Artificial Structure*. [PART in.

introduction of Christianity. The churches in-
deed were universally quadrangular, but this form
was adopted only very slowly in the strongholds
and dwellings of the chiefs and people. Even in
ecclesiastical architecture the native form to some
extent prevailed, for it seems evident that the
shape of the round towers was suggested by that
of the old fortresses of the country. Circular
duns and raths, after the ancient pagan fashion,
continued to be erected down to the twelfth or
thirteenth century. Tt is recorded in the "Wars
of GGK," that Brian Borumha fortified or erected
certain duns, fastnesses, and islands (i. e. iran-
noges), which are enumerated ; and the remains
of several of these are still to be seen, differing
in no respect from the more ancient forts.
Donagh Cairbreach O'Brien, the sixth in descent
from Brian Borumha, erected, according to the
" Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh " (compiled in 1459
by John M'Grath), " a princely palace of a
circular form at Clonroad" (near Ennis) ; and
the same authority states that Conchobhair na
Siudaine, the son of Donagh, built at the same
place a longphort of earth, as a residence for
himself.

It is highly probable that originally the words
lios, rath, dun, &c., were applied to different kinds
of structures : but however that may be, they are
at present, and have been for a long time, espe-
cially the two first, confounded one with another,
so that it seems impossible to make a distinction.
The duns indeed, as I shall explain further on,
are usually pretty well distinguished from the
lisses and raths; but we often find, even in old
authorities, two of these terms, and sometimes the
whole three, applied to the very same edifices.

In the following passage, for instance, from the

CHAP. I.] Habitations and Fortresses. 271

annotations of Tirechan, in the Book of Armagh,
the terms lios and dun appear to be applied synony-
mously : — " Cummen and Breathan purchased
Ochter-nAchid (upper field, supposed tobeOughter-
agh, a parish in the county Leitrim), with its
appurtenances, both wood, and plain, and meadow,
together with its /i'wsand its garden. Half of this
wood, and house and dun, was mortmain to Cum-
men" (Petrie R. Towers, p. 218). And some
other terms also are used in the same manner ; as
for example, in case of the great enclosure at
Tara, which is known by the two names, Eath-
na-riogh, and Cathair-Crofain.

In another passage* from the Book of Bally-
mote, the word rath is used to denote the circular
entrenchment, and les the space enclosed by the
raths, while the whole quotation affords another
proof that houses were built on the interior: — (a
person who was making his way to wan! s the
palace) "leaped with that shaft over the three
r aths, until he was on the floor of the les ; and
from that until he was on the floor of the king-
house."

Lios. The words lios [lis] and rath were applied
to the circular mound or entrenchment, generally
of earth, thrown up both as a fortification and a
shelter round the level space on which the houses
were erected; and accordingly they are often
translated atrium by Latin writers. But though
this is the usual application of these terms, both
— and especially rath — were, and are, not unf re-
quently applied to the great high entrenched
mounds which are commonly designated by the

* Quoted by Mr. J. O'Beirne Crowe, in an article in the
Journal of Hist, and Arch. Assoc. of Ireland, January, J869,
p. 223.

272 Artificial Structures. [PART in

word dun. These forts are still very numerous
through the country, and they are called lisses and
roths to the present day. Their great numbers,
and the very general application of the terms may
be judged of from the fact that there are aboui
1,400 townlands and villages dispersed through all
parts of Ireland, whose names begin with the
word Lis alone ; and of course this is only a very
small fraction of all the lisses in Ireland.

The name of Lismore in Waterford affords a
good illustration of the application of this word ;
and its history shows that the early saints some-
times surrounded their habitations with circular
lisses, after the fashion of their pagan ancestors.
In the Life of St. Carthach, the founder, published
by the Bollandists at the 14th of May, we are told
that when the saint and his followers, after his
expulsion from Rahan, arrived at this place, which
had previously been called Maghsciath (Ma-skee),
the plain of the shield, they began to erect a
circular entrenchment. Then a certain virgin,
who had a cell in the same field, came up and
inquired what they were doing ; and St. Carthach
answered her that they were preparing to construct
a little enclosure or Its around their goods for the
service of God. And the holy virgin said, " It
will not be little, but great." " The holy father,
Mochuda (i. e. Carthach) answered — ' Truly it will
be as thou sayest, thou handmaid of Christ ; for
from this name the place will be always called in
Scotic, Liass-mor, or in Latin Atrium-magnum,' "
i. e. great lis or enclosure. There are altogether
eleven places in Ireland called by this name Lis-
more ; all with the same meaning.

Many local names are formed by the union of
the term lios with a personal name ; the individual
commemorated being either the builder of the lia.

CHAP, i.] Habitations ana foriresses. 273

or one of its subsequent possessors. Listowel in
Kerry is called by the Four Masters, Lios-Tuathail,
Tuathal's or Thoohal's fort ; Liscarroll in Cork,
Carroll's or Cearbhall's ; Liscahane in the parish of
Ardf ert, Kerry, called in the Annals, Lios- Cathain,
Cathan's or Kane's Us. The parish of Lissonuffy in
Roscommon, took its name from an old church
built by the O'Duffy s within the enclosure of a fort ;
it is called by the Four Masters Lios-0-nDubh-
thaigh, the fort of the O'Duffys, the pronunciation
of which is exactly preserved in the present name.

Or if not by name, we have a person commemo-
rated in some other way; as, for instance, in
Lisalbanagh in Londonderry, the Scotchman's Us;
Lisataggart in Cavan, of the priest ; Lisnabantry in
the same county, the Its of the widow (Lios-na- bain-
treabhaighe, pron. Lisnabointry) ; Lissadill in the
parish of Drumcliff, Sligo, which the Four Masters
write Lios-an-doitt, the fort of the blind man, the
same name as Lissadoill in Galway ; Lissanearla
near Tralee, the earl's fort.

The old form of this word is les, genitive Us ;
but in the modern language a corrupt genitive
leasa [lassa] is often found. All these are pre-
served in modern names ; and the word is not much
subject to change in the process of anglicisation.
Different forms of the genitive are seen in the
following : — Drumlish, the ridge of the fort, the
name of a village in Longford, and of some town*
lands in the northern counties ; Moyliss, Moylish,
and Moylisha (Moy, a plain) ; Gortalassa, the field
of the Us; Knockalassa (hill) ; Ballinlass, Ballinliss,
Ballinlassa, and Ballinlassy, the town of the fort ;
all widely- spread townland names.

The two diminutives liosdn and lisin [lissaun,
lisheen] , little fort, are very common. The latter
is usually made Lisheen, which is the name of
VOL. i. 19

274 Artificial Structure*. ^ART in.

twenty townlands, and helps to form many others.
It assumes a different form in Lissen or Lissen
Hall, the name of a place near Swords in Dublin,
and of another in the parish of Kilmore, Tipperary.
Liosdn appears in Lissan and Lissane, which are
the names of several townlands and parishes. The
Irish plural appears in Lessanny (little forts) in
Mayo; and the English in Lessans, near Saintfield
in Down. It occurs in combination in Mellison
in Tipperary, which is called in Irish, Magh-liosain,
the plain of the little Us, and in Bally lesson in
Down and Antrim, the town of the little fort.

With the adjective dur prefixed, signifying
" strong," the compound durlas is formed, which
means, according to O'Donovan, strong fort (Sup.
to O'Reilly's Diet, in voce). Several great forts
in different parts of the country are called by this
name, one of the finest of which is situated in the
parish of Kilruan, Tipperary ; it is surrounded by
three great entrenchments, and contains within it
the ruins of a small ancient church. It is now called
Rath-durlais in Irish, and gives name to the town-
land of Rathurles. Several places derive their
names from this word durlas, the best known of
which is the town of Thurles in Tipperary, which
was often called Durlas- O'Fogarty, from its situa-
tion in O'Fogarty's country; but whether the fort
remains or not, I cannot tell. Durless, another
form, is the name of a townland in Mayo, and of
two others in Tyrone.

Rath. This term has been explained in con-
junction with lios, at page 271 ; in the Book of
Armagh, rath is translated fossa. In a great
number of cases this word is preserved in the
anglicised names exactly as it is spelled in Irish,
namely, in the form of rath, which forms or begins
the names oi ab:mit 700 townlands. The townland

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 275

of Rathurd near Limerick, is now called in Irish
Rath-tSuird, but by the annalists Rath-arda-Suird,
the fort of the height of sord, whatever sord
may mean. The Four Masters record the erection
of this rath by one of Heber's chieftains, in A.M.
3501 ; and its remains are still to be seen on the
top of Rathurd hill, near the old castle. Rathnew
in Wicklow, is called in Irish authorities Rath-
Naoi, the latter part of which is a man's name,
possibly the original possessor. Rathdrum, also
in Wicklow, means the rath of the drum or long
hill, and there are several other places of the same
name in different parts of Ireland ; for raths were
often built on the tops of low hills.

Rathmore, great fort, is the name of forty town-
lands in different counties. In many of these the
forts still remain, as at Rathmore, four miles east
of Naas in Kildare. The great fortification that
gave the name to Rathmore near the town of
Antrim, still exists, and is famous for its historical
associations. It is the Rath-mor-Muighe-LinS {great
rath of Moylinny) of our historians ; Tighernach
notices it as existing in the second century ; and
in the seventh it was the residence of the princes
of Dalaradia. It was burned in the year 1315 by
Edward Bruce, which shows that even then it was
an important residence (Reeves, Eccl. Ant. p. 280).
Magh-Line (plain of Line), from which this great
fort took its name, was a district of the present
county of Antrim, anciently very much celebrated,
whose name is still retained by the townland of
Moylinny near the town of Antrim. The old name
is also partly retained by the parish of Ballylinny
town of Line) lying a few miles eastward.

Rath is in Irish pronounced raw, and in modern
names it takes various phonetic forms, to correspond
with this pronunciation, such as ra, rah, ray, &c.f

276 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

which syllables, as representatives of rath, begin
the names of about 400 townlands. Raheny near
Dublin is called by the annalists Rath-Enna, the
fort of Enna, a man's name formerly common in
Ireland ; the circumvallations of the old fort are
still distinctly traceable round the Protestant
church, which was built on its site. The village
of Ardara in Donegal, takes its name from a con-
spicuous rath oh a hill near it, to which the name
properly belongs, in Irish Ard-a' -raith, the height
of the rath. Drumragh, ,a parish in Tyrone,
containing the town of Omagh, is called in the
Inquisitions, Dromrathe, pointing to the Irish
Druim-ratha, the ridge or hill of the rath. The
word occurs singly as Raigh in Galway and Mayo ;
Raw, with the plural Raws, in several of the
Ulster counties ; and Ray in Donegal and Cavan.

Other modern modifications and compounds are
exhibited in the following names : — Belra in Sligq
Belragh near Carnteel in Tyrone, and Belraugh
in Londonderry, all meaning the mouth or en-
trance of the fort ; Corray, in the parish of Kil-
macteige, Sligo, Cor-raith, the round hill of the
rath. Roemore in the parish of Breaghwy, Mayo,
is called Rahemore in an Inquisition of James I.,
which shows it to be a corruption of Rathmore,
great fort ; and there is another Roemore in the
parish of Kilmeena, same county. Raharney in
Westmeath preserves an Irish personal name of
great antiquity, the full name \>emgJRath-Athairne,
Atharny's fort.

The diminutive Raheen (little fort), and its
plural Raheens, are the names of about eighty
townlands, and form part of many others. There
are six townlands called Raheenroe, little red
rath : the little fort which gave name to Raheenroe
near Ballyorgan in the south of Limerick, has
been levelled within my own memory.

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 277

Dun. The primary meaning of the word dun is
" strong " or "firm," and it is so interpreted in
Zeuss, page 30 : — " Dun, firmus, fortis." In this
sense it forms a part of the old name of Dunluce
castle, near the Giant's Causeway — Dunlios as it
is called in all Irish authorities. Dunlios signifies
strong Us or fort — the word is used by Keating,
for instance, in this sense (see Four M., V.
1324f) — and this name shows that the rock on
which the castle ruins stand was in olden times
occupied by a fortified Us. It has the same signi-
fication in Dunchladh [Dunclaw], i. e. fortified
mound or dyke, the name of the ancient boundary
rampart between Brefny and Annaly, extending
from Lough Gowna to Lough Kinclare in Long-
ford ; a considerable part of this ancient entrench-
ment is still to be seen near Granard, and it is
now well known by the anglicised name of
Duncla.

As a verb, the word dun is used in the sense of
" to close," which is obviously derived from its
adjectival signification ; and this usage is exem-
plified in Corragunt, the name of a place in Fer-
managh, near Clones, which is a corruption from
the Irish name, Corradhunta (change of dh to g,
page 56), i. e. closed or shut up corra or weir.

Dun, as a noun, signifies a citadel, a fortified
royal residence ; in the Zeuss MSS. it glosses arx
and castrum ; Adamnan translates it munitio ; and
it is rendered "pallace"by Mageoghegan in his
translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise: — "He
builded seven downes or pallaces for himself." It
is found in the Teutonic as well as in the Keltic
languages — Welsh, din; Anglo-Saxon, tun; old
high German, zun. It is represented in English
by the word town ; and it is the same as the ter-
mination dunum, so common in the old Latinised

278 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

names of many of the cities of Great Britain and
the Continent.

This word was anciently, and is still, frequently
applied to the great forts, with a high central
mound, flat at top, and surrounded by several —
very usually three — earthen circumvallations.
These fortified duns, so many of which remain all
over the country, were the residences of the
kings and chiefs ; and they are constantly men-
tioned as such in the Irish authorities. Thus we
read in the Feast of Dun-na-ngedh (Battle of
Maghrath, p. 7), that Domhnall, son of Aedh, king
of Ireland from A.D. 624 to 639, " first selected
Dun-na-ngedh, on the banks of the Boyne, to be
his habitation, .... and he formed seven very
great ramparts around this dun, after the model of
the houses of Tara." And other passages to the
same effect are cited at page 268 et seq.

In modern names, dun generally assumes the
forms dun, doon, or don ; and these syllables form
the beginnings of the names of more than 600
townlands, towns, and parishes.

There are twenty-seven different places called
Doon ; one of them is the village and parish of
Doon in Limerick, where was situated the church
of St. Fintan; the fort from which the place
received the name, still remains, and was anciently
called Dunblesque. Dunamon, now a parish in
Galway, was so-called from a castle of the same
name on the Suck ; but the name, which the
annalists write Dun-Iomgain, Imgan's fort, was
anciently applied to a dun, which is still in part,
preserved. Dundonnell, i. e. DonalTs or Domh-
nall' s fortress, is the name of a townland in
Roscommon, and of another in Westmeath ; and
Doondonnell is a parish in Limerick; in Down
it is modified, under Scottish influence, to Dun-

CHAP. i.J Habitations and Fortresses. 279

donald, which is the name of a parish, so called
from a fort that stands not far from the church.

The name of Dundalk was originally applied,
not to the town, but to the great fortress now
called the moat of Castletown, a mile inland ;
there can be no doubt that this is the Dun-Dealgan
of the ancient histories and romances, the resi-
dence of Cuchullin, chief of the Red Branch
Knights in the first century. In some of the tales
of the Leabhar na hTJidhre, it is called Dun-Deka,
but in later authorities, Dun-Dealgan, i. e. Delga's
fort ; and according to O'Curry, it received its
name from Delga, a Firbolg chief who built it.
The same personal name appears in Kildalkey
in Meath, which in one of the Irish charters in
the Book of Kells, is written Citt-Delga, Delga's
church.

There is a townland near Lisburn, now called
Duneight, but written Downeagh in an Inquisition
of James I., which has been identified by Dr.
Reeves with the place called in the " Circuit of
Ireland " Dun-Eachdhach, Eochy's fortress : where
the great king Muircheartach of the leather cloaks,
slept a night with his men, when performing his
circuit of the country in the year 941. There
is a parish in Antrim, and also a townland,
called Dunaghy, which is the same name more
correctly anglicised.

The celebrated rock of Dunamase in Queen's
County is now covered by the ruins of the O'Mores'
castle, but it must have been previously occupied
by a dun or caher. In an Inquisition of Richard
II., it is called Donemaske, which is a near ap-
proach to its Irish name as we find it in the
Annals, viz., Dun-Masg, the fortress of Masg, whc
was grandson of Sedna Sithbhaic (Sedna-Shee
vick), one of the ancestors of the Leinster people

280 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

A great number of these duns, as will be seen
from the preceding, have taken their names from
persons, either the original founders or subsequent
possessors. But various other circumstances, in
connection with these structures, were seized upon
to form names. Doneraile in Cork, is called in
the Book of Lismore, Dun-air-aill, the fortress on
the cliff, but whether the dun is still there I
cannot tell. There is a parish in Waterford
whose name has nearly the same signification,
viz., Dunhill; it is called in Grace's Annals
Donnoil, which very well represents the Irish
Dun-aill, the fortress of the cliff. It is understood
to have taken its name from a rock on which a
castle now stands ; but a dun evidently preceded
the castle, and was really the origin of the name.
Doonally in the parish of Calry, Sligo (an ancient
residence of the O'Donnells), which the Four
Masters write Dun-aille, and which is also the
name of several townlands in Sligo and Galway,
is the same name, but more correctly rendered.

Of similar origin to these is Dundrum in Down,
which the Four Masters mention by the name
of Dundroma, the fort on the ridge or long hill ;
the original fort has however disappeared, and
its site is occupied by the well-known castle ruins.
There are several other places called Dundrum, all
of which take their name from a fort on a ridge ;
the ancient fort of Dundrum, near Dublin, was
most probably situated on the height where the
church of Taney now stands.

Although the word dun is not much liable to be
disguised by modern corruption, yet in some cases
it assumes forms different from those I have
mentioned. The town of Downpatrick takes its
name from the large entrenched dun which lies
near the Cathedral. In the first century this

CHAP. 1^] Habitations and Fortresses. 281

fortress was the residence of a warrior of the Red
Branch Knights, called Celtchair, or Keltar of the
battles ; and from him it is variously called in
Irish authorities Dunkeltar, Rathkettar, and Aras-
keltar (aras, a habitation). By ecclesiastical
writers it is commonly called Dun-leth-glas, or
Dun-da-leth- glas ; this last name is translated, the
dun of the two broken locks or fetters (glas, a
fetter), which Jocelin accounts for by a legend —
that the two sons of Dichu (see p. 113), having been
confined as hostages by king Leaghaire, were re-
moved from the place of their confinement, and the
two fetters by which they were bound were broken
by miraculous agency. "Afterwards, for brevity's
sake, the latter part of this long name was dropped,
and the simple word Dun retained, which has past
into the Latin Dunum, and into the English
Down " (Reeves Eccl. Ant., p. 143). The name
of St. Patrick was added, as a kind of distinctive
term, and as commemorative of his connection
with the place

Down is the name of several places in King's
County and Westmeath ; and the plural Downs
(i. e. forts) is still more common. The name of
the Glen of the Downs in Wicklow, is probably
a translation of the Irish Gleann-na-ndun, the
glen of the duns or forts. Downamona in the
parish of Kilmore, Tipperary, signifies the fort
of the bog.

Dooneen, little fort, and the plural Dooneens, are
the names of nearly thirty townlands in the south
adn west ; they are often made Downing and
Downings in Cork, Carlow, Wicklow, and Kil-
dare ; and Downeen occurs once near Ross Carbery
in Cork.

The diminutive in an is not so common, but it
gives name to some places, such as Doonan, three

282 Artificial Structures. [PART m.

townlands in Antrim, Donegal, and Fermanagh ;
Doonane in Queen's County and Tipperary : and
Doonans (little forts) in the parish of Annoy,
Antrim.

There are innumerable names all over the
country, containing this word as a termination.
There is a small island, and also a townland, near
Dungarvan, called Shandon, in Irish Seandun,
old fort ; and there is little doubt that the fortress
was situated on the island. This name is better
known, however, as that of a church in Cork,
celebrated in Father Prout's melodious chanson : —

"The bells of Shandon,
That sound so grand on
The pleasant waters of the river Lee."

The name reminds us of the time when the hill*
now teeming with city life under the shadow of
the church, was crowned by the ancient for-
tress, which looked down on St. Finbar's infant
colony, in the valley beneath. Shannon in Done-
gal, near Lifford, is from the same original,
having the d aspirated, for it is written Shandon in
some old English documents ; and Shannon in the
parish of Calry, Sligo, is no doubt similarly derived.
We sometimes find two of the terms, lios, rath,
and dun, combined in one name ; and in this case,
either the first is used adjectively, like dun in
Dunluce (p. 277), or it is a mere explanatory
term, used synonymously with the second. Or
such a name might originate in successive struc-
tures, like the old name of Caher in Tipperary,
for which see p. 284, infra. Of the union of two
terms, we have a good illustration in Lisdoon-
varna in the north-west of Clare, well known for
its spa, which takes its name from a large fort on
the right of the road as you go from Ballyvaghan

CHAP, i.j Habitations and Fortresses, 283

to Ennistymon. The proper name of this is
Doonvarna (Dun-bhearnach), gapped fort, from
its shape ; and the word Lis was added as a
generic term, somewhat in the same manner as
"river," in the expression "the river Liffey ;"
Lisdoonvarna, i. e. the Us (of) Doonvarna. In
this way came also the name of Lisdown in
Armagh, and Lisdoonan in Down and Monaghan.
The word bearnach, gapped, is not ^infrequently
applied to a fort, referring, not to its original
form, but to its dilapidated appearance, when the
clay had been removed by the peasantry, so as to
leave breaches or gaps in the circumvallations.
Hence the origin of such names as Rathbarna in
Roscommon, and Caherbarnagh in Clare, Cork,
and Kerry.

One of the most obvious means of fortifying a
fort was to flood the external ditch, when the con-
struction admitted it, and the water was at hand ;
and whoever is accustomed to examine these
ancient structures, must be convinced that this
plan was often adopted. In many cases the old
channel may be traced, leading from an adjacent
stream or spring ; and not unf requently the water
still remains in its place in the fosse.

The names themselves often prove the adoptior
of this mode of defence, or rather the existence
of the water in its original position, long aftei
the fort had been abandoned. There are twenty-
eight townlands called Lissaniska and Lissanisky,
chiefly in the southern half of Ireland — Lios-an-
uisge, the fort of the water. None of these are
in Ulster, but the same name occurs as Lisanisk
in Monaghan, Lisanisky in Cavan, and Lisnisk
and Lisnisky in Antrim, Down, and Armagh.
With the same signification we find Rathaniska,
the name of a place in Westmeath ; Raheenaniska

284 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

and Raheenanisky in Queen's County ; Rahaniska
and Rahanisky in Clare, Tipperary, and Cork;
and in the last-mentioned county there is a parish
called Dunisky or Doonisky.

Long after the lisses and raths had been aban-
doned as dwellings, many of them were turned to
different uses ; and we see some of the high duns
and mounds crowned with modern buildings, such
as those at Drogheda, Naas, and Castletown near
Dundalk. The peasantry have always felt the
greatest reluctance to putting them under tillage ;
and in every part of Ireland, you will hear stories
of the calamities that bafell the families or the
cattle of the foolhardy farmers, who outraged the
fairies' dwellings, by removing the earth or tilling
the enclosure.

They were, however, often used as pens for
cattle, for which some of them are admirably
adapted ; and we have, consequently, many such
names as Lisnageeragh, Rathnageeragh, and
Rakeeragh, the fort of the sheep ; Lisnagree and
Lisnagry [Lios-na-ngroidh] , of the cattle ; Lisna-
gowan, the Us of the calves, &c.

Cathair. This word, which is pronounced caher
appears to have been originally applied to a city,
for the old form cathir glosses civitas in the Wb. MS.
of Zeuss. It has been, however, from a very
early period — perhaps from the beginning — used
to designate a circular stone fort ; it is applied to
both in the present spoken language.

These ancient buildings are still very common
throughout the country, especially in the south
and west, where the term was in most general
use ; and they have given names to great numbers
of places. In modern nomenclature the word
usually takes one of the two forms, caher and
eahir ; and there are more than 300 townlands

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 285

and towns whose names begin with one or the
other of these two words, all in Munster and
Connaught, except three or four in Leinster —
none in Ulster.

Caher itself is the name of more than thirty
townlands, in several of which the original
structures are still standing. The stone fort that
gave name to Caher in Tipperary, was situated on
the rocky island now occupied by the castle, which
has of course obliterated every vestige of the
previous edifice. Its full name, as used by the
Four Masters and other authorities, was Cathair-
duna-iascaigh [eesky], the circular stone fortress
of the fish-abounding dun, and this name is still
used by the Irish-speaking people ; from which it
is obvious, " that an earthen dun had originally
occupied the site on which a caher or stone fort
was erected subsequently " (Petrie, " Irish Penny
Journal," p. 257). I think it equally evident
that before the erection of the caher its name way
Duniascaigh [Duneesky], the fish-abounding dun,
and indeed the Four Masters once (at 1581) give
it this appellation. Dr. Petrie goes on to say : —
"The Book of Lecan records the destruction of
the caher by Cuirreach, the brother-in-law of
Felimy the Lawgiver, as early as the third century,
at which time it is stated to have been the resi-
dence of a female named Badamar."

Cahersiveen in Kerry retains the correct pro-
nunciation of the Irish name, Cathair-Saidhbhin,
the stone fort of Saidhbhm, or Sabina. Saidhbhiit
is a diminutive of Sadhbh [Sauv], a woman's name
formerly in very general use, which in latter
times has been commonly changed to Sarah.
Caherconlish in Limerick must have received its
name, like Caher in Tipperary, from the erection
of a stone fort near an older earthen ooe ; its

286 Artificial Stnictures. [PART in.

Irish name being Cathair-chinn-lis (Annals of In-
nisf alien), the caher at the head of the lis. The
ruins of the original stone fort that gave name to
Cahermurphy in the parish of KQmihil, Clare,
still remain : the Four Masters call it Cathair-
Murchadha, Murrough's caher. The whitish colour
of the stones has given the name of Cahergal
( Cathair-geal, white caher} to many of these forts
from which again eleven townlands in Cork,
Waterford, Galway, and Mayo, have derived
their names.

Cahereen, little caher, is the name of a place
near Castleisland in Kerry. The genitive of
cathair is catharach [caheragh], and this forms
the latter part of a number of names ; for exam-
ple, there is a place near Dunmanway, and an-
other near Kenmare, called Derrynacaheragh the
oak-wood of the stone fort.

Caiseal. Cormac Mac Cullenan, in his glossary,
conjectures that the name of Cashel in Tipperary,
is derived from Cis-ail, i. e. tribute-rent ; the
same derivation is given in the Book of Rights ;
while O'Clery and other Irish authorities propose
Cios-ail, rent-rock — the rock on which the kings
of Munster received their rents ; for Cashel was
once the capital city of Munster, and the chief
residence of its kings. There can be no doubt
that all this is mere fancy, for the word caiseal is
very common in Irish, and is always used to
signify a circular stone fort ; it is a simple word,
and either cognate with, or, as Ebel asserts,
derived from the Latin castellum ; and it is found
in the most ancient Irish MSS., such as those of
Zeuss, Cormac' s Glossary, &c.

Moreover, in the modern form, Cashel, it is the
name of about fifty townlands, and begins the
names of about fifty others, every one of which

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 28?

was so called from one of these ancient stone
forts ; and there is no reason why Cashel in Tip-
perary should be different from the others. As a
further proof that this is its real signification, it
is translated maceria in a charter of A. D. 1004,
which is entered in the Book of Armagh (Reeves's
Adamnan, p. 75). About the beginning of the
fifth century, Core, king of Munster, took pos-
session of Cashel, and there can be but little
doubt that he erected a stone fort on the rock
now so well known for its ecclesiastical ruins, for
we are told that he changed its name from sidh-
dhruim [Sheedrum : fairy ridge] to Caiseal. The
cashels belong to the same class as cahers, raths,
&c., and like them are of pagan origin ; but the
name was very often adopted in Christian times to
denote the wall with which the early saints sur-
rounded their establishments.

Cashels, and places named from them, are
scattered over the four provinces, but they pre-
ponderate in the western and north-western
counties. Cashelfean in Cork and Donegal, and
Cashelnavean near Stranorlar in the latter county,
both signify the stone fort of the Fianna or ancient
Irish militia (see p. 91); Cashelfinoge near Boyle
in Roscommon, the fort of the scald crows. Some-
times this word is corrupted to castle, as we find
in Bally castle in Mayo, the correct name of which
would be Ballycashel, for it is called in Irish,
Baile-an-chaisil, the town of the cashel; but the
name of Ballycastle in Antrim is correct, for it was
so called, not from a cashel, but from a castle.
Castledargan in the parish of Kilross, Sligo, is simi-
larly corrupted, for the Four Masters call it Caiseal-
Locha- Dear gain, the stone fort of Lough Dargan.

Brugh and Bruighean. Brugh [bru] signifies a
palace or distinguished residence. This term was

288 Artificial Structures. [PART m

applied to many of the royal residences of Ireland ;
and several of the places that have preserved the
word in their names have also preserved the
old brughs or raths themselves. Bruree on the
river Maigue in Limerick, is a most characteristic
example. Its proper name, as it is found in many
Irish authorities, is Brugh-righ, the fort or palace
of the king ; for it was the principal seat of Oilioll
Olum, king of Munster in the second century
(see p. 134), and afterwards of the O'Donovans,
chiefs of Hy Carbery, i. e. of the level country
round Bruree and Kilmallock. In the Book of
Rights, it is mentioned first in the list of the
king of Cashel's seats, and there are still remain-
ing extensive earthen forts, the ruins of the
ancient brugh or palace of Oilioll Olum and his
successors. According to an ancient MS. quoted
by O'Curry (Battle of Moylena, p. 72), the most
ancient name of this place was Dun- Cobhthaigh or
Duncoffy, Coff agh's dun ; which proves that it was
a fortified residence before its occupation by Oilioll
Olum.

The present name of Sniff in Limerick, is a
corruption of Brugh (see p. 54). It is now called
in Irish Brubh-na-leise, in which both terms are
corrupted, the correct name being Brugh-na-Deise
[Bruna-daishe], i. e. the brugh or mansion of the
ancient territory of .Dm-beg ; and from the first
part, Brubh [bruv], the modern form Bruff is
derived. The brugh that gave name to this place
still exists ; it is an earthen fort near the town
called at the present day by the people, Lism-d-
Bhrogha, as in the old song, " Binn lisin aerach a
Bhrogha," " The melodious airy little lis of Bruff."
There is a place called Brufl in the parish of
Aughamore, Mayo, which is also from the same
word brugh.

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 289

In some parts of the country they use the form
brughas [bruas], which has originated the names
of Bruis, now a parish in Tipperary ; Bruce, two
townlands in Wexford ; and Bruse, two others in
Cavan. There is also a derivative brughachas
[brughas], which, as well as brugh itself, is used
in several places to denote a farm-house, and the
former is pretty common in this sense, in some of
the Ulster counties. We derive from it Brughas,
the name of a townland in Armagh, and of
another in Fermanagh ; and Drumbrughas, the
ridge of the farm-house, a name of frequent
occurrence in Cavan and Fermanagh. (For the
termination s, see 2nd Vol., Chap. 1.)

The diminutive bruighean [breean] signifying
also a royal mansion, or great house, is even more
common than its original. Both brugh and
bruighean were often used to signify a house of
public hospitality, whence the term brugh aidh
[broo-ey], the keeper of such a house — a farmer.
There was a celebrated house of this kind on the
river Dodder, two miles south of Tallaght in
Dublin, called Bruighean- Da-Derga, from Da-
Derga, its owner. This mansion was destroyed by
a band of pirates, about the time of the Christian
era, and they also slew the monarch, Conary-
more, who was enjoying the hospitality of Da-
Derga. Its destruction, and the death of the
monarch, are mentioned in our oldest authorities,
such as the Leabhar na hUidhre, &c. ; no re-
mains of the old fort can now be discovered, but
it has left its name on the townland of Boherna-
breena, which is the phonetic representative of
Bothar-na Bruighne, the road of the bruighean or
mansion.

Another mansion of the same kind, equally
renowned, was Bruighean-Da-Choga, which wa^
VOL. i. 20

290 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

situated in the present county Westmeath. This
was stormed and destroyed in the first century,
and Cormac Conloingeas, son of Conor mac Nessa
(see p. 126), who had stopped there to rest on his
journey from Connaught to Ulster, was slain. The
ancient Ballybetagh attached to this house is now
subdivided into four townlands, situated in the
parish of Drumrany, two of them called Bryan-
more, and two Bryanbeg ; in which Bryan repre-
sents the present pronunciation of Bruighean. The
old mansion itself still remains, and is situated in
Bryanmore Upper ; it is a fort about 200 feet in
diameter, containing within its circle the ruins of
an Anglo-Norman castle ; and it was formerly
surrounded by a circle of upright stones.

In more recent times, the word bruighean has
been always used by the people to denote a fairy
palace — for the old forts were believed to be in-
habited by the fairies ; and in this sense it is
generally understood in its application to local
names. The form bryan is found in some other
names besides those in Westmeath ; such as Bryan
( -beg and -more), near Aughrim in Roscommon.
Breen, which well represents the original sound,
is the name of three townlands in Antrim, Done-
gal, and Tyrone ; and there is a place in Limerick,
north of Kilfinane, and another near Emly in
Tipperary, called Ballinvreena, the town of the
fairy mansion. The double diminutive Breenaun
occurs in the parish of Ross, Galway ; and we find
Breenagh — a place abounding in fairy mansions —
in the parish of Conwal, Donegal. The diminutive
in 6g occurs once in Sligo, giving name to Breeoge,
in the parish of Kilmacowen — Bruigheog, little
brugh or fort.

Mota. The large high mounds are often called
mota in Irish, the same as the English word

CHAP. I.] Habitations and Fortresses. 291

It is the opinion of the best Irish scholars, and
among others, of O'Donovan, that it is not an
original Irish word at all, for it is not found in
any ancient authority ; it is very probably nothing
more than the English word moat, or perhaps the
Anglo-Saxon mote, borrowed, like many others,
into Irish.

We find a few names in the annals, formed from
this word. The Four Masters mention Mount-
garret, now a ruined castle on the Barrow, near
New Ross, once a residence of the Butlers ; and
they call it Mota-Gaired, Garret's moat, which
shows that the place should have been called
Moatgarret. Ballymote in Sligo also occurs in
the Four Masters, in the Irish form Baile-an-
mhota, the town of the moat.

There are many townlands called Moat and
Mota, which derive their names from this word,
and in numerous cases the mounds are still pre-
served. The great mound of Moate in "West-
meath, forms a very conspicuous feature; it is
called Moategranoge ; and '-.his name is derived,
according to tradition, from Graine-og, young
Grania or Grace, a Munster lady who married
one of the O'Melaghlins. She is probably the
person commemorated in the legend referred to by
Caesar Otway; — "a legend concerning a Milesian
princess taking on herself the office of brehon.
and from this moat adjudicating causes and de-
livering her oral laws to the people" (Toiir in
Connaught, p. 55).

Orianan. — The word grianan [greenan] is ex-
plained by O'Donovan (App. to O'Reilly's Diet.,
in voce), 1, a beautiful sunny spot; 2, a bowei
or summer-house ; 3, a balcony or gallery (on a
house) ; 4, a royal palace. Its literal meaning if
a sunny spot, for it is derived from grian, the sup

292 Artificial Structure*. [PART in.

and the Irish-Latin writers often translate it
solarium, and terra Solaris. It is of frequent oc-
currence in the most ancient Irish MSS., princi-
pally in the second and fourth senses ; as for instance
in Cormac's Glossary, where it is used as another
name for "a palace on a hill." O'Brien explains
it a royal seat, in which sense it is used by the
best Irish writers ; and this is unquestionably its
general meaning, when it occurs in topographical
names. The most common English forms of the
word are Greenan, Greenane, Greenaun, and Gre-
nan, which are the names of about forty-five
townlands distributed all over the four provinces.

The grianans are generally the same kind of
structures as the cahers, brughs, &c., already ex-
plained ; and many of them still remain in the
places whose names contain the word. The most
celebrated palace of the name in Ireland was
Greenan-Ely, of which I will speak under Aileach.
Grenanstown in Tipperary, five miles from Ne-
nagh, has got its present name by translation
from Baile-an-ghrianain, the town of the palace ;
the grianan is evidently the great fort now called
Lisrathdine, which appears to have been an im-
portant place, as it is very large, and has three
circumvallations. The name of the fort has been
formed like that of Lisdoonvarna (p. 282) ; Lis-
rathdine, i. e. the fort of E-athdine, this last sig-
nifying deep rath (Rath-doimhin) in allusion to
the depth of the fosses. Clogrennan castle, the
ruins of which are situated on the Barrow, three
miles below Carlow, must have been built on the
site of a more ancient residence, as the name
sufficiently attests — Cloch-grianain, the stone castlo
of the grianan.

It will be perceived that grianan is a diminu-
tive from grian; the other diminutive in 6g

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses, 293

sometimes occurs also, and is understood to mean
a sunny little hill. We find Greenoge, a village
and parish in Meath ; and this is also the name of
a townland near Rathcoole, Dublin, and of another
near Dromore in Down (see, for these diminu-
tives, 2ndYol., Chap. 11.).

Aileaeh. The circular stone fortresses already
described under the words cathair and caiseal,
were often called by the name aileach [ellagh], a
word which signifies literally a stone house or
stone fort, being derived from ail, a stone. Michael
O'Clery, in his Glossary of ancient Irish words,
gives this meaning and derivation: — "Aileach or
ntltheach, i. e. a name for a habitation, which
(name) was given from stones " (see 2nd Vol.,
Chap. i.).

Aileach is well known to readers of Irish history
as the name of the palace of the Northern Hy
Neill kings, which is celebrated in the most an-
cient Irish writing under various names, such as
Aileach Neid, Aileach Frighrinn, &c. The ruins of
this great fortress, which is situated on a hill,
four miles north-west from Derry, have been
elaborately described in 'the Ordnance memoir of
the parish of Templemore ; they consist of a
circular cashel of cyclopean masonry, crowning the
summit of the hill, surrounded by three concentric
ramparts. It still retains its old name, being
called Greenan-Ely, i. e. the palace of Aileach, for
Ely represents the pronunciation of Ailigh, the
genitive of Aileach ; and it gives name to the two
adjacent townlands of Elaghmore and Elaghbeg.

Elagh is also the name of two townlands in
Tyrone, and there are several places in Galway
and Mayo called Ellagh, all derived from a stone
fort. In Caherelly, the name of a parish in Li-
uierick, there is a union of two synonymous terms,

294 Artificial Structure*. £PART in.

the Irish name being Cathair-Ailigh, the caher of
the stone fort. So also in Cahernally near the
town of Headford in Galway, which is called
Cathair-na-hailighi, the caher of the stone-fort, in
an ancient document, quoted by Hardiman (lar C.
371) ; and the old stone-built fortress still re-
mains there. A stone fort must have existed on
a ridge in Dromanallig, a townland near Inchigeel-
agh in Cork ; and another on the promontory
called Ardelly in Erris, which Mac Firbis, in
" Hy Fiachrach," calls Ard-Ailigh.

Teamhair. The name of Tara, like that of
Cashel, has been the subject of much conjecture ;
and our old etymologists have also in this instance
committed the mistake of seeking to decompose
what is in reality a simple term. The ancient
name of Tara is Teamhair, and several of our old
writers state that it was so called from Tea, the
wife of Heremon, who was buried there : — Teamh-
air, i. e. the mur or wall of Tea, But this deri-
vation is legendary, for Teamhair was, and is still,
a common local name.

Teamhair [Tawer] is a simple word, and has
pretty much the same meaning as grianan (see p.
291) ; it signifies an elevated spot commanding an
extensive prospect, and in this sense it is fre-
quently used as a generic term in Irish MSS. In
Cormac's Glossary it is stated that the teamhair of
a house is a grianan (i. e. balcony), and that the
teamhair of a country is a hill commanding a wide
view. This meaning applies to every teamhair in
Ireland, for they are all conspicuously situated ;
and the great Tara in Meath, is a most character-
istic example. Moreover, it must be remembered
that a teamhair was a residence, and that all the
teamhairs had originally one or more forts, which
in case of many of them remain to this day.

CHAP. i.J Habitations and Fortresses. 295

The genitive of teamhair is teamhrach [taragh
or towragh], and it is this form which has given
its present name to Tara in Meath, and to every
other place whose name is similarly spelled (see p.
33). By the old inhabitants, however, all these
places are called in Irish Teamhair. Our histories
tell us that when the Firbolgs came to Tara, they
called the hill Dmim-caein [Druinkeen], beautiful
ridge; and it was also called Liathdhruim [Lei-
trim], grey ridge. There is a place called Tara
in the parish of Witter, Down, which has a fine
fort commanding an extensive view; another in
the parish of Durrow, King's County ; and Tara
is the name of a conspicuous hill near Grorey in
Wexford, on the top of which there is a earn.

There was a celebrated royal residence in Mun-
ster, called Teamhair-Luachra, from the district
of Sliabh Luachra or Slievelougher. Its exact
situation is now unknown, though it is probable
that the fort is still in existence; but it must
have been somewhere near Ballahantouragh, a
ford giving name to a townland near Castleisland
in Kerry, which is called in Irish Bel-atha-an-
Teamhrach, the ford-mouth of the Teamhair. A
similar form of the name is found in Knockaun-
touragh, a little hill near Kildorrery in Cork, o<
the top of which is a fort — the old Teamhair —
celebrated in the local legends ; and in the parish
of Kiltoom in Roscommon, north-west of Athlone,
there is a place called Ratawragh, the rath of the
conspicuous residence.

There are many other places deriving theii
names from these teamhairs, and to understand the
following selection, it must be remembered thai
the word is pronounced tavver, tawer, and totver, ir
different parts of the country. One form is found
in Towerbeg and Towermore, two townlands in ttu

296 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

parish of Devenish, Fermanagh. ; and there is a
Towermore near Castlelyons in Cork. Taur,
another modification, gives name to two hills
(-more and -beg), in the parish of Clonfert, same
county. Tawran, little Teamhair (Teamhrari),
occurs in the parish of Killaraght, Sligo ; we find
the same name in the slightly different form
Tavraun, in the parish of Kilmovee, Mayo ; while
the diminutive in in gives name to Tevrin in the
parish of Rathconnell, Westmeath.

Faithche. In front of the ancient Irish resi-
dences, there was usually a level green plot, used
for various purposes — for games and exercises of
different kinds, for the reception of visitors, &c.
Faithche [f aha] was the name applied to this green ;
the word is translated platea in Cormac's Glossary ;
and it is constantly used by ancient Irish writers,
who very frequently mention the faithche in con-
nection with the king's or chieftain's fort. For
instance, in the feast of Dun-na-ngedh it is related
that a visitor reached " Aileach Neid (see p. 293,
mpra), where the king held his residence at that
time. The king came out upon the faithche, sur-
rounded by a great concourse of the men of Erin ;
and he was playing chess amidst the host" (Battle
of Moyrath, p. 36).

The word is, and has been, used to denote a
hurling field, or fair green, or any level green
field in which meetings were held, or games cele-
brated, whether in connection with a fort or uot ;
in the Irish version of Nennius, for instance, it is
applied to a hurling-green. In Connaught, at the
present time, it is universally understood to mean
simply a level green field.

The word enters pretty extensively into names,
and it is generally made Fahy and Faha, the
former being more usual in Connaught, and the

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 297

latter in Minister ; both together constitute the
names of about thirty townlands. It enters into
several compounds, such as Fahanasoodry near
Ballylanders in Limerick, Faithche-na-sudaire, the
green of the tanners, where tanning must have
been carried on ; Fahykeen in Donegal, beautiful
green.

The word takes various other forms, of which
the following names will be a sufficient illustration.
Faheeran in the parish of Kilcomreragh, King's
County, is a contraction of Faithche-Chiarain [Faha-
Kieran : Four Masters], Ciaran's green plot ; Faia-
fannan near Killybegs, Donegal, Fannan's green.
It is made Foy in several places, as, for instance,
near Rathangan in Kildare ; in Armagh we find
Foyduff, Foybeg, and Foymore (black, little,
great), and in Donegal, Foyfin, fair or whitish
faithche. Foygh occurs in Longford and Tyrone ;
in Donegal we have Foyagh, and in Fermanagh,
Fyagh, both meaning a place abounding in green
plots.

The townland of Dunseverick in Antrim, which
takes its name from the well-known castle, is also
called Feigh, a name derived, no doubt, from the
faithche of the ancient dun, which existed ages
before the erection of the castle ; and we may
conclude that the name of Rathfeigh in Meath
(the fort of the faithche or green), was similarly
derived. The name Feigh occurs also in the south,
but it is not derived from faithche. Ballynafoy in
Down, is the town of the green ; the same name is
found in Antrim, in the forms Ballynafeigh,
Ballynafey, and Ballynafie ; and in Kildare we
find it as Ballynafagh.

The word occurs with three diminutives. Fahan
in Kerry, and Fahane in Cork, both signify little
faithche. Faheens (little green plots), is found in

298 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

Mayo ; and there is a lake not far from the town
of Donegal, called Lough Foyhin, the lake of the
little green. In Sligo we have Foyoges, and in
Longford, Fihoges, both having the same meaning
as Faheens.

Mothar. The ruin of a caher or rath is often
designated in Munster by the term mothar [mo-
her] ; and sometimes the word is applied to the
ruin of any building. This is its usual meaning
in Clare ; but its proper signification is " a cluster
of trees or bushes ; " and in other parts of Ireland,
this is probably the sense in which it should be
interpreted when we find it in local names. On a
cliff near Hag's Head, on the western coast of
Clare, there formerly stood, and perhaps still stands
an old caher or stone fort called Moher O'Ruan,
O'Ruan's ruined fort ; and this is the feature that
gave name to the well-known Cliffs of Moher.

The word is used in the formation of local
names pretty extensively in Munster and Con
naught, and in two of the Ulster counties, Cavan
and Fermanagh ; while in Leinster I find only
one instance in the parish of Offerlane, Queen's
County. Scattered over this area, Moher is the
name of about twenty-five townlands, and it is
found in combination in those of many others.

The plural Mohera (clusters or ruined forts), is
the name of a townland near Castlelyons in Cork ;
and we find the word in Moheracreevy in Leitrim,
the ruin or cluster of or near the creeve or large
tree. In Cork, also, near Rathcormick, is a place
called Mohereen, little moher ; and Moheragh,
signifying a place abounding in makers, occurs in
the parish of Donohill, Tipperary. Moheranea in
Fermanagh, signifies the moher of the horse ; and
Drummoher in Clare, and Drommoher in Limerick,
the ridge of the ruined fort.

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 299

Crannog. The word crannog , a 'formation from
crann, a tree, means literally a structure of wood.
In former times the Anglo-Irish employed it very
generally to signify a basket or hamper of a
certain size for holding corn. In its topographical
use — the only use that concerns us here — it is
applied to wooden houses placed on artificial
islands in lakes. These islands were formed in a
shallow part, by driving stakes into the bottom,
which were made to support cross beams ; and on
these were heaped small trees, brambles, clay, &c.,
till the structure was raised over the surface of the
water. On this the family, and in many cases
several families, lived in wooden houses, sufficiently
protected from enemies by the surrounding lake,
while communication with the land was carried on
by means of a small boat. The word crannog was
very often, and is now generally understood,
to mean the whole structure, both island and
houses.

These lake dwellings were used from the most,
remote ages down to the sixteenth or seventeenth
century, and they are frequently mentioned in the
annals. The remains of many of them have been
recently discovered, and have been examined and
described by several archaeologists. There are
various places through the country whose names
contain the word crannog, in most of which there
was a lake, with an artificial island, though in
some cases the lakes have disappeared.

Crannoge is the name of a townland near
Pomeroy in Tyrone ; Cronoge, of another in Kil-
kenny ; and in the parish of Cloonclare, Leitrim
is a place called Crannoge Island. Crannogebo)
(yellow) in the parish of Inishkeel, Donegal, was
once the residence of one of the O'Boyles. Cool-
cronoge, the corner or angle of the wooden house,

300 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

is the name of a place in the parish of Ardagh,
Limerick. There is a small lake near Ballingarn
in the north of Tipperary, called Loughnahinch
(the lake of the island), in which there is a cran-
noge fifty feet in diameter, which gave name both
to the lake and to the townland of Ballinahinch ;
and the parish of Ballinahinch in Connemara,
which gives name to a barony, was so called from
a crannoge on an island in Ballinahinch Lake.
The Four Masters mention eight crannoges in as
many different parts of Ireland.

Longphort. This term is in frequent use, and
generally signifies a fortress, but sometimes an
encampment. The word was applied both to the
old circular entrenched forts and to the more
modern stone castles ; and the fortresses bearing
this designation have given name to all those
places called Longford, of which there are about
twenty. The town of Longford is called in the
annals Longford- O'Farrell, from the castle of the
O'Farrells, the ancient proprietors, which, ac-
cording to tradition, was situated where the
military barrack now stands. The barony of
Longford in Roscommon, takes its name from
Longford castle in the parish of Tiranascragh.
Longford demesne in the parish of Dromard.
county Sligo, west of Ballysadare, now the pro-
perty of the Crofton family, was formerly the
seat of the O'Dowds, from whom it took the
name of Longphort- O'Dowda (" Hy Fiachrach ")
O'Dowd's fortress.

In a few cases the word is somewhat disguised
in modern names, as in Lonart near Killorglin in
in Kerry, which is a mere softening of the sound
of Longphort. Athlunkard is the name of a town-
land near Limerick, from which Athlunkard-street
in the city derives its name ; the correct angli-

CHAP. I.] Habitations and Fortresses. 301

cised form would be Athlongford, the ford of the
fortress or encampment. And it sometimes takes
such forms as Lonehort, Lonehurt, &c.

Teach. This word [pron. tagh~\ means a house
of any kind, and is cognate with Lat. tectum ; it
was used hoth in pagan and Christian times, and
has found its way extensively into local names.
The best anglicised form is tagh, which is of fre-
quent occurrence, as in Tagheen a parish in Mayo,
which is called in " Hy Fiachrach," Teach-chaein,
beautiful house ; and Taghboy, a parish in Meath,
yellow house. Sometimes the final guttural was
omitted, as in Taduff in Roscommon, black house.

The form tigh [tee] is however in more general
use in the formation of names than the nominative
(see p. 33) ; and it usually appears as tee, ti, and
ty. Teebane and Teemore (white and great house),
are the names of several townlands in the northern
counties ; Tibradden near Dublin, and Tyone near
Nenagh, Braddan's and John's house.

When tigh is joined with the genitive of thft
article, it almost always takes the form of tin or
tinna, which we find in the beginning of a great
number of names. There is a small town in Car-
low, and several townlands in Wicklow and
Queen's County, called Tinnahinch, which repre-
sents the Irish Tigh-na-hinns$> the house of the
island or river holm ; Tincurragh and Tincurry in
Wexford and Tipperary, the house of the curragh
or marsh ; Tinnascart in Cork and Waterf ord, and
Tinnascarty in Kilkenny, the house of the scart or
cluster of bushes.

The site on which a house stood is often de-
noted by the combination ait-tighe [aut-tee],
literally, " the place of a house ; " in modern
names it is almost always made atti or atty, which
form the beginning of about sixty townland names,

302 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

the latter part being very often the name of the
former owner of the house. It occurs once in the
Four Masters at 1256, where they mention a place
called Ait-tighe-Mic-Cuimin, the site of Mac
Currin's house.

Attidermot near Aughrim in Galway, signifies
the site of Dermot's house ; Attykit near Cashel
in Tipperary of Ceat's or Ket's house. In a few
cases, the compound is followed by some term
characterising the house, as in Attiduff inMonagh-
an and Sligo, the site of the black house ;
Attatantee in Donegal, in Irish Ait-a'-tsean-tighe,
the site of the old house. The word ait is some-
times used alone, to denote the site of anything,
as in Atshanbo in Tipperary, the site of the old
tent (both, a tent) ; Attavally, the name of three
townlands in Mayo, the site of the bally or village.

From the general meaning of house, teach or
tigh came to be used frequently in Christian times
to denote a church ; and hence the word is often
joined to the names of saints, to designate ecclesi-
astical foundations, which afterwards gave names
to parishes and townlands. Examples of this occur
in Chap. in. Part II. ; and I will add a few more
here.

Taghadoe, a parish in Kildare, takes its name
from an old church, which, however, has wholly
disappeared, though a portion of the round tower
still stands in the churchyard ; the name is written
by Irish authorities, Teach- Tuae, St. Tua's church.
Tiaquin was originally the name of a primitive
church in Galway, and it is written in Irish Tigh-
Dachonna [Teaconna], St. Dachonna's house, from
which the present name was formed by contraction,
and by the aspiration of the D (see p. 20). A
castle was erected there long afterwards, from
which the barony of Tiaquin has been so called.

CHAP, i.j Habitations and Fortresses. 303

Timahoe in Queen's County, well known for its
beautiful round tower, took its name (Tech-Hochua,
O'Clery's Cal.) from St. Mochua, the original
founder and patron, who flourished in the sixth
century. St. Munna or Fintan, who died, A. D.
634, founded a monastery in Wexford, which was
called from him Teach-Munna (Book of Leinster),
St. Munna's house, now modernised to Taghmon ;
and the parish of Taghmon in Westmeath de-
rived its name from the same saint. Tymon, the
name of a place near Dublin, containing an in-
teresting castle ruin, has the same signification as
Taghmon, but whether the Munna whom it com-
memorates, is the same as St. Munna of Taghmon,
I cannot tell.

This word enters into various other combinations
in local names. There is a townland in the parish
of Lower Bodoney, Tyrone, called Crockatanty,
whose Irish name is Cnoc-a'-tsean-tighe (see pp.
51 and 23, supra), the hill of the old house ; and
we see the same form in Tullantanty (Tulach, a
hill) in Cavan, and which has also the same
meaning. Edentiroory near Dromore in Down,
means the edan or hill-brow of Rory's house.

I have already mentioned (p. 65) that in some
of the eastern counties, s is some/ 'mes prefixed to
this word ; and in addition to tht- examples given
there, I may mention Staholmog in Meath, St.
Colmoc's or Mocholmoc's house ; and Stamullen in
the same county, Maelan's house.

Both [boh] . This word signifies a tent, booth,
or hut, and it was applied not only to the huts
erected for human habitation, but also sometimes
to cattle-houses. It is an old word in the language,
and exists also in the kindred Keltic dialects : —
Welsh bod, Cornish bod and bos. It occurs very
often in our ancient authorities ; and the annals

304 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

make mention of several places whose names were
derived from these huts.

Templeshanbo at the foot of Mount Leinster in
Wexford, was anciently called Seanboth [Shan-
boh], old tent or hut, the prefix Temple having
been added in recent times. It was also called
Seanboth- SinS, and Seanboth-Colmain, from St.
Colman O'Fiachra, who was venerated there.
Seanboth- Sing signifies the old tent of Sin [Sheen]
a woman's name belonging to the pagan ages ; and
it is very probable that this was its original name,
and that St. Colman, like many other Irish saints,
adopted it without change. There is a Shanbo in
Meath, a Shanboe in Queen's County ; and Shan-
bogh is the name of a parish in Kilkenny — all
different forms of the same word. It also appears
in Drumshanbo (the drum or ridge of the old
tent), the name of a village in the parish of Kil-
toghert Leitrim, of a townland in the parish of
Cloone, same county, and of another in the parish
of Kildress, Tyrone. This name is popularly be-
lieved— in my opinion erroneously — to signify
" the ridge of the old cow " (bo, a cow), from the
resemblance of the outline of the hill at each
place, to a cow's back..

Bough, which is merely an adaptation of Both,
is the name of a townland in Carlow, and of
another in Monaghan. Raphoe in Donegal is
called in the annals Rath-both, the fort of the
huts. In the Tripartite Life it is related that
while St. Patrick was at Dagart in the territory of
Magdula, he founded seven churches, of which
Both-Domhnaigh (the tent of the church) was one;
which name is still retained in the parish of Bo-
doney in Tyrone. There is an old church near
Dungiven in Londonderry, which in various Irish
authorities is called Both-Mheidhbhc [Veva].

CHAP, i.] Habitations and Fortresses. 305

Maive's hut, an old pagan name which is now
modernised to Bovevagh. Bohola, a parish in
Mayo, takes its name from a church now in ruins,
which is called in " Hy Fiachrach," Both-Thola,
St. Tola's tent ; and in the parish of Templeniry,
Tipperary, there is a townland called Montanavoe,^
in Irish Mointedn-a'-boith, the boggy land of the
tent.

We have the plural (botha) represented by Boho,
a parish in Fermanagh, which is only a part of its
name as given by the Four Masters, viz., the
Botha or tents of Muintir Fialain, this last being
the name of the ancient tribe who inhabited the
district : Bohaboy in Galway, yellow tents.

Almost all local names in Ireland beginning
with Boh (except the Bohers], and those also that
end with -boha and -bohy, are derived from this
word. Thus Bohullion in Donegal represents th«
Irish Both-chuillinn, the ha it of the holly, i. e.
surrounded with holly-trees. Knockboha, a famous
hill in the parish of Lackan, Mayo, is called in
" Hy Fiachrach," Cnoc-botha, the hill of the hut ;
and Knocknaboha in Limerick and Tipperary, has
the same meaning.

There are two diminutives of this word, viz.,
Bothdn and Bothog [bohaun, bohoge], both of
which are in very common use in the south and
west of Ireland, even among speakers of English,
to denote a cabin or hut of any kind. Bohaun
is the name of four townlands in Galway and
Mayo ; and we find Bohanboy (yellow little hut)
in Donegal. The other, Bohoge, is the name of
a townland in the parish of Manulla, Mayo.

Caislen. The woid caislen or caislean [cashlaun]
is applied to a castle ; and like caiseal, it is evi-
dently a loan-word — a diminutive formation from
the Latin castellum. Like the older duns> cabers, &c.,
voi,. i. 21

30G Artificial Structures [PABT m

these more modern structures gave names to nu-
merous places, and the word is almost always
represented by the English word castle.

Of the names containing this word, far the
greater number are purely Irish, notwithstanding
the English look of the word castle. Castlereagh
"is a small town in Roscommon, which gives name
to a barony. The castle, of which there are now
no remains, stood on the west side of the town, and
it is called by the Four Masters, Caislen-riabhach,
grey castle. There is a barony in Down of the
same name, which was so called from an old castle,
a residence of a branch of the O'Neills, which
stood on a height in the townland of Castlereagh
near Belfast ; and some half dozen townlands in
different counties are called by this name, so des-
criptive of the venerable appearance of an ancient
castle. Castlebar in Mayo belonged, after the
English invasion, to the Barrys, one of whom no
doubt built a castle there, though the name is the
only record we have of the event. It is called in
Irish authorities, Caislen-an-Bharraigh (Barry's
castle) ; and Downing, who wrote a short descrip-
tion of Mayo in 1680, calls it Castle Barry, which
has been shortened to the present name.

In a few cases, the Irish form is preserved, as
for example in Cashlan, the name of two town-
lands in Monaghan, and of one in Antrim; Cash-
laundarragh in Galway, the castle of the oak-tree ;
Cashlancran in Mayo, the castle of the trees ;
BaLycushlane in "Wexford, the town of the castle.

Daingean. The word daingean [dangan] as an
adjective, means strong; as a noun it means a
stronghold of any kind, whether an ancient cir-
cular fort, or a more modern fortress or castle ;
and it is obviously connected with the English
words dungeon and donjon. Dangan, which is the

CHAP. I.] Habitations and Fortresses. 307

correct English form, is the name of a village
in Kilkenny, and of a number of townlands, in-
cluding Dangan in Meath, once the residence of
the Duke of Wellington. This was also the old
name of Philipstown; the erection of " the castle of
Daingean " is recorded by the Four Masters at
1546 ; but it is probable that the name is older
than the castle, and that it had been previously
borne by a circular fort. The name of Dun-
danion at Blackrock near Cork, is like that of
Dunluce (p. 277, supra] ; for dun is here an adjec-
tive, and the name signifies strong dangan 01
fortress.

Occasionally this word is anglicised Dingin,
\vhich is the name of a townland in Cavan ; Ding-
ma vanty in the parish of Kildrumsherdan in
this county, means Mantagh's fortress. It is this
form which has given origin to the modern name
of Dingle in Kerry, by the usual change of final i
to n (Dingin, Dingell, Dingle : see p. 48). It is
called in the annals, Daingean-ui- Chuis, now usually
written Dingle-I-Coush, i. e. the fortress oi
O'Cush, the ancient proprietor before the English
invasion. These people sometimes call themselves
Hussey in English, and this is the origin of the
mistaken assertion made by some writers, that the
place received its name from the English family of
Hussey.

In the north of Ireland the ng in the middle of
the word daingean, is pronounced as a soft guttural,
which as it is very faint, and quite incapable of
being represented by English letters, is suppressed
in modern spelling, thereby changing daingean to
dian or some such form. There are >me town-
lands called Dian and Dyan in Tyrone andMonagh-
an; two in Armagh and one in Down, called
Lisadian, the Us of the stronghold. Even in Mayo,

308 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

a pronunciation much the same is sometimes heard ;
and hence we have the name of Ballindine, a
village in that county, the same as Ballindagny in
Longford, Ballindaggan in Wexford, and Ballin-
dangan near Mitchelstown in Cork, the town of
the stronghold. Elsewhere in Mayo, however, the
word retains its proper form as in Killadangan,
the wood of the fortress.

Badhun, or Badhbhdhun [bawn]. Beside many
of the old castles, there was a baicn or large en-
closure surrounded by a strong fence or wall,
which was often protected by towers ; and into
this enclosure the cattle were driven by night to
protect them from wolves or robbers. It corres-
ponds to the faithche of the old pagan fortresses
(see p. 296), and served much the same purposes ;
for as Smith remarks, speaking of the castle of
Kilcrea, west of Cork, " the bawn was the only
appendage formerly to great men's castles, which
places were used for dancing, goaling, and such
diversions and for keeping cattle at

night."

O'Donovan, writing in the " Ulster Journal of
Archaeology," says: — "The term bawn, which
frequently appears in documents relating to Irish
history since the plantation of Ulster, is the angli-
cised form of the Irish badhun, an enclosure or
fortress for cows. It occurs seldom in Irish docu-
ments, the earliest mention of a castle so called
being found in the ' Four Masters' at 1547, viz.
Badhun-Riaganach* From this forward it is met
with in different parts of Ireland. In the most
ancient Irish documents, a cow fortress is more
usually called bo-dhaingean, but bo-dhun or ba-ahun

* The word occurs, however, in the form of bo-dhun in the
Annals of Lough Ce at the years 1199 and 1200.

CHAP. I.] Habitations and Fortresses. 309

is equally correct. Sometimes written Badhbh-
dhun, the fortress of Badhbh [Bauv], the Bellona
of the ancient Irish, but this is probably a fanciful
writing of it." This latter form, however, and
its presumed derivation from the name of the old
war goddess, receives some support from the fact,
that in Ulster it is pronounced bauvan, in which
the v plainly points to a bh in the Irish original ;
and this pronunciation is perpetuated in Bavan,
the name of three townlands in Down , Cavan, and
Louth*

The bawn» may still be seen near the ruins of
many of the old castles through the country ; and
in some cases the surrounding wall, with its towers,
remains in tolerable preservation. The syllable
bawn is of very usual occurrence in local names,
but as this is also the anglicised form of ban a
green field, it is often difficult to tell f : oin which
of the two Irish words it is derived, for badhun
and ban are pronounced nearly alike. The town-
land of Bawn in the parish of Moydow, Longford,
derives its name from the bawn of Moydow castle,
whose ruins remain yet in the townland.

Lathrach. The site of anything is denoted by
the word lathrach [lauragh], but this word is
usually applied to the site of some sort of building.
Lathrach senmuilind (H. 3. 18, T. C. D.), the site
of an old mill. There are many places scattered
through the four provinces called Laragh and
Lauragh, to which this word gives name ; Laragh

* Duald Mac Firbis writes the word badhbh-dhun in " Hy-
Fiachrach." Boa Island, in Lough Erne, is called by the Four
Masters Badhbha, while the natives call it Inis-Badhbhan, i. e.
the island of Badhbh. Mr. W. M. Hennessy's paper — read a
short time since — " On the War-Goddess of the Ancient Irish,"
it not yet published, and I regret not being able to avail my-
self of it to illustrate more fully this interesting subject.

310 Artificial Ktnicftires. T^AKT in.

in the parish of Skreen in Sligo, is called Lathrach
in the Book of Lecan, and the village of Laragh
at the entrance to CHendalough is another well-
known example. Laraghaleas in Londonderry
means the site of the Us or fort ; Laraghshankill
in Armagh, the site of the old church (see Shan-
kill) ; Laraghbryan near Leixlip in Kildare,
Bryan's house site. Caherlarhig, the stone fort of
the site, near Clonakilty in Cork, very probably
derived its name from a caher, built on the site of
a more ancient dun.

Lathair [lauher], from which lathrach is derived,
and which literally means "presence," is itself
sometimes used in Cork and Kerry to signify a
site, and is found also forming a part of names in
these counties. Laheratanvally near Skibbereen
in Cork, the site of the old town (Lathair-a '-
tseanbhaile) ; Lahertidaly in the same neighbour-
hood, the site of Daly's house. Laracor near Trim
in Meath, once the residence of Dean Swift, ia
called in an Inq. of Jac. I. Laraghcorre, which
points to the original Irish form Lat'<rack-cora,
the site of the weir. "We find the diminutive
Lareen in Leitrim, and Lerhin in Galway ; Lis-
larheen (-more and -beg) in Clare, signifies the
fort of the little site.

Laragh in the parish of Kilcumreragh, West-
meath, takes its name from a castle of the Mageo-
ghegans, whose ruins are yet there, and which the
Four Masters call Leath-rath [Lara], i. e. half
rath ; and some of the other Laraghs are probably
derived from this Irish compound, and not from
lathrach. Leath-rath is also the Irish name of
Lara or Abbeylara in Longford, for so it is written
in the annals.

Suidhe f see]. This word means a seat or sitting
place, cognate with Lat. sedes ; it is found in our

CHAP. T.] Habitations and Fortresses. 31]

oldest authorities ; and among others, the MSS.
of Zeuss (Gram. Celt. p. 60). It is frequently
used in the formation of names, usually under the
forms see, sy, se, and sea ; and these four syllables,
in the sense of " seat," begin the names of over
thirty townlands. It is very commonly followed
by a personal name, which is generally understood
to mean that the place so designated was fre-
quented by the person, either as a residence, or as
a favourite resort. The names of men, both pagan
and Christian, are found combined with it.

See, which exactly represents suidhe in pronun-
ciation, is the name of a townland in Cavan. On
the south shore of Lough Derg in Donegal, is the
townland Seadavog, the seat of St. Davog, the
patron of Termondavog, or as it is now called
Termonmagrath. In this name the word sea is
understood in its literal sense, for the people still
show the stone chair in which the saint was wont
to sit.

The parish of Seagoe in Armagh, is called in
Irish Suidhe- Gobha [See-gow], the seat of St.
Gobha (Gow) or Gobanus; Colgan calls him
" Gobanus of Teg-da-Goba, at the bank of the
river Bann ;" from which expression it appears
that the place was anciently called Tech-Dagobha,
the house of St. Dagobha, this last name being the
same as Gobanus (p. 148, note, supra ; see Reeves's
Eccl. Ant, p. 107) ; and the parish of Seapatrick
x^n Down, is called in Trais. Thaum. Suid/te-
Padruic, St. Patrick's sitting-place

Shiurone in the King's County is mentioned by
the Four Masters, who call it Suidhe- an-roin [Seen-
rone] , the seat of the ron, i. e. literally a seal, but
figuratively a hirsute or hairy man. In the same
authority we find Seeoranin Cavan, written Suidhe-
Qdhrain. Odhran's or Oran's seat. Seeconglass in

312 Artificial Structures- [PART in.

Limerick, Cuglas's seat ; Syunchin near Clogher
in Tyrone, the seat of the ash, i. e. abounding in
ash-trees.

Suidheachdn [seehaun] is a diminutive formation
on suid/ie, which we also find occasionally in names.
For instance, there is a hill called Seeghane (the
seat) near Tallaght in Dublin ; Seehanes (seats) is
the name of a place near Dromdaleague in Cork,
so called because it was the seat of 0' Donovan ;
and Seeaghandoo and Seeaghanbane (black and
white), are two townlands in Mayo.

CHAPTER II.

ECCLESIASTICAL EDIFICES.

IT is well known that most of the terms employed
in Irish to designate Christian structures, cere-
monies, and offices, are derived directly from
Latin. The early missionaries, finding no suitable
words in the native language, introduced the
necessary Latin terms, which, in course of time,
were more or less considerably modified according
to the laws of Irish pronunciation. Those applied
to buildings are noticed in this chapter ; but we
have besides such words as easpog, old Irish epscof,
a bishop, from episcopus ; sagart or sacart, a priest,
from sacerdos ; beannacht, old Irish bendacht, a
blessing, from benedictio ; Aiffrionn or Aiffrend,
the Mass, from offerenda ; and many others. (See
Second Volume, Chaps, vi. and xxvi.)

We know from many ancient authorities that
the early Irish churches were usually built of
timber planks, or of wattles or hurdles, plastered
over with clay ; and that this custom was so gene-

CHAP. IT.] Eccksinstfaal Edifice*. 313

ral as to be considered a national characteristic.
Bede, for instance, mentions that when Finan, an
Irish monk, became bishop of Lindisfarne, " he
built a church fit for his episcopal see ; he made
it not, however, of stone, but altogether of sawn
oak, and covered it with reeds, after the manner
of the Scots" (Hist. Eccl., III. 25) ; and many
other authorities to the same effect might be cited.
In some of the lives of the early saints, we have
interesting accounts of the erection of structures
of this kind, very often by the hands of the eccle-
siastics themselves — accounts that present beau-
tiful pictures of religious devotion and humility ;
for the heads of the communities often worked
with their own hands, in building up their simple
churches — men who were, for long ages after-
wards, and are still, venerated for their learning
and holiness.

These structures, often put up hastily to meet
the wants of a newly formed religious community,
or the recently converted natives of a district, we
know were generally very small and simple ; and
in some cases the names preserve the memory of
the primitive materials. Kilclief in the county
of Down, took its name from one of those rude
edifices; for its Irish name, as used by several
authorities, is Citt-ckithe [cleha], the hurdle church
(cliath a hurdle), from which the present form has
been derived by the change of th to /(p. 52). The
same name is found as Kilclay near Clogher in
Tyrone ; and a parish in Westmeath, called Kil-
cleagh (Killcliathagh in Reg. Clon.), exhibits
another, and still more correct form.

But timber was not the only material employed ;
for stone churches began to be erected from the
earliest Christian period. It was believed, indeed,
until very recently, that buildings of stone and

314 Artificial Structures. [PART in

mortar were unknown in Ireland previous to the
Anglo-Norman invasion; but Petrie has shown
that churches of stone were erected in the fifth,
sixth, and succeeding centuries ; and the ruins of
many of these venerable structures are still to be
seen, and have been identified as the very build-
ings erected by the early saints.

Gill. The Irish words, till, eaglais, teamputt,
domhnach, &c. — all originally Latin — signify a
church. Gill (kill), also written cell and ceall, is
the Latin cella, and next to baile, it is the most
prolific root in Irish names. Its most usual angli-
cised form is kill or kil, but it is also made kyle,
keel, and cal ; there are about 3,400 names begin-
ning with these syllables, and if we estimate that
a fifth of them represent coill, a wood, there remain
about 2,700 whose first syllable is derived from
till. Of these the greater number are formed by
-placing the name of the founder or patron after
this word, of which I give a few illustrative ex-
amples here, but many more will be found scattered
through the book.

Colnian was a favourite name among the Irish
saints; O'Clery's Calendar alone commemorates
about sixty of the name. It is radically the same
as Colum or Columba, and its frequency is prob-
ably to be attributed to veneration for the great
St. Columba. There are in Ireland seven parishes,
and more than twenty townlands (including
Spenser's residence in Cork) called Kilcolman
(Colman's church) ; but in many of these it is now
difficult or impossible to determine the individual
saints after whom they were called. St. Cainnech
or Canice, who gave name to Kilkenny, and also to
Kilkenny "West, in Westmeath, was abbot of Agh-
abo in Queen's County, where he had his principal
church ; he is mentioned by Adamnan in his Lif o

CHAP ii.] Ecclesiastical Isdifices, 315

of St. Columba ; he was born in A.D. 517, and died
in the year 600. He was a native of the territory
of Keenaght in Derry, and he is much venerated
in Scotland, where he is called Kenneth ; and
several churches in Argyle and in the Western
Islands, now called Kilkenneth and Kilkenzie,
were named from him. There are thirty-five
townlands and parishes scattered through the four
provinces, called Kilbride, in Irish CUl-Bhrighde,
Brigid's or Bride's church, most of which were
dedicated to St. Brigid of Kildare ; and Kilbreedy,
the name of two parishes in Limerick, has the
same origin. Kilmurry is the name of nearly fifty
townlands, in most of which there must have been
churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, for the
usual Irish name is Cill-Mhuire, Mary's church;
but some may have been so called from persons
named Muireadhach.

Besides the names of saints, this term is com-
bined with various other words, to form local
names. Shankill, in Irish Seincheall, old church,
is the name of seventeen townlands and four
parishes, among others the parish which includes
Belfast. There is a village in Kildare called Kil-
cullen, which was much celebrated for its monas-
tery ; it is called by Irish writers Cill-cuilUnn, the
church of the holly ; and there are several town-
lands in other counties of the same name. At
Killeigh near Tullamore, there was once a great
ecclesiastical establishment, under the patronage
of St. Sincheall. Its original name, as used in
Irish authorities, is Cill-achaidh [Killahy], the
church of the field, which has been softened down
to the present form. There was, according to
Colgan, another place of the same name in East
Brefney ; and to distinguish them, Killeigh in
King's County is usually called by the annalists

316 Artificial Structures, £PAIIT in.

Cill-achaidh-droma-fada, i. e. Killeigh of Drumfada,
from a long ridge or hill which rises immediately
over the village.

Kyle, a form much used in the south, is itself
the name of more than twenty townlands, and con-
stitutes the first syllable of about eighty others ; a
large proportion of these, however, probably half,
are not churches but woods (coill). In some parts
of the south, Kyle is used to denote a burial-place
for children, and sometimes for unbaptised infants,
but this is a modern application.

The diminutive KiUeen is the name of about
eighty townlands, and its combinations are very
numerous — all derived from a " little church/'
except about a fifth from " woods." Killeentierna
in Kerry must have been founded by, or dedicated
to, some saint named Tierna, or Tighernach. Kil-
leens and Killeeny, little churches, are also often
met with. Monagilleeny near Ardmore in Water-
ford, is in Irish Moin-na-gcillinidhe, the bog of the
little churches.

Calluragh, or as it is written in Irish, Ceallu-
rach, which is a derivative from till, is applied in
the southern counties, and especially in Clare, to
an old burying-ground ; sometimes it means a
burial-place disused, except only for the interment
of children ; and occasionally it denotes a burial-
place for unbaptised infants, even where there
never was a church ; as for example, in the parish
of Kilcrohane in Kerry, where the old forts or
lisses are sometimes set apart for this purpose, and
called Callooraghs. In the anglicised form, Callu-
ragh, this word has given name to several town-
lands.

Cealtrach [caltragh], which is also a derivative
from till> is used — chiefly in the western half of
Ireland — to denote an old burying-ground. It is

CHAP, ii.] Ecclesiastical Edifices. 317

commonly anglicised Caltragh, which is the name
of a great many places ; and there is a village in
Galway called Caltra, another modification of the
same word. We find Cloonacaltry in Sligo and
Roscommon, the cloon or meadow of the burying-
ground. Cealdrach [caldragh], another Irish
form, gives name to eight townlands, now called
Caldragh, which are confined to six counties, with
Leitrim as centre ; in one case it is made Keeldra
in the last county.

Eaglais. Another term for a church is eaglais
[aglish], derived, in common with the Welsh
eccluis, the Cornish eglos, and the Armoric ylis,
from the Latin ecclesia. This term was applied
to a great many churches in Ireland ; for we have
a considerable number of parishes and townlands
called Aglish and Eglish, the former being more
common in the south, and the latter in the north.
There is a parish in Tipperary called Aglishclogh-
ane, the church of the cloghaun or row of step-
ping-stones ; another in Limerick called Aglish-
cormick, St. Cormac's church ; and a third in
Cork, called Aglishdrinagh, the church of the
dreem or sloe-bushes. BaUynahaglish, the town of
the church, is the name of a parish in Mayo, and
of another in Kerry; and near Ballylanders in
Limerick, is a place called Grlennahaglish, the glen
of the church. In the corrupt form Heagles, it is
the name of two townlands near Ballymoney in
Antrim ; and in the same neighbourhood we find
Drumaheglis, the ridge or long hill of the church.

Teampull. From the Latin templum is derived
the Irish teampull. Like till, eaglais, and domhnach,
it was adopted at a very early date, being found in
the oldest Irish MSS., among others those cited by
Zeuss. In anglicised names it is usually changed
to temple, which forms the beginning of about

318 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

ninety townland names ; and it is to be borne in
mind that these, though to all appearance at least
partly English, are in reality wholly Irish. A re-
markably large proportion of parishes have taken
their names from these teampulls, there being no
less than fifty parish names beginning with the
word temple.

There are four parishes in Cork, Longford, Tip-
perary, and Waterf ord, where the original churches
must have been dedicated to the Archangel
Michael, as they still bear the name of Temple-
michael ; Templebredon in Tipperary, is called in
Irish Teampull-ui-Bhridedin, O'Bredon's church ;
and Temple-etneyin the same county, was so called
from St. Eithne, whose memory is fast dying out
there. The original church of Templecarn, not
far from Pettigo in Donegal, must have been built
near a pagan sepulchre, for the name signifies the
church of the earn or monument. Templetuohy
in Tipperary signifies the church of the tuath or
territory, and it received this name as having been
the principal church of the tuath or district in
which it was situated. A cathedral, or any large
or important church, was sometimes called, by way
of distinction, Templemore, great church ; and this
is the name of three parishes in Londonderry,
Mayo, and Tipperary, the first including the city
of Deny, and the last the town of Templemore.

Domhnach. The Irish word domhnach [dow-
nagh], which signifies a church, and also Sunday,
is from the Latin Dominica, the Lord's day. Ac-
cording to the Tripartite Life, Jocelin, Ussher,
&c., all the churches that bear the name of Domhn-
achy or in the anglicised form, Donagh, were
originally founded by St. Patrick ; and they were
so called because he marked out their foundations
on Sunday. For example, in the Tripartite Life

CHAP. ii.J Ecclesiastical Edifices. 319

we are told that the saint " having remained for
seven Sundays in Cianachta, laid the foundations
of seven sacred houses to the Lord ; [each of]
which he therefore called Dominica," i. e. in Irish
Domhnach. Shanonagh in the parish of Temple-
oran in Westmeath, is called Sendonagh, in Sir
Robert Nugent' s Patent, and explained in it " Old
Sonday," but it properly means " Old Church."

In the year 439, while St. Patrick was in Con-
naught, his nephew, bishop Sechnall or Secundi-
nus, arrived in Ireland in company with some
others. He was the son of Restitutus the Lombard
by St. Patrick's sister Liemania or Darerca (see p.
95, supra], and very soon after he was left by his
uncle in Meath. The church founded for him,
where he resided till his death in 448, was called
from him Domhnach- Sechnaill [Donna-Shaugh-
nill: Leabhar Breac], the church of St. Sechnall,
now shortened to Dunshaughlin, which is the name
of a village and parish in the county Meath.

There are nearly forty townlands whose names
are formed by, or begin with, Donagh of which
more than twenty are also parish names. In
all these places there must have been one of
the primitive Dominicas, and most of them have
burial-places and ruins to this day; fourteen of
the parishes are called Donaghmore, great church.
Donaghanie near Clogherny in Tyrone, is called
by the Four Masters, Domhnach-an-eich, the
church of the steed ; according to the same autho-
rity, the proper name of Donaghmoyne in Mon-
aghan, is Domhnach-maighin, the church of the
little plain ; and there is a place of the same name
near Clogher in Tyrone. The Irish name of
Donaghedy in Tyrone, is Domhnach- Chaeide (O'C.
Cal) ; and it was so called from St. Caeide or
Caidoc, a companion of St. Columbanus. The

320 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

genitive form of the word (see p. 34) gives name
to Donnycarney, a village a few miles to the
north of Dublin, and to Donacarney in Meath, near
the mouth of the Boyne, both names signifying
Cearnach's church.

Aireagal. This word (pronounced arrigle)
means primarily a habitation, but in a secondary
sense, it was often applied to an oratory, hermi-
tage, or small church. The word is obviously
derived from the Latin oraculum ; for besides the
similarity of form, we know that in the Latin
Lives of the Irish saints who flourished on the
continent, the oratories they founded are often
designated by the term oraculum (Petrie, R.
Towers, p. 349). It has been used in Irish from
the earliest times, for it occurs in our oldest MSS.,
as for instance in the Leabhar na hUidhre, where
we find it in the form airicul.

Errigal, the usual English form, is the name of
a parish in Londonderry, and of a townland in
Cavan. The well-known mountain called Errigal
in Donegal, in all probability took its name from
an oratory somewhere near it. The church of
Errigal Keerogue, which gives name to a parish
in Tyrone, was once a very important establish-
ment ; it is often mentioned by the annalists, and
called by them Aireagal-Dachiarog, the church of
St. Dachiarog. Errigal Trough in Honaghan, is
called in Irish Aireagal- Triucha, the church of
(the barony of) Trough. Duarrigle is the name
of a place on the Blackwater, near Mill- street in
Cork, containing the ruins of a castle built by
the O'Keeffes; its Irish name is Dubh-aireagal,
black habitation or oratory; there is another
place of the same name near Kanturk ; and we have
Coolnaharragill in the parish of Glanbehy, west
of Killarney, the corner or angle of the oratory.

CHAP, ii.] Eccfesiastical Edifices. 321

Urnaidhe. This word which is variously written
urnaidhe, ornaidhe, or ernaidhe [urny, erny], sig-
nifies primarily a prayer, but in a secondary sense
it is applied to a prayer- house : Latin oratorium.
It takes most commonly the form Urney, which
is the name of some parishes and townlands in
Cavan, Tyrone and King's County ; Urney in
Tyrone is often mentioned by the Four Masters,
and called Ernaidhe or Urnaidhe. The word often
incorporates the article in English (see p. 23), and
becomes Nurney (an Urnaidhe, the oratory),
which is the name of several parishes, villages,
and townlands, in Carlow and Kildare. It occurs
in combination in Templenahurney in Tipperary,
the church of the oratory.

Serin. Serin [skreen], which comes directly
from the Latin scrinium, signifies a shrine, i. e.
an ornamented casket or box, containing the relics
of a saint. These shrines were very usual in
Ireland ; they were held in extraordinary venera-
tion, and kept with the greatest care ; and several
churches where they were preserved were known
on this account by the Irish name Serin, or in
English, Skreen or Skrine. The most remark-
able of these was Skreen in Meath, which is called
in the annals Serin- Choluimcille, St. Columkille's
shrine, and it was so called because a shrine
containing some of that saint's relics was preserved
there.

Lann. Lann, in old Irish land, means a house
or church. The word is Irish, but in its ecclesi-
astical application, it was borrowed from the
Welsh, and was introduced into Ireland at a very
early age ; when it means simply " house," it is
no doubt purely Irish, and not a loan word. It
forms part of the terms ith-lann and lann-iotha
[ihlan, lan-iha], both of which are used to signiiy
VOL. i. 22

322 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

a granary or barn, literally house of corn (ith,
corn) ; the latter is often used by the English-
speaking people of some of the Minister counties,
who call a barn a linnet/ ; and from the former we
have Carrignahihilan, the name of a townland
near Kenmare, the rock of the granary. Lann
is found in our earliest MSS., among others in
those of Zeuss ; it occurs also in an ancient charter
in the Book of Kells, in the sense of house, and it is
so translated by O'Donovan. It is a word common
to several languages, and its primary signification
seems to be an enclosed piece of ground ; " Old
Arm. lann ; Ital., Fr., Provencal landa, lande,
Gothic (and English) land'' (Ebel).

It is not found extensively in local nomencla-
ture, and I cannot find it at all in the south ; but
it has given origin to the names of a few remark-
able plaees ; and it is usually anglicised lyn, lynn>
or lin, from the oblique form lainn [lin : see p.
34, supra], as in the word linney quoted above.
The celebrated St. Colman-Elo, patron of Lynally
near Tullamore, was, according to O'Clery's Calen-
dar, the son of St. Columba's sister. At an
assembly of saints held in this neighbourhood
about the year 590, Columba, who had come from
the convention at Druim-cett, to visit his
monastery at Durrow, proposed that a spot of
ground should be given to Colman, where he
might establish a monastery; and Aed Slaine,
prince of Meath, afterwards king of Ireland,
answered that there was a large forest in his
principality, called Fidh-Elo [Fee-Elo], i. e. the
wood of Ela, where he might settle if he wished.
Colman accepted it and said : — " My resurrection
shall be there, and henceforth I shall be named
[Colman-Elo] from that place." He soon after
erected a monastery there, which became very

CHAP, ii."] Ecclesiastical Edifices. 323

famous, and which was called Lann-Elo or Land-
Ealla (O'Clery's Cal.), i. e. the church of Ela,
now anglicised Lynally (see Lanigan, Keel. Hist.
II. 304).

Another place equally celebrated, was Lann-
leire or Land-leri [Book of Leinster], i. e. the
the church of austerity, which until recently was
supposed to be the old church of Lynn, on the
east side of Lough Ennel in Westmeath. But
Dr. Reeves has clearly identified it with Dunleer
in Louth, the word dun being substituted for lann,
while the latter part of the name has been pre-
served with little change (see Dr. Todd in " Wars
of GGr.," introd., p. xl.). The old church of Lynn,
which gives name to a parish in Westmeath,
though it is not the Lann-leire of history, derives
its name from this word lann.

The word appears in other, and more correct
forms in Landmore, i. e. great church, in London-
derry ; Landahussy or Lanny hussy, O'Hussy's
house or church, in Tyrone; Lanaglug in the
same county, Lann-na-gclog, the church of the
bells. In Landbrock in Fermanagh, Lann appears
to mean simply habitation, the name being applied
to a badger warren — Lann-broc, house of badgers.
Belan in Kildare, is called by the annalists Bioth-
lann, which name it may have derived from a
house of hospitality ; bioth, life for existence ;
Biothlann, refection house ; similar in formation
to ithlann corn house (see pp. 321-2).

Glenavy in Antrim is another example of the
use of this word. The g is a modern addition ;
and Dr. Reeves has remarked, that the earliest
authority he finds for its insertion is a Visitation
Book of 1661. In the taxation of 1306, it is
called Lenneioy, and in other early English docu-
ments, Lenavy, Lynavy, &c. (Reeves Eccl. Ant.,

324 Artificial Structures- [PART in.

p. 47), which very well represent the pronounci-
ation of the original Irish name, Lann-abhaich
[Lanavy], as given in the Calendar, signifying
the church of the dwarf. Colgan states that when
St. Patrick had built the church there, he left it
in charge of his disciple Daniel, who from hia
low stature, was called dbhac [avak or ouk], i. e.,
dwarf, and that from this circumstance the church
got its name. It is worthy of remark here, that
other places have got names from a like circum-
stance ; for example, Cappanouk in the parish of
Abington, Limerick, represents the Irish Ceapach-
an-abhaich the garden plot of the dwarf.

Baisleac. This is a loan word, little changed,
from the Latin basilica, and bears the same mean-
ing, viz., a church ; it is of long standing in
Irish, being found in very ancient MSS., and was
no doubt brought in, like the preceding terms,
by the first Christian teachers. I am aware oi
only two places in Ireland deriving their names
from this word. One is Baslick, an old church
giving name to a parish in Roscommon, which ia
often mentioned by the Four Masters, and which,
in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, is called
Baisleac-mor, great church. The other place has
for its name the diminutive Baslickane, and is a
townland in the parish of Kilcrohane, Kerry.

Disert. The word disert is borrowed from the
Latin desertum, and retains its original meaning
in Irish, viz., a desert, wilderness, or sequestered
place. It is used very often in Irish writings ;
as for example, in the Battle of Moyrath, p. 1 0 :
— " Ocus disert mbec aigi ann sin," and he (the
saint) had a little desert (hermitage) there. It is
generally used in an ecclesiastical sense to denote
a hermitage, such secluded spots as the early
Irish saints loved to select for their little dwell

CFIAP. ii. J Ecdezinstwal Edifices. 325

ings ; and it was afterwards applied to churches
erected in those places.

Its most usual modern forms are Desert, Disert,
Dysart, and Dysert, which are the names of a
considerable number of parishes and townlands
throughout Ireland, except only in the Connaught
counties (where, however, the word is found in
other forms). Desertmartin is the name of a vil-
lage in Londonderry, and Desertserges that of a
parish in Cork, the former signifying Martin's,
and the latter, Sergus's hermitage ; Killadysert
in Clare means the church of the desert or her-
mitage.

The word disert takes various corrupt forms in
the mouths of the peasantry, both in Irish and
English ; such as ister, ester, tirs, tristle, &c. A
good example of one of these corruptions is found
in Estersnow, the name of a townland and parish
in Roscommon. The Four Masters call it Disert-
Nuadhan [Nooan], St. Nuadha's hermitage ; but
the people now call it in Irish, Tirs-Nuadhan ;
while in an Inquisition of Elizabeth, it is called
in one place Issetnowne, and in another place,
Issertnowne, which stand as intermediate forms
between the ancient and present names. Though
written Estersnow on the Ordnance maps it is
really called by the people, when speaking
English, Eastersnow, which form was evidently
evolved under the corrupting influence noticed at
page 38, supra, (IX). The patron saint is pro-
bably the Nuadha [Nooa] con.memorated in
O'Clery's Calendar at the 3rd of October ; but he
is now forgotten there, though his holy well,
Tobernooan, is still to be seen, and retains his
name (see O'Donovan's Four Masters, Vol. III.,
p. 546, notejo).

This root word assumes another form in Tsert-

326 Artificial Structures. ["PATCT in.

kelly, an ancient church giving name to a parish
in Galway, mentioned by the Four Masters, who
call it Disert- Cheallaigh, Ceallach's or Kelly's
hermitage ; and in Isertkieran, a parish in Tip-
perary, which no doubt received its name from St.
Ciaran of Ossory (see p. 149, supra}. It is still
further altered in Ishartmon, a parish in Wex-
ford, St. Munna's desert, i. e. St. Munna of Tagh-
mon(p. 303),

In some of the Leinster counties there are
several places whose names have been changed by
the substitution of the modern word castle for the
ancient disert ; this may be accounted for natur-
ally enough in individual cases, by the fact that a
castle was erected on or near the site of the old
hermitage. Castledermot in Kildare, whose an-
cient importance is still attested by its round tower
and crosses, is well known by the name of Disert
Diarmada ; where Diarmad, son of Aedh Hoin,
king of Ulidia, founded a monastery about A.D.
800. The present form of the name was, no
doubt, derived from the castle built there by
Walter de Kiddlesford in the time of Strongbow.

The Irish name of Castledillon in Kildare, is
D-isert-Ialiidhan [Disertillan], i. e. lolladhan's
hermitage. Castlekeeran near Oldcastle in Meath,
is another example. The ancient name of this
place, as appears by the Four Masters, A.D. 868,
was Bealachduin [Ballaghdoon], the road of the dun
or fort ; but after the time of St. Ciaran the Pious,
who founded a monastery there in the eighth cen-
tury, and died in the year 770, it was generally
called in the annals, Disert-Chiarain [Disert-
Kieran], St. Kieran's hermitage. The castle that
originated the present form of the name belonged,
as some think, to the Staffords, but according to
others, to the Plunkets.

CHAP. ii. J Ecclesiastical Edifices. 327

Cros. Cros signifies a cross, and is borrowed
from the the Latin crux ; it occurs in our earliest
writings ; and is found in some very old inscrip-
tions on crosses. It is scarcely necessary to state
that, from the time of the introduction of Chris-
tianity into this country, crosses were erected in
connection with churches and other religious
foundations; they were at first simple and un-
adorned, but became gradually more elegant in
design, and more elaborate in ornamentation; and
we have yet remaining, in many parts of the
country, crosses of the most beautiful workman-
ship, lasting memorials of the piety and artistic
skill of our forefathers.

These monuments were not confined to religious
buildings. In Adanman's Life of St. Columba, it
is related that on a certain occasion, a man whom
the saint was coming to meet, suddenly fell down
and expired. " Hence, on that spot, before the
entrance to the kiln, a cross was erected, and
another where the saint stopped, which is seen to
Jhis day " (Lib. I., Cap. 45) ; on which Dr.
Reeves remarks : — " It was usual among the Irish
to mark with a cross the spot where any providen-
tial visitation took place." This very general
custom is attested not only by history, but also
by the great number of places that have taken
their names from crosses.

The word Cross itself is the name of about
thirty townlands, and it forms the first syllable
of about 150 others ; there are besides numerous
names in which it assumes other forms, or in which
it occurs in the termination. Some of these
places probably took their names from cross-roads,
and in others the word is used adjectively, tc
signify a transverse position ; but these are excep-

328 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

tions, and tlie greater number commemorate the
erection of crosses.

A cross must have formerly stood near the old
parish church of Crosserlough in Cavan, the
Irish name being Cros-air-loch, the cross on or by
the lake. Crossmolina in Mayo is called by the
Four Masters, Cros-ui-Mhaeilfhina [Crossywee-
leena], O'Mulleeny's cross ; the family of O'Mael-
f hina, whose descendants of the present day gener-
ally call themselves Mullany, had their seat here,
and were chiefs of the surrounding district. There
are some townlands and a village in Down, called
Crossgar, short cross ; Crossfarnoge, the name of
a prominent cape near Carnsore point, signifies
the cross of the alder tree ; and Gortna gross, the
name of several places in the northern and
southern counties, is the field of the crosses — Gort-
na-gcros ; in this name, and in Ardnagross — height
of the crosses — the c is eclipsed by g (p. 22). The
parish of Aghacross (the ford of the cross), near
Kildorrery in Cork, took its name, no doubt, from
a cross in connection with St. Molaga's establish-
ment (see p. 152), erected to mark a ford on the
Funcheon. But Aghacross elsewhere is the field
(achadli) of the cross. There are several places
called Crossan, Crossane, and Crossoge, all which
signify little cross.

The oblique form crois (see p. 34, supra] is pro-
nounced crush, and has given the name Crosh to
two townlands in Tyrone ; to Crushybracken in
Antrim, O'Bracken's cross ; and to several other
places. "We find the genitive in Ardnacrusha, the
name of a village near Limerick city, and of a
townland in Cork, Ard-na-croise, the height of tt^
cross ; the diminutive, Crusheen, little cross, is the
name of a small town in Clare ; and there are town-
lands in Gal way called Crosheen and Crusheeny,

CHAP, in.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 329

— the last meaning little crosses. Crossaire
[crussera], which is a derivative from cros, is
applied in the south of Ireland to cross-roads, and
hence we have Crossery and Crussera, two town-
lands in Waterford, the latter near Dungarvan.
For the form crock, see page 220.

CHAPTER III.

MONUMENTS, GRAVES, AND CEMETERIES.

BEFORE the introduction of Christianity, different
modes of sepulture were practised in Ireland. In
very early ages it was usual to hum the hody, and
place the ashes in an urn, which was deposited in
the grave. It seems very extraordinary that all
memory of this custom should he lost to both his-
tory and tradition ; for I am not aware that there
is any mention of the burning of bodies in any —
even the oldest — of our native writings. But that
the custom was very general we have the best
possible proof ; for in every part of Ireland, ciner-
ary urns, containing ashes and burned bones, have
been found, in the various kinds of pagan sepul-
chres.

Occasionally the bodies of kings and chieftains
were buried in a standing posture, arrayed in
full battle costume, with the face turned towards
the territories of their enemies. Of this custom
we have several very curious historical records.
In the Leabhar na hUidhre it is related that
King Leaghaire [Leary] (see pp. 139, 140, supra)

330 Artificial Structures. [v AUT in.

was killed " by the sun and wind " in a war
against the Lagenians ; " and his body was after-
wards brought from the south, and interred, with
his arms of valour, in the south-east of the ex-
ternal rampart of the royal Rath Laeghaire at
Temur (Tara), with the face turned southwards
upon the Lagenians [as it were] fighting with
them, for he was the enemy of the Lagenians in
his lifetime" (Petrie's "Antiquities of Tara Hill,"
p. 155). The same circumstance is related in a
still older authority, with some additional interest-
ing details — the " Annotations of Tirechan," in
the Book of Armagh. King Leaghaire says : —
" For Neel, my father (i. e. Niall of the Nine
Hostages), did not permit me to believe [in the
teaching of St. Patrick], but that I should be in-
terred in the top of Temur, like men standing up
in war. For the pagans are accustomed to be
buried armed, with their weapons ready, face to
face [in which manner they remain] to the day of
Erdaihe, among the magi, i. e. the day of judg-
ment of the Lord" (Ibid. p. 146).

The pagan Irish believed that, while the body
of their king remained in this position, it exercised
a malign influence on their enemies, who were
thereby always defeated in battle. Thus, in the
Life of St. Kellach, it is stated, that his father,
Owen Bel, great grandson of Dathi, and king of
Connaught (see pp. 104 and 139, supra] was killed
in the battle of Sligo, fought against the Ulster-
men. And before his death he told his people
" to bury him with his red javelin in his hand in
the grave. ' Place my face towards the north, on
the side of the hill by which the northerns pass
when flying before the army of Connaught; let
my grave face them, and place myself in it after
this manner ' And this order was strictly com-

CHAP. TTI.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 331

plied with ; and in every place where the Clanna
Neill and the Connacians met in conflict, the
Clanna Neill and the Northerns were routed, being
panic-stricken by the countenances of their foes ;
so that the Clanna Neill and the people of the
north of Ireland, therefore resolved to come with a
numerous host to Rath-G'bhFiachrach [Rathovee-
ragh] and raise [the body of] Owen from the
grave, and carry his remains northwards across
to Sligo. This was done, and the body was
buried at the other side [of the river], at Aenacli
Locha Gile, with the mouth down, that it might
not be the means of causing them to fly before
the Connacians " (Translated by O'Donovan in
"Hy Fiachrach," p. 472).

It is very curious that, in some parts of the
country, the people still retain a dim traditional
memory of this mode of sepulture, and of the
superstition connected with it. There is a place
in the parish of Errigal in Londonderry, called
Slaghtaverty, but it ought to have been called
Laghtaverty, the laght or sepulchral monument of
a man named Abhartach \_Avartagh~], who was, it
seems, a dwarf. This dwarf was a magician, and a
dreadful tyrant, and after having perpetrated great
cruelties on the people he was at last vanquished
and slain by a neighbouring chieftain ; some say by
Finn Mac Cumhail. He was buried in a standing
posture, but the very next day he appeared in his
old haunts, more cruel and vigorous than ever.
And the chief slew him a second time and buried
him as before, but again he escaped from the
grave, and spread terror through the whole
country. The chief then consulted a druid, and
according to his directions, he slew the dwarf a
third time, and buried him in the same place, with
his head downwards; which subdued his magical

332 Artificial Structures. [PART ITI-

power, so that he never again appeared on the
earth. The laght raised over the dwarf is still
there, and you may hear the legend with much
detail from the natives of the place, one of whom
told it to me.

The modes of forming receptacles for the re-
mains, and the monuments erected over them,
were exceedingly various. It was usual in this
country, as in many others, to pile a great heap of
stones, usually called a earn, over the grave of
any person of note ; and where stones were not
abundant, clay was used for the same purpose.
This custom is mentioned in many of our ancient
writings, and I might quote several passages in
illustration, but I shall content myself with one
from Adamnan (7th cent.) : — "The old man [Art-
brananus] believed, and was baptised, and when
the sacrament was administered he died in the
same spot [on the shore of the isle of Skye],
according to the prediction of the saint [i. e. of
St. Columba] ; and his companions buried bina
there ; raising a heap of stones over his grave "
(Vit. Col. I., 33).

The same custom exists to some extent at the
present day, for in many parts of Ireland, they
pile up a laght or earn over the spot where any
person has come to an untimely death ; and every
passer-by is expected to add a stone to the heap.
The tourist who ascends Mangerton mountain
near Killarney, may see a earn of this kind near
the Devil's Punch Bowl, where a shepherd was
found dead some years ago.

Our pagan ancestors had a particular fancy for
elevated situations as their final resting-place; and
accordingly we find that great numbers of moun-
tains through the country have one or more of
these earns on their summit, under each of which

CHAP. ni.J Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 333

sleeps some person important in bis day. They
are sometimes very large, and form conspicuous
objects wben viewed from the neighbouring
plains.

Many mountains through every part of the
country take their names from these earns, the
name of the monument gradually extending itself
to the hill. Carnlea, a high hill north of Gush en -
dall in Antrim, is an example, its Irish name being
Cam- Hath, grey earn ; the great pile on the top of
Carn Clanhugh in Longford (the earn of Clan-
hugh or Hugh's sons, a sept of the O'Farrells) is
visible for many miles over the level country round
the mountain ; and Carroii hill near Charleville,
county Cork, takes its name from a vast pile of
stones on its summit.

The word earn forms the whole or the beginning
of the names of about 300 townlands, in every one
of which a remarkable earn must have existed,
besides many others, of whose names it forms the
middle or end ; and there are innumerable monu-
ments of this kind all through the country whicli
have not given names to townlands. The place
called Cam, in the parish of Conry, near the hiB
of Ushnagh in Westmeath, is the ancient Carn
Fiachach (Four M.), Fiacha's monument, which
was erected to commemorate Fiacha, son of Niall
of the Nine Hostages (see p. 139, supra), the
ancestor of the Mageoghegans. It is very pro-
bable that the persons who are commemorated in
such names as the following, are those over whom
the earns were originally erected.

Carnteel, now a village and parish in Tyrone,
is called by the Four Masters Carn-tSiadhail,
Siadhal's or Shiel's monument. There is a re-
markable mountain, with a earn on its summit,
called Carn Tierna. near Rathcormack in the

334 Artificial Structures. [PAKT in

county Cork. According to O'Curry (Lectures, p.
267), Tighernach [Tierna] Tetbannach king of
Munster in the time of Conor mac Nessa, in the
first century, was buried in this, whence it was
called Cam Tighernaigh, Tighernach's earn ; and
the sound of the old name is preserved in the
modern Cam Tierna. Carmavy (Grange) in the
parish of Killead, Antrim, Maev's earn ; Carn-
kenny near Ardstraw in Tyrone, the earn of
Cainnech or Kenny ; Carnew in Wicklow pro-
bably contains the same personal name as Rath-
new — Carn-Naoi, Naoi's earn ; Carnacally, the
name of several places, the monument of the cal-
liach or hag.

It is certain that the following places have lost
their original names : — Carndonagh in Innish-
owen, which got the latter part of its name merely
because the old monument was situated in the
parish of Donagh ; there are some places in Antrim
and Tyrone called Carnagat, the earn of the cats,
from having been resorts of wild cats ; and a
similar remark applies to Carnalughoge near
Louth, the earn of the mice. Carney in Sligo is
not formed from earn ; it is really a family name,
the full designation being Farran-O'Carney,
0' Carney's land.

Other modifications of this word are seen in
Carron, the name of several townlands in Water-
ford, Tipperary, and Limerick ; and in Carrona-
davderg, near Ardrnore in Waterford, the monu-
ment of the red ox, a singular name, no doubt
connected with some legend ; Carnane and Car-
naun, little earn, are very often met with ; and the
form Kernan is the name of a townland near
Armagh, and of another in the county Down.

The mounds or tumuli of earth or stones, raised
over a grave, were sometimes designated by the

CHAP, in.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries 335

word tit aim [loom]. Like the cognate Latin word
tumulus, it was primarily applied to a hillock or
dyke, and in a secondary sense to a monumental
mound or tomb. These mounds, which were either
of earth or stones, are still found in all kinds of
situations, and sometimes they are exceedingly
large. It is often not easy to distinguish them
from the duns or residences ; but it is probable
that those mounds that have no appearance of
circumvallations are generally sepulchral. They
have given names to a great many places in every
part of Ireland, in numbers of which the old
tumuli still remain. There are about a dozen
places, chiefly in the north, called Toome, the most
remarkable of which is that on the Bann, between
Lough Neagh and Lough Beg, which gives name
to the two adjacent baronies. There must have
been formerly at this place both a sandbank ford
across the river, and a sepulchral mound near it,
for in the Tripartite Life it is called Fearsat Tuama,
the farset or ford of the tumulus ; but in the
annals it is generally called Tuaim.

Tomgraney in Clare is often mentioned by the
annalists, who call it Tuaim Grein8, the tomb of
Grian, a woman's name. The traditions of the
place still preserve the memory of the Lady Grian,
but the people now call her Gillagrauey — Gue-
Greine, the brightness of the sun. They say that
she was drowned in Lough Graney ; that her body
was found in the river Graney at a place called
Derrygraney ; and that she was buried at Tom-
graney. All these places retain her name, and
her monument is still in existence near the village.
Grian, which is the Irish word for the sun, and is
of the feminine gender, was formerly very usual
in Ireland as a woman's name. There is a place
called Carugranny near the town of Antrim, where

336 Artificial Structures. ^PART lu-

another lady named Grian must have been buried
Her monument also remains : — " It consists of ten
large slabs raised on side supporters, like a series of
cromlechs, forming steps commencing with the
lowest at the north east and ascending gradually
for the length of forty feet towards the south
west" (Reeves' s Eccl. Ant., p. 66). The pile is
called Granny's Grave, which is a translation of
Carn-Grein#(see also Knockgrean in 2nd volume).

The parish of Tomfinlough in Clare took its
name from an old church by a lake near Sixmile-
bridge, which is several times mentioned by the
Four Masters under the name of Tuaim-Fionnlocha,
the tumulus of the bright lake. Toomona in the
parish of Ogulla, same county, where are still to
be seen the ruins of a remarkable old monastery,
is called in the annals Tuaim-mona, the tomb of
the bog. Toomy vara in Tipperary, exactly repre •
sents the sound of the Irish Tuaim-ui-Mhcad]tm_
O'Mara's tomb ; and Tomdeely, a townland giving
name to a parish in Limerick, is probably the
tumulus of or by the (river) Deel.

On the summit of Tomies mountain, which
rises over the lower lake of Killarney, there are
two sepulchral heaps of stones, not far from one
another ; hence the Irish name Tuamaidhe [Toomy],
i. e. monumental mounds ; and the present name,
which has extended to three townlands, has
been formed by the addition of the English after
the Irish plural (see page 32). The Irish name
of the parish of Tumna in Roscommon is Tuaim-
mna (Four Mast.), the tumulus of the woman (bean,
a woman, gen. mna). Tooman and Toomog, little
tombs, are the names of several townlands in dif-
ferent counties.

Dumha [dooa] is another word for a sepulchral
mound «r tumulus ; it is very often used in Irish

CHAP, in.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 337

writings, and we frequently find it recorded that
the bodies of the slain were buried in a dumha. .
These mounds have given names to numerous
places, but being commonly made of earth, they
have themselves in many cases disappeared. Moy-
dow, a parish in Longford, which gives name ta
a barony, is called by the Four Masters, Magh-
dum/ta [Moy-dooa], the plain of the burial mound ;
and there is a townland of the same name in Ros-
common.

In modern names it is not easy to separate this
word from dub/i, black, and dumhach, a sand-bank ;
but the following names may be referred to it.
Dooey, which is the name of several townlands in
Ulster, is no doubt generally one of its modern
forms, though, when that name occurs on the coast,
it is more likely to be from dumhach. Knockadoo,
the hill of the mound, is the name of some town-
lands in Roscommon, Sligo, and Londonderry ;
and there are several places called Corradoo, Cor-
radooa, and Corradooey, the round- hill of the
tumulus.

A leacht [laght] is a sepulchre or monument,
cognate with Lat. lectus and Greek lechos ; for in
many languages a grave is called a bed (see leaba,
further on) ; Goth, liga ; Eng. lie, lay ; Manx,
Ihiaght. It is often applied, like earn, to a monu-
mental heap of stones : in Cormac's Glossary it is
explained lighedh mairbh, the grave of a dead
(person) .

There are several places in different parts of the
country called Laght, which is its most correct
anglicised form ; Laghta, monuments, is the name
of some townlands in Mayo and Leitrim, and we
find Laghtagalla, white sepulchres, near Thurles.
Laghtane, little laght, is a place in the parish of
KilleenagarrifP, Limerick.

VOL. i. 23

338 Artificial Structures. £PAKT ITT.

In the north of Ireland, the guttural is univer-
sally suppressed, and the word is pronounced kit
or let ; as we find in Latt, the name of a town-
land in Armagh, and of another in Cavan;
Derlett in Armagh, the oak-wood of the grave
(Doire-leachta) ; Letfern in Tyrone, the laglit of
the J 'earns or alder- trees ; and Corlat, the name of
several places in the Ulster counties, the round-hill
of the sepulchres.

The word uladh [ulla] originally meant a tomb
or earn, as the following passages will show : —
" oc denam uluidh cumdachta imatflaithj" making
a protecting tomh over thy chief (O'Donovan,
App. to O'Reilly's Diet, voce uladh). In the Leabh-
ar na hUidhre, it is related that Caeilte
[Keeltha], Finn mac Cumhal's foster son, slew
Fothadh Airgtheach, monarch of Ireland, in
the battle of Ollarba (Larne Water), A. D. 285.
Caeilte speaks : — " The uluidh of Fothadh Airg-
theach will be found a short distance to the east
of it. There is a chest of stone about him in the
earth ; there are his two rings of silver, and his
two bunne doat [bracelets ?] and his torque of silver
on his chest ; and there is a pillar-stone at his
earn ; and an ogum is [inscribed] on the end of
the pillar- stone which is in the earth ; and what
is on it is, * Eochaidh Airgtheach here ' " (Petrie,
E. Towers, p. 108).

The word is now, however, and has been for a
long time used to denote a penitential station, or
a stone altar erected as a place of devotion : a
very natural extension of meaning, as the tombs
of saints were so very generally used as places
of devotion by the faithful. It was used in this
sense at an early period, for in the " Battle of
Moyrath," it is said that " Domhnall never went
away from a cross without bowing, nor from an

CHAP, ITT.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 339

ulaidh without turning round, nor from an altar
without praying" (p. 298). On which O 'Dono-
van remarks : — " Uhiidh, a word which often
occurs in ancient MSS., is still understood in the
west of Ireland to denote a penitential station at
which pilgrims pray, and perform rounds on their
knees." These little altar tombs have given names
to places all over Ireland, in many of which,
especially in the west and south, they may still be
seen.

Among several places in Cork, we have Glenn a-
hulla near Kildorrery, and Kilnahulla in the
parish of Kilmeen, the glen and the church of
the altar tomb ; the latter name being the same as
Killulla in Clare. In Ulusker near Castletown
Bearhaven, the word seems to be used in its
primary sense, as the name is understood to mean
Oscar's earn ( Uladh- Oscuir) ; and in this sense
We must no doubt understand it in Tullyullagh
near Enniskillen, the hill of the tombs. Knockan-
ully in Antrim signifies the hill of the tomb ;
and Tomnahulla in Galway, would be written in
Irish, Tuaim-na-hulaidh, the mound of the altar
tomb. We have the diminutive Ullauns near
Killarney, and Ullanes near Macroom in Cork,
both signifying little stone altars.

" A cromlech, when perfect, consists of three
or more stones unhewn, and generally so placed
as to form a small enclosure. Over ihese a large
[flat] stone is laid, the whole forming a kind of
rude chamber. The position of the table or cover-
ing stone, is generally sloping ; but its degree of
inclination does not appear to have been regulated
by any design " (Wakeman's Handbook of Irish
Antiquities, p. 7). They are very numerous in
all parts of Ireland, and various theories have
been advanced to account for their origin; of

340 Artificial Structures. PART in.

which the most common is that they were "Druids'
altars," and used for offering sacrifices. It is
now, however, well known that they are tombs,
which is proved by the fact that under many of
them have been found cinerary urns, calcined
bones, and sometimes entire skeletons. The
popular name of " Giants' graves," which is ap-
plied to them in many parts of the country, pre-
serves, with sufficient correctness, the memory of
their original purpose. They have other forms
besides that described ; sometimes they are very
large, consisting of a chamber thirty or forty feet
long, covered by a series of flags laid horizontally,
like Carngranny (p. 335) ; and not unfrequently
the chamber is in the form of a cross.

The word cromlech — crom-kac, sloping stone
(crom, bending, sloping) — is believed not to be
originally Irish ; but to have been in late years
introduced from Wales, where it is used merely
as an antiquarian term. That it is not an old
Irish word is proved by the fact, that it is not
used in the formation of any of our local names,
It has none of the marks of a native term, for it
is not found in our old writings, and — like the
expression " Druids' altars " — it is quite unknown
to the Irish- speaking peasantry.

These sepulchres are sometimes called leaba or
leabmdh, old Irish lebaid [labba, labbyj, Manx
Ihiabbee ; the word literally signifies a bed, but it
is applied in a secondary sense to a grave, both in
the present spoken language and in old writings.
For example, in the ancient authority cited by
Petrie (R. Towers, p. 350), it is stated that the
great poet Rumann, who died in the year 747 at
Rahan in King's County, " was buried in the
same ieabaidh with Ua Suanaigh, for his great
honour with God and man." There is a fine sepul-

CHAP, in.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 341

chral monument of this kind, hitherto unnoticed,
in a mountain glen over Mount Russell near
Charleville, on the borders of the counties of
Limerick and Cork, which the peasantry call
Labba-Iscur, Oscur's grave. O'Brien (Diet, voce
Leaba) says, " Leaba is the name of several places
in Ireland, which are by the common people called
Leabthacha-na-bhfeinne [Labbaha-na-veana], the
monuments of the Fenii or old Irish champions ;"
and it may be remarked that Oscur was one of the
most renowned of these, being the son of Oisin,
the son of Finn mac Cumhal (see p. 91, supra).

Labby, which is one of the modern forms of
this term, is the name of a townland in London-
derry. Sometimes the word is followed by a
personal name, which is probably that of the in-
dividual buried in the monument ; as in Labby-
eslin near Mohill in Leitrim, the tomb of Eslin ;
Labasheeda in Clare, Sioda or Sheedy's grave.
Sioda is the common Irish word for silk ; and
accordingly many families, whose real ancestral
name is Sheedy, now call themselves Silk. In
case of Labasheeda, the inhabitants believe that
it was so called from the beautiful smooth strand
in the little bay — Leaba- sioda, silken bed, like the
" Velvet strand " near Malahide. Perhaps they
are right.

Cromlechs are called in many parts of the
country Leaba- Dhiarmada-agus- Grainne, the bed
of Diarmaid and Grainne ; and this name is con-
nected with the well-known legend, that Diarmait
O'Duibhne [Dermat O'Deena], eloped with
Grainne, the daughter of king Cormac mac Art,
and Finn mac CumhaiPs betrothed spouse. The
pair eluded Finn's pursuit for a year and a day,
sleeping in a different place each night, under a
leaba erected by Diarmaid after his day's journey ;

342 Artificial Structures. [J-ART lit.

and according to the legend there were just 366
of them in Ireland. But this legend is a late in-
vention, and evidently took its rise from the word
leabaidh, which was understood in its literal sense
of a bed. The fable has, however, given origin
to the name of Labbadermody, Diarmait's bed,
a townland in the parish of Clondrohid in Cork ;
and to the term Labbacallee — Leaba-caillighe, hag's
bed — sometimes applied to these monuments.

In some parts of Ulster a cromlech is called
ctoch-togbhala [clogh-togla], i. e. raised or lifted
stone, in reference to the covering flag; from
which Clochtogle near Enniskillen, and Cloghogle
(t aspirated and omitted — p. 21), two townlands
in Tyrone, have their name. There is a hill near
Downpatrick called Slieve-na- griddle, the moun-
tain of the griddle ; the griddle is a cromlech on
the top of the hill ; but the name is half English
and very modern. It may be remarked that
cromlechs are sometimes called " griddles " in
other places ; thus Grabriel Beranger, who made
a tour through Ireland in the last century, men-
tions one situated in a bog near Easky in Sligo,
which was usually called " Finn Mac Cool's
Griddle."

" In many parts of Ireland, and particularly
in districts where the stone circles occur, may be
seen huge blocks of stone, which evidently owe
their upright position, not to accident, but to the
design and labour of an ancient people. They
are called by the native Irish gallauns or leaganns,
and in character they are precisely similar to the
hoar-stones of England, the hare-stanes of Scotland,
and maen-gwyr of Wales. Many theories have
been promulgated relative to their origin. They
are supposed to have been idol stones — to have
been stones of memorial — to have been erected as

CHAP, in.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 343

landmarks, boundaries, &c. — and, lastly, to be
monumental stones " (Wakeman's " Handbook of
Irish Antiquities," p. 17). We know that the
erection of pillar-stones as sepulchral monuments
is often recorded in ancient Irish authorities, one
example of which will be found in the passage
quoted from Leabhar na hllidhre at page 338 ;
but it is probable that some were erected for
other purposes.

There are several words in Irish to signify a
pillar- stone, one of which is coirthe or cairthe
[corha, carha]. It is used in every part of Ire-
land, and has given names under various forms to
many different places, in several of which the old
pillar-stones are yet standing. The beautiful
valley and lake of Glencar, on the borders of
Leitrim and Sligo, is called in Irish, Gleann-a-
chairthe [Glenacarha], the glen of the pillar-stone ;
but its ancient name, as used by the Four Masters,
was Cairthe-Muilcheann [carha-Mulkan]. Carha
and Carra, the names of several townlands in
Ulster and Connaught, exhibit the word in its
simple anglicised forms, There is a place in the
parish of Clonfert, Cork, called Knockahorrea,
which represents the Irish Cnoc-d-chairthe, the
hill of the pillar- stone ; and in Louth we find
Drumnacarra, which has nearly the same meaning.

These stones are also, as Mr. Wakeman remarks,
called gallautis and kaganns. The Irish form of
the first is gattdn, which is sometimes corrupted
in the modern language to dalldn ; it has given
name to Gallan near Ardstraw in Tyrone ; and
to Gallane and Gallanes in Cork. There are
several low hills in Ulster, which from a pillar-
stone standing on the top, were called Drumgallan,
and some of them have given names to townlands.
Aghagallon, the field of the gallan, is the name
of a townland in Tyrone, and of a parish in An-

344 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

trim ; Knockagallane (hill) is the name of two
townlands in Cork, and there is a parish near
Mitchelstown in the same county, called Kilgul-
lane, the church of the pillar-stone.

The word gall, of which gallan is a diminutive,
was applied to standing- stones, according to Cor-
mac mac Cullenan (see p. 95, supra*), because they
were first erected in Ireland by the Gauls. This
word is also used in the formation of names ; as
in Cangullia, a place near Castleisland in Kerry,
the Irish name of which is Ceann-gailk, the head
or hill of the standing- stone. The adjective
gallach, meaning a place abounding in standing-
stones, or large stones or rocks, has given name
to several places now called Gallagh, scattered
through all the provinces except Munster ; and
Gallow, the name of a parish in Meath, is another
form of the same word.

The other term Itagdn [leegaun] is a diminu-
tive of Hag, which will be noticed farther on; and
in its application to a standing-stone, it is still
more common than gallan. Legan, Legane, Le-
gaun, and Leegane, all different anglicised forms,
are the names of several places in different parts
of the country ; and the English plural, Liggins
(pillar-stones) is found in Tyrone. Ballylegan,
the town of the standing stone, is the name of a
place near Caher in Tipperary, and of another
near Glanworth in Cork , there is a place called
Tooraleagan (Toor, a bleach-green) near Bally-
landers in Limerick ; and Knockalegan, the hill
of the pillar- stone, is the name of naif a dozen
townlands in Ulster and Munster.

Pert, plural ferta, signifies a grave or trench.
The old name of Slane on the Boyne, was Ferta-
fer-Feic, and the account given by Colgan (Trias
Thaura., p. 20) of the origin of this name, brings

CHAP, in.] Monuments, Graves, and Cemeteries. 845

out very clearly the meaning of ferta : — "There
is a place on the north margin of the river Boyne,
now called Slaine; [but anciently] it was called
Ferta-fer-Feic, i. e. the trenches or sepulchres of
the men of Fiac, because the servants of a certain
chieftain named Fiac, dug deep trenches there, to
inter the bodies of the slain."

In the Book of Armagh there is an interesting
account by Tirechan, of the burial in the ferta, of
Laeghaire's three daughters (see p. 179, supra),
who had been converted by St. Patrick : — " And
the days of mourning for the king's daughters
were accomplished, and they buried them near the
ivell Clebach ; and they made a circular ditch
like to a ferta ; because so the Scotic people and
gentiles were used to do, but with us it is called
Religuies (Irish Releg], i. e. the remains of the
virgins" (Todd's Life of St. Patrick, p. 455).
Ferta was originally a pagan term, as the above
passage very clearly shows, but like cluain and
other words, it was often adopted by the early
Irish saints (see Reeves' s "Ancient Churches of
Armagh," p. 47).

The names Farta, Ferta, and Fartha (i. e.
graves), each of which is applied to a townland,
exhibit the plural in its simple form ; with the
addition of ach to the singular, we have Fertagh
and Fartagh, i. e. a place of graves, which are
names of frequent occurrence. Fertagh near
Johnstown in Kilkenny is called by the Four
Masters Fcrta-na-gcaerach, the graves of the sheep ;
and O'Donovan states that according to tradition,
it was so called because the carcases of a great
number of sheep which died of a distemper, were
buried there. (Four Masters, Vol. I., p. 498).
In the parish of Magheross, Monaghan, there is a
townland called Nafarty, i. e. the graves, the Irish

346 Artificial Structures. £PART in.

article na, forming part of the name. The parish
of Moyarta in Clare which gives name to a barony,
is called in Irish Hayh-flierta (fh silent, see p. 20),
the plain of the grave.

Reilig, old Irish relcc, means a cemetery or
graveyard ; it is the Latin reliquice, and was bor-
rowed very early, for it occurs in the Zeuss MSS.
The most celebrated place in Ireland with this
name was Reilig-na-riogh, or " the burial-place of
the kings," at the royal palace of Cruachan in
Connaught, one of the ancient regal cemeteries.
There are only a few places in Ireland taking
their names from this term. Relick is the name
of two townlands in "Westmeath, and there is a
graveyard in the parish of Carragh near Naas,
county Kildare, called The Relick, i. e. the ceme-
tery. The parish of Relickmurry [and Athassel]
in Tipperary, took its name from an old burial-
ground, whose church must have been dedicated
to the Blessed Virgin, for the name signifies
Mary's cemetery. One mile S. E. of Portstewart
in Londonderry, there are two townlands called
Roselick More and Roselick Beg. Roselick is a
modern contraction for Itosrelick as we find it
written in the Taxation of 1306 ; and the same
signifies the ros or point of the cemetery. There
is a spot in Roselick Beg where large quantities of
human remains have been found, and the people
have a tradition that a church once existed there ,
showing that the name preserves a fragment of
true history (Reeves : Eccl. Ant., p. 75).

CHAP, iv.] Toicns ami Villages. 347

CHAPTER IV.

TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

"THE most interesting word connected with to-
pical nomenclature is bally. As an existing
element it is the most prevalent of all local terms
in Ireland, there being 6,400 townlands, or above
a tenth of the sum total, into [the beginning of]
whose names this word enters as an element. And
this is a much smaller proportion than existed at
the beginning of the seventeenth century, when
there was a tendency, at least in some of the
northern counties, to prefix batty to almost every
name whose meaning would admit of it " (" The
Townland Distribution of Ireland," by the Rev.
Wm. Reeves, D.D. : Proc. R.I.A., Vol. VII., p.
473, where this word bails is fully discussed).

The Irish word bails is now understood to mean
a town or townland, but in its original accepta-
tion it denoted simply locus — place or situation ;
it is so explained in various ancient glosses, such
as those in the Book of Armagh, Cormac's Glos-
sary, the Book of Lecan, &c. ; and it is used in
this sense in the Leabhar na hllidhre, and in
many other old authorities.

In writings of more modern date, it is often
used to signify a residence or military station — a
natural extension of meaning from the original.
For instance, the Four Masters, at 1560, state
that Owen O'Rourke, having been kept in prison
by his brother, slew his keeper, " and ascending
to the top of the bailf, cried out that the castle
was in his power;" in which baile evidently
means the fortress in which he was confined. In

348 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

the Yellow Book of Lecan, an ancient gloss ex-
plains a rath (i. e. a fort or residence) by baile ;
and in the story of " The fate of the children of
Lir " we read : — " She [Aeife] went on to [the
fairy residence called] Sidh Buidhbh Deirg [Shee-
Boovderg] ; and the nobles of the baile bade her
welcome" (Atlantis, VII , p. 124).

This application of the term is obviously pre-
served in the name of the tongue of land on which
the Howth lighthouse is built, which is called the
Green Baiky. Our Annals relate that Criffan,
monarch of Ireland in the first century, had his
residence, Dun-Criffan, at Ben Edar or Howth,
where he died in A.D. 9, " after returning from
the famous expedition upon which he had gone.
It was from this expedition he brought with him
the wonderful jewels, among which were a golden
chariot, and a golden chess-board [inlaid] with a
hundred transparent gems, and a beautiful cloak
embroidered with gold. He brought a conquering
sword, with many serpents of refined massy gold
inlaid in it ; a shield with bosses of bright silver ;
a spear from the wound of which no one recovered ;
a sling from which no erring shot was discharged ;
and two greyhounds, with a silver chain between
them, which chain was worth three hundred
cumhals; with many other precious articles" (Four
Masters, A.D. 9).

Petrie and O'Donovan both believe that the
lighthouse occupies the site of this ancient
fortress ; and portions of the fosses by which it
was defended are still clearly traceable across the
neck of the little peninsula. The Rev. J. F.
Shearman is of opinion that it was situated higher
up, where the old Bailey lighthouse stood ; but
this does not invalidate the derivation of the
name. And so the memory of Criffan' s old bally,

CHAP, iv.] Towns and Villages. 349

which has long been lost in popular tradition,
still lives in the name of the Bailey lighthouse.
In the colloquial language of the present day the
word baile is used to signify home, which is ob-
viously a relic of its more ancient application to a
residence.

In modern times this word is usually translated
"town;" but in this sense it is applied to the
smallest village, even to a collection of only a
couple of houses. It is also used to designate
mere townlands, without any reference at all to
habitations. This application is as old as the
twelfth century; for we are informed by Dr
Reeves that the word was often so used in the
charters of that period, such as those of Kells,
Newry, Ferns, &c., in which numbers of denomi-
nations are mentioned, whose names contain it in
the forms bali, baley, balli, bale', &c. It is pro-
bable that in many old names which have de-
scended to our own time the word bally is used in
the sense of "residence," but it is difficult or
impossible to distinguish them ; and I have, fol
the sake of uniformity, throughout this book
translated the word by "town" or "townland."

The most common anglicised form of baile is
bally, which is found in a vast number of names ;
such as Ballyorgan near Kilfinane in Limerick,
which the people call in Irish Baile- Ar again, the
town of Aragan, an ancient Irish personal name,
the same as the modern Horgan or Organ. In
Ballybofey (Donegal) the bally is a modern addi-
tion ; and the place, if it had retained an angli-
cised form of the old name, Srath-bo-Fiaich (Four
Masters), should have been called Srathbofey.
Some old chief or occupier named Fiach must
have in past times kept his cows on the beautiful
holm along the river Finn near the town ; for the

<i50 Artificial Structure*. [PART in.

name signifies the srath or river holm of Fiaeh's
cows. Ballyheige iu Kerry has its name from
the family of O'Teige, its full Irish name being
Bdik-ui-Thadg ; and Ballylanders is in like man-
ner called from the English family of Landers.
Indeed, a considerable proportion of these Ballys
take their names from families, of which many
are so plain as to tell their own story.

When bally is joined to the article followed
by a noun in the genitive singular, if the noun
be masculine, the Irish Baik-an- is generally
contracted to Sail-in-; as we find in Ballinrobe
in Mayo, which the Four Masters write Bailc-
an-Rodhba [Roba], the town of the (river) Robe ;
and in Ballincurry, Ballincurra, and Ballincurrig,
all of which are in Irish Baile-an-churraigh, the
town of the moor or marsh. But it is occasion-
ally made Ballyn-, as in Ballyneety, the name
of a dozen places, chiefly in Waterford, Tipperary,
and Limerick, which represents the sound of the
Irish Baik-an-Fhaeite, the town of White, a family
name of English origin. If the following noun
be feminine, or in the genitive plural, the Irish
Baik-na- is made either Ballina- or BaUyna- ; as in
the common townland names, Ballynahinch and
Ballinahinch, the town of the island ; Ballyna-
glogh, the town of the stones (clock, a stone).

In the counties on the eastern coast, bally is
very often shortened to bal, of which there are
numerous examples, such as Baldoyle near Dublin,
which is written in the Registry of All Hallows,
Balydowyl, and in other old Anglo-Irish au-
thorities, Ballydubgaill, Balydugil, Ballydowill,
&c. — Irish, Baile-Dubhghoill, the town of Dubli-
gltall or Doyle, a personal name meaning black
Gall or foreigner. Balbriggan, the town of Brecan,
a very usual personal name ; Balrath is generally

3HAp.iv."] Towns an\l Villages. 65 i

the town of the fort ; but Balrath in the parish of
Castletown-Kindalen in Westmeath, is Bile-ratha
(Four M.j, the bile or ancient tree of the rath.
Baltrasna, cross-town, i. e. placed in a transverse
direction, the same name as Ballytrasna, Bally-
tarsna, and Ballytarsney.

The plural of baile is bailte, which appears in
names as it is pronounced, baity. There is a town-
land in Wicklow, near Hollywood, called Baity
boys, i. e. Boyce's townlands ; and a further step
in the process of anglicisation appears in its alia*
name of Boystown, which form has given name to
the parish. Baltylum in Armagh, bare townlands,
i. e. bare of trees ; Baltydaniel in Cork, Donall's
or Domhnall's townlands. The diminutives Bal-
leen and Balteen (little town) are the names of
several places in Kilkenny and the Munster coun-
ties ; Balteenbrack in Cork, speckled little town.

Baile is not much liable to changes of form
further than I have noticed ; yet in a few names
we find it much disguised. For instance, Cool-
ballow in the parish of Kerloge, Wexford, repre-
sents Cul-bhaik, back town, the same as we find
in Coolbally and Coolballyogan (Hogan's) in
Queen's County, and Coolballyshane (John's) in
Limerick. The proper original of Bau0tY& in
Inishowen, Donegal, is £obhaile,cov?town.; Lough -
bollard, near Clane, Kildare, the lake of the high-
town ; Derrywillow in Leitrim represents Doire-
bhaile, which, with the root words reversed, is the
same name as Ballinderry, the town of the derry
or oak-wood.

Srdid [sraud] signifies a street, and appears to
be borrowed from the Latin strata. The Four
Masters use it once where they mention Sraid-
an-fhiona [Sraud-an-eena], the street of the wine,
now Winetavern-street in Dublin. There are

352 Artificial Structures. [PART in

several townlands in Antrim, Donegal and London-
derry, called Straid, which is one of its English
forms, and which enters into several other names
in the same counties; we find Strade in Mayo,
and Stradeen, little street, in Monaghan. It is also
sometimes made strad, as in Stradreagh in London-
derry, grey-street ; Stradavohcr near Thurles, the
street of the road : Stradbrook near Monkstown
Dublin, is very probably a translation of Sruthan-
na-sraid# [sruhanasrauda], the brook of the street.

A village consisting of one street, undefended
by either walls or castle — a small unfortified ham-
let— was often called Sradbhaile, i. e. street-town ;
which in its English form, Stradbally, is the name
of several villages, parishes, and townlands, in the
southern half of Ireland. Stradbally in Queen's
County, is mentioned by the Four Masters, who
call it " Sradbhaile of Leix."

Buirghes [burris] signifies a burgage or borough.
This word was introduced by the Anglo-Normans,
who applied it to the small borough towns which
they established, several of which have retained
the original designations. After the twelfth cen-
tury, it is often found in Irish writings, but always
as a part of local names.

It is usually spelled in the present anglicised
names Borris, Burris, and Burges, which are met
with forming the whole or part of names in several
of the Munster, Connaught, and Leinster counties ;
it does not occur in Ulster. Burriscarra, Borris-
in-Ossory, Borrisoleagh, and Burrishoole, were so
called to distinguish them from each other, and
from other Borrises ; being situated in the ancient
territories of Carra, Ossory, Ileagh or Ui-Luigh-
dheach, and Umhall, or " The Owles." Borrisna-
f arney, the name of a parish in Tipperary, signifies
the borough of the alder-plain (see Farney) ;
Borrisokane, O'Keane's borough town.

CHAP, v.] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 353

Graig, a village. It is supposed by many to
have been introduced by the Anglo-Normans, but
its origin is very doubtful. It is used extensively
in the formation of names, there being upwards of
sixty places called Graigue, and a great many
others of whose names it forms a part. It does
not occur at all in Ulster.

The name of Graiguenamanagh in Kilkenny,
bears testimony to its former ecclesiastical emi-
nence, for it signifies the village of the monks ;
Graiguealug and Graiguenaspiddogue, both in
Carlo w, the village of the hollow, and of the robin-
redbreasts; Graiguefrahane in Tipperary, the
graig of thefreaghans or whortleberries. Gragane
and Graigeen in Limerick, Gragan in Clare, and
Grageen in "Wexford, all signify little village,
being different forms of the diminutive ; Ard-
graigue in Galway, and Ardgregane in Tipperary,
the height of the village.

CHAPTER V.

FORDS, WEIRS, AND BRIDGES.

THE early inhabitants of a country often, for ob-
vious reasons, selected the banks of rivers for their
settlements ; and the position most generally chosen
was opposite a part of the stream sufficiently shallow
to be fordable by foot passengers. Many of our
important towns, as their names clearly indicate,
derive their origin from these primitive and soli-
tary settlements ; but moit of the original fords
have been long since spanned by bridges.

But whether there was question of settlements
VOL. i. 24

354 Artificial Structure?. [PART m.

or not, the fordable points of rivers must have
been known to the very earliest colonists, and
distinguished by names ; for upon this knowledge
depended, in a great measure, the facility and
safety of intercommunication, before the erection
of bridges. Fords were, generally speaking, natural
features, but in almost all cases they were im-
proved by artificial means, as we find mentioned
by Boate : — " Concerning the fords : it is to be
observed that not everywhere, where the high-
ways meet with great brooks or small rivers,
bridges are found for to pass them, but in very
many places one is constrained to ride through
the water itself, the which could not be done if the
rivers kept themselves everywhere enclosed be-
tween their banks ; wherefore they are not only
suffered in such places to spread themselves abroad,
but men help thereto as much as they can, to
make the water so much the shallower, and con-
sequently the easier to be passed " (Nat. Hist., C.
VII., Sect. VII.). Very often also, when circum-
stances made it necessary, a river was rendered
passable at some particular point, even where there
was no good natural ford, by laying down stones,
trees, or wicker work. For these reasons I have
included " Fords " in this third part among arti-
ficial structures.

There are several Irish words for the different
kinds of fords, of which the most common is ath,
cognate with Latin vadum. In the various forms
ath, ah, augh, agh, a, &c., it forms a part of hun-
dreds of names all over Ireland (see p. 43, supra}.
The Shannon must have been anciently fordable
at Athlone ; and there was a time when the site of
the present busy town was a wild waste, relieved
by a few solitary huts, and when the traveller —
directed perhaps by a professional guide — struggled

CTTAP, v.^ Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 355

across the dangerous passage where the bridge
now spans the stream. It appears from the "Battle
of Moylena " (p. 60), that this place was first called
Athmore, great ford, which was afterwards changed
to Ath-Luain, the ford of Luan, a man's name,
formerly very common. I know nothing further
of this Luan, except that we learn his father's
name from a passage in the tale called " The fate
of the children of Tuireann," in which the place
is called Ath-Luain-mic-Luighdheach, the ford of
Luan the son of Lewy.

Athleague on the Suck in the county Ros-
common, is called by the Four Masters At h- Hag,
the ford of the stones, or more fully, Ath-liag~
Maenagain, from St. Mainagan, who was formerly
venerated there, though no longer remembered.
The people say that there is one particular stone
which the river never covers in its frequent inun-
dations, and that if it were covered, the town
would be drowned. There was another At h- Hag,
on the Shannon, which is also very often mentioned
in the Annals ; it crossed the river at the present
village of Lanesborough, and it is now called in
Irish Baile-atha-liag , or in English Ballyleague,
(the town of the ford of the stones), which is the
name of that part of Lanesborough lying on the
west bank of the Shannon. Another name nearly
the same as this, is that of Athlacca in Limerick,
which was so called from a ford on the Morning
Star river, called in Irish Ath-leacach, stony or
flaggy ford. And it will appear as I go on, that a
great many other places derive their names from
these stony fords. There was another ford higher
up on the same river, which the Four Masters call
Bel-atha-na-nDeise [Bellananeasy], the ford-mouth,
of the Desii, from the old territory of Deis-beag,
which lay round the hill of Knockany ; and in the

356 Artificial Structures. £PART in.

shortened form of Ath-nDeise it gives name to the
surrounding parish, now called Athneasy.

Ath is represented by aa in Drumaa, the name
of two townlands in Fermanagh, in Irish Druim-
atha, the ridge of the ford. A ford on the river
Inny, formerly surrounded with trees, gave name
to the little village of Finnea in Westmeath,
which the Four Masters call Fidh-an-atha [Fee-
an-aha], the wood of the ford. Affane, a well-
known place on the Blackwater, took its name
from a ford across the river about two miles below
Cappoquin ; it is mentioned by the Four Masters,
vrhen recording the battle fought there in the
year 1565, between the rival houses of Desmond
and Ormond, and they call it Ath-mheadhon \_Ah~
vane], middle ford. At the year 524, we read
in the Four Masters, "the battle of Ath-Sidhe
[Ahshee] (was gained) by Muircheartach (king of
Ireland) against the Leinstermen, where Sidhe,
the son of Dian, was slain, from whom Ath- Sidhe
[on the Boyne : the ford of Sidhe] is called ; "
and the place has preserved this name, now
changed to Assey, which, from the original ford,
has been extended to a parish. The same autho-
rity states (A. D. 526), that Sin [Sheen], the
daughter of Sidhe, afterwards killed Muirchear-
tach, by burning the house of Cletty over his
head, in revenge of her father's death.

Ath is very often combined with baile forming
the compound Baile-atha [Bally-aha], the town of
the ford ; of which Ballyboy in the King's County,
a village giving name to a parish and barony, is
an example, being called in various authorities,
Baile-atha-buidhe [Ballyaboy], the town of theyel-
ow ford. There are many townlands in different
counties, of the same name, but it probably means
yellow town \_Baile-buidhe~\ in some of these cases.

CHAP, v.] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 357

Ballylahan in the parish of Templemore, Mayo, is
called in the annals Baile-atha-leathain, the town
of the broad ford. The parish of Bailee in Down
is written in the taxation of 1306, Baliath, which
shows clearly that the original name is Baile-atha
(Beeves : Eccl. Ant., p. 41).

The diminutive ath an [ahaun] is of frequent
occurrence ; in the forms of Ahane and Ahaun
(little ford), it gives name to several townlandsin
the southern counties ; and there is a parish in
Derry called Aghanloo, or in Irish Athan Lug ha,
Lewy's little ford.

The word bel or I6al [bale] primarily signifies
a mouth, but in a secondary sense it was used,
like the Latin os, to signify an entrance to any
place. In this sense, it appears in Bellaugh, the
name of a village lying west of Athlone. Between
this village and the town there was formerly a
slough or miry place called in Irish a lathach
[lahagh], which the Four Masters mention by the
name of Lathach- Caichtuthbil ; and the spot where
the village stands was called Bel-lathaigh, the
entrance to the lathach, which is now correctly
enough anglicised Bellaugh. Bellaghy, another
and more correct form, is the name of a village
in Londonderry, of another in Sligo, and of a
townland in Antrim.

This word be'lis very often united with ath, form-
ing the compound bel-atha [bellaha orbella], which
signifies ford-entrance — an entrance by a ford —
literally mouth of a ford; it is applied to a ford, and
has in fact much the same signification as ath itself.
It is so often used in this manner that the word
bel alone sometimes denotes a ford. Belclare,
now the name of a parish in Galway, was more
anciently applied to a castle erected to defend a
ford on the road leading to Tuain, which was

353 Artificial Structures. [PART nt.

called Bel-an-chlair, the ford or entrance of the
plank. There is also a townland in Mayo, called
Belclare, and another in Sligo, which the Four
Masters call Bel-an-chlair. Phale near Enniskeen
in Cork, is called in the Annals of Innisfallen,
Inis-an-bheil [Innishanwzfe], the island or river
holm of the mouth, the last syllable of which is
preserved in the present name.

The proper anglicised form of bel-atha, is bella,
which is the beginning of a great many names.
Bellanagare in Roscommon, formerly the residence
of Charles O'Conor the historian, is called in Irish
Bel-atha-na-gcarr, the ford-mouth of the cars (see
for cars 2nd Vol., Chap, XT. ) ; Lisbellaw in Fer-
managh, Lios-bel-atha, the Us of the ford-mouth.
Sometimes the article intervenes, making bel-an-
atlia in the original, the correct modern represen-
tative of which is bellana, as we find in Bellana-
cargy in Cavan, the ford-mouth of the rock.

Bdl-atha is often changed in modern names to
balli, or bally, as if the original root were baik a
town ; and bel-an-atha is made ballina. Both of
these modern forms are very general, but they
are so incorrect as to deserve the name of corrup-
tions. Ballina is the name of about twenty-five
townlands and villages in different parts of Ireland
several of which are written Bel-an-atha in the
annals. Ballina in Tipperary, opposite Killaloe,
was so called from the ford — now spanned by a
bridge — called Ath-na-borumha, the ford of the
cow tribute ; and here no doubt the great monarch
Brian was accustomed to cross the Shannon when
returning to his palace of Kincora, with the herds
of cattle exacted from the Leinstennen (see Boro,
below). Ballina in Mayo, on the Moy, is some-
what different, and represents a longer name, for
it is called in an ancient poem in the Book of

CHAP, v.] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 359

Lecan, Bel-atha-an~fheadha [Bellahana], the ford-
mouth of the wood. We find this compound also
in Ballinafad in Sligo, which the Four Masters
call Bel-an-atha-fada [Bellanafada], the mouth of
the long ford ; and there is a village in Leitrim
and several townlands in other counties, called
Ballinamore, the mouth of the great ford.

Bel-atha is reduced to bally and balli in the
following names. The ford on the river Erne
round which the town of Ballyshannon rose is
called by the annalists, Ath-Seanaigh and Bel-atha-
Seanaigh [Bellashanny] ; from the latter, the
modern name is derived, and it means the mouth
of Seanach's or Shannagh's ford, a man's name in
common use. The on in Ballyshannow is a modern
corruption ; the people call the town Ballyshanny,
which is nearer the original ; and in an Inquisition
of James L, it is given with perfect correctness,
Bealashanny. Ballyshannon in Kildare, west of
Kilcullen Bridge, is also called in Irish Ath
Seanaigh (Four Masters), Seanach's ford; and the
present name was formed, as in case of the
northern town, by prefixing Bel. It appears
from a record in the Annals of Ulster, that this
place in Kildare was also called Uchba.

There is a ford on the river Boro in Wexford,
called Bel-atha-Borumha, which preserves the
memory of the well known Borumha or cow
tribute, long exacted from the kings of Leinster
by the monarchs of Ireland (see p. 158). From
the latter part of the name, Borumha [Boru], this
river — so lovingly commemorated in Mr. Ken
nedy's interesting book, " The banks of the Boro'
— derives its name. The ford is called Bealaborowt
in an inquisition of Charles I., and in the modem
form Ballyboro, it gives name to a townland.
Ballylicky, on the road from Glengarriff to

360 Artificial Structures. LPART in.

Bantry in Cork, where the river Ouvane enters
Bantry Bay, is called in Irish Bel-atha-lice, the
ford-mouth of the flag-stone, and whoever has
seen it will acknowledge the appropriateness of
the name. All the places called Bellanalack,
derive their names from similar fords.

When a river spread widely over a craggy or
rugged spot, the rough shallow ford thus formed
was often called scairbh [scarriv], or as O'Reilly,
spells it, scirbh. A ford of this kind on a small
river in Clare, gave name to the little town of
Scarriff ; and there are several townlands of the
same name in Cork, Kerry, and Galway. Near
Newtownhamilton in Armagh, there are two ad-
joining townlands called SkerrifE ; and the same
term is found shortened in Scarnageeragh in
Monaghan, Scairbh-na-gcaerach, the shallow ford
of the sheep.

The syllable ach is sometimes added to this word
in the colloquial language, making scairbheach
[scarvagh], which has the same meaning as
the original ; this derivative is represented by
Scarva, the name of a village in Down ; Scarvy in
Monaghan ; and Scarragh in Tipperary and Cork.

In the end of names, when the word occurs in
the genitive, it is usually, though not always,
anglicised scarry, as in Ballynascarry in West-
meath and Kilkenny, the town of the ford ; and
Lackanascarry in Limerick, the flag-stones of the
shallow ford. A ford of this kind, where the old
road crosses the Cookstown river, gave name to
Enniskerry in Wicklow. This spot is truly de-
scribed by the term scairbh, being rugged and
stony even now ; the natives call it Annaskerry,
and its Irish name is obviously Ath-na-scairbhe
[Anascarry], the ford of the scarriffor rough river-
crossing. Other forms are seen in Bellanascarrow

CHAP, v.] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 361

and Bellanascarva in Sligo, the ford-mouth of the
scarriff (see p. 358).

The word fearsad [farsad] is applied to a sand-
bank formed near the mouth of a river, by the
opposing currents of tide and stream, which at
low water often formed a firm, and comparatively
safe passage across. The term is pretty common,
especially in the west, where these farsets are of
considerable importance, as in many places they
serve the inhabitants instead of bridges. Colgan
translates the word, "vadum vel trftjectus."

A sandbank of this kind across the mouth of the
Lagan gave name to Belfast, which is called in Irish
authorities Bel-feirsdS, the ford of the farset; and
the same name, in the uncontracted form Belfar-
sad, occurs in Mayo. There is now a bridge over
the old sandbank that gave name to the village of
Farsid near Aghada on Cork harbour ; the origin
of this name is quite forgotten, and the people
call it Farside, and understand it to be an English
word ; but the name of the adjacent townland of
Ballynafarsid proves, if proof were necessary,
that it took its name from a, farset. Callanafersy
in Kerry, between the mouths of the rivers Maine
and Laune, is somewhat softened down from the
Irish name Cafa-na-feirtse, the ferry of the farset.
On the river Swilly where it narrows near Letter-
kenny, there was a farset which in old times was
evidently an important pass, for the Four Masters
record several battles fought near it : it is now
called Farsetmore, and it can still be crossed at
low water.

A kish or kesh, in Irish ceis [kesh], is a kind of
causeway made of wickerwork, and sometimes of
boughs of trees and brambles, across a small river,
a marsh, or a deep bog. The word means pri-
marily wicker or basket work ; and to this day,

362 Artificial Structures. [PART TIL

in some parts of Ireland, they measure and sell
turf by the kish, which originally meant a large
wicker-basket. These wickerwork bridges or
kishes, were formerly very common in every part
of Ireland, and are so still in some districts. The
Four Masters record at 1483, that O'Donnell on
a certain occasion constructed a ceasaigh-droichet
[cassy-drohet] or wicker bridge across the Black-
water in Tyrone, for his army ; and when they
had crossed, he let the bridge float down the
stream. The memory of this primitive kind of
bridge is preserved in many places by the names.

This word appears in its simple form in Kesh,
a small town in Fermanagh ; and in Kish, a town-
land near Arklow ; and I suppose the Kish light,
outside Dublin Bay, must have been originally
floated on a wicker framework. A causeway of
brambles and clay made across a marsh, not far from
a high limestone rock, gave name to the village
of Keshcarrigan in Leitrim, the kesh of the car-
rigan or little rock. There is a place not far from
Mallow, called Annakisha (Ath-na-cise) the ford
of the wickerwork causeway — a name that points
clearly to the manner in which the ford on the
river was formerly rendered passable.

Sometimes ceiseach, or in English kishagh, is the
form used, and this in fact is rather more common
than kish : we find it as Kisha near Wexf ord ; and
the same form is preserved in Kishaboy (boy,
yellow) in Armagh. Other modifications are seen
in Casey Glebe in Donegal ; Cassagh in Kil-
kenny ; and in Cornakessagh in Fermanagh, the
round hill of the wicker causeway. Kishogue, little
kish, is the name of a place near Lucan in Dublin.

Those wickerwork causeways were also often
designated by the word cliath [clee], which pri-
marily means a hurdle j the diminutive ckthnat

CHAP, v.] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 363

glosses tigillum in the Sg. MS. of Zeuss (Gram,
elt., p. 282) ; and it is cognate with Lat. clitellce
and Fr. claie. An artificial ford of this kind was
constructed across the Liffey (see p. 45), in very
early ages ; and the city that subsequently sprung
up around it was from this circumstance called
Ath-cliath [Ah-clee], the ford of hurdles, which
was the ancient name of Dublin. This is the name
still used by speakers of Irish in every part of
Ireland ; but they join it to Bally — Baile-atha-
cliath (which they pronounce Blaa-clee), the town
of the hurdle ford.

The present name, Dublin, is written in the
annals Duibh-linn, which in the ancient Latin Life
of St. Kevin, is translated nigra therma, i. e. black
pool ; it was originally the name of that part of
the Liffey on which the city is built, and is suffi-
ciently descriptive at the present day. Duibh-linn
is sounded Duvlin or Divlin, and it was undoubtedly
so pronounced down to a comparatively recent
period by speakers of both English and Irish ;
tor in old English writings, as well as on Danish
coins, we find the name written Divlin, Dyflin, &c.,
and even yet the Welsh call it Dulin. The pre-
sent name has been formed by the restoration of
the aspired b (see p. 43, supra).

There are several other places through Ireland
called Duibhlinn, but the aspiration of the b is
observed in all, and consequently not one of them
has taken the anglicised form Dublin. Devlin is
the name of eight townlands in Donegal, Mayo,
and Monaghan ; Dowling occurs near Fiddown in
Kilkenny, Doolin in Clare, and Ballindoolin, the
town of the black pool, in Kildare.

In several of these cases, the proper name was
Ath-cliath, hurdle ford, which was formerly com-
mon as a local name; and they received thoir

364 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

present names merely in imitation of Dublin ; for,
as the people when speaking Irish, always called
the metropolis, Baile-atha-cliath, and in English,
Dublin, they imagined that the latter was a trans-
lation of the former, and translated the names of
their own places accordingly.

A row of stepping-stones across a ford on a
river, is called in every part of Ireland by the
name of clochan, pronounced clackan in the north
of Ireland and in Scotland. This mode of ren-
dering a river fordable was as common in ancient
as it is in modern times ; for in the tract of Brehon
Laws in the Book of Ballymote, regulating the
stipend of various kinds of artificers, it is stated
that the builder of a clochan is to be paid two cows
for his labour.

These stepping-stones have given names to
places in all parts of Ireland, now called Cloghan,
Cloghane, and Cloghaun, the first being more
common in the north, and the two last in the south.
Cloghanaskaw in Westmeath, was probably so
called from a ford shaded with trees, for the name
signifies the stepping-stones of the shade or
shadow ; Cloghanleagh, grey stepping-stones, was
the old name of Dunglow in Donegal ; Cloghane-
nagleragh in Kerry, the stepping-stones of the
clergy; Ballycloghan and Ballincloghan, the town
of the cloghan, are the names of several townlands.

Clochan is sometimes applied to a stone castle,
and in some of the names containing this root, it
is to be understood in this sense. And in Cork
and Kerry it is also used to denote an ancient
stone house of a beehive shape.

When there were no means of making a river
fordable, there remained the never-failing re-
source of swimming. When rivers had to be crossed
in this manner, certain points seem to have been

CHAP, v.] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 365

selected, which were considered more suitable than
others for swimming across, either because the
stream was narrower there than elsewhere, or that
it was less dangerous on account of the stillness of
the water, or that the shape of the banks afforded
peculiar facilities. Such spots were often desig-
nated by the word snamh [snauv], which literally
means swimming : a word often met with in our
old historical writings in the sense of a swimming -
ford, and which forms part of several of our pre-
sent names.

Lixnaw on the river Brick in Kerry, is called
in the Four Masters Lic-snamha [Licksnawa], the
flag-stone of the swimming ; the name probably
indicating that there was a large stone on the
bank, from which the swimmers were accustomed
to fling themselves off ; and Portnaswow near En-
niskillen (port, a bank), is a name of similar origin. '
About midway between GlengarrifE and Bantry,
the traveller crosses Snave bridge, where before
the erection of the bridge, the deep transparent
creek at the mouth of the Coomhola river must
have been generally crossed by swimming. So
with the Shannon at Drumsna in Leitrim ; the
Erne at Drumsna, one mile south-east of Ennis-
killen ; and the narrow part of the western arm of
Lough Corrib at Drumsnauv ; all of which names
are from the Irish Druim-snamha [Drum-snauva],
the hill-ridge of the swimming-ford.

When the article is used with this word snamh
the s is eclipsed by t, as we see in Carrigatna in
Kilkenny, which is in Irish Carraig-a' -tsnamha,
the rock of the swimming ; and Glanatnaw in the
parish of Caheragh, Cork, where the people used
to swim across the stream that runs through the
glan or glen. In the north of Ireland the n of
this construction is replaced by r (seep. 51 supra),

366 Artificial Structures* [PART m.

as in Ardatrave on the shore of Lough Erne in
Fermanagh, Ard-a'-tsnamha [Ardatnauva], the
height of the swimming. Immediately after the
Shannon issues from Lough Allen, it flows under
a bridge now called Ballintra ; but "Weld, in his
" Survey of Roscommon," calls \iBallintrave, which
points to the Irish B^l-an-tsnamha [Bellantnauva],
the ford of the swimming, and very clearly indi-
cates the usual mode of crossing the river there in
former ages. A better form of this same name is
preserved in Bellantra Bridge crossing the Black
River in Leitrim, on the road from Drumlish to
Mohill.

The lower animals, like the human inhabitants,
had often their favourite spots on rivers or
lakes, where they swam across in their wanderings
from place to place. On the shore of the little
lake of Muckno in Monaghan, where it nar-
rows in the middle, there was once a well-known
religious establishment called in the annals Muc-
shnamh [Mucknauv], the swimming place of the
pigs (muc, a pig), which has been softened to the
present name Muckno. Some of our ecclesiastical
writers derive this name from a legend ; but the
natural explanation seems to be, that wild pigs
were formerly in the habit of crossing the lake at
this narrow part. Exactly the same remark applies
to the Kenmare river, where it is now spanned by
the suspension bridge at the town. It was nar-
rowed at this point by a spit of land projecting
from the northern shore ; and here in past ages,
wild pigs used to swim across so frequently and
in such numbers, that the place was called Muc-
snamh or Mucksna, which is now well known as
the name of a little hamlet near the bridge, and
of the hill that rises over it, at the south side of
the river.

JHAP. v.] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 367

A weir across a river, either for fishing or to
divert a mill-stream, is called in Irish cor a or
coradh [curra]. Brian Borumha's palace of Kin-
cora was built on a hill near the present town of
Killaloe, and it is repeatedly mentioned in the
annals by the name of Ceann-coradh, the head or
hill of the weir ; from which we may infer that
there was a fishing weir across the Shannon at
this point, from early times. There is another
Kincora in King's County, in which was a castle
mentioned by the Four Masters, and called by the
same Irish name. And we find Tikincor in Water-
ford, the house at the head of the weir.

Ballinacor in Glenmalure in Wicklow, which
gives name to two baronies, is called in the Leabhar
Branach, Baile-na-corra, the town of the W3ir.
There are several other places of the same name
in "Wicklow and Westmeath ; and it is modified to
Ballinacur in Wexford, and to Ballinacurra or
Ballynacorra in several counties, the best known
place of the name being Ballynacorra on Cork
harbour. Corrofin in Clare is called by the Four
Masters Coradh-Finne, the weir of Finna, a woman's
name (see p. 174, supra] ; in the same authority
we find Drumcar in Louth, written Druim-caradh
[Drumcara], the ridge of the weir ; and here the
people still retain the tradition of the ancient
weir on the river Dee, and point out its site ;
Smith (Hist, of Cork, II., 254) states that there
was formerly an eel- weir of considerable profit at
the castle of Carrignacurra on the river Lee near
Inchigeelagh ; and the name bears out his asser-
tion, for it signifies the rock of the weir.

" The origin of stone bridges in Ireland is not
very accurately ascertained; but this much at
least appears certain, that none of any importance
were erected previous to the twelfth century"

368 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

(Petrie, " Dub. Pen. Journal," I., 150). Droichet,
as it is given in Cormac's Glossary, or in modern
Irish, droichead [drohed], is the word universally
employed to denote a bridge, and under this name
bridges are mentioned in our oldest authorities.
The fourteenth abbot of lona, from A.D. 726 to
752, was Cilline, who was surnamed Droichteach,
i. e. the bridge maker ; and Fiachna, the son of
Aedh Roin, king of Ulidia in the eighth century,
was called Fiachna Dubh Droichtech, black Fi-
achna of the bridges, because "it was he that
made Droichet-na-Feirsi (the bridge of the farset,
see p. 361), and Droichet- Mona-daimh (the bridge
of the bog of the ox), and others." It is almost
certain, however, that these structures were of
wood, and that bridges with stone arches were not
built till after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans.

Many places in Ireland have taken their names
from bridges, and the word droichead is often
greatly modified by modern corruption. It is to
be observed that the place chosen for the erection
of a bridge was very usually where the river had
already been crossed by a ford ; for besides the
convenience of retaining the previously existing
roads, the point most easily f ordable was in general
most suitable for a bridge. There are many
places whose names preserve the memory of this,
of which Drogheda is a good example. This place
is repeatedly mentioned in old authorities, and
always called Droichead-atha [Drohed-aha], the
bridge of the ford ; from which the present name
was easily formed ; pointing clearly to the fact,
that the first bridge was built over the ford where
the northern road along the coast crossed the
Boyne.

There is a townland in Kildare called Drehid,
and another in Londonderry called Droghed;

CHAP, v."] Fords, Weirs, and Bridges. 369

Drehidtarsna (cross-bridge) is a parish in Limerick;
Ballydrehid and Ballindrehid, the town of the
bridge, are the names of some townlands, the
same as Ballindrait in Donegal. The memory of
the two modes of crossing is preserved in the
name of Belladrihid near Ballysadare in Sligo,
which the Four Masters write Bel-an-droichit, the
ford of the bridge. Five miles east of Macroom,
near a bridge over the Lee, there is a rock in the
river on which stands a castle, called Carrigadro-
hid, the rock of the bridge : according to a legend
told in the neighbourhood, the castle was built by
one of the Mac Carthys with the money extorted
from a leprechaun (see p. 190, supra).

The word is obscured in Knockacfm£, the hill
of the bridge, in Wicklow, which same name is
correctly anglicised Knockadrehid in Hoscommon.
A like difference is observable between Druma-
drehid and T)T\imadried, the ridge of the bridge,
the former in Clare, and the latter in Antrim ;
and between Rosdrehid in the south of King's
County, and Rossdroit south-west of Enniscorthy,
both meaning the wood of the bridge. The parish
of Kildrought in Kildare took its name from a
bridge over the Liffey, the Irish form being Oill-
droichid, the church of the bridge. Though the
parish retains the old name, that of the original
spot is changed by an incorrect translation ; the
first part was altered to Cel, and the last part
translated, forming Celbridge, the name of a well-
known town. What renders this more certain is,
that the place is called Kyldroghet, in an Inquisi-
tion of William and Mary.

VOL. T. 25

370 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

CHAPTER VI.

ROADS AND CAUSEWAYS.

"ACCORDING to the Irish annals, and other frag-
ments of our native history, the ancient Irish had
many roads which were cleaned and kept in repair
according to law. The different terms used to
denote road, among the ancient Irish, are thus
defined in Cormac's Glossary, from which a pretty
accurate idea may be formed of their nature"
(O'Donovan, Book of Rights, Introd., p. Ivi.).
0 'Donovan then quotes Cormac's enumeration of
the different terms, several of which are still used.
According to the Dinnsenchus, there were an-
ciently five great roads leading to Tara, from five
different directions; and it would appear from
several authorities that they were constructed in
the reign of Felimy the lawgiver, in the second
century (see p. 129, supra). Besides these great
highways, numerous other roads are mentioned in
our annals and tales, many of which are enume-
rated in O 'Donovan's valuable introduction to the
Book of Rights.

Among the different Irish words to denote a
road, the most common and best known is bothar
[boher] ; and its diminutive bohereen is almost on
the eve of acknowledgment as an English word.
It originally meant a road for cattle, being derived
from bo, a cow ; and Cormac defines its breadth
to be such that "two cows fit upon it, one length-
wise, the other athwart, and their calves and year
lings fit on it along with them."

The word is scarcely used at all in Ulster ; but
in the other provinces, the anglicised forms Boher

CHAP, vi.] Roads and Causeways. 371

and Bohereen or Borheen, constitute part of a
great number of names, and they are themselves
the names of several places. There is a townland
in Gal way called Bohercuill, the road of the hazel
(coll) ; and this same name becomes Boherkyle in
Kilkenny, Boherkill in Kildare, and Boherquiil in
Westmeath ; while with the diminutive, it is
found as Bohereenkyle in Limerick.

Sometimes the word is contracted to one syllable ;
as we find, for instance, in Borleagh and Borna-
courtia in Wexf ord, grey road, and the road of
the court or mansion ; and Borderreen in King's
County, the road of the little wood. When the
word occurs as a termination, the b is often aspi-
rated (p. 19), as in the common townland name,
Ballinvoher, the town of the road ; and in this
case we also sometimes find it contracted, as in
Cartronbore near Granard, the quarter-land of
the road. For the change of bothar to batter, see
p. 44, supra.

Slighe or Sligheadh [slee] was anciently applied
by the Irish to the largest roads ; the five great
roads leading to Tara, for instance, were called by
this name. The word is still in common use in
the vernacular, but it has not entered very ex-
tensively into names.

Slee near Enniskillen preserves the exact pro-
nunciation of the original word ; Clonaslee, a
village in Queen's County, is the meadow of the
road ; Bruslee in Antrim, indicates that a brugh
or mansion stood near the old road ; and Sleeman-
agh near Castletownroche in Cork, is middle road.
Sleehaun, little road, is the name of some places
in Longford and Donegal ; and in Roscommon we
find Cornasleehan, the round-hill of the little
road.

Realach [ballugh], signifies a road or pass. It

372 Artificial Structures. £PART in.

forms part of the well-known battle cry of the
88th Connaught Rangers, Fag-a-bealach, clear the
road. Ballagh, the usual modern form, consti-
tutes or begins the names of a number of places ;
near several of these the ancient roadways may be
traced ; and in some cases they are still used.
Ballaghboy, yellow road, was formerly the name
of several old highways, and is still retained by a
number of townlands. Ballaghmoon, two miles
north of Carlow, where the battle in which Cormac
Mac Cullenan was killed, was fought in the year
903, is called in the Book of Leinster, Bealach-
Mughna, Mughan's or Mooan's pass ; but we know
not who this Mughan was.

The great road from Tara to the south-west,
called Slighe Dala, is still remembered in the
name of a townland in Queen's County, which
enables us to identify at least one point in its
course. This road was also called Ballaghmore
Moydala (the great road of the plain of the con-
ference), and the first part of this old name
is retained by the townland of Ballaghmore
near Stradbally. There are several other places
in Leinster an'd Munster called Ballaghmore, but
none with such interesting associations as this.

Several other well-known places retain the
memory of those old bealachs. Ballaghadereen in
Mayo, is called in Irish Bealach-a-doirm, the road
of the little oak-wood ; the village of Ballaghkeen
in Wexford, was originally called Bealach-caein,
beautiful road ; and Ballaghkeeran near Athlone,
must have been formerly shaded with keerans or
quicken-trees.

When this word occurs as a termination, it is
very often changed to vally by the aspiration of
the b, and the disappearance of the final guttural.
There are townlands scattered through the four

CHAP, vi.] Roads and Causetvays. 373

provinces called Ballinvally and Ballyvally, the
town of the road ; which in Limerick is made
Ballinvallig, by the restoration of the final g
(p. 31), So also Moyvally, the name of a place
in Carlow, and of another in Kildare — the latter a
station on the Midland railway — the plain or field
of the road. The word has another form still in
Revallagh near Coleraine, clear or open (reidh)
road — so called, no doubt, to distinguish it from
some other road difficult of passage. For the
word rod, a road, see 2nd Vol., Chap. xm.

Casan signifies a path. It is a term that does
not often occur, but we find a few places to which
it gives names ; such as Cassan in Fermanagh ;
Cussan in Kilkenny ; and Cossaun near Athenry
in Galway — all of which mean simply " path : "
the same name is corrupted to Carsan in Monagh-
an ; and the plural Cussana (paths) is the name
of two townlands in Kilkenny. Ardnagassan
near Donegal, and Ardnagassane in Tipperary,
are both called in the original Ard-na-gcasan, the
height of the paths.

It is curious that the river Cashen in Kerry
derives its name from this word. It is called
Cashen as far as it is navigable for curraghs, i. e.
up to the junction of the Feale and the Brick ;
and its usual name in the annals is Casan-Kernj ,
i. e. the path to Kerry — being as it were the high-
road to that ancient territory. But the term waa
also applied to other streams. The mouth of the
Ardee river in Louth was anciently called Casan-
Linne ("Circuit of Ireland"); and the village of
Annagassan partly preserves this old name — Ath-
na-gcasan, the ford of the paths — probably in re-
ference to the two rivers, Glyde and Dee, which
join near the village (see Dr. Todd in " Wars oi
GGr./' Introd., p. Ixii, note 1).

374 Artificial Structures. ["PATIT in

In early ages, before the extension of cultiva-
tion and drainage, the roads through the country
must have often been interrupted by bogs and
morasses, which, when practicable, were made
passable by causeways. They were variously con-
ptructed ; but the materials were generally
branches of trees, bushes, earth, and stones,
placed in alternate layers, and trampled down till
they were sufficiently firm ; and they were called
by the Irish name of tochar.

These tochars were very common all over the
country; our annals record the construction of
many in early ages, and some of these are still
traceable. They have given names to a number
of townlands and villages, several of them called
Togher, and many others containing the word in
combination. Ballintogher, the town of the
causeway,' is a very usual name (but Ballintogher
in Sligo appears to be a different name — see this
in 2nd Vol.) ; and Templetogher (the church of
the togher), in Gralway was so called from a cele-
brated causeway across a bog, whose situation is
still well known to the inhabitants.

CHAPTER VII.

MILLS AND KILNS.

MANY authorities concur in showing that water
mills were known in this country in very remote
ages, and that they were even more common in
ancient than in modern times. We know from
the Lives of the Irish saints, that several of them
erected mills where they settled, shortly after the
introduction of Christianity, as St. Senanus, St.

CHAP, vii.] Mills and Kilns. 375

Ciaran, St. Mochua, St. Fechin, &c. ; and in
some cases mills still exist on the very sites se-
lected by the original founders — as, for instance,
at Fore in Westmeath, where " St. Fechin's mill "
works as busily to-day as it did twelve hundred
years ago. "We may infer, moreover, from seve-
ral grants and charters of the eleventh and twelfth
centuries, that, where circumstances permitted, a,
mill was a usual appendage to a ballybetagh, or
ancient townland.

It appears certain that water mills were used in
Ireland before the introduction of Christianity.
For we have reliable historical testimony that
Cormac mac Art, monarch of Ireland in the third
c.entury, sent across the sea for a millwright, who
constructed a mill on the stream of Nith, which
flowed from the well of Neamhnach [Navnagh] at
Tara. " The ancient Irish authorities all agree in
stating that this was the first mill ever erected in
Ireland ; and it is remarkable that this circum-
stance is still most vividly preserved by tradition
not only in the neighbourhood, where a mill still
occupies its site, but also in most parts of Ireland.
Tradition adds that it was from the king of Scot-
land the Irish monarch obtained the millwright,
and it can be shown that the probability of its
truth is strongly corroborated by that circum-
stance "* (see Mullenoran in 2nd Vol.).

The Irish word for a mill is muilenn [mullen]
and this term exists in several of the Indo-Euro-
pean languages : — Sansc. malana, the action of
grinding ; Lat. molo to grind ; Goth, malan; Eng.
mill. A very considerable number of places in
Ireland have taken their names from mills, and

* From the Ordnance memoir of the parish of Templemore
See also O'Donovan's article on the antiquity of corn in Ire-
land in the Dublin Penny Journal, and Petrie s Essay on Tara.

376 Artificial Structures. [PART in.

the most usual anglicised form of muilenn is Mullen
or Mullin

Mullennakill in Kilkenny, is in Irish, Muiknn-
na-cille, the mill of the church ; and Mullinavat,
in the same county is Muilenn-a'-bhata, the mill
of the stick When this word occurs as a termi-
nation the m is often changed to w by aspiration
(p. 19), as in Mawillian in Londonderry, Magh-
mhuilinn, the plain of the mill. Ballywillin is
the name of a parish on the borders of Antrim
and Londonderry, and of several townlands in
these and other counties ; while the form Ballin-
willin is very frequent in some of the southern
counties ; this name signifies the town of the mill,
and it is often so translated, from which has origi-
nated the very common name Milltown. Cloona-
willen is the name of five townlands, the same as
Clonmullin and Cloonrnullin, all signifying the
cloon 01 meadow of the mill ; there is a parish in
Monaghan called Aghnamullen, and two town-
lands in Leitrim called Aghawillin, the former
the field of the mills, and the latter, of the mill ;
Killawillin on the Blackwater, near Castletown-
roche in Cork, is called in Irish by the people
Cill-a? -mhuilinn, the church of the mill; Killy-
willin, the name of a townland in Fermanagh,
and of another in Cavan, is different, the lattei
place being called by the Four Masters, Coill-an~
mhuilinn, the wood of the mill.

A quern or hand mill is designated by the won)
bro, which is also applied to the mill-stone used
with water mills ; genitive Iron or broin [brone],
plural brointe [broanty]. We find this word in
the names of several places, where it is likely
there were formerly water mills or hand mills,
thi owners of which made their living by grinding
their neighbours' corn- Coolnabrone, the hill-

CHAP, vii.] Mills and Kilns. 877

back of the quern or mill- stone, is the name of
two townlands in Kilkenny ; and in the same
county near Fiddown, is Tobernabrone, the well
of the quern ; Clonbrone and Cloonbrone, the
meadow of the mill- stone, are the names of some
townlands in King's County, Gralway, and Mayo.

Before the potato came into general use it was
customary for families — those especially who were
not within easy reach of a mill — to grind their
own corn for home consumption ; and the quern
was consequently an instrument of very general
use. "We may presume that there were professional
quern makers, and we know for a certainty that
some places received names from producing stones
well suited for querns. Such a place is Oarrig-
eenamronety, a hill near Ballyorgan in Limerick,
on whose side there is a ridge of rocks, formerly
much resorted to by the peasantry for quern
stones ; its Irish name is Carraigm-na-mbrointe,
the little rock of the mill-stones ; and there are
other rocks of the same name in Limerick. So
also Bronagh in Leitrim, i. e. a place abounding
in mill- stones.

Aith [ah] denotes a kiln of any kind, whether
a lime-kiln or a kiln for drying corn. It is gene-
rally found in the end of names, joined with na,
the gen. fern, of the article, followed by h, by
which it is distinguished from ath, a ford, which
takes an in the genitive. There are several places
in Monaghan and Armagh, called Annahaia and
Annahagh, all of which are from the Irish, Aih-
na-haithe, the ford of the kiln ; we find Ballyna-
haha in Limerick, and Ballynahaia in Cavan
(Bally, a town) ; in Antrim, Lisnahay (Lts, a fort) ;
Gortnahey in Londonderry, Gortnahaha in Clare
and Tipperary, and Aughnahoy in Antrim, all of
which signify the field of the kiln.

PART IV

NAMES, DESCRIPTIVE OF PHYSICAL
FEATUEES.

CHAPTER I.

MOUNTAINS, HILLS, AND ROCKS.

IKE most other countries, Ire-
land has a large proportion of
its territorial names derived
from those of hills. For hills,
being the most conspicuous
physical features, are naturally
often fixed upon, in preference
to others, to designate the dis-
)tr/cts in which they stand.
There are at least twenty-five
words in the Irish language for
a hill, besides many others to
denote rocks, points, slopes, and
cliffs; and all without exception have impressed
themselves on the nomenclature of the country.
Many of these are well distinguished one from an-
other, each being applied to a hill of some particular
shape or formation ; but several, though they may
have been formerly different in meaning, are now
used synonymously, so that it is impossible to

CTTAP. T.] Mountains, Hills, and Rc'to 379

make any distinction between them, i will here
enumerate them, and illustrate the manner in
which names are formed from each.

Sliabh [sleeve] signifies a mountain ; and ac-
cording to O'Brien, it was sometimes applied to
any heath-land, whether mountain or plain. It
occurs in the Zeuss MSS. in the old Irish form
sliab, which glosses mons. The word in the angli-
cised form of slieve is applied to great numbers of
the principal mountains in Ireland; and it is
almost always followed by a limiting term, such
as an adjective, or a noun in the genitive case. For
example, Slieve Bernagh in the east of Clare,
gapped mountain.

This word is occasionally so very much disguised
in modern names, that it is difficult to recognise
it ; and of such names I will give a few examples.
There is a mountain west of Lough Arrow in
Sligo called Bricklieve, the proper Irish name of
which is Breic-shliabh (Four Mast.), speckled
mountain, and the s has disappeared by aspiration.
The same thing occurs in FinlifE in Down, white
mountain ; in Gk>rtinlieve in Donegal, the little
field of the mountain ; and in Beglieve in Cavan,
small mountain. The parish of Killevy in Armagh
took its name from an old church situated at the
foot of Slieve Ghillion, which the annalists usually
call Cill-shleibhe, i. e. the church of the mountain ;
the pronunciation of which is well preserved in
the modern spelling.

Sometimes the v sound is omitted altogether,
and this often happens when the word comes in as
a termination. Sleamaine in Wicklow is angli-
cised from Sliabh-meadhoin, middle mountain ;
Illaunslea in Kerry, the island of the mountain.
Slemish in Antrim is well known as the mountain
where St. Patrick passed his early days as a slave,

880 Physical Feature*. [PART iv

herding swine; the full Irish name is Sliabh-Mis,
the mountain of Mis, a woman's name ; and there
is another almost equally celebrated mountain in
Kerry, of the same name, now called Slieve Mish,
" the mountain of Mis, the daughter of Mureda,
son of Cared " (Four Masters).

In other cases both the s and v are lost, as for
example in Crotlie or Cratlie, the name of several
hills, Croit-shliabh, hump-backed mountain — which
in other places is made Cratlieve. In a great
many cases the sound of s is changed to that of t
by eclipse (p. 23), as in Ballintlea, the name of
about fifteen townlands in the Munster and Leinster
counties, Baik-an-tskibhe, the town of the moun-
tain ; the same name as Ballintleva in Galway and
Mayo, Ballintlevy in Westmeath, and Ballintlieve
in Meath and Down ; and sometimes this t again
is changed to c from the difficulty of pronouncing
the combination tl, as in Ballinclea in the glen of
Imail in Wicklow, which was so called from
Ballinclea mountain rising over it. Baunatlea in
the parish of Ballingaddy, Limerick, the lawn or
green field of the mountain.

The plural skibhte [sleaty] appears in Sleaty, a
celebrated church giving name to a village and
parish in Queen's County. There can be no doubt
as to the original form and meaning of this name,
as it is written Skibhte by all Irish authorities ;
and Colgan translates it Monies, i. e. mountains.
The name must have been originally given to the
church from its contiguity to the hills of Slieve
Margy, as Killevy was called so from its proximity
to Slieve Gullion.

Skibhin [slayveen], a diminutive of sliabh, is
applied to a little hill ; in modern nomenclature
it is usually made Sleveen, which is the name of a
hill rising over Macroom in Cork, of a village in

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 881

Waterford, and of nine townlands chiefly in the
southern counties. Slevin in Roscommon, is the
same word ; and Slievinagee in the same county,
signifies the little mountain of the wind (gaeth}.

Cnoc signifies a hill ; its most common anglicised
form is Knock, in which the k is usually silent,
but in the original the first c, which the k repre-
sents, was sounded \cnoc, pron. kUnnUck, the first
u very short]. There is a conspicuous isolated
hill near Ballingarry in Limerick, called Knock-
fierna, a noted fairy haunt. It serves as a weather
glass to the people of the circumjacent plains,
who can predict with certainty whether the day
will be wet or dry, by the appearance of the
summit in the morning ; and hence the mountain
is called Cnoc-firinne, the hill of truth, i. e. of
truthful prediction. Knockea is the name of a hill
near Grlenosheen, three miles south from Kilfinane
in Limerick, and of several townlands, all of which
are called in Irish Cnoc-Aedha, Aedh's or Hugh's
hill, probably from some former proprietors. The
well-known hill of Knocklayd in Antrim was so
called from its shape, Cnoc-leithid [Knocklehid],
literally the hill of breadth, i. e. broad hill.

The diminutives Knockane, Knockaun, Knock-
een, and Knickeen, with their plurals, form the
names of more than seventy townlands, all so
called from a " little hill." Ballyknockan and
Ballyknockane, the town of the little hill, are the
names of about twenty-five townlands; and the
places called Knockauneevin in Galway and Cork
are truly described by the name, Cnocan-aeibhinn
beautiful little hill.

Cnuic, the genitive of cnoc, is often made knick
and nick in the present names, as the diminutive
cnuicin is sometimes represented by Knickeen ; and
these modern forms give correctly the pronuncia-

382 Physical Features. [PART iv.

tion of the originals — except of course the silent
.c. Thus Ballyknick in the parish of Grange,
Armagh, which is the same as the very common
name, Ballyknock, the town of the hill ; Tinnick
in Wexford, and Ticknick or Ticknock on the
side of the Three Rock mountain in Dublin, Tigh-
cnuic, the house of the hill, which under the forms
Ticknock and Tiknock, is the name of several
townlands in the eastern counties.

The word is still further modified by the change
of n to r, already noticed (p. 50), which prevails
chiefly in the northern half of Ireland, and which
converts knock into crock or cruck. Crockacapple
in the parish of Kilbarron, Donegal, means the
hill of the horse (capall), and Crocknagapple near
Killybegs, same county, the hill of the horses
(Cnoc-na-gcapall) ; and these two names are the
same respectively as Knockacappul and Knock-
nagappul, which are found in other counties.
Crockshane near Rathcoole in Dublin, John's hill ;
Crockanure near Kildare, the hill of the yew-tree.
The diminutives suffer this corruption also, and we
find many places called Crockaun, Crickaun, Crock-
een, Cruckeen, and Crickeen, all meaning little
hill. The syllable Knock begins the names of
about 1,800 townlands, and Crock of more than
fifty.

Beann [ban], genitive and plural beanna [banna],
signifies a horn, a gable, a peak, or pointed hill;
but it is often applied to any steep hill : cognate
with Latin pinna. In anglicised names it is
generally spelled ben or bin, each of which begins
about thirty townland names ; but it undergoes
various other modifications ; in Cork and Kerry
it is often anglicised Beoun, to represent the
southern pronunciation.

Beann is not applied to great mountains so much

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 383

in Ireland as in Scotland, where they have Ben
Lomond, Ben Nevis, Benledi, &c. ; but as applied
to middle and smaller eminences, it is used very
extensively. There is a steep hill in Westmeath,
called the Ben (i. e. the peak) of Fore, from the
village near its base ; the Irish name of Bengore
Head in Antrim is Beann-gabhar, the peak of the
goats ; the same as Bengour and Bengower in
other places. Benburb, now the name of a village
in Tyrone, the scene of the battle in 1646, was
originally applied to the remarkable cliff over-
hanging the Blackwater, on which the castle ruins
now stand ; the Irish name as given in the annals
is Beann-borb, which O'Sullivan Bear correctly
translates Pinna superba, the proud peak.

The Twelve Pins, a remarkable group of moun-
tains in Connemara, derive their name from the
same word ; Pins being a modification of Bens,
They are commonly called " The Twelve Pins of
Bunnabeola,'' in which the word beann occurs
twice ; for Bunnabeola is Benna-Beola, the peaks
of Beola. This Beola, who was probably an old
Firbolg chieftain, is still vividly remembered in
tradition ; and a remarkable person he must have
been, for the place of his interment is also com-
memorated, namely, Toombeola, Beola's tumulus,
which is a townland south of the Twelve Pins, at
the head of Houndstone bay, containing the ruins
of an abbey.

The adjective form beannach is applied to a hilly
place — a place full of bens or peaks ; and it has
given name to Bannagh in Cork, and tor Benagh
in Down and Louth. This word appears in
Bannaghbane and Bannaghroe (white, red) in
Monaghan ; and Aghavannagh, Irish Achadh-
bheannach, hilly field, is the name of three town-
lands in Wicklow. The plural, beanna, is found

384 Physical Features. [PART iv.

in Bannamore and Benamore in Tipperary, great
peaks : and in the form Banna, it occurs several
times in Kerry. Benbo, a conspicuous mountain
near Manorhamilton, is written by the Four Mas-
ters Beanna-bo, the peaks or horns of the cow ; it
is so called in Irish, and it appears to have got the
name from its curious double peak, bearing a rude
resemblance to a cow's horns.

The word assumes various other forms, and
enters into many combinations, of which the
following names will be a sufficient illustration.
The old name of Dunmanway in Cork was Dun-
na-mbeann [Dunnaman : Four Mast.], the fortress
of the gables or pinnacles; and the name was
probably derived from the ridge of rocks north of
the town, or perhaps from the shape of the old dun.
In a grant made in the time of Elizabeth, the
place is called DouHiematimy, from which, as well
indeed as from the tradition of the inhabitants, it
appears that the last syllable way — which must be
a modern addition, as it does not appear in the
older documents — is a corruption of the Irish
buidhe, yellow (b changed to w by aspiration ; p.
19) : — Dunmanway, the fortress of the yello-w
pinnacles. Dunnaman, which is a correct angli-
cised form of Dun-na-mbeann, is still the name of
a townland in Down, and of another near Groom
in Limerick. Ballyiwgour in Carlow, is in Irish,
Baile-bheanna-gabhar, the town of the pinnacle of
the goats, the latter part (-vangourj, being the
same as Bengore in Antrim (see last page) ;
Knockbine in Wexford, the hill of the peak;
Dunnavenny in Londonderry, the fortress of the
peak.

The word has several diminutive forms, the
most common of which is beinnin [benneen], which
gives name to several mountains now called Binnion

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and JRocks. 385

or Bignion, i. e. small peak. Another diminutive
beannacMn, appears in Meenavanaghan in Done-
gal, the meen or mountain flat of the small peak.

Beannchar or beannchor [banagher] is a modifi-
cation of beann, and signifies horns, or pointed
hills or rocks, and sometimes simply peaked hill ;
it is a word of frequent topographical use in dif-
ferent parts of Ireland, and it is generally anglicised
banagher or bangor. Banagher in King's County
(Beannchor, Four Mast.) is said to have taken its
name from the sharp rocks in the Shannon ; and
there are seven townlands in different counties
bearing the same name.

Bangor in Down is written Beannchar by various
authorities, and Keating and others account for
the name by a legend ; but the circumstance
that there are so many Beannchars in Ireland
renders this of no authority ; and there is a hill
near the town, from which it is more likely that
the place received its name. Coolbanagher or
Whitechurch, a church giving name to a parish
in Queen's County, where Aengus the Culdee be-
gan his celebrated Felire (see p. 158), is written in
Irish authorities, Cuil-beannchair, the angle or
corner of the pinnacle. "There is a Lough
Banagher (the lake of the pinnacles) in Donegal ;
Drumbanagher in Armagh ; Movanagher on the
Bann, parish of Kilrea, Deny (Magh-bheannchair,
the plain of the pinnacles) ; and the ancient
church of Ross-bennchuir (ross, a wood), placed by
Archdall in the county of Clare " (.fteeves, Eccle-
siastical Antiquities, p. 199, where the word beann-
char is exhaustively discussed).

Ard is sometimes a noun meaning a height or

hill, and sometimes an adjective, signifying high;

cognate with Lat. ardum. In both senses it enters

extensively into Irish nomenclature ; it forma the

VOL. i. 26

386 Physical Features. [PART iv.

beginning of about 650 townland names ; and there
are at least as many more that contain it other-
wise combined.

There is a little town in "Waterford, and about
twenty-six townlands in different counties, called
Ardmore, great height ; but only two bear the
correlative name, Ardbeg, little height. Ardglass
in Down is called Ard-glas by the Four Masters,
i. e. green height ; which is also a usual townland
name ; and there are many places scattered over the
country, called Ardkeen, that is, Ard-caein, beau-
tiful height. Arderin in the Queen's County is
the highest of the Slieve Bloom range ; and the
inhabitants of the great central plain who gave it
the name, signifying the height of Ireland, unac-
customed as they were to the view of high moun-
tains, evidently believed it to be one of the principal
elevations in the country.

When ard is followed by tighe [tee], a house,
the final d is usually omitted ; as in Artif errall
in Antrim, Ard-tig "he-Fear ghaill, the height of
Farrell's house ; Artimacormick near Ballintoy,
same county, the height of Mac Cormack's
house, &c.

This word has two diminutives, airdin and arddn
[ardeen, ardaun] ; the former is not much in use,
but it gives name to some places in Cork and
Kerry, called Ardeen, and it forms a part of a few
other names. The latter, under the different
forms Ardan, Ardane, and Ardaun, all meaning
little height or hillock, is by itself the name of
several places in the midland counties; and it
helps to form many others, such as Ardanreagh in
Limerick, grey hillock ; and Killinardan near
Tallaght in Dublin, the church or wood of the little
height.

Leath-v-vd flahard], which means literally half

CHAP, i.] Mountains, HiUs, and Rocks 087

height, is used topographically to denote a gently
sloping eminence ; and the anglicised form Lahard,
and the diminutives Lahardan, Lahardane, and
Lahardaun, are the names of many places, chiefly
in Connaught and Munster. Derrylahard, the
oak-wood of the gentle hill, occurs near Skull in
Cork ; and the same name, in the shortened form
Derrylard, is found in the parish of Tartaraghan,
Armagh. Aghalahard, the field (achadh] of the
gentle hill.

The word alt primarily denotes a height, cognate
with Lat. altus ; it occurs in Cormac's Glossary,
where it is derived " ab altitudine : " in its present
topographical application it is generally under-
stood to mean a cliff, or the side of a glen. It is
pretty generally spread throughout the country,
forming the first syllable of about 100 townland
names, which are distributed over the four pro-
vinces. Alt stands alone as the name of some places
in Mayo and Donegal ; and Alts (heights or glen
sides) occurs in Monaghan. Altachullion in Cavan
is the cliff of the holly ; in Limerick and Queen's
County we have Altavilla Alt-a'-bhile, the glen
side of the old tree ; Altinure in Derry and Cavan,
the cliff of the yew : Altnagapple, height of the
horses.

There is a place in the parish of Tulloghobegly,
Donegal, called Altan, little cliff ; and the plural
Altans occurs in Sligo. Altanagh in Tyrone signi-
fies a place abounding in cliffs and glens. In the
end of names, this word is sometimes made alia,
and sometimes ilt, representing two forms of the
genitive, alia and ailt, as we see in Lissanalta in
Limerick, the fort of the height ; and Tonanilt
in Cavan, the backside of the cliff.

The primary meaning of crunch is a rick OT
stack, such as a stack of corn or hay ; but in an

388 Physical Features. [PART TV.

extended sense, it is applied to hills, especially
to those presenting a round, stacked, or piled up
appearance ; Welsh crug, a heap ; Cornish cruc.
It is used pretty extensively as a local term,
generally in the forms Croagh or Crogh ; and
the diminutive Cruachan is still more common,
giving names to numerous mountains, townlands,
and parishes, called Croaghan, Croaghaun, Croghan,
and Crohane, all originally applied to a round-
shaped hill. Cruachdn was the original name of
the village of Crookhaven on the south coast of
Cork ; the present name signifying the haven of
the cruach or round-hill.

Croghan hill in King's County, was anciently
called Bri-Eile, the hill of Eile, daughter of
Eochy Feileach, and sister of Maive, queen of
Connaught in the first century (see p. 127, supra] ;
it afterwards received the name of Cruachan, and
in the annals it is sometimes called Cruachan-Bri-
Eile, which looks tautological, as Cruachan and
Bri both signify a hill. Croaghan near Killashan-
dra in Cavan, the inauguration place of the
O'Rourkes, is often mentioned in the Irish au-
thorities by two names — CruacJian O'Cuproin,
O'Cupron's round-hill, and Cruachan-Mic-Tighear-
nain, from the Mac Tighearnans or Mac Kiernans,
the ancient possessors of the barony of Tullyhunco,
the chief of whom had his residence there. The
word is somewhat disguised in Ballycrogue, the
name of a parish in Carlow, the same as Bally-
croghan near Bangor in Down, only that in the
latter the diminutive is used. Kilcruaig, a town-
land near Ballyorgan in the south-east of Limerick,
obviously got its name, which means the church
of the round-hill, from the detached mountain now
called Carrigeenamronety, on whose side the place
in question lies.

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Hocks. 389

Tulach, a little hill — a hillock ; often written
tealach in old documents. It occurs in Cormac's
Glossary, where it is given as the equivalent of
bri. It is anglicised Tulla, Tullow, and Tullagh,
but most commonly Tully (see p. 33). Tullanavert
near Clogher in Tyrone represents Tulach-na-
bhfeart, the hill of the graves ; Tullaghacullion
near Killybegs, Tullaghcullion near Donegal, and
Tullycullion in Tyrone, the hill of the holly. The
parish of Tully near Kingstown in Dublin was
anciently called Tulach-na-nespuc, which signifies
the hill of the bishops ; and according to the Life
of St. Brigid, it received its name from seven
bishops who lived there, and on one occasion
visited the saint at Kildare (O'Curry, Lect., p.
382). Tullymongan, the name of two townlands
near Cavan, was originally applied to the hill over
the town, now called Gallows Hill ; the Four
Masters call it Tulach Mbngain, the hill of Mongan,
a man's name.

The parish of Kiltullagh in Roscommon was so
called from an old church, the name of which
perfectly describes its situation — Cill-tulaigh, the
church of the hill ; and the parish of Kiltullagh in
Galway, near Athenry, is called cill-tulach (church
of the little hills) in " Hy Many." In the Munster
counties, the g in tulaigh, is pronounced hard,
giving rise to a new form Tullig, which is found
in the names of many places, the greater number
being in Cork and Kerry.

There are two diminutive forms in use, tuldn
and tulachdn. From the former comes Tullen in
Roscommon, Tullin near Athlone, and Tullans
near Coleraine ; but the other is more common,
and gives origin to Tullaghan, Tullaghaun, and
Tullaghans (little hills), found in several counties
as the names of townlands and villages. The wo^d

390 Physical Features. LFART 1V«

is sometimes spelled in Irish tealach [tallagh],
which orthography is often adopted by the Four
Masters ; this form appears in the name of Tallow,
a town in Waterford, which is called in Irish
Tealach-an-iarainn [Tallowanierin], the hill of the
iron, from the iron mines worked there by the
great earl of Cork.

Bri [bree], signifies a hill or rising- ground, the
same as the Scotch word brae ; in Cormac's Glos-
sary it is explained by tulach ; Cornish and Breton,
brc ; Gaulish, brega, briga. The word occurs fre-
quently as a topographical term in our ancient
writings, of which Bri-Eile (p. 388), is an example.
Brigown, a village near Mitchelstown in Cork,
once a celebrated ecclesiastical establishment,
where are still to be seen the remains of a very
ancient church, is called in Irish, Bri-gobhunn
(Book of Lismore : gobha, a smith), the hill of the
smith. In our present names this word does not
occur very often ; it is found simply in the form
of Bree in Donegal, Monaghan, and Wexford ;
while in Tyrone it takes the form of Brigh.

Bray, which is the name of several places in
Ireland, is another form of the same word. Bray
in Wicklow is called Bree in old church records
and other documents ; and it evidently received
its name from Bray head, which rises abruptly
793 feet over the sea. In the Dinnsenchus there
is a legendary account of the origin of the name
of this place, viz., that it was so called from
Brea, son of Seanboth, one of Parthalon's fol-
lowers, who first introduced single combat into
Ireland (see p. 161). The steep promontory on
the south-western extremity of Valentia island
is also called Bray head. At the head of Glencree
in Wicklow is a small mountain lake, well known
to Dublin excursionists, called Lough Bray, whose

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 391

name was, no doubt, derived from the rocky
point — a spur of Kippure mountain — which rises
perpendicularly over its gloomy waters.

Lagh [law] a hill, cognate with Ang.-Sax. law,
same meaning. It is not given in the diction-
aries, but it undoubtedly exists in the Irish
language, and has given names to a considerable
number of places through the country, of which
the following may be taken as examples : —

Portlaw on the Suir in Waterford took ita
name from the steep hill at the head of the village
— Portlagha, the bank or landing-place of the
hill ; there are some townlands in Kilkenny and
the Munster counties called Ballinla and Ballin-
law, the town of the hill ; Luggelaw in Wicklow,
the lug or hollow of the hill, the name of the
valley in which is situated the beautiful Lough
Tay ; Clonderalaw in Cork and Clare, the meadow
between the two hills.

O'Brien explains ceide [keady] "a hillock, a
compact kind of hill, smooth and plain at the top ; "
and this is the sense in which it is understood at
the present day, wherever it is understood at all
The Four Masters write it ceideach, when men-
tioning Keadydrinagh in Sligo, which they call
Ceideach-droighneach, the flat- topped hill of the
black- thorns. The word is not in very general
use, and is almost confined to the northern and
north-western counties ; but in these it gives
name to a considerable number of places now
called Keadew and Keady. It takes the forms of
Keadagh, Cady, and Caddagh, in several counties ;
the diminutive Keadeen is the name of a high hill
east of Baltinglass in Wicklow, and another modi-
fication, Cadian, occurs in Tyrone.

Mullach, in its primary meaning, signifies the
top or summit of anything — such as the top of a

392 Physical Features. [PART iv.

house. Topographically it is generally used to
denote smaller eminences, though we find it oc-
casionally applied to hills of considerable elevation ;
and as a root word, it enters very extensively into
the formation of names, generally in the forms
Mulla, Mullagh, Mully, and Mul, which consti-
tute of themselves, or form the beginning of,
upwards of 400 names.

Mulla is well known as the name given by the
poet Spenser to the little river Awbeg, which
flows by Kilcolman castle, where he resided, near
Buttevant in Cork : —

" Strong Allo tombling from Slewlogher steep,
^hose waves I whilom ta
" Faerie Queene," Book

And Mulla mine whose waves I whilom taught to weep. "

IV., Canto xi.

In another place he says that Kilnamulla (now
Buttevant), took its name from the Mulla : —

*• It giveth name unto that ancient cittie,
Which Kilnemulla clepped is of old. "

But this is all the creation of the poet's fertile
imagination ; for the Awbeg was never called
Mulla except by Spenser himself, and Kilnamul-
lagh, the native name of Buttevant, has a very
different origin (see Bregoge in 2nd Vol.).

The peasantry of the locality understand Kilna-
mullagh to mean the church of the curse [mallacht],
in connection with which they relate a strange
legend ; but the explanation is erroneous, and the
legend an invention of later times. At the year
1251, the Four Masters, in recording the founda-
tion of the monastery, call it Cill-na-mullach,
which 0 'Sullivan, in his history of the Irish
Catholics, translates ecclesia tumulorum, the church
of the hillocks or summits, and the name admits

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 393

of no other interpretation. The present name
Buttevant is said to have been derived from
Boutez-en-avant, a French phrase meaning " Push
forward ! " the motto of the Barrymore family.

The village of Mullagh in Cavan got its name
from the hill near it, which the Four Masters call
Mullach-Laeighill, the hill of Laeighett or Lyle, a
man's name formerly common in Ireland. Mul-
laghattin near Carlingford, the hill of the furze ;
Mullaghsillogagh near Enniskillen, the hill of the
sallows ; Mullaghmeen, smooth summit. Mul,
the shortened form, appears in Mulboy in Tyrone,
yellow summit ; and in Mulkeeragh in Derry, the
summit of the sheep.

Muttan, little summit, is a diminutive of muttach,
and it is generally applied to the top of a low,
gently sloping hill. In the forms Mullan, Mul-
laun, and in the plural Mullans and Mullauns, it
is the name of nearly forty townlands, and of
course helps to form many others. Q-lassavullaun
near Tallaght in Dublin, represents G-laise-a'-
mhullain, the streamlet of the little summit ; and
Mullanagore in Monaghan, and Mullanagower in
Wexford, signify the little eminence of the goats.
In Carlow, Wicklow, and Wexford, this word is
understood to mean simply a green field ; but it
has evidently undergone a change of meaning,
the transition being sufficiently easy from a gentle
green hill to a green field. Mulkaun in Leitrim,
exhibits another diminutive, namely, muledn or
mullachdn which also appears in Meenawullaghan
in the parish of Inver, Donegal, the meen or
mountain flat of the little summit ; and in Meena-
mullaghan, parish of Lower Fahan, same county,
Nm-na-muttachan, the mountain flat of the little
summits.

lomaire [ummera] signifies a ridge or hill-back ;

394 Physical Features. [ PART iv.

as a local term it is found in each of the four
provinces, being, however, more common in Ulster
and Connaught than in the other provinces ; but
in any part of Ireland it does not enter exten-
sively into names. Its most common modern
forms are Ummera, Ummery, and Umry, which
form or begin the names of more than twenty
townlands.

Ummeracam in Armagh, and Umrycam in
Donegal and Derry, are called in Irish lomaire-
cam, crooked ridge ; Ummeraboy in Cork, yellow
ridge ; Ummerafree in Monaghan, the ridge of
the heath; Killanummery, a townland giving
name to a parish in Leitrim, is called by the
Four Masters Cill-an-iomaire, the church of the
ridge, and the word is somewhat altered in Clon-
amery in Kilkenny, the meadow of the ridge.

The primary meaning of meall [mal] is a lump,
mass, or heap of anything ; and it is applied
locally to a small round hillock. It does not occur
very often except in Munster, where it is met
with pretty extensively ; its most usual anglicised
form is maul, which begins the names of near
sixty townlands, all in Cork and Kerry. Take for
example, Maulanimirish and Maulashangarry, both
near Dunmanway, the first meaning the hillock
of the contention (imreas), and the second, of the
old garden (sean, old ; garrdha, a garden). Mau-
lagh near Killarney signifies a place abounding in
hillocks.

Millin [milleen] is a diminutive of this word,
usually represented in the present names by Mil-
leen, which forms the whole or the beginning of
fifteen townland names, all except one in Cork ;
Milleennahorna has the same meaning as Maulna-
horna, the hillock of the barley (eorna}. Near
Rathcormack, there is a place called Maulane, the

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 395

only example I find of the diminutive in an. In
anglicised names it is often difficult to distin-
guish this word from mael and its modifications,
as both often assume the same form.

Mael [mwail or moyle] as an adjective signifies
bald, bare, or hornless ; and it is often employed
as a noun to denote anything having these shapes
or qualities. It is, for instance, applied to a cow
without horns, which in almost every part of
Ireland is called a mael or mweelleen. It is also
used synonymously with giolla, to denote in a re-
ligious sense, a person having the head shorn or
tonsured ; it was often prefixed to the name of a
saint, and the whole compound used to denote a
person devoted to such a saint ; and as a mark of
reverence this kind of name was often given to
men at their baptism, which originated such sur-
names as Mulholland, Mulrony, Molony, Mulrenin,
Malone, &c.

It is applied to a church or building of any
kind that is either unfinished or dilapidated — most
commonly the latter ; thus Templemoyle, the bald
or dilapidated church, is the name of some places
in Derry, Galway, and Donegal; there are five
townlands in Antrim and one in Longford called
Kilinoyle which have the same meaning ; Kilmoyle
near Ballymoney is in Latin records translated
Eccksia calva, which gives the exact sense. And
Castlemoyle, bald castle, occurs in Galway, Wex-
f ord, and Tipperary. The word is used to desig-
nate a moat or mound flat on top, or dilapidated
by having the materials carted away ; and hence we
have such names as Rathmoyle, Lismoyle, and
Dunmoyle.

Mael is applied to hills and promontories, and
in this sense it is very often employed to form
local names. Moyle, one of its usual forms, and
the plural Moyles, gives names to several places

396 Physical Features. [PART iv.

in the middle and northern counties; Knock-
moyle, a usual townland name, bald hill. In the
south and west it often assumes the form mweel,
which preserves the pronunciation more nearly
than moyle : thus Mweelahorna near Ardmore in
"Waterford, the bald hill of the barley; and in
Fermanagh, also, this form is found in Mweelbane,
white hill. It sometimes takes the form of meel,
as in Meelshane in Cork, John's bald hill ; Meel-
garrow in Wexf ord, rough hill (garbh, rough) ; Meel-
drum near Kilbeggan in "Westmeath, bare ridge.

There are two diminutives in pretty common
use, maeldn and maeilin [mweelaun, mweeleen] ;
the former is often applied to round-backed islands
in the sea, or to round bare rocks ; and we find ac-
cordingly several little islands off the south and
west coast, called Moylaun, Moylan, and Mwee-
laun. The same word is seen in Meelon near Bandon,
and Milane, near Dunmanway, both in Cork ; and
in Mellon near where the Maigue joins the
Shannon in Limerick. The second diminutive is
more frequent, and it is spelled in various ways ;
it is found as Moyleen and Mweeleen in Galway,
Kerry, and Mayo; Mweeling near Ardmore in
Waterford ; and Meeleen in the parish of Kil-
quane, Cork.

Meelaghans near Geashill in King's County
(little bare hills), exhibits another diminutive,
Maelachdn ; and we have still another in Milligan
in Monaghan, and Milligans in Fermanagh, little
hills. Mealough is the name of a townland in
the parish of Drumbo, Down, meaning either a
round hill or a place abounding in hillocks. In
Scotland, the word mael is often used, as for in-
stance in the Mull of Galloway and the Mull of
Cantire ; in both instances the word Mull signi-
fying a bare headland. From the Mull of Can-
tire, the sea between Ireland and Scotland was

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 397

anciently called the "Sea-stream of Moyle;'' and
Moore has adopted the last name in his charming
song, " Silent, O Moyle, be the roar of thy water."

Mael combines with the Irish preposition for,
forming the compound formael, which is used to
signify a round-hill ; and which, in the forms
Formoyle, Fermoyle, and Formil, constitutes the
names of twenty- nine townlands, scattered through
the four provinces ; in Meath it is made Formal,
and in Galway it retains the more Irish form,
Formweel. This name occurs twice in the Four
Masters; first at A.D. 965, where a battle is re-
corded to have been fought at Formaeil of Rathbeg,
which O'Donovan identifies with Formil in the
parish of Lower Bodoney, Tyrone ; and secondly,
at 1051, where mention is made of Slieve-Formoyle,
which was the ancient name of Slieve-O'Flynn,
west of Castlerea in Roscommon.

The word cor, as a topographical term, has several
meanings, the most common being a round-hill ;
but it is also applied to a round pit or cup-like
hollow, to a turn or bend, such as the bend of a
road, &c. ; and as an adjective, it means odd, and
also round. In consequence of this diversity, it is
often difficult to determine its exact sense ; and
to add to the complexity, the word corr, a crane,
is liable to be confounded with it.

This word is used very extensively in local no-
menclature ; and in its various senses it forms the
first syllable of more than 1,000 townland names,
in the greater number of which it means a round
hill. Corbeagh in Longford and Cavan is in
Irish, Cor-beitheach, the round- hill of the birch ;
Corkeeran in Monaghan, of the keerans or rowan-
trees ; Cornagee and Cornageeha, the hill of the
wind ; Cornaveagh, of the ravens (fiacK). The
diminutives Corrog and Corroge, give names to

398 Physical Features. [PART iv.

some places in Down and Tipperary ; and we find
Correen in several of the north-western counties ;
Correenfeeradda near Knockainy in Limerick, is
called in Irish, Coirm-feir-ffiada, the round-hill of
the long grass.

Cruit means a hump on the back ; from this it
is applied to round humpy -looking hills ; and it is
commonly represented by Crott, Crut, or Grit,
which are the names of places in Fermanagh,
Longford, Mayo, and Kilkenny. There is an
island called Cruit off the coast of Donegal, i. e.
humpy-backed island ; and two townlands in
King's County and Roscommon are called by the
same name. The plural Crotta, or Crutta, humps,
and the English plural Crottees, give names to
Borne places in Kerry, Tipperary, and Cork ; and
Crottan, little hump, occurs in Fermanagh.

The word is variously combined to form other
names : such as Kilcruit in Carlow, the wood of
the hump-backed hill ; Loughcrot near Dromda-
league in Cork, the lake of the hillocks ; Druma-
cruttan in Monaghan, and Drumacrittin in
Fermanagh, the ridge of the little hump ; Barna-
grotty in King's County, Barr-na-gcrotta, the
hill-top of the hummocks.

Cnap [knap, c pronounced as in cnoc, p. 382] is
a button, a knob, a lump of anything, a knot in
timber, &c. ; and it is cognate with Ang-Sax. cnaep,
Ger. knopf, Eng. knob. In a secondary sense it
is applied to small round hillocks, and gives
names to a considerable number of places. In
anglicised names it takes various forms, such as
knap, nap, &c. ; and in the northern counties, it
becomes crap and crup, just as knock becomes crock
(see p. 51). The diminutives in 6g and an occur
of tener than the original ; Knoppoge, little knob
or hill, is the name of thirteen townlands in Cork,

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 399

Kerry, and Clare; and in the slightly different
form Knappoge, it occurs twice in Longford, and
once in Clare.

There are many places in the northern and
north-western counties, called Knappagh, which
represents the Irish cnapach, hilly land — a place
full of knobs or hillocks ; Nappagh near Ardagh
in Longford, is the same name, but it has lost the
k ; and the same thing has happened in Nappan
in Antrim, which is the diminutive Cnapan, a little
hillock ; in this last place is an old burial-ground
called Killycrappin (cill-a' -cnapain : see Reeves,
Eccl. Ant., p. 87), which preserves the name in
another form. In the following names the n is
changed to r : — Crappagh in Monaghan and
Gralway, which is the same name as Knappagh ;
Crippaun in Kildare, the same as Nappan in
Antrim; Carrickcroppan in Armagh, Carraig-
cnapain, the rock of the little hillock ; and Lisna-
croppan in Down, the fort of the hillock.

Tor signifies a tower, and corresponds to Latin
turris. Although the word properly means an
artificial tower, yet in many parts of Ireland, as
for instance in Donegal, it is applied to a tall rock
resembling a tower, without any reference to an
artificial structure. It is pretty common as form-
ing part of names, and its derivatives occur
oftener than the original. Toralt in Fermanagh,
signifies the tower of the alt or cliff; Tormore,
great tower, is the name of several islands, of one
for instance off the coast of Donegal ; Tornaroy
in Antrim is the king's tower ; and in the parish
of Culfeightrin, same county, there are five town-
lands whose names begin with Tor. In some few
cases, especially in the central counties, the
syllable tor may have been corrupted from tuar,
a bleach -green ; but the physical aspect of the

400 Physical Features. [PA in- iv.

place will generally determine which is the cor-
rect root.

Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal, is known
in ancient writings by two distinct names, Toirinis
and Torach, quite different in meaning, but both
derived from tor. This island is mentioned in
our bardic histories as the stronghold of the
Fomorian pirates (see p. 162), and called in these
documents Toir-inis, the island of the tower ; and
according to all our traditional accounts, it re-
ceived this name from Tor-Conaing or Conang's
tower, a fortress famous in Irish legend, and
called after Conang, a Fomorian chief.

In many other ancient authorities, such as the
Life of St. Columbkille, "The Wars of GG-.," &c.,
it is called Torach ; and the present name Tory,
is derived from an oblique case of this form
(Toraigh, pron. Torry : see p. 33, supra}. The
island abounds in lofty isolated rocks which are
called tors or towers ; and the name Torach means
simply towery — abounding in tors or tower-like
rocks. The intelligent Irish- speaking natives of
the Donegal coast give it this interpretation ; and
no one can look at the island from the mainland,
without admitting that the name is admirably
descriptive of its appearance.

Tortdn, a diminutive of tor, forms a part of
several modern names, and it is applied to a small
knoll or tummock, or a high turf -bank. It gives
name to Turtane in Carlow, to Toortane in Queen's
County, Waterf ord, and "Kilkenny, and to Tartan
in Roscommon.

Fornocht is a bare, naked, or exposed hill. It
gives name to a parish in Kildare, now called
Forenaghts, in which the plural form has pre-
vailed, very probably in consequence of the
subdivision of the original townland into two

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 401

parts. There are also several townlands called
Fornaght in Cork and Waterf ord ; and Farnaght,
another modern form, is the name of some places
in Fermanagh and the Connaught counties.

Cabhdn [cavan] means a hollow or cavity, a
hollow place, a hollow field ; and this is undoubt-
edly its primary meaning, for it is evidently
cognate with Lat. cavea, Fr. caban, Welsh cabane,
and Eng. cabin. Yet in some parts of Ulster it is
understood to mean the very reverse, viz., a round
dry hill ; and this is the meaning given to it by
O'Donnell in his Life of St. Columba, who trans-
lates it collis (Eeeves, Colt. Vis. 133). This
curious discrepancy is probably owing to a gradual
change of meaning, similar to the change in the
words lug, mullan, &c. Which of the two mean-
ings it bears in each particular case, depends of
course on the physical confirmation of the place.
In its topographical application this word is con-
fined to the northern half of Ireland, and is more
frequent in the Ulster counties than elsewhere ;
its universal anglicised form is cavan.

The town of Cavan is well described by ita
name, for it stands in a remarkable hollow;
Racavan, the name of a parish in Antrim, is Rath-
cabhain, the fort of the hollow. There are more
than twenty townlands called Cavan, and the
word begins the names of about seventy others.
In the counties of Tyrone, Donegal, and Armagh,
there are several places called Cavanacaw, which
represents the Irish Cabhan-a'-chdtha, the round-
hill of the chaff, from the custom of winnowing
corn on the top ; Cavanaleck near Enniskillen,
the hill of the flagstone or stony surface. Tht
word cabhanach is an adjective formation from
cabhan, and means a place abounding in round-
hills ; in the modern form Cavanagh it is found in
VOL. i. 27

402 Physical Features. |_PAKT iv.

Cavan and Fermanagh ; and in Monaghan, the
same word occurs under the form Cavany.

Eiscir [esker] means a ridge of high land, but
it is generally applied to a sandy ridge, or a line
of low sand-hills. It enters pretty extensively
into local names, but it is more frequently met
with across the -middle of Ireland than in either
the north or south. It usually takes the form of
Esker, which by itself is the name of more than
thirty townlands, and combines to form the names
of many others ; the word is somewhat altered in
Garrisker, the name of a place in Kildare, signi-
fying short sand-ridge.

The most celebrated esker in Ireland is Esker-
Riada, a line of gravel-hills extending with little
interruption across Ireland, from Dublin to Clarin-
Bridge in Galway, which was fixed upon as the
boundary between the north and south halves of
Ireland, when the country was divided, in the
second century, between Owen More and Conn of
the Hundred Battles (see p. 134).

As a termination, this word assumes other
forms, all derived from the genitive eiscreach
[eskera]. Clashaniskera in Tipperary is called in
Irish Clais-an-eiscreach, the trench or pit of the
sand-hill. Ahascragh in Galway signifies the
ford of the esker ; but its full name as given by
the Four Masters is Ath-eascrach Cuain [Ahascra
Cuan], the ford of St. Cuan's sand-hill ; and they
still retain the memory of St. Cuan, the patron,
who is commemorated in O'Clery's Calendar at the
15th of October; Tiranascragh, the name of a
townland and parish in Galway, the land of the
esker. Eskeragh and Eskragh are the names of
several townlands in the Ulster and Connaught
counties, the Irish Eiscreach signifying a place full
of eskers or sand-hills.

CHAT, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 403

Tiompan is generally understood, when used
topographically, to mean a small abrupt hill, and
sometimes a standing stone ; it occurs as a portion
of a few townland names, and it does not appear
to be confined to any particular part of the country.
It is pronounced Timpan in the north, and Tim-
paun in the south and west, and modernised ac-
cordingly ; the former being the name of a place
in the parish of Layd, Antrim, and the latter of
another in Roscommon. In the townland of
Heanadimpaun, parish of Seskinan, Waterford,
there is an ancient monument consisting of a
number of pillar-stones, which has given name
to the townland — Reidh-na-dtiompan, the rea or
mountain-flat of the standing stones. The word
is slightly varied in Tempanroe (roe, red) in
Tyrone ; and Timpany in the same county is from
Tiompanach, a place full of timpans or hillocks.
Craigatempin near Ballymoney, Antrim, is the
rock of the hillock ; and Curraghnadimpaun in
Kilkenny, the curragh or marsh of the little hills.
The word learg [larg] signifies the side or slope
of a hill ; it is used in local names, but not so often
as leargaidh [largy], a derivative from it, with the
same meaning. Largy, the most usual modernised
form, is found only in the northern half of Ireland,
and is almost confined to Ulster ; it gives names
to many townlands, both by itself and in com-
bination. Largysillagh and Largynagreana are
the names of two places near Killybegs in Donegal,
the former signifying the hill- side of the sallows,
and the latter, sunny hill- slope, from its southern
aspect. The diminutive Largan, meaning still the
same thing, is also of very common occurrence as
a townland name, both singly and compounded
with other words ; Larganreagh in Donegal, grey
hill-side.

404 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Leitir [letter]. According to Peter O'Connell,
this word means the side of a hill, a steep ascent
or descent, a cliff; and O'Donovan translates it
" hill-side," " wet or spewy hill-side," " hill-side
with the tricklings of water," &c. It is still under-
stood in this sens-s in the west of Connaught ; and
that this is its real meaning is further shown by
the Welsh llethr, which signifies a slope. In
Cormac's Glossary it is thus explained : — " Leitir,
i. e. leth tirim agus leth flinch ; " " leitir, i. e. half
dry and half wet ; " from which it appears that
Cormac considered it derived from leth-tirim, half-
dry. This corresponds, so far as it goes, with
present use.

This word is often found in ancient authorities,
as forming the names of places. At 1584, the
Four Masters mention an island called Leitir-
Meallain Meallan's letter or hill-side, which lies off
the Connemara coast, and is still called Letter-
mullen. Latteragh in Tipperary is very often
mentioned in the annals and Calendars, and always
called Letrecha-Odhrain (Latraha-Oran : O'Cler.
Cal.), Odhran's wet hill-slopes. St. Odhran [Oran],
the patron, who is commemorated in the Calendar
at the 26th of November, died, according to the
Four Masters, in the year 548. Other modifi-
cations of the plural (leatracha, pron. latraha) are
seen in Lettera and Letteragh, the names of places
in various counties ; Lattery in Armagh ; and
Lettery in Gal way and Tyrone ; all meaning " wet
hill-slopes." Lettreen, little letter, occurs in Ros-
common ; and another diminutive, Letteran, in
Londonderry.

A considerable number of places derive their
names from this word, especially in the western
half of Ireland, where it prevails much more than
elsewhere ; I have not found it at all towards the

CHAP. i.J Mountains, Sills, and Hocks 405

eastern coast. Its most usual form is Letter, which
is by itself the name of about twenty-six town-
lands, and forms the beginning of about 120
others. Letterbrick in Donegal and Mayo is
Leitir-bruic, the hill-side of the badger ; Letter-
brock, of the badgers ; Lettershendony in Deny,
the old man's hill-side ; Letterkeen in Fermanagh
and Mayo, beautiful letter ; Letterlicky in Cork
the hill-side of the flag-stone or flag-surfaced land ;
Lettergeeragh in Longford, of the sheep; and
Lettermacaward in Donegal, the hill- slope of Mac
Ward or the son of the bard.

Rinn means the point of anything, such as the
point of a spear, &c. ; in its local application, it
denotes a point of land, a promontory, or small
peninsula. O'Brien says in his dictionary : — " It
would take up more than a whole sheet to mention
all the neck-lands of Ireland, whose names begin
with this word Rinn." It is found pretty ex-
tensively in names in the forms Rin, Rinn, Reen,
Rine, and Ring ; and these constitute or begin
about 170 townland names.

Names containing this word are often found in
Irish authorities. In the county Roscommon, on
the western shore of Lough Ree, is a small penin-
sula about a mile in length, now called St. John's
or Randown, containing the ruins of a celebrated
castle ; there must have been originally a dun on
the point, for the ancient name as given in the
annals is Rinnduin, the peninsula of the dun or
fortress. The ancient name of Island Magee, a
peninsula near Larne, was Rinn-Seimhne [Rin-
Sevne], from the territory in which it was situated,
which was called Seimhne; in the taxation of
1306 it is called by its old name, in the anglicised
form Ransevyn. Ifc received its present name from
its ancient proprietors, the Mac Aedhas or Magees,

406 Physical Feature. [PART iv.

not one of whose descendants is now living there.
(See Reeves, Eccl. Ant., pp. 58, 270).

In the parish of Kilcomy, Clare, is a point of
land jutting into the Shannon, called Rineanna,
which the Four Masters call Rinn-eanaigh, the
point of the marsh ; there is an island in Lough
Ree called Rinanny, and a townland in Mayo,
called Rinanagh, both of which are different forms
of the same name. Ringcurran is a peninsula
forming a modern parish near Kinsale ; it is a
place very often mentioned in the annals, and its
Irish name is Rinn-chorrain, which Philip O'Sulli-
van Bear correctly translates, cuspis falcis, the
point of the reaping-hook, so called from its shape.
It is curious that the same sickle shape has given
the name of Curran to a little peninsula near
Larne. On a point of land near Kinsale, are the
ruins of Ringrone castle, the old seat of the
De Courcys ; the name, which properly belongs
to the little peninsula on which the castle stands,
is written in the annals of Innisfallen, Rinn-roin,
the point of the seal. The little promontory be-
tween the mouths of the rivers Ouvane and Coom-
hola near Bantry, is called Reenadisert, the point
of the wilderness or hermitage, a name which is
now applied to a ruined castle, a stronghold of the
O'Sullivans. The next peninsula, lying a mile
southward, is called Reenydonagan, O'Donagan's
point.

Ring stands alone as the name of many places
in different counties, in all cases meaning a point
of land ; Ringaskiddy near Spike Island in Cork,
is Skiddy's point. I think it very probable that
the point of land between the mouth of the river
Dodder and the sea, gave name to Ringsend near
Dublin, the second syllable being English : —
Ringsend, i. e. "the end of the Rinn or point. There

CHAP. T.] Mountains, Hills, and Hocks. 407

is a parish forming a peninsula near Dungarvan
in Waterford, called Bingagonagh in Irish, Rinn-
0-g Guana, the point of the O'Cooneys.

Ringville in Waterford, though it looks English,
is an Irish name, Rinn-bhile, the point of the bile
or ancient tree ; this is also the name of two town-
lands in Cork and Kilkenny; and Ringvilla in
Fermanagh, is still the same. There is a little
peninsula in Galway, opposite Inishbofin island,
called Rinville, and another of the same name,
with a village on it, projecting into Galway bay,
east of Galway ; both are written in our authori-
ties, Rinn-Mhil, the point of Mil ; and according
to Mac Firbis, they were so called from Mil, an
old Firbolg chief. '' Ringhaddy is a part of
Killinchy parish in Down, lying in Strangford
Lough. It was originally an island ; but having
been from time immemorial united to the mainland
by a causeway, it represents on the map the ap-
pearance of an elongated neck of land, running
northwards into the Lough. Hence, probably,
the name Rinn-fhada, the long point." (Reeves,
Eccl. Ant. p. 9). In the same county there is a
townland called Ringfad, which is another modi-
fication of the same name.

Reen is another form of this word, which is
confined to Cork, Kerry, and Limerick, but in these
counties it occurs very often, especially on the
coasts. Rinn and Rin are more common in the
western and north-western counties than else-
where ; as in Rinrainy island near Dunglow in
Donegal, the point of the ferns. In Clare the
word is pronounced Rine, and anglicised accord-
ingly ; Rinecaha in the parish of Kilkeedy, sig-
nifies the point of the chaff or winnowing. The
diminutive Rinneen, little point, is the name of
several tow^lands in Galway, Clare, and Kerry.

408 Physical Features. [PART TV.

Stuaic [stook] is applied to a pointed pinnacle,
or a projecting point of rock. Although the word
is often used to designate projecting rocky points,
especially on parts of the coast of Donegal, it has
not given names to many townlands. Its usual
English form is stook, which, in Ireland at least,
has taken its place as an English word, for the
expression, " a stook of corn " is used all over the
country, meaning the same as the English word
shock. Stook is the name of a place in Tipperary ;
but the two diminutives, Stookan and Stookeen,
occur more frequently than the original.

Visitors to the Giant's Causeway will remember
the two remarkable lofty rocks called the Stook-
ans — little stooks or rock pinnacles — standing in
the path leading to the causeway, which afford a
very characteristic example of the application of
this term. We find Stookeens, the same word, in
Limerick, and the singular, Stookeen, occurs in
Cork. Near Loughrea in Galway, is a townland
called Cloghastookeen, the stone fortress of the
little pinnacle, which received its name from a
castle of the Burkes, the ruins of which still
remain ; and on the coast of Antrim, beside Garron
Point is a tall pillar of rock called Cloghastucan,
clogh here meaning the stone itself — the stone of
the pinnacle or pinnacle rock. Baurstookeen in
Tipperary, signifies the summit of the pinnacle.

The words aitt &nd.faill [oil, foil], mean a rock,
a cliff, or a precipice; both words are radically the
same, the latter being derived from the former by
prefixing / (see p. 27). I have already observed
that this practice of prefixing / is chiefly found
in the south, and accordingly it is only in this
part of Ireland that names occur derived from/as'//.

Faitt is generally made foil and foyle in the
present names, and there are great numbers of

OHAP. i.] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks. 409

cliffs round the Minister coasts, especially on
those of Cork and Kerry, whose names begin
with these syllables ; they also begin the names
of about twenty-five townlands, inland as well
as on the coast. Foilycleara in Limerick and
Tipperary, signifies O'Clery's cliff ; Foilnaman
in the latter county Faill-na-mban, the cliff of the
women. The diminutive is seen in Falleenadatha
in the parish of Doon, Limerick, Faillin-a'-deata,
the little cliff of the smoke. When/oy/e comes in
as a termination, it is commonly derived, however,
not fromfaiZZ, but from poll, a hole ; for instance
Ballyfoyle and Ballyfoile, the names of several
townlands, represent the Irish Baik-phoill, the
town of the hole.

While faill is confined to the south, the other
form, aill, is found all over Ireland, under a variety
of modern forms. Ayle and Aille are the names
of a number of places in Munster and Connaught ;
Allagower near Tallaght, Dublin, is the cliff of the
goat. Lisnahall in Tyrone, signifies the fort of
the cliff ; and Aillatouk the cliff of the hawk
(aill-a' -tseabhaic}. The diminutive Alleen is found
in Tipperary and Galway ; in the former county
there are four townlands, two of them called
Alleen Hogan, and two Alleen Byan, Hogan's
and Ryan's little cliff.

Carraig or carraic [carrig, carrick], signifies a
rock ; it is usually applied to a large natural rock,
not lying flat on the surface of the ground like
leac, but more or less elevated. There are two
other forms of this word, craig and creag, which,
though not so common as carraig, are yet found in
considerable numbers of names, and are used in
Irish documents of authority. Carraig corresponds
with Sansc. karkara, a stone ; Armoric, karrek,
and Welsh, careg or craig, a rock..

410 Physical Features. [PART iv

Carrick and Carrig are the names of nearly
seventy townlands, villages, and towns, and form
the beginning of about 550 others ; craig and creag
are represented by the various forms, Crag, Craig,
Creg, &c., and these constitute or begin about 250
names ; they mean primarily a rock, but they are
sometimes applied to rocky land.

Carrigafoyle, an island in the Shannon, near
Ballylongford, Kerry, with the remains of Carriga-
foyle castle near the shore, the chief seat of the
O' Conors Kerry, is called in the annals Carraig-
an-phoill, the rock of the hole ; and it took its
name from a deep hole in the river immediately
under the castle. Ballynagarrick in Down repre-
sents the Irish £aile-na-gcarraig, the town of the
rocks ; Carrigallen in Leitrim was so called from
the rock on which the original church was built,
the Irish name of which was Carraig-aluinn, beauti-
ful rock. In Inishargy in Down, the initial c has
dropped out by aspiration ; in the Taxation of
1306 it is called Inyscargi, which well represents
Inis-carraige, the island of the rock ; and the
rising ground on which the old church stands was
formerly, as the name indicates, an island sur-
rounded by marshes, which have been converted
into cultivated fields (see Reeves, Eccl. Ant.,
p. 19).

The form craig occurs more than once in the
Four Masters : for instance, they mention a place
called Craig- Cor crain, Corcran's rock; and this
Aame in the corrupted form of Cahercorcaun, is
still applied to a townland in the parish of Rath,
Clare ; they also mention Craig-ui- Chiardubhain,
O'Kirwan's rock, now Craggykerrivan in the
parish of Clondagad, same county. Craigavad on
Belfast Lough was so called probably from a rock,
on the shore, to which a Jboat used to be moored ;

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and- Rocks. 411

for its Irish, name is Craig-al-bhaid, the rock of
the boat.

The form Carrick is pretty equally distributed
over Ireland ; Carrig is much more common in the
south than elsewhere ; Gregg and Creg are found
oftener in the north and west than in the south
and east ; and with three or four exceptions, Craig
is confined to Ulster. The diminutives Carrigeen,
Carrigane, and Carrigaun, prevail in the southern
half of Ireland ; and in the northern, Carrigan,
Cargan, and Cargin, all signifying little rock, or
land with a rocky surface ; and with their plurals,
they give names to numerous townlands and
villages. There are also a great many places in the
north and north-west, called Creggan, and in the
south and west, Creggane and Creggaun, which
are diminutives of creag, and are generally applied
to rocky land ; Cargagh and Carrigagh, meaning
a place full of rocks, are the names of several
townlands.

Clock signifies a stone — any stone either large
or small, as, for instance, cloch-shneachta, a hail-
stone, literally snow-stone ; cloch-teine, fire-stone,
i. e. a flint. So far as it is perpetuated in local
names, it was applied in each particular case to a
stone sufficiently large and conspicuously placed to
attract general notice, or rendered remarkable by
some custom or historical occurrence. This word
is also, in an extended sense, often applied to a
stone building, such as a castle ; for example, the
castle of Glin on the Shannon in Limerick, the
seat of the Knight of Glin, is called in Irish
documents Cloch-gleanna, the stone castle of the
glen or valley. It is often difficult to determine
with certainty which of these two meanings it
bears in local names.

Clock is one of our commonest topographical

412 Physical Features. [PART iv.

roots ; in the English forms Clogh and Clough, it
constitutes or begins more than 400 townland
names ; and it helps to form innumerable others
in various combinations. Cloghbally and Clogh-
vally, which are common townland names, repre-
sent the Irish Cloch-bhaile, stony-town ; scattered
over Munster, Connaught, and Ulster, are many
places called Cloghboley and Cloghboola, stony
booley or dairy-place ; and Clogh voley, Cloghvoola,
and Cloghvoula, are varied forms of the same
name ; Shanaclogh and Shanclogh in Munster and
Connaught, old stone or stone castle.

Sometimes the final guttural drops out and the
word is reduced to do ; as in Clomantagh in Kil-
kenny, in which no guttural appears, though there
is one in the original Cloch-Mantaigh, the stone or
stone-castle of Mantach, a man's name signifying
toothless (see p. 109), said to have taken its name
from a stone circle on the hill ; Clonmoney and
Clorusk in Carlow, the former signifying the stone
of the shrubbery, and the latter, of the rusk or
marsh. And very often the first c becomes g by
eclipsis (see p. 22), as in Carrownaglogh, which
conveys the sound of Ceathramhadh-na-gclogh
(Book of Lecan), the quarter-land of the stones.

Names formed from this word, variously com-
bined, are found in every part of Ireland : when
it comes in as a termination, it is usually in the
genitive (cloiche, pron. clohy}, and in this case it
takes several modern forms, which will be illus-
trated in the following names : — Ballyclogh, Bally-
clohy, Ballinaclogh, Ballynaclogh, and Ballyna-
cloghy, all names of frequent occurrence, mean
stone town, or the town of the stones. Kilna-
cloghy, in the parish of Cloontuskert, in Roscom-
mon, is called Coill-na-cloiche in the Four Masters,
the wood of the stone. Aughnacloy is a little

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Sills, and Rocks. 413

town in Tyrone ; and there are several townlands
in other counties of the same name, all called in
Irish Achadh-na-cloiche [Ahanaclohy], the field of
the stone.

There are three diminutives of this word in
common use — cloichin, clochdg, and cloghdn — of
which the third has been already dealt with
(p. 363). The first is generally anglicised Cloheen
or Clogheen, which is the name of a town in
Tipperary, and of several townlands in Cork,
Waterford, and Kildare. Cloghoge or Clohoge,
though literally meaning a small stone like Clogh-
een, is generally applied to stony land, or to a
place full of round stones ; it is the name of about
twenty townlands, chiefly in Ulster — a few, how-
ever, being found in Sligo and in the Leinster
counties.

There are several derivative forms from this
word clock. The most common is clochar, which
is generally applied to stony laud — a place
abounding in stones, or having a stony surface ;
but it occasionally means a rock. Its most usual
anglicised form is Clogher, which is the name of
a well-known town in Tyrone, of a village, and a
remarkable headland in Louth, and of nearly sixty
townlands scattered over Ireland ; and compounded
with various words, it helps to form the names of
numerous other places.

For Clogher in Tyrone, however, a different
origin has been assigned. It is stated that there
existed anciently at this place a stone covered with
gold, which was worshipped as Kermann Kelstach,
the principal idol of the northern Irish ; and this
stone, it is said, was preserved in the church of
Clogher down to a late period : hence the place
was called Cloch-oir, golden stone. O'Flaherty
makes this statement in his Ogygia, on the au-

414 Physical Features. [PART iv.

thority of Cathal Maguire, Archdeacon of Clogher,
the compiler of the Annals of Ulster, who died in
1495 ; and Harris in his edition of Ware's Bishops,
notices the idol in the following words : — " Clogher,
situated on the river Lanny, takes its name from
a Golden Stone, from which, in the Times of
Paganism, the Devil used to pronounce juggling
answers, like the Oracles of Apollo Pythius, as is
said in the Register of Clogher."

With this story of the idol I have nothing to
do ; only I shall observe that it ought to be
received with caution, as it is not found in any
ancient authority ; it is likely that Maguire's state-
ment is a mere record of the oral tradition,
preserved in his time. But that the name of
Clogher is derived from it — i. e. from Cloch-oir —
I do not believe, and for these reasons. The pre-
valence of the name Clogher in different parts of
Ireland, with the same general meaning, " is
rather damaging to such an etymon," as Dr. Reeves
remarks, and affords strong presumption that this
Clogher is the same as all the rest. The most
ancient form of the name, as found in Adamnan,
is Clochur Filiorum Daimeni (this being Adamnan's
translation of the proper Irish name, Clochur-mac-
Daimhin, Clochur of the sons of Daimhin) ; in
which the final syllable ur shows no trace of the
genitive of or, gold (or, gen. oir) ; and, besides,
the manner in which Clochur is connected with
mac-Daimhin goes far to show that it is a generic
term, the construction being exactly analogous to
Inis-mac-Nessan (p. 109).

But farther, there is a direct statement of the
Origin of the name in a passage of the Tain-bo-
Chuailnge in Leabhar na hUidhre, quoted by Mr
J. O'Beirne Crowe in an article in the Kilkenny
Archaeological Journal (April, 1869, p. 311). In

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Hocks. 415

this passage we are told that a certain place on
which was a great quantity of stones, was called
for that reason Mag Clochair, the plain of the
stones ; and Mr. Crowe remarks : — " Clochar, as
any Irish scholar might know, does not mean a
stone of gold ; the form clochar irom clock, a stone,
is like that of sruthar from sruth, a stream, and
other nouns of this class with a cumulative sig-
nification."

This place retains its ancient name in the latest
Irish authorities. Daimhin, whose sons are com-
memorated in the name, was eighth in descent
from Colla-da-Chrich (p. 137), and lived in the
sixth century. His descendants were in latter
times called Clann-Daimhin [Clan Davin] ; and
they wrere represented so late as the fourteenth
century, by the family of Dwyer.

Cloghereen, little stony place, a diminutive of
clogher, is well known to tourists as the name of a
village near Killarney. Cloichredn, or cloithredn
[cioherawnl , another diminutive, signifies also a
stony place, and is found in every part of Ireland
in different modern forms. It is Cloghrane in
Kerry and "Waterf ord ; and in the county of Dublin
it gives name to two parishes called Cloghran. In
many cases the guttural has dropped out, reducing
it to Cloran in Westmeath, Tipperary, and Galway ;
Clorane and Clorhane in Limerick, King's and
Queen's County. It undergoes various other
alterations — as for instance, Clerran in Monaghan :
Cleighran in Leitrim ; Cleraun in Longford ; and
Clerhaun in Mayo and Galway.

Clochar has other developments, one of which,
cloharach or cloithreach, meaning much the same as
clochar itself — a stony place — is found pretty
widely spread in various modern forms ; such as
Cloghera in Clare and Kerry; and Clerragh in

416 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Roscommon. Another offshoot is cloichearnach,
with still the same meaning ; this is anglicised
Cloghernagh in Donegal and Monaghan ; Claher-
nagh in Fermanagh ; Clohernagh in Wicklow and
Tipperary ; while in Tyrone it gives the name of
Clogherny to a parish and four townlands.

The word leac, lie, or Hag [lack, lick, leeg] — for
it is written all three ways — means primarily a
great stone, but it is commonly applied to a flag or
large flat stone ; thus the Irish for ice is leac-oidhre
[lack-Ira], literally snow- flag. The most ancient
form is liac or liacc, which is used to translate
lapis in the Wb. and Sg. MSS. of Zeuss ; and it is
cognate with the Welsh llcch; Lat. lapis; and
Greek lithos.

This word occurs very often in Irish names, and
in its local application it is very generally used to
denote a flat- surfaced rock, or a place having a
level rocky surface. Its most common forms are
Lack, Leek, and Lick, which are the names of
many townlands and villages through Ireland, as
ivell as the diminutives Lackeen and Lickeen,
little rock. The form Hag is represented by Leeg
and Leek in Monaghan, and by Leeke in Antrim
and Londonderry.

Lickmolassy, a parish in Gralway — St. Molaise's
flag- stone — was so called, because the hill on
which the church was built that gave name to the
parish, is covered on the surface with level flag-
like rocks. Legvoy, a place in Roscommon, west
of Carrick-on-Shannon, is called by the Four Mas-
ters Leagmhagh [Legvah], the flag-surfaced plain.
The celebrated mountain Slieve League in Done-
gal, is correctly described by its name: — "A
quarry lately opened here, shows this part of the
mountain to be formed of piles of thin small flags
of a beautiful white colour And here

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Mocks. 417

observe how much there is in a name ; for Slieve
League means the mountain of flags." ^

I have already observed (p. 355) that stony
fords are very often designated by names indi-
cating their character ; and I will give a few
additional illustrations here. Belleek in Ferman-
agh, on the Erne, east of Bally shannon, is called
in Irish authorities, Bel-leice [Bellecka] " trans-
lated os rupis by Philip O'Sullivan Bear in his
history of the Irish Catholics. The name signifies
ford-mouth of the flag- stone, and the place was so
called from the flat-surfaced rock in the ford,
which, when the water decreases in summer, ap-
pears as level as a marble floor " (O'Donovan,
Four Mast. V., p. 134). Belleek is also the name
of a place near Ballina in Mayo, which was so
called from a rocky ford on the Moy ; there is a
village of the same name near Newtown Hamilton,
Armagh, and also two townlands in Gal way and
Meath. Ballinalack is the name of a village in
Westmeath, a name originally applied to a ford
on the river Inny, over which there is now a
bridge ; the correct name is Bel-atha-na-leac [Bella-
nalack], the mouth of the ford of the flag-stones,
a name that most truly describes the place, which
is covered with limestone flags. In some other
cases, however, Ballinalack is derived from Baile-
na-leac the town of the flag-stones.

Several derivative forms from leac are perpetu-
ated in local names ; one of these, leacach, signi-
fying stony, is applied topographically to a place
full of stones or flags, and has given the name of
Lackagh to many townlands in different parts of
Ireland. Several places of this name are men-
tioned in the annals ; for instance, Lackagh in tho

* From " The Donegal Highlands," Murray and Co., Dublin.
VOL. I. 28

418 Physical Features. PART iv.

parish of Innishkeel, Donegal, and the river
Lackagh, falling into Sheephaven, same county,
both of which are noticed in the Four Masters.

Leacan is one of the most widely extended of all
derivatives from leac, and in every part of the
country it is applied to a hill- side. In the modern
forms of Lackan, Lacken, Lackaun, Leckan,
Leckaun, and Lickane, it gives name to more
than forty townlands, and its compounds are still
more numerous. Lackandarra, Lackandarragh,
and Lackendarragh, all signify the hill-side of
the oak ; Ballynalackan and Ballynalacken, the
town of the hill- side. Lackan in the parish of
Kilglass in Sligo was formerly the residence of
the Mac Firbises, where their castle, now called
Castle Forbes (i. e. Firbis), still remains; and
here they compiled many Irish works, among
others, the well-known Book of Lecan. The form
Lacka is also very common in local names, with
the same meaning as leacdn, viz., the side of a hill;
Lackabane and Lackabaun, white hill- side.

The two words, leaca and leacdn, also signify
the cheek ; it may be that this is the sense in
which they are applied to a hill- side, and that in
this application no reference to leac, a stone was
intended.

" Boireann (burren), a large rock ; a stony, rocky
district. It is the name of several rocky districts
in the north and south of Ireland " (O'Donovan,
App. to O'Reilly's Diet, in wee]. In a passage
from an ancient MS. quoted by O'Donovan, it is
fancifully derived from borr, great, and onn, a
stone.

A considerable number of local names are de-
rived from this word ; one of the best known is
Burren in Clare, an ancient territory, very often
mentioned in the annals, which is as remarkable

;-HAP. i.~] Mountains, Hills, and Rocks 419

for its stony character as it is celebrated for its
oyster-bank. Burren is the name of eleven town-
lands, some of which are found in each of the
provinces ; there is a river joining the Barrow at
the town of Carlow, called Burren, i. e. rocky
river; and in Dublin, the word appears in the
name of the Burren rocks near the western shore
of Lambay island.

There are many places whose names are partly
formed from this word : — Burrenrea in Cavan, and
Burrenreagh in Down, both meaning grey burren.
Cloonburren on the west bank of the Shannon,
nearly opposite Clonmacnoise, is frequently men-
tioned in the annals, its Irish name being Cluain-
boireann, rocky meadow. Rathborney, a parish
in Clare, received its name — Rath-Boirne, the fort
of Burren — from the district in which it is situated.
The plural, boirne (bourny), is modernised into
Burnew, i. e. rocky lands in the parish of Killin-
kere, Cavan; in the form Bourney, it is the name
of a parish in Tipperary ; and near Aghada in Cork
is a place called Knockanemorney, in Irish Cnocan-
na-mboirne, the little hill of the rocks.

The word carr, though not found in the diction-
aries, is understood in several parts of Ireland to
mean a rock, and sometimes rocky land. It is
probable that carraig, a rock, earn, a monumental
heap of stones, and cairthe, a pillar- stone, are all
etymologically connected with this word.

Carr is the name of three townlands in Down,
Fermanagh, and Tyrone ; and it forms part of
several names ; such as Carcullion in the parish of
Clonduff, Down, the rock or rocky land of the
holly ; Gortahar in Antrim, Gort-a'-chairr, the
field of the rock. In the parish of Clonallan,
Down, is a place called Carrogs, little rocks. There
is another diminutive common in the west of Ire-

420 Physical Features. £PART rv.

land, namely, cairthm, which is anglicised as it is
pronounced, Carheen; it generally means rocky
land, but in some places it is understood to mean
a cahereen, that is a little caher or stone fort, and
occasionally a little cairthe, or pillar- stone (see pp.
284, 343) ; the English plural Carheens, and the
Irish Carheeny, both meaning little rocks or little
stone forts, are the names of several places in
Galway, Mayo, and Limerick.

The third diminutive, carran, is more generally
used than either of the two former, and it has
several anglicised forms, such as Caran, Caraun,
Carran, and Carraun. It is often difficult to fix
the meaning of these words ; they generally signify
rocky land, but they are occasionally understood to
mean a reaping-hook, applied in this sense, from
some peculiarity of shape ; and Caran and Carran
are sometimes varied forms of earn. Craan, Craane,
and Crane, which are the names of a number of
places, are modifications which are less doubtful
in meaning ; they are almost confined to Carlo w,
and "Wexford, and are always applied to rocky
land — land showing a rocky surface.

Sceir [sker] means, according to the dictionaries,
a sharp sea rock ; sceire [skerry], sea rocks ; Scan-
dinavian sker, a reef, skere, reefs. It is applied to
rocks inland, however, as well as to those in the
sea, as is proved by the fact, that there are several
places far removed from the coast whose names
contain the word. It enters pretty extensively
into local nomenclature, and its most usual forms
are either Scar, Skerry, or the plural Skerries,
which are the names of several well-known places.

Sceilig [skellig], according to O'Reilly, means a
rock ; the form scillic occurs in Cormac's Glossary
in the sense of a splinter of stone ; and O'Donovan,
in the Four Masters, translates Sceillic, sea rock.

CHAP, i.] Mountains, Hills, and Itocks. 421

There are, however, as in the case of sceir, some
places inland whose names are derived from it.

The most remarkable places bearing the name
of Sceilig are the great and little Skelligs, two
lofty rocks off the coast of Kerry. Great Skellig
was selected, in the early ages of Christianity, as
a religious retreat, and the ruins of some of the
primitive cells and oratories remain there to this
day ; the place was dedicated to the Archangel
Michael, and hence it is called in Irish authorities,
Sceilig Mhichil, Michael's skellig or sea rock. From
these rocks the Bay of Ballinskelligs, on the coast
of Iveragh, took its name.

One of the little ruined churches in Grlendalough,
which is situated under the crags of Lugduff
mountain, is called Templenaskellig, the church of
the rock, and this skellig or rock is often mentioned
in the old Lives of St. Kevin. Bunskellig, the
foot of the rock, is a place near Eyeries on Ken-
mare Bay ; and in Tyrone there are two townlanda
called Skelgagh, an adjective formation from sceilig,
signifying rocky land.

Speilic is used in Louth in the sense of a splintery
rock, but it is very probably a corruption of sceilig ;
it has given name to Spellickanee in the parish of
Ballymascanlan, which is in Irish, Speilic-an-fhiaich,
the rock of the raven. Among the Mourne moun-
tains it is pronounced spellig ; and the adjective
form speilgeach [spelligagh], is understood there to
denote a place full of pointed rocks.

Spine [spink] is used in several parts of Ire-
land to denote a point of rock, or a sharp over-
hanging cliff ; but it is employed more generally
on the coast of Donegal than elsewhere. It has
not given names to many places, however, even in
Donegal, where it is most used. There is a town-
land in King's County, called Spink; and near

\'2§ Physical Features. [pARt IT".

Tallaght in Dublin, rises a small hill called Spinkaa,
little spink or pinnacle.

There are other terms for hills, such as druitn,
eudan, ceann, &c., but these will be treated of in
another chapter.

CHAPTER IT.

PLAINS, VALLEYS, HOLLOWS, AND CAVES.

Magh [maw or moy] is the most common Irish
word for a plain or level tract ; Welsh ma. It is
generally translated campus by Latin writers, .aid
it is rendered planities in the Annals of Tighernach.
It is a word of great antiquity, and in the Latinised
form magus — which corresponds with the old Irish
orthography mag — it is frequently used in ancient
Gaulish names of places, such as Csesaromagus,
Drusomagus, Noviomagus, Rigomagus, &c. (Gram.
Celt., p. 9). It occurs also in the Zeuss MSS.,
where it is given as the equivalent of campus. The
word appears under various forms in anglicised
names, such as magh, moy, ma, mo, &c.

Several of the great plains celebrated in former
ages, and constantly mentioned in Irish authorities,
have lost their names, though the positions of most
of them are known. Magh-breagh [Moy-bra], the
great plain extending from the Liffey northwards
towards the borders of the present county of Louth,
may be mentioned as an example. The word breagh
signifies fine or beautiful, and it is still preserved
both in sound and sense in the Scotch word bratc ;
Magh-breagh is accordingly translated, in the An-
nals of Tighernach, Planities amcena, the delightful

CHAP, ii.] Plains, Vallci/s,IIoUoicst and Caves. 423

plain ; and our " rude forefathers " never left us a
name more truly characteristic.* In its application
to the plain, however, it has been forgotten for
generations, though it is still preserved in the name
of Slieve Bregh, a hill between Slane and Collon,
signifying the hill of Magh-breagh.

Many of the celebrated old plains still either
partly or wholly retain their original names,
and of these I will mention a few. Macosquin,
now a parish in Londonderry, is called in the
annals, Mag h-Cosg rain, the plain of Cosgran, a
man's name very common both in ancient and
modern times. There is a village called Movilla
near Newtownards in Down, where a great
monastery was founded by St. Finnian in the
sixth century ; its Irish name is Maghbile (O'Cler.
Cal.), the plain of the ancient tree; and there
is another place with the same Irish name
in the east of Inishowen in Donegal, now
called Moville, which was also a religious estab-
lishment, though not equally ancient or important.

Mallow in Cork is called in Irish Magh-Ealla,
[Moyalla : Four Mast.], the plain of the river Ealla,
or Allow. The stream now. called the Allow is a
small river flowing into the Blackwater through

* Notwithstanding the authority of Tighernach, I fear this
translation is incorrect. Any one who examines the way in
which the name Breg (in all its inflections) is used in old Irish
writings, will see at once that it is not an adjective, but a
plural noun ; that it is never used in the singular ; and furti~r
that it was the name of a people : Brega, (the nom. plural
form) being a term exactly corresponding with Angli, Cutinani,
Celti, &c. According to this, Mag-Breg, or in later Irish,
Magh-Breagh, signifies, not delightful plain, but the plain of
the Brega, who were I suppose the original inhabitants. As a
further confirmation of this, and as a kind of set-off against the
authority of Tighernach, we find Sliabh-Breagh translated in
the Lives of SS. Fanchea and Columbkille, Mons-Bregarum
the mountain of the Brep^t.as. See J. O'Beirne Crowe'n note
in Kilk. Arch. Jour. 1 !3/2, p. 181.

424 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Kanturk, ten or eleven miles from Mallow ; but the
Blackwater itself, for at least a part of its course,
was anciently called Allow ;* from this the district
between Mallow and Kanturk was called Magh-
Ealla, which ultimately settled down as the name
of the town of Mallow. The river also gave name
to the territory lying on its north bank, west of
Kanturk, which is called in Irish authorities,
Duthaigh Eatta [Doohyalla], i. e. the district of
;he Allow, now shortened to Duhallow.

Magunihy, now a barony in Kerry, is called
by the Four Masters, in some places, Magh-
gCoindnne [Magunkinny], and in others, Magh-
0-gCoinchinn, i. e. the plain of the O'Coincinns ;
from the former of which the present name is
derived. The territory, however, belonged 250
years ago to the O'Donohoes, and, according to
O'Heeren, at an earlier period to O'Connells:
of the family of O'Conkin, who gave name to the
territory, I have found no further record.

The form Moy is the most common of any. It
is itself, as well as the plural Moys (i. e. plains),
the name of several places, and forms part of a
large number. Moynalty in Meath represents
the Irish Magh-nealta, the plain of the flocks ;
this was also the ancient name of the level coun-
try lying between Dublin and Howth (see p. 161) ;
and the bardic Annals state that it was the only
plain in Ireland not covered with wood, on the
arrival of the first colonies. The district between
the rivers Erne and Drowes is now always called
the Moy, which partly preserves a name of great
antiquity. It is the celebrated plain of Magh-
gCedne [genn#], so frequently mentioned in the

* See a Paper by the author, on " Spenser's Irish Rivers,"
Proc. R.I.A., Vol. X., p. 1.

CHAP, ii.] Plains, Valleys, Hollows, and Caves. 425

accounts of the earliest colonists ; and it was here
the Fomorian pirates of Tory (p. 162), exacted
their oppressive yearly tribute from the Nem-
edians.

This word assumes other forms in several coun-
ties, such as Maw, Maws, Moigh, and Muff. In
accordance with the Munster custom of restoring
the final g (p. 31), it is modified to Moig in the
name of some places near Askeaton, and else-
where in Limerick ; and this form, a little
shortened, appears in Mogeely, a well-known
place in Cork, which the Four Masters call Magh-
IlS, the plain of lie or Eile, a man's name.
There is a parish in Cork, east of Macroom, called
Cannaway, orinlrish Ceann-d '-mhaighe [Cannawee],
the head of the plain ; the same name is anglicised
Cannawee in the parish of Kilmoe, near Mizen
Head in the same county; while we find Kil-
canavee in the parish of Mothell, Waterford,
and Kilcanway near Mallow in Cork, both signi-
fying the church at the head of the plain.

There is one diminutive, maighin [moyne],
which is very common, both in ancient and
modern names ; it occurs in the Zeuss MSS. in
the form magen, where it is used in the sense of
locus ; and we find it in the Four Masters, when
they record the erection, in 1460, by Mac William
Burke, of the celebrated abbey of Maighin or
Moyne in Mayo. The ruins of this abbey still
remain near the river Moy, in the parish of
Killala, county Mayo. This, as well as the vil-
lage of Moyne in Tipperary, and about a dozen
places of the same name in the three southern
provinces, were all so called from a maighin or little
plain. Maine and Mayne, which are the names oi
several places from Derry to Cork, are referable
to the same root, though a few of them may be
from meadhon [maan], middle.

426 Physical* Features. [PART i\ .

Machaire [magheraj, a derivative from magh,
and meaning the same thing, is very extensively
used in our local nomenclature. It generally ap-
pears in the anglicised forms of Maghera and
Maghery, which are the names of several villages
and townlands ; Maghera is the more usual form,
and it begins the names of nearly 200 places,
which are found in each of the four provinces, but
are more common in Ulster than elsewhere. The
parish of Magheradrool in Down, is called in
the Reg. Prene, Machary-edargawal, which repre-
sents the Irish, Machaire-eadar-ghabhal [Maghera-
addrool], the plain between the (river) forks.
(Reeves, Eccl. Ant., p. 316. See Addergoole).

Reidh [ray] signifies a plain, a level field ; it ia
more commonly employed in the south of Ireland
than elsewhere, and it is usually applied to a
mountain-flat, or a coarse, moory, level piece of
land among hills. Its most general anglicised
forms are rea, re, and rey.

In the parish of Ringagonagh, Waterford, there
is a townland called Readoty, which is modernised
from R: idh-doighte, burnt mountain-plain : Reana-
gishagh in Clare, the mountain- flat of the kishes
or wicker causeways ; Remeen in Kilkenny, smooth
plain ; Ballynarea, near Newtown Hamilton, Ar-
magh, the town of the mountain-flat. Reidhleach
[Relagh], a derivative from reidh, and meaning
the same thing, gives names to some places in
Tyrone, Fermanagh, and Cavan, in the modernised
form, Relagh.

Reidh is also used as an adjective, signifying
ready or prepared ; and from this, by an easy
transition, it has come to signify clear, plain, or
smooth ; it is probable indeed that the word was
primarily an adjective, and that its use as a noun
to designate a plain is merely a secondary applica-

JHAP. ii.] Plains, Valleys, Hollows, and Caves. 427

tion. There is a well-known mountain over the
Killeries in Connemara, called Muilrea ; and this
name characterizes its outline, compared with that
of the surrounding hills, when seen from a
moderate distance : — Mael-reidh, smooth flat moun-
tain (see Mael, p. 395). Rehill is the name of
some places in Kerry and Tipperary, which are
called in Irish, Reidh-choill, smooth or clear wood,
probably indicating that the woods to which the
name was originally applied were less dense or
tangled, or more easy to pass through, than others
in the same neighbourhood.

Clar is literally a board., and occurs in this sense
in the Zeuss MSS. in the old form claar, which
glosses tabula. It is applied lo«ally to a flat piece
of land ; and in this sense it gives name to a con-
siderable number of places. Ballyclare is the
name of a town in Antrim, and of half a dozen
townlands in Roscommon and the Leinster coun-
ties, signifying the town of the plain. Ballinclare
is often met with in Leinster and Munster, and
generally means the same thing; but it may
signify in some places the ford of the plank, as it
does in case of Ballinclare in the parish of Kil-
macteige in Sligo, which is written Bel-an-chldir
by the Four Masters (see for plank-bridges, 2nd
Vol., Chap, xin.) There is a place in Galway
which was formerly called by this name, where a
great abbey was founded in the thirteenth century,
and a castle in the sixteenth, both of which are
still to be seen in ruins ; the place is mentioned
by the Four Masters, who call it Baile-an-chlair,
but it retains only a part of this old name, being
now called Clare- Galway to distinguish it from
other Clares.

Clare is by itself the name of many places, some
of which are found in each of the four provinces.

428 Physical Features. [PART iv.

The county of Clare was so called from the village
of the same name ; and the tradition of the people
is, that it was called Clare from a board formerly
placed across the river Fergus to serve as a bridge.
Very often the Irish form clar is preserved un-
changed : as in Clarcarricknagun near Donegal,
the plain of the rock of the hounds ; Clarbane in
Armagh, white plain; Clarderry in Monaghan,
level oak-wood. Clarkill in Armagh, Down, and
Tipperary, and Clarehill in Deny, are not much
changed from the original, Clarchoill, level wood.
In the three last names clar is used as an adjective.

The form Claragh, signifying the same as clar
itself — a level place — is much used as a townland
name ; Claraghatlea in the parish of Drishane in
Cork, Clarach-a'-tsleibke, the plain of (i. e. near)
the mountain. Sometimes this is smoothed down
to Clara, which is the name of a village in King's
County, and of several other places ; Clarashinnagh
near Mohill in Leitrim, the plain of the foxes.
And lastly, there are several places called Clareen,
little plain.

The word gleann [pron. gloun in the south, glan
elsewhere], has exactly the same signification as
the English word glen. Though they are nearly
identical in form, one has not been derived from
the other, for the English word exists in the
Ang.-Saxon, and on the other hand, gleann is used
in Irish MSS. much older than the Anglo-Norman
invasion, as for instance in Lebor-na-h Uidhre.

The two words Glen and Glan form or begin the
names of more than 600 places, all of them, with
an occasional exception, purely Irish ; and they are
sprinkled through every county in Ireland. The
most important of these are explained in other parts
of this book, and a very few illustrations will be
sufficient here. Glennamaddy, the name of a

CHAP. IT.] Plains, Valkys, Hollows, and Caves. 429

village in Galway, is called in Irish, Gleann-na-
madaighe, the valley of the dogs; Glennagross
near Limerick, of the crosses ; Glenmullion near
the town of Antrim, the glen of the mill ; CHendine
and Glandine, the names of several places in the
Munster and Leinster counties, Gleann-doimhin,
deep glen : — the Gap of Glendine cuts through
the Slieve Bloom mountains — right across — under
the northern base of Arderin ; and the same name,
in the form of Glendowan, is now applied to a fine
range of mountains in Donegal, which must have
been so called from one of the " deep valleys "
they enclose.

Sometimes it is made Glin, of which one of the
best known examples is Glin on the Shannon, in
Limerick, from which a branch of the Fitzgeralds
derives the title of the Knight of Glin. The full
name of the place, as given by the Four Masters,
is Gleann-Corbraighe [Corbry], Corbrach's or
Corbry's Valley. And occasionally we find it
Glyn or Glynn, of which we have a characteristic
example in the village and parish of Glynn in
Antrim, anciently Gleann-fhinneachta. The geni-
tive of gkann is gleanna [glanna], and sometimes
glinn, the former of which is represented by glanna
in the end of names ; as in Ballinglanna in Cork,
Kerry, and Tipperary, the town of the glen ; the
same as Ballinglen and Ballyglan in other counties.

There are two diminutives in common use ; the
one, gleanndn, is found in the northern counties in
the form of Glennan, while in Galway it is made
Glennaun. The other, gleanntdn, is very much
used in the south and west, and gives names to
several places now called Glantane, Glantaun,
Glentane, and Glentaun — all from a " little glen."

The plural of gkann is gkannta or gleanntaidhe
[glanta, glenty], the latter of which, with the

430 Physical Features. [PAW- iv.

English plural superadded to the Irish (p. 32),
gives name to the village of Grlenties in Donegal :
it is so called from two fine glens at the 'lead of
which it stands, viz., the glen of Stracashel (the
river- holm of the cashel or stone fort), and Glen-
fada-na-sealga, or the long valley of the hunting.

When this word occurs in the end of names, the
g is sometimes aspirated, in which case it dis-
appears altogether both in writing and pronuncia-
tion. Old Leighlin in Carlow, a place once very
much celebrated as an ecclesiastical establishment,
is called in the annals, Leith- ghlionn [Lehlin],
half glen, a name derived from some peculiarity
of configuration in the little river-bed. Crumlin
is the name of a village near Dublin, and of
another in Antrim ; there are also eighteen town-
lands of this name in different counties through
the four provinces, besides Crimlin in Fermanagh,
and Cromlin in Leitrim : Crumlin was also the old
name of Hillsborough in Down. In every one of
these places there is a winding glen, and in the
Antrim Crumlin, the glen is traversed by a river,
whose name corresponds with that of the glen, viz.,
Camline, which literally signifies crooked line.
Crumlin near Dublin takes its name from a pretty
glen traversed by a little stream passing by Inchi-
core and under the canal into the Liffey. The
Four Masters in mentioning this CrumHn, give
the true Irish form of the names of all those
places, Cruimghlinn, curved glen, the sound of
which is exactly conveyed by Crumlin. Sometimes
in pronouncing this compound, a short vowel
sound is inserted between the two root words,
which preserves the g from aspiration ; and in
this manner was formed Cromaglan, the name of
the semicircularly curved glen traversed by the
Crinnagh river, which falls into the upper lake of

< HAP. ii.] Plains, Valleys, Hollows, and Caves. 431

Killarney. From this, the fine hill rising im-
mediately over the stream, and overlooking the
upper lake, borrowed the name of Cromaglan ;
and it is now hardly necessary to add that this
name does not mean " drooping mountain," as the
guide-books absurdly translate it. There is a
townland of the same name in the parish of
Tullylease in Cork, now called Cromagloun.

Lug or lag signifies a hollow ; when used topo-
graphically, it is almost always applied to a hollow
in a hill ; and lag, lig, leg, and lug, are its most
common forms, the first three being more usual in
Ulster, and the last in Leinster and Connaught.
The word is not so much used in Munster as in
the other provinces.

There is a place near Balla in Mayo called
Lagnamuck, the hollow of the pigs ; Lagnavid-
doge in the same county signifies the hollow of the
plovers. Leg begins the names of about 100
townlands, almost all of them in the northern half
of Ireland. The places called Legacurry, Lega-
chory, and Lagacurry, of which there are about a
dozen, are all so called from a caldron-like pit or
hollow, the name being in Irish Lag-a'-choire, the
hollow of the coire or caldron. When the word
terminates names it takes several forms, none
differing much from lug ; such as Ballinlig, Baliin-
lug, Ballinluig, Ballylig, and Ballylug, all common
townland names, signifying the town of the lug or
hollow.

As this word was applied to a hollow in a moun-
tain, it occasionally happened that the name of
the hollow was extended to the mountain itself,
as in case of Lugduff over Glendalough in Wick-
low, black hollow ; and Lugnaquillia, the highest
of the Wicklow mountains, which the few old
people who still retain the Irish pronunciation in

432 Physical Features. [PART TV.

that district, call Lug-na-gcoilleach, the hollow of
the cocks, i. e. grouse.

The diminutives Lagan and Legan occur very
often as townland names, but it is sometimes
difficult to separate the latter from liagan, a pillar
stone. The river Lagan or Logan, as it is called
in the map of escheated estates, 1609, may have
taken its name from a "little hollow" on some
part of its course ; there is a lake in Roscommon
called Lough Lagan, the lake of the little hollow ;
and the townland of Leggandorragh near Raphoe
in Donegal, is called in Irish Lagan-dorcha, dark
hollow.

Cum [coom] a hollow ; a nook, glen, or dell in
a mountain ; a valley enclosed, except on one side,
by mountains ; corresponding accurately with the
Welsh cum and English comb. The Coombe in
Dublin is a good illustration, being as the name
implies, a hollow place.

This word is used very often in the neighbour-
hood of Killarney to designate the deep glens of
the surrounding mountains ; as in case of Coom-
nagoppul under Mangerton, whose name originated
in the practice of sending horses to graze in it at
certain seasons — Cum-na-gcapall, the glen of the
horses ; and there is another place of the same
name in Waterford.

The most usual forms are coom and coum, which
form part of many names in the Munster coun-
ties, especially in Cork and Kerry ; thus Coom-
nahorna in Kerry, the valley of the barley;
Coomnagun near Killaloe, of the hounds. Lack-
enacoombe in Tipperary — the hill-side of the
hollow — exhibits the word as a termination.
Commaun, Commeen, and Cummeen, little hollow,
are often met with ; but as the two latter are
often sometimes used to express a " common," the

CHAP, ii.] Plains, Valleys, Hollows, and Caves. 433

investigator must be careful not to pronounce too
decidedly on their meaning, without obtaining
some knowledge of the particular case. Some-
times the initial c is eclipsed, as in the case of
Baurtrigoum, the name of the highest summit of
the Slieve Mish mountains near Tralee, which
signifies the barr or summit of the three corns or
hollows ; and the mountain was so called because
there are on its northern face three glens from
summit to base, each traversed by a stream.

Beam or bearna [barn, barna], a gap; it is
usually applied to a gap in a mountain or through
high land ; and in this sense it is very generally
applied in local nomenclature, commonly in the
form of Barna, which is the name of about a
dozen townlands, and enters into the formation of
a very large number. Barnageehy and Barnana-
geehy, the gap of the wind, is a name very often
given to high and bleak passes between hills ;
and the mountain rising over Ballyorgan in
Limerick, is called Barnageeha, from a pass of
this kind on its western side. Very often it is
translated Windy gap and Windgate : there is, for
instance, a remarkable gap with the former name
in the parish of Addergoole, Mayo, which the
Four Masters call by its proper Irish name,
Bearna - na - gaeithe. Ballinabarny, Ballybarney,
Ballynabarna, Ballynabarny, Ballynabearna, and
Ballynaberny, all signify the town of the gap.

There are several places in different counties,
called by the Irish name, Bearna-dhearg [Barna-
yarrag], red gap, and anglicised Barnadarrig and
Barnaderg. The most remarkable of these for
its historic associations is Bearna-dhearg between
the two hills of Knockea and Carrigeenamronety,
on the road from Kilmallock in Limerick to
Kildorrery in Cork. It is now called in English
VOL. i. 29

434 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Redchair or Richchair, which is an incorrect
form of the old Anglo-Irish name Redsherd, as
we find it in Dymmok's "Treatise of Ireland,"
written about the year 1600 (Tracts relating to
Ireland, Vol. II. , p. 18 : Irish Arch. Soc.), i. e.
red gap, a translation of the Irish ; sheard, being
a West-English term for a gap. There is a gap
in the mountain of Forth in Wexford, which,*
according to the Glossary quoted at page 44,
supra, is also called Reed-sheard or Red- gap, by
the inhabitants of Forth and Bargy.

This word takes other forms, especially in the
northern counties, where it is pretty common ; it
is made barnet in several cases, as in Drumbarnet,
the ridge of the gap, the name of some places in
Donegal and Monaghan ; Lisbarnet in Down, the
fort of the gap. There is another Irish form
used in the north, namely, bearnas; it has the
authority of the annals, in which this term is
always used to designate the great gap of Bar-
nismore near Donegal ; and in the forms Barnes
and Barnish, it gives name to several places in
Antrim, Donegal, and Tyrone. All the preceding
modifications are liable to have the b changed to
v by aspiration (p. 19), as in Ardvarness in Deny,
Ardvarney and Ardvarna in several other counties,
high gap; Ballyvarnet near Bangor in Down
(Ballyvernock : Inq., 1623), the town of the gap.

The diminutive Bearndn is the real name of
the remarkable gap in the mountain now called
the Devil's Bit in Tipperary, whose contour is so
familiar to travellers on the Great Southern and
Western Railway ; and it gives name to the
parish of Barnane-Ely, i. e. the little gap of Eile,
the ancient territory in which it was situated.

A scealp [scalp] is a cleft or chasm ; the word
is much in use among the English-speaking pea-

CHAP, ii.] Plains, Valleys, Hollows, and Caves. 435

santry of the south, who call a piece of anything
cut off by a knife or hatchet, a skelp. The well-
known mountain chasm called the Scalp south of
Dublin near Enniskerry, affords the best known
and the most characteristic application of the
term, and it is worthy of remark that the people
of the place pronounce it Skelp : there are other
places of the same name in the counties of Clare,
Gralway, Dublin, and "Wicklow. Skelpy, the
name of a townland in the parish of Urney in
Donegal is an adjective form, and signifies a
place full of skelps, splits, or chasms. Scalpnagoun
in Clare is the cleft of the calves ; Moneyscalp in
Down, the shrubbery of the chasm.

Pott^ a hole of any kind ; Welsh pwtt; Manx
powll; Breton poutt ; Cornish pol ; Old High
German pful; English pool. Topographically it
is applied to holes, pits, or caverns in the earth,
deep small pools of water, very deep spots in
rivers or lakes, &c. ; in the beginning of angli-
cised names it is always made poll, poul or pull ;
and as a termination it is commonly changed to
foyle, phuill, or phull, by the aspiration of the p
(p. 20), and by the genitive inflexion ; all which
forms are exhibited in Ballinfoyle, Ballinphuill
and Ballinphull, the town of the hole, which are
the names of many places all over the country.
Often the p is eclipsed by b (p. 22) as in Bally-
naboll and Ballynaboul, Baile-na-bpoll, the town
of the holes.

The origin of the name Poolbeg, now applied
to the lighthouse at the extremity of the South
Wall in Dublin bay, may be gathered from a
passage in Boate's Natural History of Ireland,
written, it must be remembered, long before the
two great walls, now called the Bull Wall and
the South Wall, were built. He states : — " This

436 Physical Features. [PART i\

haven almost all over falieth dry with the ebbe,
as well below Rings- end as above it, so as you
may go dry foot round about the ships which lye
at an anchor there, except in two places, one at
the north side, and the other at the south side,
not far from it. In these two little creeks
(whereof the one is called the pool of Clontarf,
and the other Poolbeg) it never falleth dry, but
the ships which ride at an anchor remain ever
afloat" (Chap. III., Sec. n.). The "Pool of
Clontarf" is still caUed "The Pool;" and the
other (near which the lighthouse was built), as
being the smaller of the two, was called Poll-leag,
little pool.

There is a place near Arklow called Pollahoney,
or in Irish, Pott-a' -chotiaidh the hole of the fire-
wood ; Pollnaranny in Donegal, Pollrane in Wex-
ford, and Pollranny in Roscommon and Mayo, all
signify the hole of the ferns ; Polldorragha near
Tuam, dark hole ; Pollaginnive in Fermanagh,
sandpit ; Polfore near Dromore, Tyrone, cold
hole. So also Pouldine in Tipperary, deep hole.

The diminutive in various forms is also pretty
general. The Pullens (little caverns) near Do-
negal, " is a deep ravine through which a moun-
tain torrent leaps joyously, then suddenly plunges
through a cleft in the rock of from thirty to forty
feet in depth," and after about half a mile " it
loses itself again in a dark chasm some sixty feet
deep, from which it emerges under a natural
bridge " (The Donegal Highlands, p. 68). There
are some very fine sea caves a little west of
Castletown Bearhaven in Cork, which, as well as
the little harbour, are well known by the name of
Pulleen, little hole or cavern; and this is the
name of some other places in Cork and Kerry.
We have Pullans near Coleraine in Derry, and in

CHAP, ii.] Plains, Valleys, Holloics, and Caves. 437

the parish of Clontihret, Monaghan; Pollans in
Donegal ; and Polleens and Polleeny in Galway,
all signifying little holes or caverns. The adjec-
tive form pollack is applied to land full of pits or
holes, and it has given name to ahout thirty-five
townlands in the three southern provinces, in the
forms of Pollagh and Pullagh.

We have several words in Irish for a cave.
Sometimes, as we have seen, the term pott was
used, and the combination poll-talmhan [Poultal-
loon : hole of the earth] was occasionally employed
as a distinctive term for a cavern, giving name,
in this sense, to Polltalloon in Galway, and to
Poultalloon near Fedamore in Limerick.

Dearo or derc [derk] signifies a cave or grotto,
and also the eye. The latter is the primary
meaning, corresponding with Gr. derJco, I see,
and its application to a cave is figurative and
secondary. The word is often found in the old
MSS. ; as, for instance, in case of Derc-ferna
(cave of alders), which was the ancient name of
the Cave of Dunmore near Kilkenny, and which
is still applied to it hy those speaking Irish. In
the parish of Rathkenny in Meath is a place
called Dunkerk, the fortress of the cave ; so
named, probahly, from an artificial cave in con-
nection with the dun; there are several places
called Derk and Dirk, both meaning simply a
cave; and Aghadark in Leitrim, is the field of
the cavern.

Cuas is another term for a cave, which has also
given names to a considerable number of places :
Coos and Coose are the names of some townlands
in Down, Monaghan, and Galway; there is a
remarkable cavern near Cong called Cooslughoga,
the cave of mice ; and it is very likely that Cozies
in the parish of Billy, Antrim, is merely the

438 Physical Features. P^ART iv

English plural of Cuas, meaning "caves." Cloon-
coose, Clooncose, Cloncose, and Cloncouse, are the
names of fourteen townlands spread over the four
provinces ; the Irish form is Cluain-cuas (Four
Masters), the meadow of the caves. Sometimes
the c is changed to li by aspiration, as in Corra-
hoash in Cavan, the round- hill of the cave ; and
often we find it eclipsed by g (p. 22), as in
Drumgoose and Drumgose, the names of some
places in Armagh, Tyrone, and Monaghan, which
represent the Irish Druim-gcuas, cave ridge.
There are several places called Coosan, Coosane,
Coosaun, and Coosheen, all signifying little cave.
Round the coasts of Cork and Kerry, and perhaps
in other counties, cuas or coos is applied to a small
sea inlet or cove, and in these places the word
must be interpreted accordingly.

There is yet another word for a cave in very
general use, which I find spelled in good autho-
rities in three different ways, uagh, uaimh, and
uath [ooa] ; for all these are very probably nothing
more than modifications of the same original.
There is a class of romantic tales in Irish " re-
specting various occurrences in caves : sometimes
the taking of a cave, when the place has been
used as a place of refuge or habitation ; sometimes
the narrative of some adventure in a cave ; some-
times of a plunder of a cave; and so on"
(0' Curry, Lect., p. 283^. A tale of this kind
was called uath, i. e. cave.

The second form uaimh is the one in most
general use, and its genitive is either uamha or
uamhain [ooa, ooan], both of which we find in the
annals. Cloyne in Cork, has retained only part of
its ancient name, Cluain-uamha, as it is written in
the Book of Leinster and many other authorities,
i. e. the meadow of the cave ; this was the o]d

CHAP, ii.] Plains, Valleys, Hollows, and Caves. 439

pagan name, which St. Colnaan Mac Lenin adopted
when he founded his monastery there in the
beginning of the seventh century ; and the cave
from which the place was named so many hundred
years ago, is still to be seen there. At A. M.
1350, the Four Masters record the erection by
Emhear, of Rath uamhain, i. e. the fort of the cave
(O'Donovan's Four Masters, I., 27), which ex-
hibits the second form of the genitive.

Both of these genitives are represented in our
present names. The first very often forms the
termination oe or oo, or with the article, nahoe, or
nahoo ; as Drumnahoe in Antrim and Tyrone, and
Drumahoe in Derry, i. e. Druim-na-huamha, the
ridge of the cave ; Farnahoe near Inishannon in
Cork (Far-ran, land) ; Glennoo near Clogher in
Tyrone, and Glennahoo in Kerry, the glen of the
cave. And occasionally the v sound of the aspir-
ated m comes clearly out, as in Cornahoova in
Meath, and Cornahove in Armagh, the round-hill
of the cave ; the same as Cornahoe in Monaghan
and Longford.

The other genitive, uamhain [ooan], is also very
often used, and generally appears in the end of
names in the form of one or oon, or with the article,
nahone or nahoon ; in this manner we have Mullen-
nahone in Kilkenny, and Mullinahone in Tip-
perary, Muilenn-na-huamhain, the mill of the cave,
the latter so called from a cave near the village
through which the little river runs : Knockeen-
nahone in Kerry (little hill) ; and Lisnahoon in
Roscommon, so called, no doubt, from the artificial
cave in the lis or fort. Both forms are represented
in Gortnahoo in Tipperary, and Gornahoon in
Galway, the field of the cave ; and in Knocknahoe
in Kerry and Sligo, and Knocknahooan in Clare,
cave hill.

440 Physical features. [PART iv.

Occasionally we find this last genitive form
used as a nominative (p. 34), for, according to
O'Donovan (App. to O'Reilly's Diet.), " Uamhainn
is used in Thomond to express a natural or artifi-
cial cave." Nooaff and Nooan are the names of
some places in Clare ; they are formed by the
attraction of the article (p. 23), the former repre-
senting n'uaimh, and the latter n'uamhainn, and
both signifying " the cave." The Irish name of
Owenbristy near Ardrahan in Galway is Uamhawn-
brisde, broken cave.

Uamhainn with the mh sounded, would be pro-
nounced oovan; and this by a slight change,
effected under the corrupting influence noticed
at page 38, has given name to " The Ovens," a
small village on the river Bride, two miles west of
Ballincollig in Cork. For in this place "is a
most remarkable cave, large and long, with many
branches crossing each other " (Smith's Cork, I.,
212), which the people say runs as far as Gill
Abbey near Cork ; and by an ingenious alteration,
they have converted their fine caves or oovans into
ovens ! The ford at the village was anciently
called Ath- 'n-uamhain [Athnooan], the ford of the
cave, and this with the v sound suppressed has
given the name of Athnowen to the parish

CHAPTER III.

ISLANDS, PENINSULAS, AND STRANDS.

THE most common word for an island is inis,
genitive inse, insi, or innsi, cognate with Welsh
ynys, Arm. enes, and Lat. insula : the form insi or
innsi is sometimes used as a nominative even in

CHAP, in.] Islands, Peninsulas, and Strands. 441

the oldest and best authorities (see p. 33, sect. vii.).
It is also applied in all parts of Ireland to the
holm, or low flat meadow along a river; and a
meadow of this kind is generally called an inch
among the English-speaking people, especially in
the south. This, however, is obviously a secondary
application, and the word must have been origi-
nally applied to islands formed by the branching
of rivers ; but while many of the ^e, by gradual
changes ill the river course, lost the character of
islands, they retained the name. It is not difficult
to understand how, in the course, of ages, the word
inis would in this manner gradually come to be
applied to river meadows in general, without any
reference to actual insulation.

The principal modern forms of this word are
Inis, Inish, Ennis, and Inch, which give names to
a vast number of places in every part of Ireland ;
but whether, in any individual case, the word
means an island or a river holm, must be deter-
mined by the physical configuration of the place.
In many instances places that were insulated when
the names were imposed are now no longer so, in
consequence of the drainage of the surrounding
marshes or lakes ; as in case of Inishargy (p. 410).

Inis and Inish are the forms most generally
used, and they are the common appellations of the
islands round the coast, and in the lakes and
rivers ; they are also applied, like inch, to river
meadows. There is an island in Lough Erne,
containing the ruins of an ancient church, which
the annalists often mention by the name of Inis-
muighe-samh [moy-sauv], the island of the plain
of the sorrel ; this island is now, by a very gross
mispronunciation, called Inishmacsaint, and has
given name to the parish on the mainland.

Near the town of Ennis in Clare, is a townland

442 Physical Features. [PART iv.

called Clonroad, which preserves pretty well the
sound of the name as we find it in the annals,
Cluain-ramhfhoda, usually translated the meadow
of the long rowing : the spot where Ennis now
stands must have been originally connected in
some way with thk townland, for the annals
usually mention it by the name of Inis-Cluana-
ramfhoda, i. e. the river meadow of Clonroad.
Inishnagor in Donegal and Sligo, is a very descrip-
tive name, signifying the river meadow of the
oorrs or cranes ; there are several places in both
north and south, called Enniskeen and Inishkeen,
in Irish Inis-caein (Four Mast.), beautiful island
or river holm. Inistioge in Kilkenny is written
Inis-Teoc in the Book of Leinster, Teoc's island ;
and Ennistimon in Clare is called by the Four
Masters Inis-Diomain, Diman's river meadow.

This word very often occurs in the end of
names, usually forming with the article the ter-
mination nahinch; as in Coolnahinch, the corner or
angle of the island or river meadow. Sometimes
it is contracted, as we see in Cleenish, an island
near Enniskillen, giving name to a parish, which
ought to have been called Cleeninish ; for the Irish
name, according to the Four Masters, is Claen-
inis, i. e. sloping island.

Oilcan or oilen is another word for an island
which is still used in the spoken language, and
enters pretty extensively into names. It is com-
monly anglicised Ulan and Illaun, and these words
give names to places all over the country, but
far more numerously in Connaught than else-
where. Thus Illananummera in Tipperary, the
island of the ridge, so called no doubt from its
shape ; Illanfad in Donegal, long island, the same
as Illaunf adda in Galway ; Illauninagh near Inchi-
geelagh in Cork, ivy island ; and there are several

CHAP in.] Islands, Peninsulas, and Strands. 443

little islets off the coast of Gralway and Mayo,
called Roeillaun, red island.

A peninsula is designated by the compound leith-
insi [lehinshi] literally half-island ; and this word
gives name to all places now called Lehinch or
Lahinch, of which, besides a village in Clare
(which is mentioned by the Four Masters), there
are several in other parts of Ireland. The word
is shortened in Loughlynch in the parish of Billy,
Antrim, which ought to have been called Lough-
khinch, as it is written in the Four Masters Loch-
kithinnsi, the lake of the peninsula ; for a lake
existed there down to a recent period.

The word ros signifies, first, a promontory or
peninsula ; secondly, a wood ; and it has other
significations which need not be noticed here.
Colgan translates it nemus in Act. SS , p. 791 b, n.
15 ; and in Tr. Th., p. 383, a, n. 17, it is rendered
peninsula. By some accident of custom, the two
meanings are now restricted in point of locality ;
for in the southern half of Ireland, ros is generally
understood only in the sense of wood, while in the
north, this application is lost, and it means only r.
peninsula.

Yet there are many instances of the application
of this term to a peninsula in the south, showing
that it was formerly so understood there. A well-
known example is Ross castle on the lower lake
of Killarney, so called from the little ros or point
on which it was built. Between the middle and
lower lakes is the peninsula of Muckross, so cele-
brated for the beauty of its scenery, and for its
abbey ; its Irish name is Muc-ros, the peninsula of
the pigs ; which is also the name of a precipitous
headland near Killybegs in Donegal, and of
several other places. And west of Killamey, near
the head of Dingle bay, is a remarkable peninsula

444 Physical Features.

called Rossbehy or Rossbegh, the latter part of
which indicates that it was formerly covered with
birch trees : — birchy point.

There is a parish in Leitrim called Rossinver,
which takes its name from a point of land run-
ning into the south part of Lough Melvin —
Ros-inbhir, the Peninsula of the inver or river
mouth ; and Rossorry near Enniskillen is called in
the Four Masters, Ros-jairthir [Rossarher], eastern
peninsula, of which the modern name is a corrup-
tion. Portrush in Antrim affords an excellent
illustration of the use of this word ; it takes its
name from the well-known point of basaltic rock
which juts into the sea : — Post-ruis, the landing-
place of the peninsula. The district between the
bays of Ohveebarra and Gweedore in Donegal is
called by the truly descriptive name, The Rosses,
i. e. the peninsulas.

While it is often difficult to know which of the
two meanings we should assign to ros, the nature
of the place not unfrequently determines the
matter. Rush north of Dublin, is called in Irish
authorities Ros-eo [Rush- 6], from which the
present name has been shortened ; and as the vil-
lage is situated on a projection of land three-
fourths surrounded by the sea, we can have no
hesitation about the meaning of the first syllable :
the whole name therefore signifies the peninsula
of the yew-trees.

Traigh or tracht [tra, traght] signifies a strand;
it is found in the Zeuss MSS., and corresponds
with Lat. tractuSy "Welsh traeth, and Cornish trait.
The first form is that always adopted in modern
names, and it is generally represented by tra,
traw, or tray. One of the best known examples
of its use is Tralee in Kerry ; the Four Masters
call it Traigh-Li, and the name is translated in the

CHAP, in.] Islands, Peninsulas, and Strands. 445

Life of St. Brendan, Littus Ly, which is generally
taken to mean the shore or strand of the Lee, a
little river which runs into the sea beside the
town on the south-west side. In the Annals of
Connaught, however, the place is called " Traigh
Li mic Dedad," the strand of Li the son of Dedad'
from which it would appear that it took its name
from a man named Li (which is consistent with .
the translation in the Life of St. Brendan) ; and
this is probably the true origin of the name.
Tralee in the parish of Ardtrea, Derry, has a
different origin, the Irish name being Traigh-
Liath, grey strand. Tramore near Waterford,
great strand ; Trawnamaddree in Cork, the strand
of the dogs. Baltray, strand- town, is the name of
a village near the mouth of the Boyne ; there is a
place called Ballynatray, a name having the same
meaning, on the Blackwater, a little abovl
Youghal ; and near the same town, on the opposite
shore of the river, is Monatray, the bog of the
strand. There is a beautiful white strand at
Ventry in Kerry, from which the place got the
name of Fionn-traigh [Fintra : Fionn, white] ;
Hanmer calls it ventra, which is an intermediate
step between the ancient and modern forms.
This same name is more correctly modernised
Fintra in Clare., and Fintragh near Killybegs in
Donegal.

446 Physical Features. [PART iv

CHAPTER IV.

WATER., LAKES, AND SPRINGS.

THE common Irish word for water is uisce [iska] :
it occurs in the Zeuss MSS., where it glosses aqua
and it is cognate with Lat. unda, and Gr. hudor.
It is pretty extensively used in local names, and
it has some derivatives, which give it a wider cir-
culation. It occurs occasionally in the beginning
of names, but generally in the end, and its usual
forms are iska, ishy, and isk. Whiskey is called
in Irish uisce-beatha [iska-baha], or AS it is often
anglicised, usquebaugh, which has exactly the same
meaning as the Latin aqua vita, and the French
eau-de-vie, water of life ; and the first part of the
compound, slightly altered, now passes current as
an English word — whiskey.

At A.D. 465, the Four Masters record that Owen,
son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (see p. 139,
supra), died of grief for his brother Oonall Gulban,
and that he was buried at Uisce-chaein, whose
name signifies beautiful water. This place is now
called Eskaheen, preserving very nearly the old
sound ; it is situated near Muff in Inishowen, and
it received its name from a fine spring, where,
according to Colgan, there anciently existed a
monastery. No tradition of Owen is preserved
there now (see O'Donovan, Four Mast. I., 146).

Knockaniska, the name of some places in Water-
ford, is the hill of the water ; there is a parish in
Wicklow, called Killiskey, the church of the water,
and the little stream that gave it the name still
runs by the old church ruin ; the same name exists
in Wexford, shortened to Killisk, and in King's

CHAP, iv.] Water, Lakes, and Springs. 447

County it is made Killiskea. Balliniska and Bally-
nisky are the names of two townlands in Lime-
rick, both signifying the town of the water ; and
the village of Ballisk near Donabate in Dublin,
has the same name, only without the article.
Bally hisky in Tipperary is a different name, viz.,
Bealach-uisce, the road of the water, the h in the
present name representing the ch of bealach.

According to Cormac's Glossary, esc is another
ancient Irish word for water — " esc, i. e. uisce :"
its original application is lost, but in some parts of
Ireland, especially in the south, it is applied to the
track of a stream or channel, cut by water, either
inland or on the strand. It has given name to
some townlands called Esk in Kerry; and to
Eskenacartan in Cork, the stream-track of the
forge. The glen under the south slope of Cro-
maglan mountain at Killarney is called Eskna-
mucky, the stream- track of the pig ; and this is
also the name of a townland in Cork. The name
of Lough Eask near Donegal may be formed from
this word (the lake of the channel) ; but more pro-
bably it is from iasc, fish — Loch-eisc, the lake of the
fish. Many names in Wexford contain the syl-
lable ask, which is a good anglicised form of this
word esc.

Loch signifies a lake, cognate with Lat. lacus,
English, lake, &c. The word is applied both in
Ireland and Scotland, not only to lakes, but to arms
of the sea, of which there are hundreds of ex-
amples round the coasts of both countries. The
almost universal anglicised form in this country is
lough, but in Scotland they have preserved the
original loch unchanged. As the word is well
known and seldom disguised in obscure forms, a
few examples of its use will be sufficient here.

The lake names of Ireland are generally

448 Physical Features. [PART iv

up of this word, followed by some limiting term,
such as a man's name, an adjective, &c. Thus
the lakes of Killarney were anciently, and are often
still, called collectively, Lough Leane ; and accord-
ing to the Dinnsenchus, they received that name
from Lean of the white teeth, a celebrated artificer
who had his forge on the shore. Lough Conn in
Mayo is called in the Book of Ballymote and
other authorities, Loch-Con, literally the lake of
the hound ; but it is probable that Con, or as it
would stand in the nominative, Cu, is here also a
man's name. Loughrea in Galway is called in the
annals, Loch-riabhach, grey lake.

Great numbers of townlands, villages, and
parishes, take their names from small lakes, as in
the widely-extended names Ballinlough and Bally-
lough, the town of the lake. In numerous cases
the lakes have been dried up, either by natural or
artificial drainage, leaving no trace of their exist-
ence except the names.

The town of Carlow is called in Irish authori-
ties, Cetherloch, quadruple lake ; and the tradition
is that the Barrow anciently formed four lakes
there, of which, however, there is now no trace.
The Irish name is pronounced Caherloiigh, which
was easily softened down to the present name. By
early English writers it is generally called Cather-
logh or Katherlagh, which is almost identical with
the Irish; Boate calls it " Catherlogh or Carlow,"
showing that in his time the present form was
beginning to be developed.

The diminutive lochan is of very general occur«
rence in the anglicised forms Loughan, Loughane,
and Loughaun, all names of places, which were so
called from " small lakes." There is a place in
Westmeath, near Athlone, called Loughanaskin,
whose Irish name is Lochan-easgann, the little lake

CHAP. iv.J Water, Lakes, and Springs. 449

of the eels ; Loughanreagh near Coleraine in Lon-
donderry, grey lakelet ; and Loughanstown, the
name of several places in Limerick, Meath, and
Westmeath, is a translation from Baile-an-lochain,
the town of the little lake ; which is retained in
the untranslated forms Ballinloughan, Bally-
loughan, and Ballyloughaun, in other counties.
But Ballinloughane in the parish of Dunmoylan,
near Shanagolden in Limerick, is a different
name ; for it is corrupted from Baile- Ui- Gheil-
eachain [Ballygeelahan], as the Four Masters
write it, which signifies O'Geelahan's town (see
2nd Volume. Chap. vin.).

Turlough is a term very much used in the west
of Ireland ; and it is applied to a lake which dries
up in summer, exhibiting generally, at that season,
a course, scrubby, marshy surface, which is often
used for pasture. It gives names to several places
in the counties west of the Shannon (including
Clare), a few of which are mentioned by the
Four Masters, who write the word turlach. There
are two townlands in Roscommon called Ballin-
turly, the town of the turlach. The root of this
word is fur, which, according to Cormac's Glos-
sary, signifies dry ; but the lach in the end is a
mere suffix (see this suffix in 2nd Yol., Chap, i.),
and not loch, a lake, as might naturally be thought :
— turlach, a dried-upspot (which had formerly been
wet). This appears evident from the fact that
the Four Masters write its genitive, turlaigh, in
which laigh is the proper genitive of the postfix
lach, and not of loch, a lake, which makes locha in
the genitive.

Wells have been at all times held in veneration

in Ireland. It appears from the most ancient

Lives of St. Patrick, and from other authorities,

that before the introduction of Christianity, they

VOL. i. 30

4f>0 Physical Features. [PART iv

were not only venerated, but actually worshipped,
both in Ireland and Scotland. Thus in Adamnan's
Life of St. Columba we read : — " Another time,
remaining for some days in the country of thePicts,
the holy man (Columba) heard of a fountain famous
amongst this heathen people, which foolish men,
blinded by the devil, worshipped as a divinity. . .
The pagans, seduced by these things, paid di-
vine honour to the fountain" (Lib. II. Cap. xi ).
And Tirechan relates in the Book of Armagh, that
St. Patrick, in his progress through Ireland, came
to a fountain called Slan [Slaun], which the
druids worshipped as a god, and to which they
used to offer sacrifices. Some of the well customs
that have descended even to our own day, seem to
be undoubted vestiges of this pagan adoration (see
2nd Vol., Chap. v.).

After the general spread of the Faith, the
people's affection for wells was not only retained
out intensified ; for most of the early preachers of
the Gospel established their humble foundations —
many of them destined to grow in after years into
great religious and educational institutions — be-
side those fountains, whose waters at the same time
supplied the daily wants of the little communities,
and served for the baptism of converts. In this
manner most of our early saints became associated
with wells, hundreds of which still retain the
names of these holy men, who converted and bap-
tised the pagan multitudes on their margins.

The most common Irish name for a well is tobar;
it enters into names all over Ireland, and it is
subject to very little alteration from its original
form. Tober is the name of about a dozen town-
lands, and begins those of more than 130 others,
all of them called from wells, and many from
.veils associated with the memory of patron saints.

CHAP, iv.] Water, Lakes, and Springs. 451

The following are a few characteristic examples.
At Ballintober in Mayo, there was a holy well
called Tober Stingle, which was blessed by St
Patrick ; and the place was therefore called Ballin-
tober Patrick, the town of St. Patrick's well, which
is its general name in the annals. It was also called
Baik-na-craibhi [Ballynacreeva : Book of Lecan],
the town of the branchy tree, which is still partly
retained in the name of the adjacent townland
of Creevagh. This well has quite lost its venerable
associations; for it is called merely Tobermore
(great well), and is not esteemed holy. The place
is now chiefly remarkable for the fine ruins of the
abbey erected by Cathal of the red hand, king of
Connaught, in the year 1216 (see O'Donovan in
" Hy Fiachrach," p. 1 91) . Ballintober and Bally-
tober (the town of the well), are the names of
about twenty- four townlands distributed through
the four provinces (see p. 264 supra).

Tobercurry in Sligo is called in Irish, and
written by Mac Firbis, Tobar-an-choire, the well
of the caldron, from its shape. Carrowntober,
the name of many townlands, signifies the quarter-
land of the well. Toberbunny near Cloughran in
Dublin signifies the well of the milk (Tobar-
bainne}, and Toberlownagh in Wicklowhas nearly
the same meaning (Tobar-leamhnachta : kamhnacht
[lownaghtj, new milk) ; both being so called
probably from the softness of their waters. Some
wells take their names from the picturesque old
trees that overshadow them, and which are pre-
served by the people with great veneration ; such
as Toberbilly in Antrim, Tobar-bile the well of the
ancient tree ; the same name as Tobera villa north-
east of Moate in Westmeath.

In case of some holy wells, it was the custom
to visit them and perform devotions on particular

452 Physical Features. [PART TV.

days of the week ; and this has been commemorated
by such names as Toberaheena, which is that of a
well and village in Tipperary, signifying the well
of Friday. A great many wells in different parts
of the country are called Tobar-righ-an-domhnaigh
[Toberreendowney : see p. 319], literally the well
of the king of Sunday (i. e. of God) ; one of which
gave name to the village of Toberreendoney in
Galway. It is probable that these were visited on
Sundays, and they are generally called in English,
Sunday's Well, as in case of the place of that
name near Cork.

Sometimes to bar takes the form of Tipper, which
is the name of a parish in Kildare, and of two
townlands in Longford ; Tipperstown in Dublin
and Kildare is only a half translation from Baile-
an-tobair, the town of the well ; Tipperkevin, St.
Kevin's well. Of similar formation is Tibber-
aghny, the name of a townland and parish in
Kilkenny, which the annalists write Tiobraid-
FacMna [Tibbradaghna], St. Faghna's well. Oc-
casionally the t is changed to h by aspiration, as
in Mohober in the parish of Lismalin in Tipperary,
which Clyn, in his annals, writes Moytobyr, the
field or plain of the well.

In Cormac's Glossary and other ancient docu-
ments, we find another form of this word, namely,
tipra, whose genitive is tiprat, and dative tiprait.
In accordance with the principle noticed at p. 33,
supra, the dative tiprait, or as it is written in the
later Irish writings, tiobraid [tubbrid], gives name
to sixteen townlands scattered through the four
provinces, now called Tubbrid. Geoffrey Keating
the historian was parish priest of Tubbrid near
Cahir in Tipperary, where he died about the year
1650, and was buried in the churchyard. The
word takes other modern forms, as we find in

CHAP, iv.] Water, Lakes, and Springs. 453

Clontibret in Monaghan, which the annalists write
Cluain-tiobrat, the meadow of the spring. The
well that gave name to the town of Tipperary,
and thence to the county, was situated near the
Main-street, but it is now closed up ; it is called
in all the Irish authorities, Tiobraid-Arann [Tu-
brid-Auran] the well of Ara (Ara, gen. Arann),
the ancient territory in which it was situated.
Other forms are exhibited in Aghatubrid in
Donegal, Cork, and Kerry, the field of the well, the
same as Aghintober elsewhere ; in Ballintubbert
and Ballintubbrid, the same as Ballintober ; and
in Kiltubbrid, the same name as Kiltober, the
church of the well*

Varan or fuaran is explained by Colgan, " a
living fountain of fresh or cold water springing
from the earth." It is not easy to say whether
the initial /is radical or not; if it be, the word is
obviously derived from fuar, cold ; if not, it comes
from ur, fresh ; and Colgan's explanation leaves
the question undecided.

This word gives name to Oranmore in Galway,
which the Four Masters call Uaran-mor, great
spring. Oran in Roscommon was once a place of
great consequence, and is frequently mentioned in
the annals ; it contains the ruins of a church and
round tower ; and the original uaran or spring is
a holy well, which to this day is much frequented
by pilgrims.

Oran occurs pretty often in names, such as
Knockanoran (knock, a hill), in Queen's County
and Cork; Ballinoran and Ballynoran (Bally, a
town), the names of many townlands through the
four provinces ; Tinoran in Wicklow, Tigh-an-
uarain, the house of the spring ; Carrickanoran in
Kilkenny and Monaghan (Carrick, a rock) ; and
Lickoran, the name of a parish in Waterford, the
flag-stone of the cold spring.

454 Physical Features [PABT iv.

CHAPTER V.

RIVERS, STREAMLETS, AND WATERFALLS.

THE Irish language has two principal words for a
river — dbh or abha [aw or ow] and abhainn, which
are identified in meaning in Cormac's Glossary, in
the following short passage : — " Abh, i. e. abhainn."
There are many streamlets in Ireland designated
by dbh; and it also enters into the names of
numerous townlands and villages, which have a
stream flowing through or by them. So far as
I have yet observed, I find that abh is used only
in the southern half of Ireland.

The word is used simply as the name of a small
river in Wicklow, the Ow, i. e. the river, rising on
the south-eastern slope of Lugnaquillia ; Awbeg,
Owbeg, or Owveg, little river, is the name of
many streams, so called to distinguish them from
larger rivers near them, or to which they are
tributary. The Ounageeragh, the river of the
sheep (Abh-na-gcaerach), is a tributary of the
Funcheon in Cork ; Finnow is the name of several
small streams, signifying white or transparent
river ; there is a place a few miles east of Tip-
perary called Cahervillahowe, the stone fort of the
old tree (bile) of the river ; and Ballynahow, the
town of the river, is a townland name of frequent
occurrence in Munster, but not found elsewhere.

Abhainn [owen], which corresponds with the
Sanscrit avani, is in much more general use than
abh; and it is the common appellative in the
spoken language for a river. It is generally angli-
cised awn or owen, and there are great numbers of

CHAP, v.] Rivers, Streamlets, and Waterfalls. 455

river names through the country formed from
these words. Abhainn-mor, great river, is the
name of many rivers in Ireland, now generally
called Avonmore or Owenmore ; this was and is
still, the Irish name of the Blackwater in Cork
(often called Broadwater by early Anglo-Irish
writers), and also of the Blackwater in Ulster,
flowing into Lough Neagh by Charlemont.

The word abhainn has three different forms in
the genitive, viz., abhann, abhanna, and aibhne
[oun, ouna, ivne], which are illustrated in the
very common names Ballynahown, Ballynahone,
Ballynahowna, and Ballynahivnia, all signifying
the town of the river.

Abhnach [ounagh] is an adjective formation
from abhainn, signifying literally " abounding in
rivers," but applied to a marshy or watery place ;
and it gives name to Ounagh in Sligo ; and to
Onagh in Wicklow. The name of Glanworth in
Cork is written in the Book of Eights, Gkann-
amhnach [Glanounagh], i. e. the watery or marshy
glen ; but its present Irish name is Gleann-iubhair
[Glanoor], the glen of the yew-tree ; and I believe
that it is from this, and not from the Gleann*
amhnach, the anglicised form has been derived.
The parish of Boyounagh in Galway takes its
name from the original church, which is situated
in a bog, and which the Four Masters call Buidhe*
amhnach [Bweeounagh] i. e. yellow marsh, proba
bly from the yellowish colour of the grass or
flowers. Boyanagh and Boyannagh, the names
of places in Roscommon, Leitrim, and Westmeath,
are slightly different in form though identical in
meaning, the latter part being eanach, another
name for a marsh (see p. 461 infra) ; and Boynagh
in Meath may be either the one or the other.

Glaise, or glais or glas [glasha, glash, glas],

456 Physical Features. [PART iv.

signifies a small stream, a rivulet ; it is very often
used to give names to streams, and thence to
townlands, all over Ireland, and its usual angli-
cised forms are glaska, glash and glush. Glashawee
and Glashaboy, yellow streamlet, are the names of
several little rivers and townlands in Cork ; and
there is a place near Ardstraw in Tyrone, called
Glenglush, the glen of the streamlet. The little
stream flowing into the sea at Glasthule near
Kingstown in Dublin, has given the village
the name: — Glas-TuathaiL Thoohal's or Toole's
streamlet. Douglas is very common both as a
river and townland designation all over the
country, and it is also well known in Scotland :
its Irish form is Dubhghlaise, black stream ; and
in several parts of the country it assumes the
forms of Douglasha and Dooglasha, which are the
names of many streams.

There is a little streamlet at Glasnevin near
Dublin, which winds in a pretty glen through the
classic grounds of Delville, and joins the Tolka at
the bridge. In far remote ages, beyond the view
of history, long before St. Mobhi established his
monastery there in the sixth century, some old
pagan chief named Naeidhe [Nee] must have
resided on its banks ; from him it was called Glas-
Naeidhen [Glasneean : Four Mast.], i. e. Naeidhe' s
streamlet ; and the name gradually extended to
the village, while its original application is quite
forgotten. This ancient name is modernised to
Glasnevin by the change of dh to v (see p. 54, supra}.

The diminutive Glasheen is also in frequent use
as a territorial designation ; Glasheenaulin near
Castlehaven in Cork, signifies literally beautiful
little streamlet ; Glasheena or Glashina is " a place
abounding in little streams ; " and Ardglushin in
Cavan, signifies the height of the little rivulet.

CHAP, v.] Hivers, Streamlets, and Waterfalls. 457

Sruth [sruh] means a stream, and is in very
common use both in the spoken and written lan-
guage. It is an ancient and primitive word in
Irish, being found in the Wb. MS. of Zeuss, where
it glosses flumen, rivus; it is almost identical with
Sansc. srdta, a river; and its cognates exist in
several other languages, such as Welsh frut,
Cornish frot, Slavonic struja, Old High German
stroum, Eng. stream (Ebel).

Sruth occurs pretty often in names, and its
various derivatives, especially the diminutives,
have also impressed themselves extensively on the
nomenclature of the country. In its simple form
it gives names to Srue in Gralway ; to Shruh in
"Waterford ; and to Shrough in Tipperary ;
Ballystrew near Downpatrick is the town of the
stream.

Sruthair [sruhar], a derivative from sruth, is in
still more general use, and signifies also a stream ;
it undergoes various modern modifications, of
which the commonest is the change of the final r
to / (see p. 48). Abbeyshrule in Longford was
anciently called Sruthair, i. e. the stream, and it
took its present name from a monastery founded
there by one of the O'Farrells. Abbeystrowry in
Cork is the same name, and it was so called from the
stream that also gives name to Bealnashrura (ford-
mouth of the stream), a village situated at an
ancient ford. Struell near Downpatrick is written
Strohill in the Taxation of 1306, showing that the
change from r to / took place before that early
period ; but the r is retained in a grant of about
the year of 1178, in which the place is called
Tirestruther, the land of the streamlet. The cele-
brated wells of St. Patrick are situated here, which
in former times were frequented by persons from
all quarters ; and the stream flowing from them

458 Physical Features. [PART iv.

must have given the place its name (see Reeves' s
Eccl. Ant., pp. 42, 43). The change of r to /
appears also in Sroolane and Srooleen, which are
often applied to little streams in the south, and
which are the names of some townlands.

Sruthan [sruhaun], the diminutive of sruth,
enters very often into local names in every part of
Ireland ; and it is peculiarly liahle to alteration,
both by corruption and by grammatical inflexion,
so that it is often completely disguised in modern
names. In its simple form it gives name to
Sroughan in Wicklow ; and with a t inserted (p.
60), and the aspirate omitted, to Stroan in Antrim,
Kilkenny, and Cavan. The sound of th in this
word is often changed to that of f (p. 52), con-
verting it to sruffan or sruffaun, a term in common
use in some parts of Ireland, especially in Galway,
for a small stream. And lastly, the substitution
of t for s by eclipse (p. 22), leads to still further
alteration, which is exemplified in Killeenatruan
in Longford, Cillin-a -tsruthain, the little church
of the stream ; Carntrone in Fermanagh, the earn
or monumental heap of the streamlet.

Feadan [f addaun] is a common word for a brook,
and it enters largely into local names; it is a
diminutive of fead [fad], and the literal meaning
of both is a pipe, tube, or whistle ; whence in a
secondary sense, they came to be applied to those
little brooks whose channels are narrow and deep,
like a tube.

From this word we get such names as Faddan,
Feddan, Fiddan, Fiddane, &c. ; Fiddaunnageeroge
near Crossmolina in Mayo, is the little brook of
the keeroges or chafers. With the / sound sup-
pressed under the influence of the article (p. 27),
we have Ballyneddan in Down and Ballineddan
in Wicklow, Baile-an-fheadain, the town of the

CHAP, v.] Rivers, Streamlets, and Waterfalls. 459

streamlet. Fedany in Down, is from the Irish
Feadanach, which signifies a streamy place.

Iribhear [inver], old Irish inbir (Cor. OH.), means
the mouth of a river ; "a bay into which a river
runs, or a long narrow neck of the sea, resembling
a river " (Dr. Todd). The word is pretty common
in Ireland, and equally so in Scotland, generally
in the form of inver, but it is occasionally ob-
scured by modern contraction. At A.D. 639, the
Four Masters record the death of St. Dagan of
Inbhear-Daeile [Invereela], i. e. the mouth of the
river Deel ; this place, which lies in Wicklow,
four miles north from Arklow, retains the old
name, modernised to Ennereilly, though the river
is no longer called the Deel, but the Pennycome-
quick. The townland of Dromineer in Tipperary,
which gives name to a parish, is situated where
the Nenagh river enters Lough Derg ; and hence
it is called in Irish Druim-inbhir, the ridge of the
river-mouth.

It would appear that waterfalls were objects of
special notice among the early inhabitants of this
country, for almost every fall of any consequence
in our rivers has a legend of its own, and has
impressed its name on the place in which it is
situated. The most common Irish word for a
waterfall is eas [ass] or ess, gen. easa [assa] ; and
the usual modern forms are, for the nominative,
ass and ess, and often for the genitive, assa and
assy, but sometimes ass or ess.

Doonass near Castleconnell was so called from
the great rapid on the Shannon, the Irish name
being Dun-easa, the fortress of the cataract ; but
its ancient name was Eas-Danainne [Ass-Danniny:
Four Mast.], the cataract of the lady Danann (for
whom see p. 164, supra). The old name of the
fall at Caherass near Groom in Limerick, was Ess-

460 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Maighe [Ass-Ma : Book of Leinster], i. e. the
waterfall of the river Maigue ; and the name
Caherass was derived, like Doonass, from a fort
built on its margin. There is a fall on the river
that flows through Mountmellick in Queen's
Bounty, which has given to the stream the name
jf Owenass ; in Glendalough is a well-known dell
where a rivulet falls from a rock into a deep clear
pool, hence called Pollanass, the pool of the
waterfall ; and the same name in another form,
Poulanassy, occurs in the parish of Kilmacow,
Kilkenny.

The Avonbeg forms the Ess fall, at the head of
Glenmalure in "Wicklow ; and the Vartry as it
enters the Devil's Glen, is precipitated over a series
of rocky ledges, from which the place is called
Bonanass, a local corruption of Bellanass, the ford
of the cataracts (as Ballinalee in the same county,
properly Bellanalee, is locally called Bonalee :
(see p. 470, infra}. Ballyness, the town (or per-
haps in some cases the ford) of the waterfall, is
the name of seven townlands in the northern
counties ; and the diminutive Assan, Assaun,
Essan, and Essaun, are also very common.

The beautiful rapid on the Owenmore river at
Ballysadare in Sligo, has given name to the village.
It was originally called Easdara [Assdara], the
cataract of the oak ; or according to an ancient
legend, the cataract of Red Dara, a Fomorian druid
who was slain there by Lewy of the long hand
(see pp. 162, 202). It afterwards took the name
of Baile-easa-Dara [Ballyassadarra : Four Mast.],
the town of Dara's cataract, which has been short-
ened to the present name.

Scarddn signifies a small cascade : an eas is a
fall of a considerable body of water : a scarddn is
formed by the fall of a streamlet or feaddn (p. 458).

CHAP, vi.] Marshes and Bogs. 461

From this word several townlands in the western
and north-western counties are called Scardan,
Scardaun, and Scardans — all named from little
waterfalls.

CHAPTER VI.

MARSHES AND BOGS.

THERE are several words in Irish to denote a
marsh, all used in the formation of names ; but in
thousands of cases the marshes have been drained,
and the land placed under cultivation, the names
alone remaining to attest the existence of swamps
in days long past. One of these words, eanach
[annagh], signifies literally a watery place, and is
derived from ean, water. In some parts of the
country it is applied to a cut-out bog, an applica-
cation easily reconcilable with the original signi-
fication. It appears generally in the forms Annagh,
Anna, and Anny, and these, either simply or in
combination, give names to great numbers of
places in every part of the country.

Annaduff in Leitrim is called by the Four
Masters, Eanagh-dubh, black marsh ; Annabella
near Mallow has an English look ; but it is the
Irish Eanach-bile, the marsh of the UlS or old tree;
Annaghaskin in Dublin, near Bray, the morass of
the eels (easgan, an eel). As a termination this
word generally becomes -army or -enny, in accord-
ance with the sound of the genitive eanaigh ; as in
Grortananny in Gal way, the field of the marsh ;
Inchenny in Tyrone, which the Four Masters call
Inis-eanaigh, the island or river-holm of the marsh

462 Physical Features. [PART iv.

There are several places in Munster called Rath-
army the fort of the marsh ; and Legananny the
lug or hollow of the marsh, is the name of two
townlands in Down. In some of the northern
counties, this form is adopted in the beginning of
the name (p. 33), as in Annyalty in Monaghan,
the marsh of the flocks (ealta).

Carcach, a marsh — low swampy ground : it is
used in every part of Ireland, and assumes various
forms, which will be best understood from the
following examples.

After St. Finbar, in the sixth century, had
spent some years in the wild solitude of Loch Ire,
now Gougane Barra, St. Barra's or Finbar's rock-
cleft, at the source of the Lee, he changed his
residence, and founded a monastery on the edge
of a marsh near the mouth of the same river,
round which a great city subsequently grew up.
This swampy place was known for many hundred
years afterwards by the name of Corcach-mor or
Corcach-mor-mumhan [Mooan], the great marsh of
Munster ; of which only the first part has been
retained, and even that shortened to one syllable
in the present name of Cork. The city is still,
however, universally called Corcach by those who
speak Irish ; and the memory of the old swamp is
perpetuated in the name of The Marsh, which is
still applied to a part of the city.

Corkagh is the name of several places in other
counties ; while in the form of Corkey it is found
in Antrim and Donegal. And we often meet with
the diminutives, Curkeen, Curkin, and Corcaghan,
little marsh. Corcas, another form of the word,
is also very common, and early English topo-
graphical writers on Ireland often speak of the
corcasses or marshes as very numerous. It has
given names to many places in the northern coun-

CHAP, vi.] Marshes and Bogs. 463

ties, now called Corkish, Curkish, Corcashy,
Corkashy, &c.

Cuirreach, or as it is written in modern Irish,
currach, has two meanings, a racecourse, and a
morass. In its first sense it gives name to the
Curragh of Kildare, which has been used as a
racecourse from the most remote ages.* In the
second sense, which is the more general, it enters
into names in the forms Curra, Curragh, and
Curry, which are very common through the four
provinces. Curraghmore, great morass, is the
name of nearly thirty townlands scattered over the
sountry ; Currabaha and Currabeha, the marsh of
the birch-trees. There are more than thirty
places, all in Munster, called Curraheen, little
marsh : and this name is sometimes met with in
the forms Currin and Curreen.

Sescenn, a quagmire, a marshy, boggy, or sedgy
place ; it occurs in Cormac's Glossary, where it is
given as the equivalent of cuirreach. It is used in
giving names to places throughout the four
provinces ; and its usual modern forms are Sheskin
and Seskin. Seskinrea in Carlow, grey marsh ;
Sheskinatawy in the parish of Inver, Donegal,
Sescenn-a'-tsamhaidh, the. marsh of the sorrel.
When it comes in as a termination, the initial s is
often eclipsed by t (p. 23) ; as we see in Ballin-
teskin, the name of several places in Leinster. in
Irish Baile-an-tsescinn, the town of the quagmire.

Riasg or riasc [reesk] signifies a moor, marsh,
or fen. There are twenty -two townlands scattered
through the four provinces, called Biesk, Reisk,
Risk, and Reask ; and near Finglas in Dublin, is
a place called Kilreisk, the church of the morass.

* See Mr. Hennessy's interesting paper " On the Curragh >f
Kildare," Proc. R.I.A.

464 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Rusg is another form of the same word, which is
much used in local nomenclature, though it is not
given in the dictionaries ; occurring commonly as
Roosk and Rusk. The old church that gave name
to the parish of Tullyrusk in Antrim, stood in the
present graveyard, which occupies the summit of
a gentle hill, rising from marshy ground : hence
the name, which Colgan writes Tulach-ruisc, the
hill of the morass (Reeves, Eccl. Ant., p. 6). The
adjective forms rusgach and rusgaidh [roosky], are
in still more general use ; they give names to all
those places called Roosky, Rooskagh, Roosca,
Rousky, and Rusky, of which there are about fifty
in the four provinces, all of which were originally
fenny or marshy places ; Ballyroosky in Donegal,
the town of the marsh.

Cala or caladh [calla] has two distinct meanings,
reconcilable, however, with each other: 1. In
some parts of Ireland it means a ferry, or a land-
ing-place for boats ; 2. In Longford, Westmeath,
Roscommon, Gralway, &c., and especially along the
course of the Shannon, it is used to signify a low
marshy meadow along a river or lake which is
often flooded in winter, but always grassy in
summer. Callow, the modernised form, is quite
current as an English word in those parts of the
country, a " callow meadow" being a very usual
expression ; and it forms part of the names of a
great many places.

There is a parish in Tipperary called Temple-
achally, the church of the callow. Ballinchalla is
now the name of a parish verging on Lough Mask
in Mayo. The Four Masters call it the Port of
Lough Mask, and it is also called in Irish the
Cala of Lough Mask, both meaning the landing-
place of Lough Mask : the present name is angli-
cised from the Irish Baile-an-chala, the town of
the callow or Ian ling-place.

CHAP, vi.] Marshes and Bogs. 465

Maethail [mwayhill] signifies soft or spongy
land, from the root maeth [mway], soft. The best
known example of its use is Mohill in the county
Leitrim, which is called in Irish authorities,
Maethail-Manchain, from St Manchan or Mon-
aghan, who founded a monastery there in the
seventh century, and who is still remembered.
The parish of Mothel in Waterford is called
Moethail-Bhrogain in O'Clery's Calendar, from St.
Brogan, the patron, who founded a monastery
there ; and there is another parish in Kilkenny
called Mothell ; in both of which the aspirated t
is restored (see p. 43). The term is very correctly
represented by Moyhill in Clare and Heath ; and we
find it also in other names, such as Cahermohill or
Cahermoyle in Limerick, the stone fort of the soft
land ; Knockmehill in Tipperary, the soft-surfaced
hifl ; and Corraweehill in Leitrim, the round-hill
of the wet land (see Dr. Reeves' s learned essay
" On the Culdees," Trans. R.I.A., XXIV., 175).
Imleach [imlagh] denotes land bordering on a
lake, and hence a marshy or swampy place ; the
root appears to be imeal, a border or edge. It is
a term in pretty common use in names, principally
in the forms Emlagh and Emly. The most re-
markable place whose name is derived from this
word, is the village of Emly in Tipperary, well
known as the ancient see of St. Ailbe, one of the
primitive Irish saints. In the Book of Lismore,
and indeed in all the Irish authorities, it is called
Imleach-iubhair, the lake marsh of the yew-tree.
The lake, on the margin of which St. Ailbe
selected the site for his establishment, does not
now exist, but it is only a few years since the last
vestige of it was drained.

Miliuc [meelick], is applied to low marshy
ground, or to land bordering on a lake or river,
VOL. i. 31

466 Physical Features. [PART iv.

and seems synonymous with imleach. It occurs in
Leinster, Munster, and Ulster, but it is much
more general in Connaught than in the other
provinces ; and in the form Meelick it is the name
of about 30 townlands. The old anglicised name
of Mountmellick in Queen's County, which is even
still occasionally heard among the people, is
Montiaghmeelick, i. e. the bogs or boggy land of
the meelick or marsh ; and the latter part of the
name is still retained by the neighbouring townland
of Meelick.

Murbhach [Murvagh], a flat piece of land ex-
tending along the sea ; a salt marsh. The word
occurs as a general term in Cormac's Glossary
(voce " tond"), where the sea waves are said to
" shave the grass from off the murbhach." In the
Book of Rights it is spelled murmhagh, which
points to the etymology iT-muir, the sea, and
maghy a plain — murmhagh, sea plain.

The name occurs once in the Four Masters,
when they mention Murbhach in Donegal, which
is situated near Ballyshannon, and is now called
Murvagh. In that county the word is still well
understood, and pretty often used to give names
to places. In other counties it is changed to
Murvey, Murragh, Murroogh, and Murreagh ; and
it is still further softened in the "Murrow of
Wicklow," which is now a beautiful grassy sward,
and affords a good illustration of the use of the
word. There is a small plain called Murbhach, in
the north-west end of the great island of Aran,
from which the island itself is called in "Hy
Fiachrach" Ara of the plain of Murbhach; and
the name still lives as part of the compound Cill-
Murbhaigh, the church of the sea-plain, now
anglicised Kilmurvy.

Muirisc [murrisk] is a sea-shore marsh, and is

CHAP, vi.] Marshes and Bogs. 467

nearly synonymous with murbhach. Two places
in Connaught of this name are mentioned in the
annals : — one is a district in the north of Sligo,
lying to the east of the river Easky ; and the other
a narrow plain between Croagh Patrick and the
sea, where an abbey was erected on the margin of
the bay, which was called the abbey of Murrisk,
and which in its turn gave name lo the barony.

Moin [mone] a bog, corresponds with Lat.
mom, a mountain, and the Irish word is sometimes
understood in this sense. As may be expected
from the former and present abundance of bogs in
Ireland, we have a vast number of places named
from them in every part of the country ; but in
numerous cases the bogs are cut away, and the
land cultivated. The syllable mon, which begins
a great number of names, is generally to be re-
ferred to this word ; but there are many excep-
tions, which, however, are in general easy to be
distinguished.

Monabraher, near Limerick, is called by the
Four Masters, Moin-na-mbrathar, the bog of the
friars ; and there are two townlands in Cork, one
in Galway, and another in Waterf ord, of the same
name, but spelled a little differently; the two
latter, Monambraher and Monamraher, respec-
tively. Monalour near Lismore, signifies the bog
of the lepers ; Monamintra, a parish in Waterford,
is anglicised from Moin-na-mbaintreabhaigh [Mon-
amointree], the bog of the widows ; ^onanearla
near Thurles, the earl's bog ; Moanmore, Monmore,
and Monvore, great bog.

As a termination, this word often takes the
form of nona, as is seen in Ballynamona and
Ballinamona, the town of the bog, the names of a
great many places in Leinster, Connaught, and
Munster; Knocknamona, the hill of the bog.

468 Physical features. [PART iv.

Sometimes the m of this termination is aspirated
(p. 19), as in Ardvone near Ardagh in Limerick,
which is in Irish Ardmhoin, high bog.

The diminutive Moneen is also very much used,
being the name of more than twenty townlands in
all the four provinces. Moneenagunnel in King's
County, is the little bog of the candles ; Moneena-
brone in Cavan, the little bog of the quern ;
Ballymoneen, the town of the little bog. There
are two other diminutives, Mointin, and Mointedn.
The first is the most common, and takes the
anglicised forms Moanteen, Moneteen, and Mon-
teen : Monteenasudder in Cork, the little bog of
the tanner (see for tanners, 2nd Vol., Chap. vi.).
The adjective mointeach signifies a boggy place,
and it gives name to several places now called
Montiagh and Montiaghs.

CHAPTER VII.

ANIMALS.

ALL our native animals, without a single excep-
tion, have been commemorated in names of places.
In the course of long ages, human agency effects
vast changes in the distribution of animals, as well
as in the other physical conditions of the country ;
some are encouraged and increased; some are
banished to remote and hilly districts ; and others
become altogether extinct. But by a study oi
local names we can tell what animals formerly
abounded, and we are able to identify the very
spots resorted to by each particular kind.

Some writers have attempted to show that
certain animals were formerly worshipped in Ire-
land, so that the literary public have lately
become quite familiarised with such terms as

CHAP, vii.] Animals. 469

" bovine cultus," " porcine cultus,'' &c. ; and the
main argument advanced is, that the names of
those animals are interwoven with our local
nomenclature. But if this argument be allowed,
it will prove that our forefathers had the most ex-
tensive pantheon of any people on the face of the
earth : — they must have adored all kinds of
animals indiscriminately — not only cows and pigs,
but also geese, sea-gulls, and robin-redbreasts, and
even pismires, midges, and fleas.* I instance this,
not so much to illustrate the subject I have in
hands, as to show to what use the study of local
names may be turned, when not ballasted by suf-
ficient knowledge, and directed by sound phil-
osophy.

The Cow. From the most remote ages, cows
formed one of the principal articles of wealth of
the inhabitants of this country ; they were in fact
the standard of value, as money is at the present
day; and prices, wages, and marriage portions,
were estimated in cows by our ancestors. Of all
the animals known in Ireland, the cow is, accord-
ingly, the most extensively commemorated in local
names.

The most general Irish word for a cow is bo, not
only at the present day, but in the oldest MSS. :
in the Sg. MS. of Zeuss it glosses bos, with which
it is also cognate. It is most commonly found in
our present names in the simple form bo} which,

* We have many names from all these ; — Coumshingaun, a
well-known valley and lake in the Cummeragh mountains,
south-east of Clonmel, the glen of the pismires; Oloon-
nameeltoge in the parish of Kilmainmore, Mayo, the meadow
of the midges : in the parish of Rath, county Clare, is a hill
called Knockaunnadrankady, the little hill of the fleas ; and
two miles east of Kinvarra in Galway is a little hamlet
called Ballynadrangcaty, the town of the fleas. See 2nd VoL
Chap. XYIII.

470 Physical Features. [PART iv.

when it is a termination, is usually translated
" of the cow," though it might be also " of the
cows."

Aghaboe in Queen's County, where St. Canice
of Kilkenny had his principal church, is mentioned
by many Irish authorities, the most ancient of
whom is Adamnan, who has the following passage
in Vit. Col., II. 13, which settles the meaning : —
" St. Canice being in the monastery which is called
in Latin Campulus bovis (i. e. the field of the cow),
but in Irish Achadbou." This was the name of
the place before the time of St. Canice, who ad-
opted it unchanged. The parish of Drumbo in
Down is called Druimbo by the Four Masters, that
is, the cow's ridge : Dunboe in Londonderry, and
Arboe in Tyrone, the fortress and the height of
the cow.

When the word occurs in the end of names in
the genitive plural, the b is often eclipsed by m
(p. 22), forming the termination -namoe, of the
cows ; as in Annamoe in Wicklow, which would
be written in Irish Ath-na-mbo, the ford of the
cows, indicating that the old ford, now spanned by
a bridge at the village, was the usual crossing-
place for the cows of the neighbourhood. At
Carrigeennamoe near Middleton in Cork, the people
were probably in the habit of collecting their cows
to be milked, for the name signifies the little rock
of the cows.

Laegh [lea] means a calf ; it enters into names
generally in the form of lee ; and this, and the
articled terminations, -nalee and -nalea, are of fre-
quent occurrence, signifying "of the calves."
Ballinalee in Longford and Wicklow, is properly
written in Irish, Bel-atha-na-laegh, the ford-mouth
of the calves, a name derived like Annamoe ;
Clonleigh near Lifford is called by the Four

CHAP, vii.] Animals. 471

Masters, Cluain-laegh, the calves' meadow, a name
that takes the form of Clonlee elsewhere ; in
Wexford there is a parish of the same name, and
in Clare another, which is called Clonlea.

Another Irish word for a calf is gamhan [go wan],
or in old Irish gamuin (Cor. Gl.) which is also
much used in the formation of names ; as in Clony-
gowan in King's County, which the annalists
write Cluain-na-ngamhan, the meadow of the
calves. This word must not be confounded with
its derivative, gamhnach [gownah], which, accord-
ing to Cormac's Glossary, means " a milking cow
with a calf a year old;" but which in modern
Irish is used to signify simply a stripper, i. e. a
milk-giving cow in the second year after calving.
Moygawnagh is the name of a parish in Mayo ;
we find it written in an old poem in the Book of
Lecan, Magh-gamhnach, which Colgan translates
" Campus fcetarum swe lactescentium vaccarum," the
plain of the milch cows. Cloongownagh in the
parish of Tumna in Hoscommon, is written Cluain-
gamhnach by the Four Masters, the meadow of the
strippers ; and there is a place of the same name
near Adare in Limerick. In anglicised names it
is hard to distinguish between gamhan and gamh-
nach, when no authoritative orthography of the
name is accessible.

A bull is called in Irish tarbh, a word which
exists in cognate forms in many languages ; in
the three Celtic families — Old Irish, Welsh, and
Cornish — it is found in the respective forms of
tarb, taru, and tarow, while the old Gaulish is
tarvos ; and all these are little different from the
Gr. tauros and Lat. taunts. A great number of
places in every part of Ireland have taken their
names from bulls, and the word tarbh is in general
easily recognised in all its modern forms.

472 Physical Features. [PART iv.

There are several mountains in different counties
called Knockaterriff, Knockatarriv, and Knock-
atarry, all signifying the hill of the bull. Mona-
tarriv near Lismore in Waterford, the bull's bog.
Sometimes the t is aspirated to h (p. 21), as in
Drumherriff and Drumharriff, a townland name
common in the Ulster counties and in Leitrim, the
ridge of the bull. Clontarf near Dublin, the scene
of the great battle fought by Brian Boru
against the Danes in 1014, is called in all the
Irish authorities Cluain-tarbh, the meadow of the
bulls ; and there are several similar names through
the country, such as CloontarifE in Mayo, and
Cloontarriv in Kerry. Loughaterrifi and Lough-
atarrifE are the names of many small lakes through
the country, the original form of which is Loch-
an-tairbh (Four M.), the lake of the bulL

Damh [dauv], an ox; evidently cognate with
Lat. dama, a deer. How it came to pass that the
same word signifies in Irish an ox, and in Latin a
deer, it is not easy to explain.* Devenish island
near Enniskillen, celebrated in ancient times for
St. Molaise's great establishment, and at present
for its round tower and other ecclesiastical ruins,
is called in all the Irish authorities Daimh-ini$
[Davinish], which, in the Life of St. Aidus, is
translated the island of the oxen ; and there are
three other islands of the same name in Mayo,
Roscommon, and Galway. There is a peninsula
west of Ardara in Donegal, called Dawros Head,
the Irish name of which is Damh-ros, the head-

* The transfer of a name from one species of animals or
plants to another, is a curious phenomenon, and not unfre-
quently met with. The Greek phegos signifies an oak, while
the corresponding Latin, Gothic, and English terms—; fagus,
bf'ka, and beech — are applied to the beech-tree ; and I might
cite several other instances. See this question curiously dia-
cnssed in Max Muller's Lectures, 2nd Series, p. 222.

CHAP, vii.] Ammah. 473

land of the oxen; and there are several other
places of the same name in Galway, Sligo, and
Kerry. We find the word also in such names as
Dooghcloon, Doughcloyne, and Doughloon, which
are modern forms of Damh-chluain (Hy Fiachrach),
ox-meadow.

In the end of names this word undergoes a
variety of transformations. It is often changed to
-duff, or some such form, as in Clonduff in Down,
which is called in O'Clery's Calendar Cluain-Daimh,
the meadow of the ox (see Reeves, Eccles. Ant.,
p. 115) ; Legaduf? in Fermanagh, and Derrindiff
in Longford, the hollow, and the oak-wood of the
ox. In other cases the d disappears under the influ-
ence of aspiration (p. 20) as in Cloonaff, Clonuff,
Cloniff, and Cloonifj, all the same names as Clon-
duff. And often the d is eclipsed by n (p. 22), as in
Coolnanav near Dungarvan in Waterford, Cuil-na-
ndamh, the corner of the oxen ; Derrynanaff in
Mayo, and Derrynanamph in Monaghan, the oak
grove of the oxen.

The sheep. A sheep is called in Irish caera
[kaira], gen. caerach, which are the forms given
in the Zeuss MSS. The word seems to have been
originally applied to cattle in general, for we find
that Irish caerachd denotes cattle, and in Sanscrit,
caratha signifies pecus. It is found most com-
monly in the end of names, forming the termina-
tion -nageeragh, or without the article, -keeragh,
" of the sheep," as in Ballynageeragh, the town of
the sheep ; Meenkeeragh, the meen or mountain
pasture of the sheep. The village of Grlenagarey
near Kingstown in Dublin, took its name from a
little dell, which was called in Irish, Gleann-na-
gcaerach, the glen of the sheep ; and Glennagee-
ragh near Clogher in Tyrone, is the same name in
a more correct form. There are several islands

474 Physical Features. [PART iv.

round the coast called Inishkeeragh, the island of
sheep, or Mutton Island, as it is sometimes trans-
lated, which must have been so called from the
custom of sending over sheep to graze on them in
spring and summer.

The horse. We have several Irish words for a
horse, the most common of which are each and
capall. Each [agh] is found in several families of
languages ; the old Irish form is ech ; and it is the
same word as the Sansc. agva, Gr. hippos (Eol.
ikkos), Lat. equus, and old Saxon ehu. Each is
very often found in the beginning of names, con-
trary to the usual Irish order, and in this case it
generally takes the modern form of augh. At
A.D. 598, the Four Masters mention Aughris Head
in the north of Sligo, west of Sligo bay, as the
scene of a battle, and they call it Each-ros, the ros
or peninsula of the horses ; there is another place
of the same name, west of Ballymote, same county;
and a little promontory north-west from Clifden
in Galway, is called Aughrus, which is the same
name. Aughinish and Aughnish are the names of
several places in different parts of the country, and
are anglicised from Each-inis (Four Mast.), horse
island. They must have been so called because
they were favourite horse pastures, like " The
Squince,"and Horse Island, near Glandore, "which
produce a wonderful sort of herbage that recovers
and fattens diseased horses to admiration'' (Smith,
Hist, of Cork, I., 271).

In the end of names it commonly forms the
postfix -agh ; as in Russagh in Westmeath, which
the Four Masters write Eos-each, the wood of
horses ; Bellananagh in Cavan, Bel-atha-na-neach,
the ford-mouth of the horses ; Cloonagh and
Clonagh, horse meadow. Sometimes it is in the
genitive singular, as in Kinneigh near Iniskeen

CHAP, vii.] Animals. 475

in Cork, ceann-ech (Four Mast.), the head or hill
of the horse ; the same name as Kineigh in Kerry,
Kineagh near Kilcullen in Kildare, and Kinnea in
Cavan and Donegal.

Capatt, the other word for a horse, is the same
as Gr. kaballes, Lat. caballus, and Rus. kobyla. It
is pretty common in the end of names in the form
of capple, or with the article, -nagappul or -nagapple,
as in Gortnagappul in Cork and Kerry, the field
of the horses ; Pollacappul and Poulacappul, the
hole of the horse.

Ldrach [lawragh] signifies a mare, and it is
found pretty often forming a part of names.
Cloonlara, the mare's meadow, is the name of a
village in Clare, and of half a dozen townlands
in Connaught and Munster; Gortnalaragh, the
field of the mares.

The goat. The word gabhar [gower], a goat, is
common to the Celtic, Latin, and Teutonic lan-
guages ; the old Irish form is gabar, which corre-
sponds with Welsh gafar, Corn, gavar, Lat. caper,
Ang.-Sax. haefer. This word very often takes the
form of gower, gour, orgore in anglicised names, as
in Glenagower in Limerick, Gleann-na-ngabhar,
the glen of the goats ; Ballynagore, goats' town.

The word gabar, according to the best authorities,
was anciently applied to a horse as well as to a
goat. In Cormac's Glossary it is stated that gabur
is a goat, and gobur, a horse ; but the distinction
was not kept up, for we find gabur applied to a
horse in several very ancient authorities, such as
the Leabhar na hTJidhre, the Book of Rights, &c.
Colgan remarks that gabhur is an ancient Irish
and British word for a horse ; and accordingly the
name Loch-gabhra, which occurs in the Life of St.
Aidus, published by him, is translated Stagnum-
equi, the lake of the horse. This place is situated

476 Physical Features. [PART iv,

near Dunshaughlin in Meath, and it is now called
Lagore; the lake has been long dried up, and
many curious antiquities have been found in its
bed.

The deer. Ireland formerly abounded in deer ;
they were chased with greyhounds, and struck
down by spears and arrows ; and in our ancient
writings — in poems, tales, and romances — deer,
stags, does, and fawns, figure conspicuously. They
are, as might be expected, commemorated in great
numbers of local names, and in every part of the
country. The word fiadh [fee] originally meant
any wild animal, and hence we have the adjective
fiadhan [f eean] , wild ; but its meaning has been
gradually narrowed, and in Irish writings it is
almost universally applied to a deer. It is gener-
ally much disguised in local names, so that it is
often not easy to distinguish its modern forms
from those of Jiach, a raven, and each, a horse.
The /of ten disappears under the influence of the
article (p. -27), and sometimes without the article,
as will be seen in the following examples : —

The well-known pass of Keimaneigh, on the
road from Inchigeelagh to Glengarriff in Cork, is
called in Irish, Ceim-an-flriaidh, the keirn or pass
of the deer, which shows that it was in former
days the route chosen by wild deer when passing
from pasture to pasture between the two valleys
of .the Lee and the Ouvane ; Drumanee in Derry,
and Knockanee in Limerick and Westmeath, both
signify the deer's hill. There is a parish in
Waterford, and also a townland, called Clonea,
which very well represents the correct Irish name,
Cluain-fhiadh, the meadow of the deer. In some
parts of the south the final g is sounded, as in
Knockaneag in Cork, the same as Knockanee.
When the/ is eclipsed in the genitive plural (see

CHAP, vii.] Animals. 477

p. 22), it usually forms some such termination a.-
naveigh : Gortnaveigh in Tipperary, and Gortnaven
in Gal way, both represent the sound of the Irish.
Gort-na-bhfiadh, the field of the deer ; Annaveagl
in Monaghan, Ath-na-bhfiadh, deer ford.

Os signifies a fawn. The celebrated Irish ban
and warrior who lived in the third century of th:
Christian era, and whose name has been change<
to Ossian by Macpherson, is called in Irish MSS.
Oisin [0 sheen], which signifies a little fawn; and
the name is explained by a legend.

In the end of names, when the word occurs in
the genitive plural, it is usually made -nanuss,
while in the singular, it is anglicised ish, or with
the article, -anish. Glenish in the parish oi
Currin, Monaghan, is written in Irish Glen-ois, the
fawn's glen ; and there is a conspicuous mountain
north of Macroom in Cork, called Mullaghanish,
the summit of the fawn. Not far from Buttevani
in the county of Cork, is a hill called Knocknanuss
— Cnoc-na-nos, the hill of the fawns — where a
bloody battle was fought in November, 1647 : in
this battle was slain the celebrated Mac-Colkitto,
Alasdrum More, or Alexander Macdonnell, the
ancestor of the Macdonnells of the Glens of Antrim,
whose chief was the late Right Honourable Sir
Alexander Macdonnell, of the board of Education.

Eilit, gen. eilte [ellit, elte] is a doe ; Gr. ellos, a
fawn; O. H, Ger. elah; Ang.-Sax. elch. The
word occurs in Irish names generally in the forms
elty, ilty, elt, or ilt ; Clonelty in Limerick and
Fermanagh, and Cloonelt in Hoscommon, the
meadow of the doe : Hahelty in Kilkenny and
Tipperary (rath, a fort) ; Annahilt in Down,
Eanach-eitte, the doe's marsh.

The pig. If Ireland has obtained some celebrity
in modern times for its abundance of pigs, the

478 Physical Features. [PART iv.

great numbers of local names in which the animal
is commemorated show that they abounded no less
in the days of our ancestors. The Irish language
has several words for a pig, but the most usual is
muc, which corresponds with the Welsh moch, and
Cornish moh. The general anglicised form of the
word is muck ; and -namuck is a termination of fre-
quent occurrence, signifying " of the pigs or pig."
There is a well-known hill near the Galties in
Tipperary, called Slievenamuck, the mountain of
the pig. Ballynamuck, a usual townland name,
signifies pig-town ; Tinamuck in King's County,
a house (tigfi) for pigs. In Lough Derg on the
Shannon, is a small island, much celebrated for an
ecclesiastical establishment ; it is called in the
annals, Muic-inis, hog island, or Muic-inis-Riagaill,
from St. Biagal or Regulus, a contemporary of
St. Columkille. This name would be anglicised
Muckinish, and there are several other islands of
the name in different parts of Ireland.

In early times when woods of oak and beech
abounded in this country, it was customary for
kings and chieftains to keep great herds of swine,
which fed in the woods on masts, and were tended
by swine-herds. St. Patrick, it is well known, was
a swine-herd in his youth to Milcho, king of
Dalaradia; and numerous examples might be
quoted from our ancient histories and poems,
to show the prevalence of this custom.

There are several words in Irish to denote a
place where swine were fed, or where they resorted
or slept ; the most common of which is muclach,
which is much used in the formation of names.
Mucklagh, its most usual form, is the name of
many places in Leinster, Ulster, and Connaught ;
and scattered over the same provinces there are
about twenty-eight townlands called Cornamuck-

CHAP, vii.] Animals. 479

lagh, the round- hill of the piggeries. Muiceannach
[nmckanagh] also signifies a swine haunt, and it
gives names to about nineteen townlands in the
four provinces, now called Muckanagh, Muckenagh,
and Mucknagh. Muckelty, Mucker, Muckera,
and Muckery, all townland names, signify still the
same thing — a place frequented by swine for feed-
ing or sleeping.

Tore [turk] signifies a boar ; it is found in the
Sg. MS. of Zeuss, as a gloss an aper. Wild boars
formerly abounded in Ireland ; they are often
mentioned in old poems and tales ; and hunting
the boar was one of the favourite amusements of
the people. Turk, the usual modern form of tore,
is found in great numbers of names. Kanturk in
Cork is written by the Four Masters, Ceann-tuirc,
the head or hill of the boar ; the name shows that
the little hill near the town must have been for-
merly a resort of one or more of these animals :
and we may draw the same conclusion regarding
the well-known Tore mountain at Killarney, and
Inishturk, an island outside Clew bay in Mayo,
which is called in " Hy Fiachrach " Inis-tuirc, the
boar's island, a name which also belongs to several
other islands.

By the aspiration of the t, the genitive form
tuirc becomes hirk ; as in Drumhirk, a name of
frequent occurrence in Ulster, which represents
the Irish, Druim-thuirc, the boar's ridge. And
when the t is changed to d by eclipsis (p. 23), the
termination durk or nadurk is formed ; as in Eden-
durk in Tyrone, the hill-brow of the boars.

The dog. There are two words in common use
for a dog, cu and madadh or madradh [madda,
maddra], which enter extensively into local names.
Of the two forms of the latter, madradh is more
usual in the south, and madadh in the rest of

480 Physical Feature*. [PART iv.

Ireland; they often form the terminations -na-
maddy, -namrtddoo, and -namaddra, of the dogs ;
as in Ball} mmaddoo in Cavan, Ballynamaddree in
Cork, and Ballynamaddy in Antrim, the town of
the dogs, Annagh-na-maddoo, the dogs' marsh:
or if in the genitive singular, -avaddy, -avaddoo,
and -avaddra, of the dog ; as in Knockavaddra,
Knockavaddy, Knockawaddra, and Knockawaddy,
the dog's hill.

The other word, cu, is in the modern language
always applied to a greyhound, but according to
O'Brien, it anciently signified any fierce dog. It
is found in many other languages as well as Irish,
as for example, in Greek, ktwn ; Latin, cam's;
Welsh, ci; Gothic, hunds; English, hound; all
different forms of the same primitive word. This
term is often found in the beginning of names.
The parish of Connor in Antrim appears in Irish
records in the various forms, Condeire, Condaire,
Condere, &c. ; and the usual substitution of modern
nn for the ancient nd (see p. 64), changed the
name to Conneire and Connor. In a marginal
gloss in the Martyrology of Aengus, at the 3rd
Sept., the name is explained as " Doire-na-con, the
oak-wood in which were wild dogs formerly, and
she wolves used to dwell therein " (See Reeves' s
Eccl. Ant., p. 85).

Conlig in Down signifies the stone of the hounds ;
Convoy in Donegal, and Conva in Cork, both from
Con-mhagh, hound-plain. And as a termination
it usually assumes the same form, as in Clooncon
and Cloncon, the hound's meadow ; except when
the c is eclipsed (p. 22), as we find in Coolnagun
in Tipperary and Westmeath, the corner of the
hounds.

The rabbit. It is curious that the Irish appear
to have grouped the rabbit and the hare with two

vu.J Animals. 481

very different kinds of animals — the former with
the dog, and the latter with the deer. Coinin
[cunneen], the Irish word for a rabbit, is a dimi-
nutive of cu, and means literally a little hound ;
the corresponding Latin word, cuniculus, is also a
diminutive ; and the Scandinavian kanina, Danish
kanin, and English coney, all belong to the same
family.

The word coinin is in general easily recognised
in names ; for it commonly forms one of the ter-
minations, -coneen, -nagoneen, or -nagoneeny, as in
Kylenagoneeny, in Limerick, Coitt-na-gcoinin-idhe,
the wood of the rabbits ; Carrickconeen in Tip-
perary, rabbit rock. The termination is varied in
Lisnagunnion in Monaghan, the fort of the rabbits.

A rabbit warren is denoted by coinicer [cun-
nickere], which occurs in all the provinces under
several forms — generally, however, easily recog-
nised. In Carlow it is made Coneykeare ; in
Gal way, Conicar ; in Limerick, Conigar ; and in
King's County, Conicker. It is Connigar and
Connigare in Kerry ; Cunnaker in Mayo ; Cun-
nicar in Louth; Cunnigar in Waterford ; and
Kinnegar in Donegal. In the pronunciation of
the original the c and n coalesce very closely (like
c and n in cnoc, p. 381.), and the former is often
only faintly heard. In consequence of this the c
sometimes disappears altogether from anglicised
names, of which Nicker in Limerick, and Nickeres
(rabbit warrens) in Tipperary, afford characteristic
examples.

The wolf. This island, like Great Britain, was
formerly much infested with wolves ; they were
chased like the wild boar, partly for sport, and
partly with the object of exterminating them : and
large doge of a particular race, called wolfdogs,
which have only very recently become extinct,
VOL. i. 32

482 Physical Features. [PART iv.

were kept and trained for the purpose. After the
great war in the seventeeth century, wolves
increased to such an extent, and their ravages
became so great, as to call for state interference,
and wolf- hunters were appointed in various parts
of Ireland. The last wolf was killed only about
160 years ago.

In Irish there are two distinct original words
for a woli,fael and breach. Fael, though often
found in old writings, is not used by itself in the
modern language, the general word for a wolf now
being faelchu, formed by adding cu, a hound to the
original. There is a little rocky hill near Swords
in Dublin, called Feltrim, the name of which
indicates that it must have been formerly a
retreat of wolves ; in a gloss in the Felire of
Aengus, it is written Faeldruim [Faildrum], i. e.
wolf-hill.

The other term breach is more frequently found
in local names, especially in one particular com-
pound, written by the four Masters Breach-mhagh
[breagh-vah], wolf -field, which in various modern
forms gives names to about twenty townlands. In
Clare, it occurs eight times, and it is anglicised
Breaghva, except in one instance where it is made
Breaffy ; in Donegal, Longford, and Armagh, it
is Breaghy ; in Sligo and Mayo, Breaghwy ; while
in Fermanagh (near Enniskillen) it becomes
Breagho ; and in Kerry, Breahig. In Cork it is
still further corrupted to Britway, the name of a
parish, which in Pope Nicholas's Taxation is
written Breghmagh. The worst corruption of all.
however, is Brackley, now the name of a lake in
the north of the parish of Templeporfc in Cavan.
It contains a little island on which the celebrated
St. Maidoc of Ferns was born, called in old
authorities Inis-breachmhaighe [Inish-breaghwy],

CHAP. vii. J Animah 483

the island of the wolf -field ; and the latter part of
this was made Brackley, which is now the name
of both island and lake. Caherbreagh in the
parish of Ballymacelligot, east of Tralee, took its
name from a stone fort which must have been at
one time a haunt of these animals : — Cathair -breach,
the caher of wolves.

There is still another term — though not an
original one — for a wolf — namely, mac-tire
[macteera], which is given as the equivalent of
brech in a gloss on an ancient poem in the Book
of Leinster; it literally signifies "son of the
country," in allusion to the lonely haunts of the
animal. By this name he is commemorated in
Knockaunvicteera, the little hill of the wolf, a
townland in the parish of Kilmoon, Clare, where,
no doubt, some old wolf long baffled the hunts-
man's spear, and the wolfdog's fang. There is
a lake in the parish of Dromod in Kerry, about
four miles nearly east of Lough Curraun or Water -
ville Lake, called Iskanamacteera, the water (uisce)
of the wolves.

The fox. Sionnach [Shinnagh] is the Irish word
for a fox — genitive sionnaigh [shinny] ; it often
occurs in the end of names, in the forms -shinny
and -shinnagh ; as in Monashinnagh, in Limerick,
the bog of the foxes; Coolnashinnagh in Tip-
perary, and Coolnashinny in Cavan, the foxes'
corner : Aghnashannagh, field (achadh] of the
foxes. Sometimes the s is eclipsed by t (in the
genitive singular), and then the termination be-
comes tinny, as in Coolatinny in Tyrone and lips-
common ; cuil-a'-tsionnaigh, the corner of the fox.
But this termination, tinny, may sometimes repre-
sent teine, fine (see p. 216'.

The badger. These animals, like many others,
must have been much more common formerly than

484 Physical Features. [PART iv.

now, as there are numbers of places all over
Ireland deriving their names from them. The
Irish word for a badger is broc [brack] ; it is usually
anglicised brock, and it is very often found as a
termination in the forms -brock, -nabrock, and
-namrock, all signifying "of the badgers." Clon-
brock, in Galway, the seat of Lord Clonbrock, is
called in Irish, Cluain-broc, the meadow of the
badgers ; and the same name occurs in King's and
Queen's Counties; while it takes the form of
Cloonbrock in Longford ; Meenabrock in Done-
gal, the meen or mountain meadow of the
badgers.

Brocach signifies a haunt of badgers — a badger
warren, and gives names to a great many town-
lands in the four provinces, now called Brockagh,
Brocka, and Brockey. In Cormac's Glossary the
form used is broiceannach, which is represented by
Bruckana in Kilkenny, and by Brockna in
Wicklow (like Muckenagh, p. 479). There are
several Irish modifications of this word in different
parts of the country, which have given rise to
corresponding varieties in anglicised names; such
as Brockernagh in King's County, Brocklagh in
Longford ; Brockley in Cavan ; Brockra and
Brockry in Queen's County ; all meaning a badger
warren.

Birds. Among the animals whose names are
found impressed on our local nomenclature, birds
hold a prominent place, almost all our native
species being commemorated. En [ain] is the
Irish for a bird at the present day as well as from
the most remote antiquity, the word being found
in the Sg. MS. of Zeuss, as a gloss on avis.
It appears under various modifications in con-
siderable numbers of names, often forming the
termination naneane, of the birds ; as in Rathnan-

CHAP, vii.] Animals. 485

eane and Ardnaneane in Limerick, the fort, and
the height of the birds.

The eagle. In several wild mountainous districts,
formerly the haunts of eagles, these birds are
remembered in local names. lolar [iller] is the
common Irish word for an eagle, and in anglicised
names it usually forms an terminations -iller, -ilra,
and -ulra ; as in Slieveanilra, the eagle's mountain,
in Clare ; and Coumaniller, the eagle's hollow, on
the side of Keeper Hill in Tipperary, under a
rocky precipice. The word assumes other forms —
as for example, in Drumillard, the name of four
townlands in Monaghan, which is the same as
Drumiller in Cavan, the ridge of the eagle. There
is a hill on the borders of Tyrone and Derry called
Craiganuller, the eagle's rock.

Seabhac [shouk or shoke], old Irish seboc, means
a hawk, and is cognate with the Welsh hebawg,
Ang.-Sax. hafok, and Eng. hawk. It forms part
of the name of Carrickshock, a well-known place
near Knocktopher in Kilkenny, which is called in
Irish Carraig-seabhaic, the hawk's rock, nearly the
same name as Carricknashoke in Cavan. The
initial s is often eclipsed by t, as in Craigatuke, vin
Tyrone, and Carrigatuke, near Keady, in Armagh,
Craig-a'-tseabhaic and Carraig-a?-tseabhaic, both the
same name as Carrickshock.

Croics. The different species of the crow kind
are very well distinguished in Irish, and the cor-
responding terms are often found in local names.
Preachdn [prehaun] is a generic term, standing
for any ravenous kind of bird, the various species
being designated by qualifying terms : standing
by itself, however, it usually signifies a crow, and as
such occurs in Ardnapreaghaun in Limerick, Ard-
na-bpreachan, the hill of the crows; Knockaphreagh-
aun in Cork, Clare, and Galway, the crow's hill.

486 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Feannog [fannoge], signifies a royston or scald
crow : we find it in Tirfinnog near Monaghan, the
district of the scald crows; in Carnfunnock in
Antrim, where there must have been an old
monumental heap frequented by these birds ; and
Toberfinnick in Wexford is the scald crows' well.
Buffanoky in Limerick represents the Irish Both-
fionnoice, the hut or tent of the royston crow. Yery
often the /is eclipsed (p. 22), as in Mullanavannog
in Monaghan, Mullach-na-bhfeannog, the scald
crows' hill.

A raven is designated by the woT&fiach [f eeagh],
which, in anglicised names it is often difficult to
distinguish from fiadh, a deer,. There is a re-
markable rock over the Barrow, near Graigue-
namanagh, called Benaneha, or in Irish Beann-an-
fheiche, the cliff of the raven ; Lissaneigh in Sligo
is the raven's fort; Carrickaneagh in Tipperary,
and Carrickanee in Donegal the raven's rock. The
genitive plural with an eclipsis (p. 22) is seen in
Mulnaveagh near LifEord, and Mullynaveagh in
Tyrone, the hill of the ravens.

Bran is another word for a raven : it is given
in Zeuss (Gram. Celt., p. 46) as the equivalent
of corvus and it is explained fiach in Cormac's
Glossary. Brankill, the name of some places in
Cavan, signifies raven wood ; Brannish in Fer-
managh, a contraction for JBran-mis, raven island ;
and Rathbranagh near Groom in Limerick, the
fort of the ravens.

The seagull. This bird is denoted by the two
dimunitives,/flet7edwand/<z<2«Y<?0# [feelaun, feeloge] ;
and both are reproduced in modernised names, often
forming the terminations -naweelaun -naweeloge,
and-ee/aw. Carrownaweelaun in Clare represents
the sound of the Irish Ceathramhadh-na-blifaeiledn,

CHAP, vii.] Animals. 487

the quarter-land of the sea-gulls ; Loughnaweeloge
and Loughaunnaweelaun, the names of some lakes
andtownlands in different counties, signify the
sea-gulls' lake ; and the same name is reduced to
Lough Wheelion in King's County : Ardeelan in
Donegal, the height of the sea-gulls.

The plover. Feadog [faddoge] , a plover ; derived
I suppose fromfead, a whistle, from the peculiar
note uttered by the bird. 'Feadog generally
occurs in the end of names in the forms -viddoge,
-vaddoge, -faddock, &c. ; as in Ballynavaddog in
Meath, and Balf eddock in Louth, the townland of
the plovers ; Barranafaddock near Lismore, the
plovers' hill- top ; Moanaviddoge- near Oola in
Limerick, the bog of the plovers.

The crane. Corr means any bird of the crane
kind, the different species being distinguished by
qualifying terms. Standing alone, however, it is
always understood to mean a heron — generally
called a crane in Ireland ; and it is used very ex-
tensively in forming names, especially in marshy
or lake districts, commonly in the forms cor, gor,
and gore. Loughanagore near Kilbeggan in
Westmeath, in Irish Lochan-na-gcorr, signifies the
little lake of the cranes ; the same as Corlough,
the name of several lakes and townlands in dif-
ferent counties. Edenagor in Donegal, Annagoi
in Meath, and Monagor in Monaghan, signify
respectively the hill-brow, the ford, and the bog,
of the cranes ; and the little ros or peninsula that
juts into Lough Erne at its western extremity,
must have been a favourite haunt of these birds,
since it got the name of Rosscor.

The corncrake. Tradhnach or treanach means a
corncrake ; it is pronounced tryna in the south and
west, but traina elsewhere, and anglicised accord-
ingly. Cloonatreane in Fermanagh signifies the

488 Physical Features. [PART iv.

meadow of the corncrakes ; Lugatryna in Wicklow,
the corncrake's hollow. In the west and north
west the word is often made tradhlach, as we see
in Carrowntreila in Mayo, and Carrowntryla in
Galway and Roscommon, the quarter-land of the
corncrake.

The goose. The Irish word gedh [gay] a goose,
has its cognates in many languages : — Sanscr.
hansa; Gr. chen ; Lat. anser ; 0. H. Ger. kans ;
Ang-Sax. gos and gandra ; Eng. goose and gander.
It occurs in names almost always in the form gay;
as in Monagay, a parish in Limerick, which is
called in Irish Moin-a'-ghedh, the bog of the goose,
propably from being frequented by flocks of wild
geese: it is not easy to conjecture what gave
origin to the singular name, Ballingayrour, i. e.,
Baile-an-ghedh-reamhair, the town of the fat goose,
which we meet with in the same county, but it
might have been from the fact, that the place was
considered a good pasture for fattening geese.
Gay Island in Fermanagh is not an English name,
as it looks ; it is a half translation from Inis-na-
ngddh, i. e., goose island.

The duck. The word lacha, gen. lachan, a duck,
is occasionally, though not often, found in names;
the townland of Loughloughan in the parish of
Skerry, Antrim, took its name from a little lake
called Loch-lachan, the lake of the ducks ; and this
and Loughnaloughan are the names of several
other lakelets and pools in different parts of the
country.

In the west of Ireland, the word cadhan [coin]
is in common use to denote a barnacle goose ; and
it is a word long in use, for it occurs in old docu-
ments, such as Cormac's Glossary, &c. We find
it in Gortnagoyne, i. e., Gort-na-gcadhan, the name
of a townland in Galway, and of another in Ros-

CHAP. vii. J Animals. 489

common ; and there is a lake in the parish of
Burriscarra, Mayo, called Loughnagoyne — these
two names meaning respectively, the field and the
lake of the barnacle ducks.

The cuckoo — Irish cuach [coogh]. From the
great number of places all over the country con-
taining this word, it is evident that the bird must
have been a general favourite. The following
names include all the principal changes in the
word : Derrycoogh in Tipperary is in Irish Doire-
cuach, the oak-grove of the cuckoos ; Cloncough
in Queen's County, the cuckoo's meadow. Tne
word occurs in the gen. singular in Cloncoohy in
Fermanagh, the meadow of the cuckoo ; and in
Drumnacooha in Longford, the cuckoo's ridge.
It appears in the gen. plural with an eclipsis (p. 22)
in Knocknagoogh in Tipperary, and Boleynagoagh
in Q-alway, the hill, and the dairy-place, of the
cuckoos. And it is still further softened down in
Clontycoe in Queen's County, and Clontycoo in
Cavan, the cuckoo's meadows ; and in Ballynacoy
in Antrim, the town of the cuckoo.

The woodcock. Creabhar [crour] means a wood-
cock, and is in general easy to be distinguished in
names, as it is usually made either -crour or -grour,
the g taking the place of c in the latter, by eclipsis
(p. 22) . Lackanagrour near Bruree in Limerick,
is written in Irish Leaca-na-gcreabhar, the hill-
side of the woodcocks ; Gortnagrour in Limerick
(Gort, a field); Coolnagrower in King's County
and Tipperary, the woodcock's corner.

The blackbird. The Irish word for a blackbird
is Ion or londubh, and the former is found, though
not often, in names. The Four Masters mention
a place in Tyrone, called Coill-na-lon, the wood of
the blackbirds ; and this same name occurs in
Meath in the modernised form, Kilnalun.

The thrush. Smdl or smolach [smole, smSlagh]

4DO Physical Features. [PART iv.

is a thrush. The best known name containing
the word is Gleann-na-smol, the valley of the
thrushes, the scene of a celebrated Irish poem,
which is believed to be the same place as Glenas-
mole, a fine valley near Tallaght, Dublin, where
the river Dodder rises. Near Lifford in Donegal,
is a townland called Q-lensmoil, which represents
the Irish Gleann-a-smoil, the thrush's glen.

The skylark. Fuisedg [fwishoge] is a lark. It
occurs in Rathnafushogue in Carlow, the fort of
the larks ; in Knocknawhishoge in Sligo, lark-
hill ; and in Kilnahushoge near Clogher in Tyrone,
the wood of the larks.

Birds' nests. The word nead fnad] signifies a
nest ; in Cormac's Glossary it is given in the old
Irish form net; Lat., nidus; "Welsh, nyth; Cornish,
neid; Breton, neiz; Manx, edd. It is of very
frequent occurrence in names, generally in the
forms nad, ned, and nid. There are three town-
lands in Cavan, Fermanagh, and Derry, called
Ned ; Nedeen, little nest, is the name of the spot
on which Kenmare stands, and the town itself is
often called by that name. There are many high
cliffs in mountainous districts, the resorts of eagles
in times gone by, which still retain the name of
Nadanuller, the eagle's nest ; and they have in
some cases given names to townlands. Nadnaveagh
in Roscommon, and Nadneagh in King's County,
signify — the first, the nest of the ravens, the
second, of the raven ; Nadaphreaghane, a hill six
miles north of Derry, the crow's nest. Athnid,
the ford of the nest, is a parish in Tipperary ;
Drumnid is a townland near Mohill in Leitrim ;
and there is another in the parish of Magherally,
Down, called Drumneth, both meaning the ridge
of the nests ; Derrynaned in Mayo, the oak-wood
of the birds' nests.

CHAP, vni.] Plants. 49J

CHAPTER VIII.

PLANTS.

As with the animal world, so it is with the vege-
table— all the principal native species of plants
are commemorated in local names, from forest
trees down to the smallest shrubs and grasses :
and where cultivation has not interfered with the
course of nature, there are still to be found many
places, that to this day produce in great abundance
the very species that gave them names many
hundreds of years ago.

Woods. All our histories, both native and
English, concur in stating that Ireland formerly
abounded in woods, which covered the country
down to a comparatively recent period ; and this
statement is fully borne out by the vast numbers
of names that are formed from words signifying
woods and trees of various kinds. According to
our historians, one of the bardic names of Ireland
was Inis-na-bhfiodhbhaidh [Inish-na-veevy], woody
island. If a wood were now to spring up in every
place bearing a name of this kind, the country
would become once more clothed with an almost
uninterrupted succession of forests.

There are several words in Ireland for a wood,
the principal of which are coill and fidh. Coill is
represented by various modern forms, the most
common being kil and kyle ; and as these also are
the usual anglicised representatives of till, a church,
it is often difficult, and not unf requently impossible,
to distinguish them. Whether the syllables kit
and kyle mean church or wood, we can ascertain
only by hearing the names pronounced in Irish —
for the sounds of cill and coill are quite distinct — •

492 Physical Features. [PART tv.

or by finding them written in some Irish docu-
ment of authority.

I have already conjectured (p. 314) that about
a fifth of the kits and kills that begin names are
woods: the following are a few examples: —
Kilnamanagh, a barony in Tipperary, the ancient
patrimony of the O'Dwyers, is called by the Four
Masters, Coitt-na-manach, the wood of the monks.

The barony of Kilmore near Charleville in Cork,
whose great forest was celebrated in the wars of
Elizabeth, is called Coill-mhor, great wood, in the
annals ; but the vast majority of the Kilmores, of
which there are about eighty — are from Cill-mor,
great church. O'Meyey, who killed Hugh de
Lacy at Durrow, fled, according to the Four
Masters, "to the wood of Coill-an-chlair " (the
wood of the plain) ; this wood is gone, but it was
situated near Tullamore, and the place is still
known by the name of Kilclare. The word Kyle,
which very often stands for till, in many cases also
means a wood ; as in Kylemore (lake), great wood,
near the Twelve Pins in Connemara.

Coill assumes other forms, however, in which it
is quite distinguishable from till; as in Barnacullia,
a hamlet on the eastern face of the Three Rock
mountain near Dublin, Barr-na-coille, the top of
the wood ; and this wood is still in existence ;
Barnakillew in Mayo, and Barnakilly in Derry,
same meaning; Lisnacullia in Limerick, wood
fort ; Ballynakillew, the town of the wood. The
diminutive coilltn gives names to several places,
now often called either in whole or part, Culleen ;
Ardakillen in the parish of Killukin, Roscommon,
is called by the Four Masters, Ard-an-choillm, the
height of the little wood ; and coilltean [kyle-tawn],
which is sometimes applied to a growth of under-
wood, sometimes to a "little wood," is represented
by Kyletaun near Rathkeale in Limerick.

CHAP, vi TT.] Plants. 493

The plural of coitt is coillte [coiltha], wliicli is
often found in some of the Connaught counties in
the forms of cuilty, cuiltia, and cultia ; as in
Cuiltybo in Mayo and Roscommon, the woods of
the cows. In Clare there are some places called
Quilty, which is the same word ; and we also find
Keelty and Keelties, as the names of several town-
lands. But its most common form is kitty, except
in Munster, where it is not much used ; this begins
the names of about forty townlands, chiefly in the
western and north-western counties, several, how-
ever, occurring in Longford; Kiltyclogher and
Kiltyclogh in Leitrim, Longford, and Tyrone,
signify stony woods ; Kiltybegs in Longford and
Monaghan, little woods ; Kilty nashinn agh in
Leitrim, the woods of the shinnaghs or foxes.
Coillidh [quilly] is a derivative of eoill in common
use to signify woodland; it is found frequently
in the form of Cully — as, for example, Cullycapple
in Londonderry, the woodland of the horses ; and
it is very often made Quilly, which is the name
of some places in Derry, Waterford, and Down.

Fidh orfiodh [fih], the other term for wood, is
found in both the Celtic and Teutonic languages.
The old Irish form is fid, which glosses arbor in
Sg. (Zeuss, p. 65) ; and it corresponds with the
Gaulish vidu, Welsh quid, O. H. German witu,
Ang.-Saxon vudu, English wood. Its most usual
modern forms are fee, fi, and.feigh; thus Feebane,
white wood, near Monaghan ; Feebeg and Fee-
more (little and great) near Borrisokane ; and it
is occasionally made foy, but this may be also a
modern form offaiihche, a play-green (see p. 296).
At the mouth of the river Fergus in Clare, there
is an island called Feenish, a name shortened from
Fidh-inis, woody island ; we find the same name
in the form of Finish in Galway, while it is made

494 Physical Feafurrx. [PART iv.

Finnis in Cork and Down. The parish of Feigh-
cullen in Kildare is mentioned by the Four Masters,
who call \i Fiodh-Chuilinn, Cullen's Wood; and
Fiddown in Kilkenny, they write Fidh-duin, the
wood of the fortress.

Sometimes the aspirated d in the end is restored
(p. 42), as we find in Fethard, a small town in
Tipperary, which the annalists write Fiodh-ard,
high wood ; there is also a village in Wexford of
the same name ; and Feeard in the parish of Kil-
ballyowen in Clare, exhibits the same compound,
with the d aspirated. So also in Kilfithmone in
Tipperary ; the latter part (fithmone) represents
the ancient Irish name, Fiodh-Mughaine, the wood
of Mughain (a woman) : — Kilfithmone, the church
of Mugania's wood.

There are two baronies in Armagh called Fews,
which are mentioned in the Four Masters at A.D.
1452, by the name of Feadha [Fa], i. e. woods ;
which is modernised by the adoption of the Eng-
lish plural form (p. 32) ; and Fews, the name of
a parish in Waterford, has the same origin. There
was a district in Boscommon, west of Athlone,
which in the annals is also called Feadha; but it
is now commonly called the Faes (i. e. the woods)
of Athlone.

This word has some derivatives which also con-
tribute to the formation of names. Fiodhach
[feeagh] signifies a woody place, and all those
townlands now called Feagh and Feeagh, which
are found distributed over the four provinces,
derive their names from it. Fiodhnach [Feenagh] ,
which has exactly the same meaning, was the old
name of Fenagh in Leitrim (Four Masters) ;
and though now bare of trees, it was wooded
so late as the seventeenth century. There are
several other places called Fenagh and Feenagh,

CHAP, viii.] Plants. 495

which have the same original name. Feevagh in
Roscommon, is called in Irish, Fiodhbhach, which
also signifies a place covered with wood.

Ros, as I have already stated, has several mean-
ings, one of which is a wood ; and in this sense
we often find it in names, especially in the south.
There is a place called Rosserk near Killala at the
mouth of the Moy in Mayo. It is called in Irish
Ros-Serce (Serce's wood), and we learn from Mac
Firbis (Hy Fiachrach, p. 51) that "it is so called
from Searc the daughter of Carbery, son of
Awley (see p. 139, supra), who blessed the village
and the wood which is at the mouth of the river
Moy." The original church founded by the virgin
saint Searc in the sixth century, has long since
disappeared ; but the place contains the ruins of
a beautiful little abbey. Roscrea in Tipperary is
written in the Book of Leinster, Ros- Ore, Ore's
wood. Roskeen, the name of several places, re-
presents the Irish Ros-caein, beautiful wood.

New Ross in Wexford, notwithstanding its
name, is an old place ; for Dermot Mac Murrough
built a city there in the twelfth century, the ruins
of which yet remain. It is called in the annals
Ros-mic-Treoin [Rosmicrone], the wood of the
son of Treun, a man's name ; the people still use
this name corrupted to Rosemacrone ; and they
think the town vas so called from a woman named
Rose Macrone, about whom they tell a nonsensical
story. St. Coman, from whom was named Ros-
common (Coman's wood), founded a monastery
there, and died, according to the Four Masters, in
746 or 747, but other authorities place him much
earlier. Ross Carbery in Cork, was formerly a
place of great ecclesiastical eminence ; and it was
"so famous for the crowds of students and monks
flocking to it, that it was distinguished by the

496 Physical Features. [PART iv.

name of Ros-ailithir " [allihir : Four Masters], the
wood of the pilgrims. Rusheen, a diminutiye,
and the plural Rusheens, are the names of a great
many townlands in Munster and Connaught ; the
word is often applied to a growth of small bushy
trees or underwood, as well as to a wood small in
extent. The word ros is often written with a
instead of o, both in old records and in anglicised
names; as in Rasheen "Wood, near the Dun-
drum station of the Great Southern and Western
Railway.

Fasach [faussagh], a very expressive word, de-
rived from fas, growth, signifies a wilderness or
an uncultivated place. It gives names to some
townlands now called Fasagh and Fassagh ; the
territory along the river Dinin in Kilkenny, which
now forms a barony, is called Fassadinin, the
wilderness of the Dinin : Fassaroe in Wicklow,
red wilderness. There is a long lane beside Phibs-
borough in Dublin called Faussagh Lane, i. e.,
wilderness lane.

Scairt [scart] denotes a cluster of bushes, a
thicket, a scrubby place. In the form Scart, with
the diminutive Scarteen, it gives names to numer-
ous places, but only in the Munster counties and
Kilkenny. Scartlea, grey thicket, is the name of
a village in Cork, and of some townlands in Water-
ford and Kerry ; Scartaglin near Oastleisland, the
thicket of the glen ; Ballinascarty in the parish of
Kilmaloda, Cork, the town of the thicket.

Muine [munny], a brake or shrubbery. It
occurs frequently in names generally in the form
of money, which constitutes or begins about 170
townland names through the four provinces. The
word is also sometimes applied to a hill, so that
its signification is occasionally doubtful. It is
probably to be understood in the former sense in

P. vru.] Plants. 497

the name of Monaghan, which is called in Irish
Muineachdn (Four Mast.), a diminutive of muine,
signifying little shrubbery. There are three town-
lands in Down called Moneydorragh, i. e. Muine-
dorcha, dark shrubbery ; Ballymoney, the town of
the shrubbery, is the name of many places through
the country; Magheraculmoney in Fermanagh,
the plain of the back of the shrubbery ; Monivea
in Galway is called in Irish authorities, Muine-an-
mheadha [Money-an-va : Four Mast.], the shrub-
bery of the mead, very probably because the drink
was brewed there.

The compound Liathmhmne [Leewinny], grey
shrubbery, is often used to form names, and is
variously modified ; such as we see in LeafEony in
Sligo, Leafin in Meath, Liafin and Lefinn in Done*
gal, and Leighmoney in Cork ; Cloghleafin, neal
Mitchelstown in Cork, the castle of the grey
thicket.

Gaertha [gairha] is used in the south to denote
a woodland along a river, overgrown with small
trees, bushes, or underwood ; it is almost confined
to Cork and Kerry, and generally appears in the
forms of Gearha and Gearagh ; and occasionally
Geeragh and Gairha. There is a well-known place
of this kind near Macroom, where a dense growth
of underwood extends for three or four miles along
the Lee, and it is universally known by the name
of Gearha : and the little hamlet of Ballingeary
on the Lee between Inchigeelagh and the Pass oi
Keimaneigh, would be more correctly called Bel-
langeary, for the Gaelic name is Bel-atha-an-
ghaerthaig, the ford of the river-shrubbery (see
p. 357). A good bridge now spans the old ford.
Tourists who have seen Coomidufl: near Killarney,
will remember the Gearhameen river which flows
through it into the upper lake oi; Killarney ; the

VOL. I. i$

498 Physical Features. [PART iv.

postfix meen, Irish min, signifies literally smooth,
fine, or small, indicating that this gearha was
composed of a growth of small delicate bushes.
There is also a Gearhameen west of Bantry in
Cork.

Garrdn is a shrubbery. There are a great many
places in Munster and Connaught called Garran,
Garrane, and Garraun, all derived from this word.
It is also found in Leinster, but not often, except
in Kilkenny ; and it occurs half a dozen times in
Monaghan, but I have not found it elsewhere in
Ulster. Garranamanagh, the name of a parish in
Kilkenny, signifies the shrubbery of the monks ;
and there is another parish in Cork called Gar-
ranekinnefeake, the shrubbery of Kinnefeake, a
family name. Ballingarrane, Ballygarran, Bally -
garrane, and Ballygarraun, all townland names,
signify the town of the shrubbery.

A tree. The common word for a tree is crann,
and it has retained this form unchanged from the
earliest ages, for crann occurs in the Zeuss MSS.
as a gloss on arbor : Welsh pren ; Armoric prenn.
This word forms part of the names of many places,
in every one of which there must have once stood
a remarkable tree, and for a time sufficiently long
to impress the name.

In the nominative, it generally takes the forms
Crann and Cran, which are the names of townlands
in Armagh, Cavan, and Fermanagh, and consti-
tute the beginning of many names ; such as Cran-
daniel in Waterford, Daniel's tree ; Crancam in
Roscommon and Longford, crooked tree ; Cran-
lonie in Tyrone, bare tree ; Cranacrower in Wex-
ford, the woodcocks' tree.

The genitive case, crainn, is usually pronounced
crin or creen, and the form is modified accordingly
when it occurs as a termination ; Crossmacrin in

CHAT. vm.~l Plants. 499

Galway is written in Ir-Un, Cross-maighe-crainn,
the cross of the plain of the tree. Drominacreen
in Limerick, the little hill of the tree ; Corcrain
in Armagh (Cor, a round-hill) ; and Carrowcrin,
the name of several places, the quarter-land of the
tree. With the c eclipsed, the termination is
usually -nagran, as in Ballynagran, a common
townland name, Baile-na-gcranny the town of the
trees. The ad jective crannach signifies arboreous —
a place full of trees ; and from this a great many
townlands and rivers, now called Crannagh, have
received their names.

Bile [bill a] signifies a large tree ; it seems con-
nected with Sansc. bala, a leaf, the more so as
bileog, the diminutive of the Irish word, also de-
notes a leaf. Bile was generally applied to a large
tree, which, for any reason, was held in veneration
by the people ; for instance, one under which their
chiefs used to be inaugurated, or periodical games
celebrated.

Trees of this kind were regarded with intense
reverence and affection ; one of the greatest
triumphs that a tribe could achieve over their
enemies, was to cut down their inauguration tree,
and no outrage was more keenly resented, or when
possible, visited with sharper retribution. Our
annals often record their destruction as events of
importance ; at 981 for example, we read in the
Four Masters, that the bile of Magh-adhar [Mah-
ire] in Clare, the great tree under which the
O'Briens were inaugurated — was rooted out of the
earth, and cut up, by Malachy, king of Ireland ;
and at 1111, that the Ulidians led an army to
Tullahogue, the inauguration-place of the O'Neills ,
and cut down the old trees; for which Niall
O'Loughlin afterwards exacted a retribution of
3,000 cows.

500 Physical Features. [PART iv.

These trees were pretty common in past times ;
some of them remain to this day, and are often
called Bell trees, or Bellow trees, an echo of the
old word bile. In most cases, however, they have
long since disappeared, but their names remain on
many places to attest their former existence. The
word bile would be correctly anglicised billa, as we
find it in Lisnabilla in Antrim, the fort of the
ancient tree.

As a termination it assumes several forms ; and
it is in some places used in the masculine, and in
others in the feminine (see aiteann, furze) . It is very
often made -villa, in which case it is likely to be
mistaken for the English word villa. The well-
known song " Lovely Kate of Garnavilla," will be
in the recollection of many people. The home of
the celebrated beauty lies near the town of Caher
in Tipperary, and its Irish name is Garran-a'-
bhile, the shrubbery of the ancient tree. Gortavella
and Gortavilly are the names of two townlands in
Cork and Tyrone (Gort, a field) ; Knockavilla in
several counties (knock, a hill) ; and there are
many places called Aghavilla, Aghaville, and
AghavQly, the field (achadJi) of the old tree. At
Rathvilly in Carlo w, one of these trees must have,
at some former time, flourished on or near an
ancient fort, for it is written by the annalists
Rath-bile; and in the King's County there is a
place of the same name, but spelled Rathvilla.

In some parts of Ireland, especially in the
south, the word is pronounced bella, as if spelled
beile, and this form is perpetuated in the names of
many places, for instance, Bellia, a village in
Clare, and Bellew in Meath ; Ballinvella in
Waterford, the town of the old tree, the same as
Ballinvilla, the name of places in various counties.
Near the entrance to Cork harbour there is a small

CHAP, vin.] Plants. 501

peninsula called Ringabella, the rfnn or point of
the ancient tree, which has given name to the
little bay near it.

Craebh [crave] signifies either a branch or a
large wide- spreading tree. The name, like bile.
was given to large trees, under whose shadows
games or religious rites were celebrated, or chiefs
inaugurated ; and we may conclude that one of
these trees formerly grew wherever we find the
word perpetuated in a name. Creeve, the most
usual modern form, is the name of a great many
places. In several cases, the bh is represented by
w, changing the word to Crew, which is the name
of ten or twelve places in the northern counties.
Crewhill in Kildare, is merely the phonetic re-
presentation of Craebh-choill, branchy-wood, or a
wood of branchy trees ; Loughcrew, a small lake
in Meath, giving name to a parish, is called in
Irish, Loch-craeibhe, the lake of the branchy tree ;
and the village of Mullacrew in Louth is Mullach-
craeibhe, the hill of the tree. There are more than
thirty townlands called Creevagh, i. e. branchy or
bushy land. The name of the parish of Cruagh
at the base of the moutains south of Dublin city,
has the same original form, for we find it written
" Creuaghe " and " Crevaghe " in several old
documents ; and Creevy, which is a modification
of the same word, is the name of about twenty
others : in Monaghan and Tyrone we find some
places called Derrycreevy, which signifies branchy
derry or oak-wood. Near the town of Antrim, is
a townland called Creevery, and another in
Donegal called Crevary ; both of which are from
the Irish Craebhaire, a branchy place.

The oak. We know as a historical fact that
this country formerly abounded in forests of oak,
and that for manv ages the timber continued to be

502 Physical Features. [PART iv

exported to England ; it appears to have been the
most plentiful of all Irish trees ; and we find it
commemorated in local names to a greater extent
than any ether vegetable production.

Dair [dar] the common Irish word for oak, is
found in many of the Indo-European languages ;
the Sansc. dm is a tree in general, which is
probably the primary meaning, whence it came to
signify " oak," which is the meaning of the Greek
drus ; Welsh dar ; and Armoric derd.

The old Irish form of the word, as found in
the Zeuss MSS., is daur, and this is preserved
nearly in its purity in the name of the Daar, a
little river flowing by Newcastle in Limerick,
which the people call Ahhainn-na-ddrach, the river
of the oak. There is a place near Foynes in the
Shannon, called Burnish ; Dernish is the name of
three islands in Clare, Fermanagh, and Sligo ;
and we have also Derinch and Derinish ; all of
which are from Dair-inis, as we find it written in
" "Wars of GG.," signifying oak-island.

The genitive of d-air is darach or dara, which is
very common in the end of names, in the forms of
-daragh, -dara, and -dare. Adare in Limerick is
always called in Irish documents, Ath-dara, the
ford of the oak-tree, a name which shows that a
great oak must have for many generations shaded
the ford which in ancient times crossed the
Maigue. There is a place of the same Irish name
near Dromore in Tyrone, but now called Agha-
darragh ; and we have Clondarragh in Wexford,
the meadow of the oak ; Lisnadarragh, the fort of
the oak. Darach, an adjective formation, signifies
a place full of oaks; the ancient form is daurauch,
which in the Zeuss MSS., glosses quercetum, i. e
an oak-grove. It gives name to Darragh, a parish
in the south-east of Limerick, where oaks stil]

CHAP. VITT.] Plants. 503

grow ; to Derragh in Cork, Longford, and Mayo ;
and there are places of the same name in Down
and Clare.

Doire or daire [derry] is an oak-wood, and is
almost always represented in anglicised names by
derry or derri. Derrylahan, a very usual name,
signifies broad oak-wood ; the wood still remains
on the side of a hill at Glendalough in Wicklow,
that gave it the name of Derrybawn (ban, whitish),
and this is also the name of other places ; Derry-
keighan, a parish in Antrim, is called in Irish,
Doire- Chaechain (Four Mast.), Caechan's, or Kee-
ghan's grove. When doire is joined with the gen.
mas. of the article, it becomes in English derrin,
which begins many names. Thus Derrinlaur, a
townland in which are the ruins of a castle, in
Waterford, not far from Clonmel, is mentioned by
the Four Masters, who write the name Doire-an-
lair, middle derry. And sometimes it is contracted
to der, as in Dernagree in Cork, the same as
Derrynagree in other places, the wood of the
cattle ; Derradd in Westmeath, and Derrada in
the Connaught counties, which are the same as
Derryadd in the middle and north of Ireland,
Derryadda in Mayo, and Derryfadda in the south
and west — all from Doire-fhada, long oak-wood,
the/ being aspirated and omitted in some (see p.
20).

The most ancient name of Londonderry, ac-
cording to all our authorities, was Daire-Calgaich
[Derry-Calgagh] ; Adamnan, in one place uses
this name, and elsewhere he translates it Iloboretum-
Calgachi, the oak-wood of Calgach. Calgach was
a man's name common among the ancient Irish,
signifying " fierce warrior " (still in use as a sur-
name in the form of Calligy) ; and in the Latinised
form of Galgacus, readers of Tacitus will recognise

50-1 Physical Features. [PART iv.

it, as the name of the hero who led the Caledonians
at the battle of the Grampians.

Daire-Calgaich was the old pagan name, used for
ages before St. Columba erected his monastery
there in 546 ; it was retained till the tenth or
eleventh century, when the name Derry-Columkille
began to prevail, in memory of its great patron,
and continued down till the time of James I.,
whose charter, granted to a company of London
merchants, imposed the name " Londonderry."

We have several interesting notices of the
derry, or oak-wood, that gave name to this place ;
we find it in existence more than 600 years after
the time of St. Columba ; for the Four Masters,
at 1178, record : — " A violent wind-storm occurred
this year ; it caused a great destruction of trees.
It prostrated oaks. It prostrated one hundred
and twenty trees in Derry-Columkille."

The word doire is one of the most prolific roots
in Irish names ; and if we recollect that wherever
it occurs an oak-wood once flourished, we shall
have a good idea of the great abundance of this
tree in past ages. Over 1,300 names begin with the-
word in its various forms, and there are innumer-
able places whose names contain it as a termination.
Derreen, little oak-wood, is also of very frequent
occurrence, chiefly in Munster and Connaught,
and occasionally in Leinster and Ulster ; Derreena-
taggart in Cork, the little oak-grove of the sagart
or priest. We have at least one example of the
diminutive in an in Derrane in Roscommon, which
is mentioned by the Four Masters under the name
of Doiredn.

There is yet another derivative of dair in pretty
common use, namely, dairbhre, which is now
universally pronounced darrery, the aspirated b
being wholly sunk. .According to O'Reilly, it

CHAP. VITT.] Plants. 505

sometimes means an oak ; but it is generally used
to signify an oak-forest, or a place abounding in
oaks. Valentia island is well known in our an-
cient literature by the name of Dairbhre, as the
principality of the great druid Mogh-Ru-th, who
played so important a part at the siege of Knock-
long (see p. 102). The island is now always
called Darrery in Irish, by the people of Munster —
a conclusive proof that the word darrery in the
modern language, is identical with the ancient
dairbhre.

There are two townlands in Galway, one in
Cork, and one in Limerick, called Darrery ; we
find Darraragh in Mayo, and Darrary in Cork and
Galway ; Dorrery occurs near Carrick-on-Shannon;
and this same form is preserved in Kildorrery, the
church of the oaks, a village in the north of the
county Cork, where the ruins of an old church are
still to be seen ; written Kill-darire in the Registry
of Clonmacnoise. Carrigdarrery in the parish of
Kilmurry in Cork, the rock of the oaks. We
have one notable example of the preservation of the
full ancient pronunciation in Lough Derravaragh
in Westmeath, whose Irish name, as used in the
annals is Loch Dairbhreach, the lake of the oaks.

Rail or rdl [rawl] is another term for an oak,
which we find used in the best authorities ; and it
often occurs in names, but nearly always in the
genitive form, ralach [rawlagh]. Drumralla near
Newtown Butler in Fermanagh is written by the
Four Masters, Druim-ralach, the ridge of the oak.
There is a place in Queen's County called Ball in <•
rally, the town of the oak ; another near Athlone,
called Cloonrollagh (meadow) ; and a third in
Cork, called Ardraly (height). Ralaghan, the
name of some townlands in Cavan and Monaghan ;
and Rallagh near Banagher in Derry, both signify
a place of oaks.

506 Physical Feature*. [FATIT ivs

There is yet another word for an oak, namely,
omna ; it occurs in Cormac's Glossary and in the
Book of Armagh, but it is less used in names than
the others : and as it is not liable to corruption, it
is plainly discernible when it occurs. It forms
part of the name of Portumna, a little town on
the Galway side of the Shannon, which the Four
Masters write Port-omna, the port or landing place
of the oak ; it is also seen in Gortnahomna near
Castlemartyr in Cork, the field of the oak ; and in
Drumumna in Clare, oak-ridge.

The ash. In the south and west of Ireland
there are three names for the common ash — all
modifications of the same original, viz., fuinnse,
fuinnseann, and fuinnseog [funsha, funshan, fun-
shoge] ; the last, which is the most modern, is
almost universally used, and the others are nearly
forgotten. In the north the f is omitted (see p.
27), and the word always employed is uinnseann
[unshan].

The name of the river Funshion in Cork — the
ash-producing river — preserves one of the old
forms ; and we find it also in Funshin and Fun-
shinagh, the names of several places in Connaught;
while the northern form appears in Unshinagh
and Inshinagh, which are common townland
names : — all these mean land abounding in ash-
trees. Funchoge, which has the same significa-
tion, occurs in Wexford, and we find this form as
far north as Louth ; while without the /, it be-
comes TJnshog in the parish of Tynan, Armagh,
and Hinchoge near Raheny in Dublin.

The birch. Berth [beh], the birch- tree; cognate

with the first syllable of the Latin betula, which

is a diminutive. Great numbers of places have

received their names from this tree : and some of

he most common derivatives are Beagh, Behagh,

CHAP. VTTI.] Plants. 507

Bahagh, Behy, and Beaghy ; which are all modi-
fications of Beitheach and Beithigh, birch, land,
and are found in every part of Ireland. "We find
several other places called Bahana, Behanagh,
Beheenagh, and Behernagh — all meaning a place
abounding in birch. The village of Kilbeheny in
Tipperary, near Mitchelstown, is called in the
Four Masters, Coill-beithne, birch- wood ; and this
interpretation is corroborated by the fact, that the
place is situated at the point where the little river
Behanagh (birch-producing river) joins the Fun-
shion.

In the end of names, the word takes various
forms, the most common of which is behy ; as we
find in Ballaghbehy in Limerick, and Ballaghna-
behy in Leitrim, the birchy road. Other forms
are seen in the following: — the Irish name of
Ballybay in Monaghan, is Bel-atha-beithe [Bella-
behy] , the ford- mouth of the birch ; and they still
show the ford, on which a few birches grow, or
grew until recently, that gave name to the town.
Aghavea in Fermanagh is always called in the
annals, Achadh-beithe (Four Masters), birch-field,
the same name as Aghaveagh in Donegal and
Tyrone. Coolavehy near Ballyorgan in Limerick,
the corner of the birch ; Kilbaha in Kerry and
Clare, birch- wood.

The elm. This tree is denoted by kamh [lav],
which has relatives in several other languages,
such as Latin ulmus, Ang-Sax. ellm, Eng. elm, &c.
The simple Irish form is hardly ever heard in the
present spoken language, the diminutive leamhan
[lavaun] being used in the south, and sleamhan
[slavan] in the north. These words enter largely
into names, and are subject to some curious trans-
formations; but the most general recognisable
forms are levan, kevan, and Zevaun, which are

508 Physical Features. [PART iv.

generally terminations, and signify abounding in
elms.

In the parish of Inishmacsaint in Fermanagh,
there is a place called Glenlevan, elm glen ; Bally-
levin, the town of elms, in King's County and
Donegal ; Lislevane, elm fort, in the parish of
Abbeymahon, Cork ; Drumleevan in Leitrim,
and Dromalivaun near Tarbert in Kerry, elm
ridge. The form with an initial s is often
found in the northern counties ; as in Carrick-
slavan in Leitrim, the rock of the elms ; Mullant-
lavin in the parish of Magheracloone, Monaghan,
elm hill, the s being eclipsed — Mur-an-tsleamhain
(see p. 23).

The river Laune, flowing from the lower lake
of Killarney, is called Leamhain in the Irish an-
nals, i. e. the elm river ; and this is its Irish name
at the present day, for the nasal sound of the
aspirated m is distinctly heard in the pronuncia-
tion. Leamhain [Lavin] is also the original
name of the river Leven in Scotland, for so we
find it written in Irish documents, such as th.e
Irish version of Nennius, &c. ; and the river has
given name to the territory of Lennox, which is
merely a modern corruption of its old name
Leamhna (Reeves' Adamnan, p. 379).

As a termination, the simple form leamh is seen
in Drumlamph, elm ridge, near Maghera in Derry.
There is a derivative term, leamhraidhe [lavree],
signifying a place of elms, which is anglicised
Lowery in Fermanagh and Donegal, and which
also gives name to Mullanalamphry, a townland
near Donegal town, the little hill of the elms : the
Lowerymore river traverses the Gap of Barnes-
more in Donegal. Lavagh, the English form of
Learn hack, a place of elms, is the name of some
townlands in the midland and western counties.

CHAP, viii.] Plants. 509

The oblique form Lcamhaidh [Lavy : see p. 33J, is
very correctly anglicised Lavey, the name of a
parish in Cavan ; and with the aspirated m restored
(see p. 43), we see the same word in Lammy, the
name of some townlands in Tyrone and Fer-
managh.

An elm wood was called Leamhchoitt [lavwhill]
and this compound, subject to various alterations,
exists at the present day, showing where these
woods formerly flourished. The usual anglicised
forms are Laughil, Laghil, Laghile, Loghill, and
Loughill — the names of many places in the middle,
south, and west of Ireland ; Cloonlaughil in
Leitrim and Sligo, the meadow of the elm. wood
But the most curious transformation is Longfield
(for which see p. 39) ; in Tyrone, near Lough
Neagh, occurs a kind of metamorphic form in
Magheralamfield the plain of the elm wood.

The yew. Of all European trees the yew is be-
lieved to attain the greatest age ; there are several
individual yews in England which are undoubtedly
as old as the Christian era, and some are believed
to be much older. We have some very old yews
in Ireland also ; one, for instance, at Clontarf , has
probably reached the age of six or seven hundred
years; and at the ruined castle of Aughnanure
Afield of the yews) near Oughterard in Galway,
there is yet to be seen one venerable solitary yew,
the sole survivor of these that gave name to the
place, which cannot be less than 1,000 years old.

We have two words for the yew-tree, evidently
of the same origin, and both very common in
names, viz., eo [o or yo] and iubhar [oor or yure].
E6 is common to the Celtic, Teutonic, and Clas-
sical languages: — Low Lat. ivus, Fr. if, Welsh
yw, Arm. iwn ; Ang.-Sax. w, Eng. yew. " As the
yew is distinguished by its remarkable longevity,

510 Physical Features. [PART TV.

one may conjecture a connection of the O. H.
German iwa with ewa eternity, Gr. aidn, Lat.
cevuniy Goth aivs" [Eng. age and ever~\ (Pictet,
" Origines"). Cormac mac Cullenan made the
same observation a thousand years ago in his
Glossary, when he derived iubhar from eo, ever,
and barr, top, " because it never loses its top, i. e.
it is ever-green."

In the seventh century, St. Colman, an Irish
monk, having retired from the see of Lindisfarne,
returned to his native country, and erected a
monastery at a place called Magh-eo or Mageo
(Bede), the plain of the yews, in which he settled
a number of English monks whom he had brough t
over with him. For many ages afterwards, this
monastery was constantly resorted to by monks
from Britain, and hence it is generally called in
the annals Magheo-na-Saxan, i. e. Mayo of the
Saxons. The ruins of the old abbey still remain
at the village ; and from this place the county
Mayo derives its name. Mayo is also the name of
several other places, and in all cases it has the
same signification. There is a parish in Clare,
taking its name from an old church, called in the
annals Magh-neo, now Moynoe, which is the same
name as Mayo, only with the addition of the n of
the old genitive plural. The word eo is very often
represented by o or oe as a termination, as in Killoe
in Longford, Cill-eo (O'Cl. Gal.), the church of the
yews : Gleno and Glenoe, yew-glen.

The compound eochaill [ohill], signifying yew-
wood, in various modern forms gives names to a
great many places. The best known is Youghal
at the mouth of the Blackwater (Eochaill : Four
Mast.), which was so called from an ancient yew-
wood that grew on the hill slope where the town
now stands ; and even yet some of the old yews

CHAP VM i.] Plants. 511

remain there. On the strand beside the town
there is an ancient bog now covered by the sea,
but exposed at neap tides : and it is an interesting
fact that the roots and other parts of trees found
in this bog are nearly all yew.

The term eochaill is more common, however, in
the form Oghill, which is the name of about
twenty townlands in various counties. It occurs
in Tipperary as Aughall, and in Derry as Aughil ;
the plural forms, Oghilly, Oghly, and Aghilly
(yew- woods), are found in Gralway and Do-
negal ; and the English plural, Aughils and
Aghills, in Kerry and Cork. Donohill in Tipper-
ary, the fortress of the yew- wood ; the parish of
Cloonoghill in Sligo is called in " Hy Fiachrach "
Cluain-eochaille the meadow of the yew-wood ; and
there is another place of the same name in Ros-
common ; while the form Clonoghill is found in
King's and Queen's Counties.

The other term, iubhar, is the word now used
in the spoken language, and it is still more com-
mon in local nomenclature than eo. As a termina-
tion it occurs in the form of -ure, or with the
article -nure, in great numbers of names all over
the country. Terenure is a place near Dublin
whose name signifies the land of the yew (Tir-an-
iubhair], and the demesne contains, or contained
until lately, some very large yew-trees. The
village — now a suburb of Dublin — that was built
on this townland, was called from its shape,
Roundtown ; but the good taste of the present
proprietor has restored the old name Terenure, and
" Roundtown " is now fast falling into disuse.
Ballynure and Ballinure, the name of a great
many places, yew- town ; Ahanure, the ford of the
yew: Ardnanure, height of the yews. In the
parish of Killelagh, Londonderry, there is a town-

512 Physical Features. [PART iv.

land called Gortinure, which the Four Masters
call Gort-an-iubkair, the field of the yew ; and this
is also the name of several other townlands.
There are many old churches giving names to
townlands and parishes, called Killure and Kill-
anure, the church of the yew, no doubt from the
common practice of planting yew-trees near
churches. The townland and parish of Uregare
in Limerick, must have received the name from
some remarkable yew-tree, for the name is lubhar-
ghearr [Yure-yar], short yew.

Newry, in Down, was anciently called lubhar-
cinntragha [ Yure-kintraw], the yew-tree at the head
of the strand, of which the oldest form is found in
the Leabhar-na-hUidhre, viz., Ibur-cind-trachta.
It appears by a curious entry in the Four Masters
to have derived its name from a tree planted
by St. Patrick, and which continued to flourish
for 700 years after him:— "A.D. 1162. The
monastery of the monks at lubhar-cinn-tragha
was burned, with all its furniture and books, and
also the yew which St. Patrick himself had
planted." The tree must have been situated hear
the highest point to which the tide rises, for this
is what the word ceann-tragha, strand- head denotes.
In after ages, the full name was shortened to
lubhar, which by prefixing the article (p. 23), and
making some other alterations, was reduced to the
present name. It is interesting to observe that on
the ancient seal of the Lordship of Newry there
is a mitred abbot seated in a chair, with two yew-
trees, standing one on each side of him.

We have also other places called Newry; and the
shortened form, Nure, is the name of several town-
lands. Uragh, a place abounding in yews, is
sometimes met with, and the same name, by the
attraction of the article (p. 23), becomes Newragh,

CHAP, viii.] Plants.

which in many cases, especially in the Leinster
counties, is corrupted into Newrath.

The quicken-tree. Caerthainn [keeran or caur-
han], is the Irish word for the quicken-tree,
mountain ash, or rowan-tree. It enters into names
very often in the form of Keeran, which is the
name of several townlands ; but it undergoes many
other modifications, such as Keerhan in Louth ;
Carhan in Kerry, as in case of the river Carhan
(quicken-tree river) at Cahersiveen; Kerane and
Keraun inTipperary and King's County : — all these
places must have produced this tree in abundance,
for the names mean simply mountain ash. Drum-
keeran, the ridge of the quicken- tree, is the name of
a village in Leitrim, of a parish in Fermanagh, and
of several townlands in the northern counties.

The holly. This tree is denoted by Cuillion
[cullion], which, as a root word, is. very widely
diffused over the country, and is in general very
easily recognised. There are fifteen townlands,
all in the Ulster counties, called Cullion,
signifying holly or holly-laud ; another form.
Cullen, is the name of some townlands ; but Cullen
parish in Cork has a different origin. Cullen in
Tipperary is called by the Four Masters, Cuilkann-
0-gCuanach [0-goonagh], from the old territory
of Coonagh, to which it must have formerly
belonged. This word enters into numerous com-
pounds, but generally in the form cullen ; as ii;
Drumcullen in King's County, Druim-cmllinn
(Four Mast.), holly ridge ; Moycullen in Galway,
the plain of holly ; Knockacullen, holly hill. Many
have believed that Slieve Gullion in Armagh took
its name from the great artificer Culann, who had
his forge on it (see 2nd Vol., c. viii.). But if thit-
were the case, the ancient name should be written
Sliabh- Culainn ; whereas we know that in the

34

514 Physical Features. [PART iv

oldest and best authorities, it is Sliabh-Cuillinn,
which admits of only one interpretation, the moun-
tain of holly. There are two derivatives of this
word, Cullenagh and Cullentragh, Cullentra or
Cullendra, which give names to about sixty town-
lands and villages ; the former is more usual in the
south, and the latter in the north ; and both were
originally applied to a place abounding in holly.

The hazel. This tree was formerly held in
great estimation in Ireland : we are told that
Mac Cuill (literally "son of the hazel"), one of
the three last kings of the Dedannans, was so
called because he worshipped the hazel. When
the old writers record, as they frequently do,
that the country prospered under the benign rule
of a good king, they usually state, as one of the
indications of plenty, that the hazels bended with
abundance of nuts ; and the salmon that ate
the nuts which fell from the nine hazel-trees
growing round certain great river fountains,
became a "salmon of knowledge;" for whoever
took and ate one of these fish, became imme-
diately inspired with the spirit of poetry.

Coll is the Irish word for a hazel, correspond-
ing with Lat. corylus. It is often difficult to
distinguish the modern forms of this word from
those of several others ; in the beginning of
names it is usually represented by coll, col, cole, cull,
and cul, but some of these syllables are often of
doubtful signification. Cullane and Cullaun are
the names of some townlands in Kilkenny and
the Munster counties ; Cullan occurs in Mayo ;
and Collon is a village and parish in Louth : all
these signify a place where hazels grow. The
name of the celebrated Slieve Callan in Clare has
the same signification; for it is written Collun
in the old authorities. Colkhoill [culhill], hazel-

CHAP, viii. j Plants. 515

wood, like leamh-choitt (p. 509) is subject to con-
siderable variations of form : as Cullahill, we find
it in Tipper ary and Queen's County ; Colehill in
Donegal, King's County, Longford, and Meath;
and Callowhill in Fermanagh, Leitrim, Monagh-
an and Wicklow.

As a termination, the word coll takes the dif-
ferent forms, -kyle, quill, and coyle, all representing
the genitive, cuill; Barnakyle near Mungret in
Limerick, and Barnacoyle in Wicklow, hazel-gap ;
Monaquill in Tipperary, Carnquill in Monaghan,
and Lisaquill in Longford and Monaghan, the
bog, the earn, and the fort of the hazel.

The alder. This tree is called fearn [farn] in
Irish ; but in the present spoken language the
diminutive fearnog (farnoge) is always used. The
syllables farn and fern, which are found in names
in every part of Ireland, indicate the prevalence
of this tree : thus we have several places called
Farnagh, Fernagh, and Ferney, denoting a place
producing alders ; and Farnane and Farnoge are
used in the same sense. Ferns in Wexford is
well known in ecclesiastical and other records by
the name of Fearna, i. e. alders or a place
abounding in alders. Glenfarne, a beautiful
valley near Manorhamilton, is called by the Four
Masters Gleann-fearna, the alder glen. When
the/ is eclipsed (p. 22), the terminations, -navarn,
-navern, -navarna, &c., are formed : Gortnavern
in Donegal and Gortnavarnoge in Tipperary,
alder field; Lecknavarna in Galway, the flag-
stone of the alders.

The celebrated territory of Farney in Monaghan
is called Fearnmhagh [Farnvah] in the Book
of Rights and other Irish documents, which was
softened down to the present form by the aspira-
tion of the m and g. This name signifies alder-

516 Physical Features. [PART rv.

plain ; and even so late as the seventeenth cen-
tury, the alder-woods remained in considerable
abundance (see Mr. E. P. Shirley's account of the
barony of Farney, page 1).

The apple-tree. Abhall or ubhall signifies both
an apple and an apple tree : — pronounced owl or
ool, and sometimes avel. The ancient Irish form,
as found in the Zeuss MSS., is aball, which cor-
responds with the Ang.-Sax. appel, Eng. apple.

This word enters largely into local names, and
very often assumes the forms owl, ool, oivle, &c.
Aghowle in Wicklow is called in Irish documents
Achadh-abhla, the field of the apple-trees ; the
same name is found in Fermanagh, in the slightly
different form Aghyowle ; and in Leitrim Aghy-
owla. Ballyhooly on the Blackwater, below
Mallow, is called in the Book of Lismore, Ath-
ubhla [Ahoola], the ford of the apples; and the
present name was formed by prefixing Bally : —
Baila-atha-ubhla (now pronounced Elaa-hoola),
the town of the apple-ford.

In many places, and especially in some parts of
the north, the word abhall is used in the sense of
"orchard;" as, for instance, in Avalreagh in
Monaghan, grey orchard ; Annahavil in London-
derry and Tyrone, the marsh of the orchard.
Very much the same meaning has Oola on the
Limerick and Waterford railway, which preserves
exactly the sound of the Irish name, Ubhla, i. e.
apple-trees, or a place of apples.

The proper and usual word for an orchard,
however, is abhalghort [oulart], literally apple-
garden, which is of pretty frequent occurrence,
subject to some variations of spelling. The most
common form is Oulart, the name of several
places in Wexford ; Ballinoulart in Wexford and
King's County, and Ballywhollart in Down, both

CHAP, viii.] Plants. 517

signify the town of the orchard. Another form
appears in Knockullard in Carlow, orchard- hill ;
but Ullard in Kilkenny has a different origin.

The elder-tree. The elder or boortree is called
tromm or trom, gen. truim [trim]. The best
known place named from this tree is Trim in
Meath, which was so called from the elder-trees
that grew near the old ford across the Boyne :
it is called in the Book of Armagh Vadum- Truimm,
a half translation of its Irish name, Ath-Truim-
the ford of the boortrees, of which only the lattei
part has been retained. We have numerous
names terminating in -trim and -trime, which
always represent the genitive of trom; Galtrim
in Meath, once a place of some importance, is
called in the annals, Cala-truim, the callow or
holm of the elder ; Gortvunatrime near Emly in
Tipperary, the gort or field of the bottom-land
(bun) of the elder. The old name of the moun-
tain now called Bessy Bell, near Newtownstewart.
was Sliabh-truim (Four M.), the mountain of the
elder.

A place where elders grow is often called
tromaire [trummera], from which Trummery in
Antrim derives its name; it is shortened to
Trummer, as the name of a little island in the
Clare part of the Shannon ; and in Wexford it
takes the form of Trimmer. Tromdn, a diminu-
tive of tromm, meaning either the elder-tree or a
place producing elder, has given name to Tromaun
in Roscommon, to Tromman in Meath, and to
Trainman in Donegal.

The black-thorn. Draeighean [dreean] is the
black-thorn or sloe-bush; the old Irish form as
given in Cormac's Glossary is droigen; Welsh
draen; Cornish drain. The simple word give?
names to several places in Antrim, Derry, and

518 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Tyrone, now called Dreen, Drain, and Drains,
i. e. black -thorn. Drinan near Kinsaley in Dublin
is called Draighnen by the Four Masters, i. e. a
place producing black-thorns. This diminutive
form is much more common than the primitive,
and in most parts of Ireland the sloe-bush is
called drinan, or drinan-donn (brown). It gives
names to various places now called Dreenan,
Drinane, and Drinaun. The adjective form,
draeighneach, and its diminutive, draeighneachdn,
are also very common as townland names, in the
modern forms, Dreenagh, Drinagh, Driny, and
Drinaghan, signifying a place abounding in sloe-
bushes. Aghadreenagh, Aghadreenan, Aghadrin-
agh, and Aghadreen, are the names of townlands
in various counties, all meaning the field of the
sloe-bushes.

The sloe is designated by the Irish word airne
[arny], which is found pretty often in the end of
names, in the form of -arney. For the original
name of Killarney in Kerry, we have not, as far
as I am aware, any written authority ; but I see
no reason to question the opinion already advanced
by others, that the Irish name is Cill-airneadh,
the church of the sloes. This opinion is corrobo-
rated by the frequency of the same termination :
thus we have a Killarney in Kilkenny, another in
Roscommon, and a third near Bray in Wicklow.
Near Clones, there is a townland called Magher-
arny, the plain of the sloes; Clonarney in
Westmeath and Cavan, sloe-meadow ; Mullarney
in Kildare, the summit of the sloes, &c.

The white-tJiorn or haw-tree — Irish, sceach
[skagh]. From these thorn-bushes, so plentifully
diffused over the whole country, a vast number of
places have received their names. There are nu-
merous townlands called Skagh, Skea, and Skeagh,

CHAP, viii.] Plants. 519

i. e. simply a thorn-bush ; and these, along with
the shorter form, Ske, begin the names of many
others, such as Skeaghanore in Cork, the bush of
the gold, and Skenarget in Tyrone, of the silver,
both probably so called because the bushes marked
the spots where the peasantry dreamed of, and
dug for money.

As a termination, the word takes these same
forms, in addition to several others, such as -ske,
-skeha, -skehy, &c. ; as in Gortnaskeagh, Gort-
naskehy, and Gortnaskey, all of which are the
names of townlands, and signify the field of the
white- thorns ; Tullynaskeagh, andKnocknaskeagh,
both signifying white- thorn hill ; Baunskeha in
Kilkenny, the green field of the bush ; Aghna-
skeha, Aghnaskeagh, and Aghnaskew, bushy field
(achadh) ; Clonskeagh in Dublin, and Cloonskeagh
in Mayo, the cloon or meadow of the white-thorn
bushes. • Lisnaskea in Fermanagh (the fort of the
bush), took its name from the celebrated tree called
Sceath-ghabhra, under which the Maguire used to
be inaugurated. There are some places in Donegal,
Fermanagh, and Tyrone, called Skeoge, and we
have several townlands with the name of Skeheen,
both these signifying a little bush, or a little bushy
brake. Skehanagh and Skahanagh, a bushy place,
are the names of townlands in every part of
Ireland, except Ulster.

The furze. Aiteann [attan] is our word for the
furze ; old Irish, aitten (Cor. GL), Welsh eithin ;
and it is found chiefly as a termination in two
different forms, -attin and -attina. The first is
seen in Cool attin, the name of some places in
Limerick, Wicklow, and Wexford, signifying the
corner of the furze ; and the second in Ballyna-
hattina in Galway, the same as Ballynahatten in
Down and Louth, and Ballinattin in Waterford

520 Physical Features. [PART iv.

and Tipperary, the town of the furze. The Irish
scholar will remark that in these names the word
is used in the masculine in the south, and in the
feminine in the north and west ; and I may re-
mark here, once for all, that I have also observed
this difference of gender inflexion according to
locality, in case of the names of some other natural
productions.

The heath. The common heath — erica vulgar is
— is denoted by the word fraech ; as may be ex-
pected, it enters entensively into names, and
often er as a termination than otherwise. In the
beginning of names, and when it stands alone, it
is usually represented by Freagh and Freugh ;
thus Freaghillaun is the name of several little
islands round various parts of the coast, signifying
heathy island; Freaghmore in Westmeath, and
Freughmore in Tyrone, great heath. We find,
however, Freeduff — black heath — in Armagh and
Cavan, the same as FreaghdufE in Tipperary.

As a termination it takes the form -free, which
exactly represents the pronunciation of the geni-
tive, fraeigh. Inishfree, a little island in Lough
Gill, is called by the Four Masters, Inis-fraeich,
heathy island ; and there are islands of the same
name off the coast of Donegal, and elsewhere-
Coolf ree, heathy corner, is a townland near Bally-
organ in Limerick. When the article is used, the
^"disappears by aspiration (p. 20), and the word
becomes -ree ; but then this syllable is often also
the modern form of righ, a king : — Thus Ballinree,
which is the name of about a dozen townlands,
might represent either Baile-an-righ, the town of
the king, or Baik-an-fliraeigh, of the heather.

The diminutives fraechdn and fraechog — but
principally the former — are used to denote the
bilberry, or whortleberry, or " hurt," as it is called

Plants. 521

over a great part of Munster, a contraction of
"hurtle" or " whortle." In other parts of Ireland
these berries get their proper Irish name ; and the
citizens of Dublin are well accustomed to see
"fraughans" exposed for sale in baskets, by
women who pick them on the neighbouring hills.
Freahanes and Frehans, i. e. whortleberries, are
the names of two townlands, one near Boss Car-
berry, the other in Tipperary ; and by a change
of ch to/ (p. 52), it becomes Freffans in Meath.
On the northern side of Seefin mountain over
Glenosheen in Limerick, there is a deep glen called
Lyrenafreaghaun, which represents the Irish
Ladhar-na-bhfraechdn, the river-branch of the
whortleberries ; and it produces them as plenti-
fully to-day as when it got the name. Kilnaf rehan
in Waterford, and Kylefreaghane in Tipperary,
bilberry- wood ; Binnafreaghan in Tyrone, the
peak of the whortleberries.

The ivy. The different kinds of ivy are denoted
by the term eidhnedn [ine-aun], which is a diminu-
tive of the older form eden, as given in Cormac's
Glossary; Welsh eiddew. In its simple form it
gives name to Inan in Meath, and to Inane in
Cork and Tipperary, both meaning an ivy-covered
place. The adjective form eidhnach [inagh],
abounding in ivy, is, however, much more com-
mon, and it occurs in MSS. of authority. There
is a river in Clare called Inagh, from which a
parish takes name, and also a river in Donegal,
flowing into Inver Bay, called Eany (which gives
name to Gleneany, through which it flows), both
of which the Four Masters mention by the name
of Eidhneach, i. e. the ivy-producing river.

The celebrated monastery of Clonenagh in
Queen's County was founded by St. Fintan in the
middle of the sixth century. It is called in O'Clery's

522 Physical Features. [PART iv.

Calendar and other Irish documents, Cluain-eidkn-
cch, which, in the Latin Life of the founder is
translated Latibulum hederosum, the retreat (i. e.
the cloon] of the ivy. It is interesting to observe
that this epithet is as applicable to-day as it was
in the time of St. Fintan ; for the place produces
a luxuriant growth of ivy, which clothes the gable
of the old church, and all the trees in the neigh-
bourhood.

CHAPTER IX.

SHAPE AND POSITION.

A REAL or fancied resemblance to different parts
of the human body, has originated a great variety
of topographical names all over the country. Most
of the bodily members have been turned to account
in this manner : and the natural features compared
with, and named from them, are generally, but
not always, hills.

The head. The word ceann [can], a head, is used
much in the same way as the English word, to
denote the head, front, or highest part of anything ;
and it commonly appears in anglicised names, in
the forms can, ken, kin. There is a place near
Callan in Kilkenny called Cannafahy, whose Irish
name is Ceann-na-faithche, the head of the exercise-
green ; Kincon in Mayo and Armagh, the hound's
head, so called from some peculiarity of shape ;
Kinard, high head or hill ; Kinturk, the head or
hill of the boar.

The highest point reached by the tide in a river
was sometimes designated by the term ceann-mara,
i. e. the head of the sea ; from a spot of this kind

CHAP, ix.] Shape and Position. 523

on the river Roughty, the town of Kenmare in
Kerry received its name ; and Kinvarra in Gralway
originated in the same way, for the Four Masters
call it Ceannmhara. Another compound, ceannsaile
[cansauly], also used to express the same idea,
means literally the head of the brine, and from
this we have the name of Kinsale in Cork, of
Kinsalebeg in Waterford (beg, little, to distinguish
it from the preceding), of Kinsaley, a parish north
of Dublin ; and of Kintale in the parish of Killy-
garvan in Donegal, in which last the s is eclipsed
by t.

The forehead is denoted in Irish by the word
eudan [edan], which is used topographically to
signify a hill-brow. There is a small town in
King's County, another in Antrim, and half a
dozen townlands in several counties, called Eden-
derry ; all of which are from the Irish Eudan-doire,
the hill-brow of the oak-wood. This word, Eden
— always with the same meaning — is much used
in the northern and north-western counties in
local nomenclature ; it is itself the name of about
a dozen places ; and it forms the beginning of
more than 100 other names. It is occasionally
contracted; as in Ednashanlaght in Tyrone, the
hill-brow of the old sepulchre (leacht).

The nose. Sron [srone], the nose, is often ap-
plied to prominent points of hills, or abrupt pro-
montories ; and in this sense we sometimes find it
in townland names ; as in Sroankeeragh in Ros-
common, the sheep's nose ; Shronebeha in Cork,
the nose or point of the birch.

The throat. The word braghad [braud], which
literally signifies the gullet or windpipe, is locally
applied to a gorge or deeply-cut glen ; and of this
application, the river and valley of the Braid near
Ballymena in Antrim, form a very characteristic

524 Physical Features. [PART iv.

example. There are also towulands in Donegal
and Fermanagh called Braade, which is the same
word. The diminutive Bradoge, little gorge, is
the name of a small stream flowing by Grange-
gorman into the LifEey on the north side of Dublin,
and of another flowing into the sea at Bundoran in
Donegal ; and the same word gives name to a
townland in Monaghan now called Braddocks.
Sc6rnach is another term for the windpipe ; it is
applied to a remarkable glen cut through the hills
near Tallaght in Dublin, now called the gap of
Ballinascorney, i. e. the town of the gorge ; and
there is a place called Scornagh on the Lee, three
miles above Ballincollig.

The shoulder. Guala orgualann [goola, goolan]
signifies the shoulder, and was often applied to a hill.
The village of Shanagolden in Limerick is called
in Irish authorities, Seanghualann, old shoulder
or hill, and this is also the Irish name still in use.

The back. The literal meaning of the word
druim [drum] is a back, exactly the same as the
Latin dorsum, with which it is also cognate. In
its local application, it signifies a long low hill or
ridge ; and in this sense also it is often translated
by dorsum. It is one of the most common of all root
words in Irish names ; its most usual anglicised forms
are Drum, Drom, and Drim; and these syllables
begin about 2,400 names of townlands, towns, and
villages, besides the countless names that contain
this very prolific root otherwise combined. In
Munster it is very generally pronounced droum,
and in many names it is modernised accordingly.

There are several places in the southern and
western counties, called Dromada and Dromadda,
the Irish name of which is Druim-fhada, long
ridge, the sound of /being wholly sunk by aspira-
tion (p. 20) ; in some of the northern countie-

CHAP, ix.] Shape and Position. 525

the /is retained, and the name becomes Drumfad.
Drumagh in Queen's County, Drimagh in Wex-
ford, and Dromagh in Cork, signify ridged land, a
place full of drums or ridges.

In many combinations of this word, the d sound
is lost by aspiration. Aughrim near Ballinasloe in
Gal way, the scene of the battle of 1691, has its
name formed in this way ; it is called in Irist
authorities, Each-dhruim, which Colgan translates
egui-mons, i. e. horse-hill; and the pronunciation
of the ancient name is well preserved in the
modern. There are, besides this, about twenty
Aughrims in Ireland. Sometimes the d sound is
changed to that of t, as in Leitrim, the name of
one of the counties, and of more than forty town-
lands scattered over Ireland : — Liath-dhruim (Four
Mast.), grey ridge (see Sheetrim, p. 185).

The diminutive Druimin [Drimmeen], has given
names to various places now called Drimeen, Dro-
meen, and Drummeen. Dromainn [drumin], which
is perhaps a diminutive, also means a ridge, much
the same as druim itself, and this word originated
the names of all those places called Dromin,
Drummin, and Drummans ; in the northern
counties it is often corrupted to Drummond (p. 62),
which is the name of about twenty townlands.
Another development of druim is druimneach or
druimne, meaning ridges or ridged land, originating
a new growth of names. For example, Drimnagh
Castle and parish, three miles south-west from
Dublin, took the name from the little sand-ridges
now called the Green Hills. Drimna, Dromnagh,
and Drumina, the names of places in various parts
of Ireland, are all different forms of this word.

The Irish word toin [thone] signifies the back-
side, exactly the same as the Latin podex. It was
very often used to designate hills, and also low-

526 Physical Features. [PART iv.

lying or bottom lands ; and it usually retains the
original form ton ; as we see in Tonduff, Tonbaun,
and Tonroe, black, white, and red backside,
respectively ; Toneel, in Fermanagh, the bottom
land of the lime.

One particular compound, Ton-le-gaeith, which
literally signifies " backside to the wind," seems to
have been a favourite term ; for there are a great
many hills all through the country with this name,
which are now called Tonlegee. Sometimes the
preposition re is used instead of le — both having
the same meaning— and the name in this case
becomes Tonregee. In this last a d is often in-
serted after the n (p. 62), and this with one or two
other trifling changes, has developed the form
Tanderagee, the name of a little town in Armagh,
and of ten townlands, all in the Ulster counties,
except one in Meath, and one in Kildare.

The side. Irish taebh [teev]. This, like the
corresponding English word, is applied to the side
of a hill ; and its usual anglicised forms are tieve
and teev. Tievenavarnog in Fermanagh represents
the Irish Taebh-na-bhfearnog, the hill-side of the
alders; Teevnabinnia in Mayo, the side of the
pinnacle. Joined with leath, half (p. 242), it forms
Lateeve, half side, i. e. one of two sides of a hill :
Aghalateeve, the field of the half side.

The thigh. The word mas [mauce] the thigh,
is locally applied to a long low hill. It gives
name to several places in the western counties, now
called Mace ; Masreagh in Sligo, Massreagh in
Donegal, and Mausrevagh in Galway, grey hill.
Mausrower in Kerry, fat or thick hill. There is a
castle near Antrim town called Massereene, giving
name to two baronies ; this name, which originally
belonged to a small friary of Franciscans, founded
about the year 1500 by one of the O'Neills, is

CHAP, ix.] Shape and Position. 527

written in O'Mellan's Journal of Phelim O'Neill,
Masareghna, which is little different from the
correct Irish form Mds-a-rioghna, the queen's hill
(Reeves, Eccl. Ant., p. 389).

The shin. Irish lurga or lurgan. This wore,
like the last, was often applied to a long low ridgo,
or to a long stripe of land. From the first form,
some townlands, chiefly in the south, are called
Lurraga. The second form was much used in the
northern and western counties, in which there
are about thirty places called Lurgan, and more
than sixty others of whose name it forms a part.

The foot. The word cos [cuss], a foot, is used
locally to express the foot, or bottom or lower end
of any thing ; the form found in anglicised names
is generally cmh, which represents, not the
nominative but the dative (cois, pron. cush), of the
original word (p. 34). Gush and Cuss, i. e. foot, are
the names of some places in the middle and southern
counties. Cushendun in Antrim is called by the
Four Masters, Bun-abhann-Duine, the end, i. e.
the mouth of the river Dun ; this was afterwards
changed to Cois-abhann-Duine [Cush-oun-dunny],
which has the same meaning, and which has
been gradually compressed into the present name.
Cushendall was in like manner contracted from Cois-
abhann-Dhalla, the foot or termination of the
river Dall (Reeves, Eccl. Ant., pp. 83, 283). In
the Ordnance Memoir of the parish of Templemore
(p. 213), it is conjectured that the stream which
flows by Coshquin near Londonderry was anciently
called Caein [keen], i. e. beautiful; whence the
place got the name of Cois-Caeine, the end of the
river Caein, now shortened to Coshquin.

The barony of Coshlea in Limerick, was so
called from its position with respect to the Galty
mountains ; its Irish name being Cois-skibhe [Cush-

528 Physical Features. [PART TV.

leva], i. e. (at) the foot of the mountain ; and this
signification is still preserved in the name of a
place, now called Mountain-foot, situated at the
base of this fine range. Sometimes the word cois
(which is in this case a remnant of the compound
preposition, a-gcois or a-cois), is used to express
contiguity or nearness ; in this sense it appears in
the name of the barony of Coshma in Limerick,
Cois-Maighe (the district) near or along the river
Maigue ; and in that of Coshbride in Waterford,
the territory by the river Bride.

Besides the names enumerated in the preceding
part of this chapter, many others are derived from
their resemblance to various objects, natural or
artificial ; and many from their position or from
their direction with respect to other places. Of
these the following will be a sufficient specimen.

Bun means the bottom or end of anything ;
Bunlahy in Longford, the end of the lahagh or
slough. It is very often applied to the end, that
is, the mouth, of a river, and many places situated
at river-mouths have in this manner received their
names ; as Buncrana in Donegal, the mouth of the
river Crana ; Bunratty in Clare, the mouth of the
river formerly called the Ratty, but now the Owen
Ogarney, because it flows through the ancient
territory of the O'Carneys. Bonamargy in the
parish of Culfeightrin, Antrim, the mouth of the
Margy or Carey river ; Bunmahon in Waterford,
the mouth of the river Mahon.

Bdrr [baur] is the top of anything. Barmona
in Wexford, the top of the bog ; Barravore in
Wicklow, great top ; Barmeen in Antrim, smooth
top ; Barreragh in Cork, western top. In some
of the northern counties, the barr of a townland
means the high or hilly part ; and from this we
derive such names as the Barr of Slawin in Fer-

CHAP, ix. tihajjc and Position.

managh, i. e. the top or highest part of the town-
land of Slawin.

Gabhal £goul, gowal, and gole], a fork, old Irish,
gdbul, from the verb gab, to take. It is a word in
very extensive local use in every part of Ireland,
being generally, though not always, applied to
river-forks ; and it assumes a variety of forms in
accordance with different modes of pronunciation.
The simple word is seen in such names as Gole,
Gowel, and Goul ; and the plural Gola (forks) is
pretty common in the northern counties. At Lis-
goole near Enniskillen, there was formerly a
monastery of some note, which the Four Masters
call Lis-gabhail, the fort of the fork. There is a
remarkable valley between the mountains of
Slieve-an-ierin and Quilcagh, near the source of
the Shannon, now called Glengavlin ; but the Four
Masters give the name at A.D. 1390, Gleann-
gaibhk [gavla] , the glen of the fork.

The land enclosed by two branches of a river
was often designated by the compound Eadar-dha-
ghabhal [Adragoul], or Eadar-ghalhal [Adder-
goul], i. e. (a place) between two (river) prongs ;
and this has given names to many places, in the
various forms, Addergoole, Adderagool, Addri-
goole, Adrigole, Adrigool, Edergole, and Eder-
goole.

The diminutives are still more widely spread
than the original ; and they give names to those
places called Golan, Goleen, Goulaun, Gowlan,
Gowlane, and Gowlaun, all signifying a little fork,
commonly a fork formed by rivers. At the village
of Golden in Tipperary, the river Suir divides for
a short distance, and encloses a small island ; this
small bifurcation was, and is still, called in Irish,
Gabhailin [gouleen] which has been corrupted to
the present name of the village, Golden.
VOL. i. 35

530 Physical Features. [PART IV.

In some parts of the south this word is pro-
nounced gyle, and hence we have Gyleen, the name
of a village near Trabolgan, just outside Cork
harbour. There are two conical mountains a little
west of Glengariff in Cork, between which ran the
old road to Castletown Bearhaven ; they stand up
somewhat like the prongs of a fork, and hence
they are called Goulmore and Goulbeg, great
and little fork ; but the former is now better
known by the name of Sugar-loaf. This very
remarkable mountain is also often called Sliabh
na-gaibhle, the mountain of the fork, which is
pronounced Slieve-na-goila ; and many people now
believe that this signifies the mountain of the wild
men !

Another word for a fork is ladhar [pron. lyre in
the south, lear in the north], which is also much
used in forming names, and like gabhal is applied
to a fork formed by streams or glens. There are
many rivers and places in the south called Lyre,
and others in the north called Lear, both of which
are anglicised forms of this word ; and the
diminutives Lyreen, Lyrane, and Lyranes (little
river-forks), are the names of some places in Cork,
Kerry, and "Waterford. Near Inchigeela in Cork,
there is a townland called, from its exposed
situation, Lyrenageeha, the fork of the wind ;
Lyranearla in Waterford, near Clonmel, the earl's
river-fork. On the southern side of Seefin
mountain, three miles south of Kilfinane in
Limerick, is a bright little valley traversed by a
sparkling streamlet ; which, from its warm sunny
aspect, is called Lyre-na-grena, in Irish Ladhar-
na-(/reine, the valley of the sun.

Citil [cooil] secessus (Colgan) — a corner or angle ;
it is very extensively used in lorruing local names,
generally in the forms of cool and cole, but it is

CHAP, ix.] Shape and Position.

often difficult to tell whether these syllables,
especially the first, represent ciiil, a corner, or cul
[cool] , a back. The barony of Coole in Fermanagh
received its name from a point of land extending
into Upper Lough Erne, which was anciently
called Cuil-na-noirear (Four M.\ the angle of
the coasts or harbours. There is a place in
King's County called Coleraine ; Coolrain is the
name of a village and of some townlands in
Queen's County ; and we find Coolrainey in Wex-
ford, Coolrahnee near Askeaton, and Coolraine
near Limerick city. All these names are originally
the same as that of Coleraine in Londondeny,
which is explained in an interesting passage in the
Tripartite Life of St. Patrick. When the saint, in
his journey through the north, arrived in this
neighbourhood, he was received with great honour
and hospitably entertained by a chieftain named
Nadslua, who also offered him a piece of ground
on which to build a church. And when the saint
inquired where the place was, it was pointed out
to him on the bank of the river Bann : it was a
spot overgrown with ferns, and some boys were at
the moment amusing themselves by setting it on
fire. From this circumstance the place received
the name of Cuil-rathain [Coolrahen], translated
by Colgan, Secessm filicis, the corner of the ferns,
which it retains to this day with very little altera-
tion.

INDEX OF NAMES.

tf.B. — Many names that do not occur in the body of the work are explained
in this Index

PAGB

Abbeyfenle, .... 166
Abbeygormacan, the abbey
of the O'Cormacans.

Abbejlara, 310

Abbeyleix, 129

Abbeyshrule, .... 457

Abbeystrowry, .... 457

Achonry, 233

Adare, 502

Addergoole, Addragool, 529

Aderavoher, 252

Adrigole, Adrigoole, . . 529

Adrivaie, 54

Affane, 355

Agha 232

Aghabeg; little field: p. 232

Aghaboe, 470

Aghaboy ; yellow field : p. 232

Aghacross, 328

Aghada near Cork Ath-

fhada, long ford . . 354

Aghadacbor, . . . 257

Aghadark, . . . . 437

Aghadarragh, . . . 502

Aghadaugh, . . . 259

PAGE

Aghadavoyle 259

Aghadoe, 252

Aghadowey in Berry ; Ach-

adh • Dubhthaigh (O'O.

Cal.), Duffy's field: p.

232.
Aghadown ; called in Irish

Achadh - donn, which

means brown field.

Aghadreen, 518

Aghadreenagh, 518

Aghadreenan, 518

Aghadrinagh, 518

Aghagallon, 343

Aghagower, . 75

Aghalahard, 387

Aghalateeve, 526

Aghalough, Aghaloughan :

field of the lake ; pp.

232, 447.

Aghamaoart, .... 232
Aghamore ; great field : p. 232

Aghanloo, 357

Aghanure ; yew field : pp.

232, 511.

534

Index of Names.

PAGE

Aghatubrid, 453

Aghavannagh, .... 383

Aghavea, Aghaveagh, . 507

Aghavilla, Aghaville, . 500

Agharilly, 500

Aghaviller, 48

Aghawaracahill, . . . 118

Aghawillin 376

Aghawoney, .... 233

Aghills, 511

Aghilly, 511

Aghinagh ; field of iry :

pp. 232, 521.

Aghindaiagh, .... 257

Aghindarragh, .... 232

Aghintain, 187

Aghintober, 453

Aghinver 232

Aghmacart, 232

Aghnamullen 376

Aghnashannagh, . . . 483

Aghnaskea, Aghnaskeagh, 519

Aghnaskew, 519

Agbowle, 516

Aghyoghill, Aghyohill ;

field of the yew-wood ;

pp. 231, 510.

Aghyowla, Aghyowle, . 516

Aglish, 317

Aglishcloghane, . . . 317

Aglish cormick, . . . . 317

Aglishdrinagh, .... 317

Agolagh, 43

Ahabeg, 28

Ahagaltaun 173

Ahane, Ahaun, . . . 357

Ahanure, 511

Abapbuca 189

Ahascragh, ..... 402

Aillatouk, 409

Aille, 409

Aillenaveagh, .... 28

Ait-tighe-Mic-Cuirrin, . 302

Allagower, 409

Alleen, Alleen Hogan, Al-

leen Ryan, .... 409

Allen, Hill of, .... 90

Allow Hirer, .... 424

PA0*

Alt 387

Altachullion, .... 387

Altan, Allans, .... 387

Altanagh, 387

Altaturk ; boar's cliff : pp.

387, 479.

Altavilla, 387

Altinure, 387

Altmore ; great glen-side.

Altnagapple 387

Altnapaste ; serpent's hill :

p. 199.

Altnaveagh, .... 22

Altore, 120

Alia, 387

AnDaBhac, . . 254,255

Anna, 461

Annabella, 461

Annacotty 226

Annacramph, .... 65

Annaduff, 461

Annagassan, .... 373

Annagh, 461

Annaghaskin, .... 461
Annaghbeg ; little marsh :

p. 461.

Annaghmore ; great marsh :

p. 446.

Annaghnamaddoo, . . 480

Annagor, 487

Annahagh, Annahaia, . 377

Annahayil, 516

Annahilt 477

Annakisha, 302

Annalong in Down, . . 226

Annamoe, 470

Annaveagh 477

Annayalla, 20

Anny, 461

Annyalty, 462

An-tuisge-solais, . . . 219

Anveyerg, 23

Arboe 470

Ardagh, Ardaghy, . . 2»5

Ardakillen, 492

Ardan, Ardane, . . . 386

Ardanaffrin, .... 119

Ardaneanig 206

Index of Names.

535

PAGE

Ardanreagh 386

Ardara, 276

Ardataggle, Ardateggle :

the height of the rye.

Ardatrave, 366

Ardaun, 386

Ardavagga, 211

Ardbane, Ardbaun ; whitish

height.

Ardbeg, 386

Ardbraccan, .... 146

Ardcath, 116

Ardcullen ; holly height :

p. 513.

Ardee, 128

Arclee river, .... 373

Ardeelan, 487

Ardeen, 386

Ardelly, 294

Arderiri 386

Arderry ; high oak-wood.

Ardfert, 149

Ardfinnan, 154

Ardgivna, 223

Ardglase, 386

Ardglushin, 456

Ardgraigue 353

Ardgregane, .... 353

Ardingary, 211

Ardkeen, 386

Ardkill ; high church or

wood.

Ardlougher ; rushy height.
Ardmeen ; smooth height.

Ardmore, 386

Ardmulchan ; Ard-Mael-

chon (Four Mast.),

Maelchu's height.

Ardnacrohy, .... 220
Ardnacrusha, Ardnacrushy 328
Ardnagassan, Ardnagassane 373
Ardnageeha, Ardnageehy :
the height of the wind.

Ardnagroghery, . . . 221

Ard-na-hiomfhairccse . 215

Ardnagross, 328

Ardpamoghill, .... 210

Ardnaneane, .... 485

PAGE

Ardnanure, 511

Ardnapreaghaun . . . 435

Ardnarea at Ballina, 104, 10.1
Ardnureher, . 168, 169, 170

Ardraly, 505

Ardsollus, 217

Ardstraw, 61

Ardtully ; high hill : r>. 389.

Ardvally, ....*. 19

Ardvarna, Ardvarness, . 434

Ardrarney, 434

Ardvone, 463

Argyle 87

Arklow, 106

Armagh, 71, 77

Artiferrall, 386

Artimacormick, . . . 386

Aske ; a stream-track : p. 4 1-7

Askeaton, 74

Assail, Assau n, . . . 460

Assaroe at Bally shannon, 183

Assey, 33(5

Assolus, 219

Athenry 43

Athgoe 223

Athlacca, 355

Athleague, 355

Athlone, 354

Athlumney, 50

Athlunkard, .... 300

Athneasy in Lvuerick, . 356

Athnid, .490

Athnowen, 440

Athsollis, . . . . . . 219

Athy, 129

Atshanbo, ..... 302

Attacotti, 100

Attanagh ; a fuvzy place :
p. 519.

Attatantee, 302

Attavally, 302

Attidavock, 258

Attidermot, 302

Attiduff, 302

Attykit, 302

Augliadanove, .... 258

Aughall, 511

Aughil, Aughils, . . . 511

536

Index of Names.

PAGE

Aughinisb, 474

Aughnacloy, Aghnacloy, 412

Aughnagoiuaun, . . . 214

Aughnahoy, 377

Aughnanure, .... 509

Aughnish 474

Aughrim, 525

Aughris, 474

Aughrus 474

Aughsullish stream, . . 219

Aughvolyshane, . . . 240

Avalbane, 31

Avalreagh, 516

Avonmore River, . . . 455
Awbeg Eirer, . . . 392, 454

Ayle, 409

Ayleacotty, . . . 226, 227

Bahagh, 607

Bahana, 507

Bailey Lighthouse, . . 348

Balbriggan, 350

Baldoyle, 350

Balfeddock 487

Balgeeth 44

Balief, 54

Balla, 75

Balladian, ..... 257

Ballagh 372

Ballaghaderreen, . . . 372

Ballaghbehy, .... 507

Ballaghboy, 372

Ballaghkeen, .... 372

Ballaghkeeran, .... 372

Ballaghmoone, . . . 372

Ballagbmore 372

Ballaghnabehy, ... 507

Ballaghoge, 210

Ballahanatouragh, . . 295
Ballard ; high town : pp.
346, 385.

Bailee, 357

Balleen 351

Ballina, .... 103, 358

Ballinabarny, .... 433

Ballinaclogh, .... 412

Ballinaeor, 367

Ballinacur, 367

PAOB
Ballinacurra, .... 367

Ballinafad 359

Ballinahinch, . . 300, 350
Eallinakill ; town of tbe

churcb or wood : pp.

314, 491.

Ballinalack, 417

Ballinalee, 470

Ballinamara, . . . . 116
Ballinamona, .... 467
Ballinamore, .... 359
Ballinamought near Cork, 16
Ballinapark ; town of the

field.
Ballinard ; the town of

the height : p. 385.

Ballinascarty 496

Ballinascorney, . . . 524
Ballinaskea ; town of the

bushes : p. 578.
Ballinasloe, .... 208
Ballinatray; see Bally na-

tray.
Ballinattin, .... 519

Ballinchalla 464

Ballinclare, .... 427

Ballinclea, 380

Ballincloghan, .... 364
Ballincollig, .... 31
Ballincurra, .... 350
Balh'ncurrig, .... 350

Ballincurry 350

Ballindaggan, .... 308

Ballindagny 308

Ballindangan 308

Ballindarra, Ballindarragh ;

town of the oak.
Ballinderreen, Ballinder-

rin ; town of the little

oak-wood.
Ballinderry, .... 351

Ballindine 308

Ballindollaghan, ... 193

Ballindoolin 363

Ballindoon, Ballindown ;

town of the dun; p. 277.
Ballindrait, . . . 156, 369
Balliudrehid, .... 369

Index of Names.

537

PAGE

Ballineanig, 206

Ballineddan, 458

Ballinenagb, 206

Ballinfoyle, 20, 435

Ballingarrane, 498

Ballingarry, 230

Ballingayrour, 488

Ballingeary, 497

Ballinglanna, Ballinglen 429

Ballingowan 222

Ballinguile, 99

Balliniska, ...... 447

Ballinla, Ballinlaw, . . 391
Ballinlass, Ballinlassa,

Ballinlaasy 273

Ballinlig, 431

Ballinliss, 273

Ballinlough, . 448

Ballinloughan, 449

Ballinlougnane, 449

Ballinlug, Ballinli ig, 431

Ballinoran, . 453

Ballinoulart, . 516

Ballinphuill.Ballinphull 435

Ballinrally, ... 505

Ballinree, 520

Ballinrink, 212

Ballinrobe 350

Ballinrostig ; Roche's town.

BallinskelligsBay . . 421

Ballintaggart, ... 23

Ballintannig, ... 31
Ballintarana; cross town

Ballintcean, ... 187

Ballinteer, 224

Ballintemple, .... 156'
Ballinteosig ; Joyce's town.

Ballinteskin, .... 463

Ballintine 187

Ballintlea, 380

Ballintlera, Ballintlvoy, 380

Ballintlieve, .... 380

Ballintober, .... 451

Ballintogher, . . . 374

Ballintoy in Antrim,
Ballintra Bridge, . .
Ballintrofaun,
Ball in truer, . . ,

20
366

55
263

PAGE

Ballintry, 263

Ballintubbert, Ballintub-

rid 453

Ballinturly, 449

Ballinure, 511

Ballinvallig, Ballinvally, 373

Ballinvana, .... 19
Ballinvarrig, Ballinvarry;

Barry's town.

Ballinvella, BallinyUla, 500

Ballinvoher 371

Ballinvreena, .... 290

Ballinwillin 376

Ballinwully, . . . • 19

Ballisk, ...... 447

Ballitore 237

Ballyagran, 18

Ballyard ; high town : p. 385.
Ballybane, Bally baun ;

white town.

Ballybarney, .... 433

Ballybatter 45

Ballybay, 507

Ballybeg ; small town.

Hallybodonnell, ... 59

Ballyboe, ..... 245

Ballybofey 349

Ballyboley, 240

Ballyboro, 359

Ballybougb, .... 16

Ballyboughlin 16

Ballybought 16

Ballyboy, 356

Ballybrack ; speckled town.
Ballybunnion ; Bunnion's town.
Ballycahan, Ballycahane ;

O'Cahan's town.
Ballycahill ; Cahill's town.
Ballycarra, Ballycarry ; town.

or ford of the weir: p. 367

Ballycarton 224

Ballycastle, .... 287

Bally clare, 427

B;!llyclerahan ; O'Clera-

ban's town.

Bnllyclogh 412

Bull'ycloghan, .... 364

Ballyclohy, ..... 412

538

Index of Names.

306
258
253

369

251
409

PAGE

Ballycolla; Colla's town.

Ballyconnell 160

Ballycormiv'k ; Corinac's

or O'Cormac's town.

Ballycroghan 388

Ballycrogue, .... 388
Ballycullane ; O'Collins's town.
Ballycurry ; town of the

moor : p. 463.
Ballycushlane, . . .
Bally davock, . . .
Ballydehob, . . .
Ballydoo; bl.ack town.
Ballydrehid, . . .
Ballyduff; black town.
Ballyea ; O'Hea's town.
Ballyederown, . . .
Ballyfoile, Ballyfoyle,

Ballygall, 98

Ballygammon 214

Ballygarran.Bal! < garnr.ie, 498
Ballygarraun, . . . . 4(.I8
Ballygassoon, .... 210

Ballyglan, 429

Ballyglass ; green town.

Ballygow, 222

Ballygowan, .... 222

Ballyguile 99

Ballyheige, 350

Ballyhiskey, 447

Ballyhooly, 516

Ballyboos, 8

Ballykeel ; narrow town
Ballyknick, Baileyknock
Ballyknoebm Moat,
B:illyknockane.
Bally knock an Moat,
Bally lahan, . .
Ballylanders, . .
Ballyleague, . .

Ballylegan, 344

Ballylesson, .... 274

Ballylevin 508

Ballylickey, .... 359

Ballylig 432

Ballylinny, 275

Ballylongford, .... 4
Ballylosky, ..... 238

382

94

381

93

357

350

355

PAGE

Ballylougb 448

Ballylougban, .... 440
Ballyloughaun, . . . 419

Ballylug, 4:11

Ballylusk, Ballylusky, . 238
Ballymagowan, ... 10
Ballymena, Ballymenngb, 53
Ballymoneen, .... 468
Ballymoney, . . . 59, 497
Ballymore ; great town,
sometimes the mouth
of the grgat ford ( Bel-
atfia-moir') : p. 357.

Ballymote, 291

Ballynaas 207

Ballynabarna, Ballyna-
barny, Ballynabearna, 433

Ballynaboley 240

Ballynaboll.Baltynaboul, 435
Ballynaboola, .... 240

Ballynabooley 240

Ballynacaheragh; thetown
of the stone fort: p. 286.
Ballynacaird, .... 223
Ballynacally : the town of

the calliagh or hag.
Ballynacard, .... 222
Ballynacarrick, Bally na-
carrig, Ballynaearriga,
Ballinacarrigy ; the
town of the rock, . . 410
Ballynaclogb, .... 412
Ballynacloghy, . . . 412
Ballynacorra, .... 367
Ballynacourty; the town
of the court or mansion.
Ballynacoy, .... 489
Ballynacragga, Ballyna-
craig, Bally nacraigy,
Ballynacregga, Bally-
nacregg; town of therock, 4 10
Ballynacrosa ; town of the

cross, 326

Ballynadolly 23

Ballynadrangcaty, 469 note
Ballynafagh, .... 2f)7
Ballynafarsid, . . . . 3<>l
Bally nafeigb, ... f 29?

Index of Names.

539

PAGE

Bullynatey, ..... 297

1 tally nafie, 297

Ballynafoy, 297

lillynafunshin, Ballina-
funshoge, Ballynaline-

ahoge ; town of the ash, 506

Ballynagall, 98

Ballynagarde, . . 223

'Mlynagarrick, . 410

Sallynagaul, . . 98
Ballynagee, . . .44

Ballynageeba, . 44

Ballynageeragh . 473

Ballynaglogh, . 35U

Ballynagore, . 475

Ballynagowan, . 222

Ballynagran, Ballinagran, 499
Ballynagross ; town of

the crosses, .... 327

Ballynahaglish, ... 317

Ballynahaha, .... 377

Ballynahaia, .... 377

Ballynahatten, .
Ballynahattina,
Ballynahinch, .
Ballynahivnia, .
Ballynahone, ,
Ballynahow, .
Ballynahown,
howna,

519
, . 519

299, 350
.... 455
. . .30, 455
.... 454
Ballyna-
... 30, 455
Ballynakill, Ballynakilla,
Ballynakilly ; town of
the church or wood, 314, 491

Ballynakillew 492

Ballynalackan, . . . 418
Bally nalahessery, . . . 242
Ballynamaddoo, . . . 480
Ballynamaddree, . . . 480
Ballynamaddy, . . . 480

Ballynamona 467

Ballynamought, ... 16
Ballynamountain, ... 40
Ballynamuck, .... 478
Ballynanass, .... 445
Ballynaraha ; the town of

the rath or fort, . . 274
Ballynaren, ... . 426
116

PAGE

Ballynascarry 360

Ballynascreen, Ballyna-

skreena ; town of the

shrine : p. 321.

Ballynashallog, . . . 213

Ballynashee, .... 186

Ballynasheeoge, . . . 186

Ballynasollus, . . . 219
Ballynatona, Ballynatone ;

town of the backside or

hill, p. 525.

Ballynatray, .... 445

Ballynavaddog, . . . 48'»

Ballyneddan, .... 458

Ballyneety 350

Ballynenagb, .... 206

Ballyness 460

Ballynew ; new town.

Ballynisky, 447

Ballynoe ; new town.

Ballynoran, 453

Ballynure, 511

Bally organ, 349

Ballyphilip; Philip's town.
Ballyroe ; red town.

Ballyroosky, .... 464

Ballysadare, .... 460

Ballysaggart, .... 23

Ballysakeery, .... 51
Ballyshane ; John's town.
Ballyshannon, . . 182, 359

Ballysoilshaun, . . . 219

Ballystrew, .... 457

Ballysugagh, .... 210

Ballytarsna, Ballytarsney, 351
Ballyteige; O'Teige's town.

Ballytober, .... 264

Ballytrasna, .... 351
Ballyvaghan in Clare ;

Baile • ui • Bheachain,

O'Behan's town.

Ballyvally, .... 373

Bally vangour, .... 384

Ballyvarnet 434

Ballyvool, Ballyvooley, . 240

Ballywater, .... 40

Bally watermoy, ... 40

Ballywhollart. .... 516

540

Index of Names.

PAGE

Ballywillen, ... 376

Balor's Castle and Prison, 162

Balrath 350,351

Balrathboyne, .... 151

Balrothery 18

Balteagh, 257

Balteen 351

Balteenbrack, .... 351

Baltinglass, 76

Baltraana, 351

Baltray, 445

Baltyboys 351

Baltydaniel, .... 351

Baltylum 351

Bunagh, barony of, . . 140

Banagher 58,385

Bangor, 385

Banna, 384

Bannady 59

Bannagh 383

Bannagbbane, .... 383

Bannagbroe, .... 383

Bannamore, 384

Bannow, 108

Banteer ; Bdn-tir, lea land.
Bantry, town and bar-
ony, 126

Barmeen, 528

Barmona 528

Barna 433

Barnaboy ; yellow gap.

Barnacoyle, .... 515

Barnacullia, .... 492

Barnadarrig, Barnaderg, 433

Barnageeba, Barnageeby, 433

Barnagrotty, .... 398

Barnakillew, Barnakilly, 492

Barnakyle 515

Barnanageeby, .... 433

Barnane-Ely 434

Barnes, Burnish, . . . 434

Barnismore, .... 434

Barnycarroll, .... 41

Barr 527

Barraduff ; black top, . 527

Barranafaddock, . . . 487

Barravore, 528

B^rreragh, ..... 528

PACK

Barr of Slawiu, . . . 528

Barrow river, .... 79

Baslick , . 324

Basil ckane 324

Butterjohn ; John's road, 45

Batterstown, .... 44

Baunatlea, 380

Baunmore ; great green field.
Baunoge ; little green field.
Baunreagh ; grey field.

Baunskeha, .... 519

Bauraneag, 20

Baurroe ; red top : p. 528.

Baurstookeen, .... 408

Baurtrigoum, .... 433

Bauville, 351

BaTan, 309

Bawn, 309

Bawnboy ; yellow field.

Bawnfoun 30

Bawnfune, 30

Bawnmore ; great field.

Bawnoges, 33

506

iroe ; red birch : p. 506

. . 507

. . 457

, 134

Bealnashrura, . .
Bear, barony, . .

Bearhaven 134

Bear Island, .... 134

Bearnatri-carbad, . . 262
Beginish ; little island : p. 440

Beglieve, 379

Behagh 506

Behanagb, 507

Beheenagb, ..... 507

Behernagh, 507

Behy, 507

Belan, 323

Belclare 357

Belderg ; red ford-mouth.

Belfarsad 361

Belfast, 361

Belladrihid, 369

Beilaghy, 357

Bellanacargy, .... 358

Bellanagare, .... 358

Bellaualack, .... 360

Index of Names.

541

PAGE

Pellananagh, .... 474

Bellanascarrow, . . . 360

Bellanascarvy, .... 361

Bellantra Bridge, ... 366

Bellaugh, 357

Belleek 417

Bellew, Bellia, .... 500

Bellow-tree, Bell-tree, . 500

Belra, Belragh, ... 276

Belraugh 276

Beltany, 201

Beltra ; strand-mouth.

Ben 382

Benagh, 383

Benamore, 384

Benaneba, 486

Benbo 384

Benburb, 383

Ben Edar or Howtb, . 80

Bengore, 383

Bengour, Bengower, . . 383

Benmore ; great peak : p. 382

Ben of Fore, .... 383
Benraw ; peak of tbe fort.

Beoun 382

Bessy Bell Mountain, . 517

Big Dog, 258

Bignion, 385

Billy, 40

Billywood, 217

Binbulbin, 139

Biuduff, Bindoo, Bencluff ;

black peak: p. 382.

Binnafreaghan, . . . 521

Binnion, 384

Blackvalley, .... 72

Blackwater River, . . 455
Boa Island, . . . 309, note.

Bodoney, 304

Bohaboy, 305

Bohanboy, 305

Bohaun, 305

Boher 370

Boheraphuca, .... 188
Boherard ; high road.

Boherboy, ..... 3

Bohercuill, 371

Bokerduff, 20

PAGE

Bohereen, 371

Bohereenkyle 371

Boberkill, Boherkyle, . 371
Bobermeen; smooth road.
Bohermore ; great road.

Bohernabreena, . . . 289

Bohernaglogh, ... 46

Boberquill, .... 370
Boherroe ; red road.

Boho, 305

Bohoge, 305

Bohola, 305

Bohullion, 305

Boleybeg ; small dairyplace.

Boley, 240

Boleylug, 240

Boleynagoagh, . . . 489

Boleyneendurrish, . . 264

Bonamargy, .... 528

Bonanass, 460

Boola, 240

Booladurragha, . . . 240
Boolaglass ; see Boolyglass.
Boolaroe ; red booley.
Boolavaun ; white booley.

Booldurragb, .... 240

Booley 240

Boolteens, Boolteeny, . 240

Boolyglass, .... 240

Booterstown, .... 46

Borderreen, .... 371

Borheen, 371

Borleagh, 371

Bornacourtia, .... 371

Boro River, .... 359

Borris, 352

Borris-in-Ossory, . . . 352

Borrisnafarney, . . . 352

Borrisokane, .... 352

Borrisoleigh, .... 352

Bough, 304

Boula 240

BoulabaUy, 240

Boultypatrick, .... 240

Bourney, 419

Bovevagh, 305

Boyanagh. Boyannagh, . 455

Boyhill?. ..... 40

542

Index of Names.

PAOk

Boylagh, barony of, . . 141

Boynagh, ..... 455

Boyounagb 455

Boyne River, .... 79

Boystown, 351

Braade 524

Brackley, 483

Bracklin, 236

Brackloon, Brackloonagh, 236

Braddocks, 524

Jlradoge Stream, . . . 524

Braid, The, 523

B-andonHill 149

Brankill, 486

Brannisb, 486

Brannock Island, . . . 257

Bray, Bray-head, . . . 390

Breaffy 482

Breagho, 482

Breaghya, 482

Breaghwy, 482

Breaghy 482

Breahig, 482

Bree, 390

Breen, 290

Breenagh, 290

Breenaun, 290

Ureeoge, 290

Bremore Cemetery, . . 153

Bricklieve, . . ". . . 379

Brigh, 390

Brigown, 390

Britway, 482

Brocka'gh, Hroika, . . 484

Brockernngli, .... 484

Brockey, 484

Brocklagb, Brockly, . . 484

Brockna, 484

Brockra, Brockry, . . 484

Bronagh, 377

Bruce 289

Bruckana, 484

Bruff, 288

Brughas, 289

Bruis, 289

Bruree, 288

Bruse, 289

Bruslee, 371

PAOB

Bryanbeg, Bryanmore, . 290

Buffanqky, 486

Bullaun ; a well in a rock.
Bull, Cow, and Calf

Rocks, 165

Buncrana, 528

Bunglass ; green bottom, f>28

Bunlaby, 528

Bunmahon, 528

Bunnabeola, .... 383

Bunnafedia, .... 60

Bunnatreesruhiin, . . 264

Bunnyconnellan, ... 60

Bunratty 528

Bunskellig, 421

Burges, 352

Burnew, 419

Burren, 418

Burrenrea, Burreiireagh, 419

Burris 352

Burriscarra, .... 352

Burrishoole, 352

liuttevant 392

Cabragh ; bad land.

Caddagh, 391

Cadian, 391

Cady, 391

Caber, 285

Caberagb ; full of callers

or stone forts : p. 284.

Caherass, 459

Caherbarnagb 283

Caherbreagh, .... 483

Oaberconlisb, .... 285

Cahercorcaun, .... 410
Caherduggan ; Duggan'g

stone fort : p. 284.

Cahereen 286

Caberelly, 293

Cahergal, 286

Caherlarlng, .... 310

Caherlustraun, .... 238
Cahermore ; great caber; p. 284

Cahermoyle, .... 465

Cahermurphy, .... 2-96

Cahernally 294

Caheniveen, . '_'- o

Index of Names,

543

JPAGK

Cahervillahowe, . . . 454

Cahiracon in Clare, . . 258

Calary, 126

Caldragh, 317

Callanafersy 361

Callan Mountain, . . . 513

Callow, 464

Callowhill, 515

Calluragh 316

Calry, 125, 126

Caltragh, Caltra, ... 317

Caroline, 430

Canbo, 182

Cangullia 344

Cannafahy 522

Cannaway, Cannawee, . 425

Cape Clear Island, . . 149

Cappa, 228

Cappadavock, .... 258

Cappagh, 228

Cappaghcreen, . . . 229
Cappaghmore, Cappa-

more, 229

Cappaghwhite, .... 229
Cappanaboe ; cow's plot: p. 469

Cappanacreha, .... 220

Cappanageeragh, . . . 229

Cappanalarabaun, . . 229

Cappancur, 16

Cappanouk, 324

Cappateemore, .... 229

Cappog, Cappoge, . . . 229

Cappoquin, 229

Gappy, Cappydonnell, . 229

Caran, Caraun, . . . 420

Carbery, baronies of, . 141

Carbury, barony, . . . 141

Carcullion 419

Cargagh, 411

Cargan, Cargin, . . . 411
Cargygray, ... .38

Carha 343

Carhan, 513

Carheen, 420

Carheens, Carheeny, . . 420

Carhoo, 244

Carhoon, 34

Carlingford, . . 106,107

PAGE

Carlow, 448

Carmayy, 334

Cam, . 338

Carnacally, 334

Carnagat 334

Carnalughoge, .... 334

Carn-Amhalgaidb, . . 204

Carnane, Carnaun, . . 334
Carnbane ; white cam :

p. 331.

Cam Clanhugb, ... 333

Carndonagh 334

Carnearny, 110

Carnew 334

Carney, 334

Carnfunnock, . . . . 486

Carnfyan, 93

Carnglass ; green earn.

Carngranny, .... 335

Carnkenny, 334

Carnlea, 333

Carnmore ; great earn, . 161

Carnquill, 514

Carnsore Point, . 106, 107

Carnteel, 332

CarnTierna, .... 333

Carntrone, 458

Carntroor Hill, ... 263

Carr, 419

Carra, 343

Carragh ; rocky land, . 419

Carran 420

Carrantuohill, .... 6

Carraun, 420

Carrick, .... 410, 411

Carrickacottia 227

Carrickaneagh, . . . 486

Carrickanee 486

Carrickaness, .... 15

Carrickanoran, .... 453

Carrickbeg ; little rock : p. 410

Carrickconeen, .... 481

Carrickcroppan, . . . 399
Carrickduff : black rock : p. 410
Carrickglass ; green rock : p. 4 1 0

Carrickhawna, .... 204
Carrickmore; great rock: p. 410

Carricknadarriff, ... 2

544

Index of Names.

PAGE

Carricknamaddry, Carrig-
namaddy, Craignamad-
dy ; the rock of the
dogs : pp. 410, 479.
Carricknashoke, . . . 485
Carrick-on-Shannon, . 3
Carrick-on-Suir, ... 3
Carrickshock, .... 485
Carrickslavan, .... 508
Carrig, .... 410, 411
Carrigadrohid, . ... 369
Carrigafoyle, .... 410

Carrigagh, 411

Carrigaholt, . . . . 225
Carrigahowly, .... 225

Carrigallen, 410

Carrigan, 411

Carriganaffrin, .... 120
Carriganass, .... 15

Carrigane, 411

Carrigans, 33

Carrigaphooca, . . . 189

Carrigatna, 365

Carrigatuke, .... 485

Carrigaun, 411

Carrigcleena, .... 195
Carrigdarrery, .... 505
Carrigdownane ; Downan'a
or Downing's rock : p. 410

Carrigeen, 411

Carrigeenamronety . . 377
Carrigeennamoe, . . . 470

Carrigeeus, 33

Carriglass ; green rock.
Carrigleamleary, . . . 171
Carrignacurra, .... 367
Carrignahibilan, . . . 322
Carrignamuck ; the rock

of the pigs : pp. 410, 478
Carrignagower, Carrick-
nagore; rock of the
goate: pp. 410, 475.
Carrignavar, .... 22
Carrigogunnell, ... 5
Carrig-Ollahmn, ... 41

Carriye, 244

Carrogs, ...... 419

Caxron, .... 333, 334

PAGB

Can-on Kill, .... 333

Carronadavderg, . . . 334

Carrow, 244

Carroward ; high quarter.
Oarrowbane, Carrowbaun, 244

Carrowbeg, 244

Carrowcor ; odd quarter.

Carrowcrin, . • . . . 499
Carrowduff ; black quarter.

Carrowgarriff .... 244

Carrowgarve, .... 244

Carrowkeel, 244

Carrowmore, .... 244
Carrownacon ; hound's

quarter : pp. 243, 479.

Carrownaglogh, . . . 412

Carrownaguivna, . . . 223

Carrownaltore 12C

Carrownamaddoo, . . 31

Carrownamaddy, ... 31

Carrownaweelaun, . . 486

Carrowntober, .... 451

Carrowntreila, .... 488

Carrowntryla, .... 488

Carrownure; yew-quarter :

pp. 244, 511.
Carrowreagh, Carrowrev-

agh ; grey quarter-land.
Carrowroe ; red quarter.

Carsan, 373

Cartron 245

Cartronnagilta, 246

Cartronbore, . 37 1

Oartronganny, . 246

Cartronrathroe, 246

Casey Glebe, . 362

Cashel 286, 287

Cashelfean 287

Cashelfinoge, .... 287

Cashelnavean, .... 287

Cashen river, .... 373

Cashlan, Cashlancran, . 306

Cashlaunavrogga, ... 211

Cashlaundarragh, . . . 306

Cassagh, 362

Cassan, 373

Castlebane, Castlebaun ;

white castle.

Index of Names.

545

PAGE

Castlebar in Mayo, . 306

Castleconnell, ... 49

Castledargan, . . . 287

Castledermot, . . . 326

Castledillon, . . . 326

Castlegarde, ... 224

Castle-Garden, . . 229

Castle Hill, 103

Oastlehollis, 220

Castlekeeran, .... 326

Castlelyons, 136

Castlemoyle, .... 395

Castlepook, 189

Castlereagh 306

Castleterra, 8

Castleventry, ... 36, 37

Cavan, . ' 401

Caranacaw, 401

Oavanagh, 401

Cavanacor ; round-hill of
the cranes: pp. 401, 487.

Cavanaleck, 401

Cavanreagh ; grey hill : p. 401

Cavantreeduff, .... 264

Cayany, 402

Cave of Dunmore, . . 437

Celbridge, 369

Charlemont, .... 255

Cheek Point 186

Church Island, . . . 155

Cill-mBian, 58

Cladowen, 31

Clahernagh, . . . . 416

Clananeese 122

Clanhugh Demesne, . . 123

Clankee, barony of, . . 122

Clanmaurice, barony of, 122

Clanwilliam, barony of, . 122

Clara, 428

Claragh, 428

Claraghatlea 428

Clarashinnagh, . . . 428

Clar-atha-da-charadh, . 255

Clarbane, 428

Olarcarricknagun, . . 428

Clarderry, 428

Clare 427, 428

Clareen, 428

VOL. I.

PAGE

Claregalway, .... 428

Clarehill 428

Clarkill, 428

Clash ; Clais, a trench.

Clashanaffrin, .... 119

Clashaniskera, .... 402

Clasharinka, .... 212
Clashduff ; black trench.
Clashganniff, ClashganniT,

Clashganny ; sand-pit.
Clashmore ; great trench.

Clawinch, 31

Cleenish, 442

Cleggan ; see Claggan.

Cleghile, 116

Cleighran 415

Cleraun, Clerhaun, . . 415

Clerragh 415

Clerran, 415

Clifden, 54

Cliffs of Moher, ... 298

Clinty, Olintycracken, . 236

Clogh 412

Cloghan, Cloghane, . . 364

Cloghanaskaw, .... 364

Cloghanenagleragh, . . 364

Cloghanleagh, .... 364

Clogharinka 212

Cloghastucan, .... 408

Cloghastookeen, . . . 408

Cloghaun, 363

Cloghaunnatinny, . • • 216

Cloghbally 412

Cloghboley 412

Cloghboola, 412

Cloghbrack ; speckled stone.
Cloghcor ; rough stone.

Clogheen 413

Clogher, 413

Cloghera, 415

Clogherane, 415

Clogherbrien ; Braen's stony

place.

Cloghereen 415

Cloghermore ; great stony

place.

Cloghernagh 416

Clogherny, 416

36

546

Index of Names.

PAGE
Cloghfin, Cloghfune ; white

•tone or stone castle.

Ologhineely, .... 163

Cloghleafin 497

Cloghmore ; great stone.

Qloghnagalt 173

Cloghoge 413

Cloghogle 342

Cloghpook, 190

Cloghran, Cloghrane, . 415

Cloghtogle 342

Cloghvally 412

Cloghvoley 412

Cloghvoola, Cloghvoolia, 412

Cloghyoula 412

Cloghy ; a stony place.

Clogrennan, 292

Cloheen, 413

Clohernagb 416

Clohoge, 413

Olomantagh 412

Clomoney, 412

Ckmad ; long meadow.

Clonagh, 474

Clonallan, 234

Clonalvy, 251

Clonamery, 394

Olonard, .... 234, 235

Olbnarney, . . . . 518

Clonaslee, 371

Clonbeg ; little meadow.

Cloabrock, 484

Clonbrone, 377

Cloncon, 480

Cloncoohy, .... 489

Cloncose, 438

Cloncough, : . . . . 489

Cloncouse, 438

Cloncullen ; holly meadow.

Cloncurry, 10

Clondagad, 259

Clondalee, 259

Clondallow, 193

Clondarragh 502

Clondelara, 259

Clonderalaw 391

Clondouglas ; meadow of the

clack Htream : pp. 233, 456.

PACK

Clonduff, 473

Clone ; Cluain, a mea-
dow, 233

Clonea 476

Cloneen ; little meadow, 232

Clonegall, 98

Olonelty, 477

Clonenagh, 521

Clones 233

Clonfert, .... 148, 149

Clongall 99

Clongill, 99

Clongowes 223

Cloniff, 473

Clonkeen 235

Clonlea, Clonlee, ... 471

Clonleigh, 471

Clonlost ; burnt meadow: p. 238
Clonmacnoise, .... 73
Clonmeen ; smooth meadow.

Clonmel 235

Clonmellon, .... 235
Clonmoney, Cloonmoney;
meadow of the shrub-
bery : pp. 233, 496.
Clonmore ; great meadow.

Clonmullin 376

Clonmult 235

Clonoghil 511

Clonroad, . . . 269, 442
Clonroosk ; the meadow of
the marsh : pp. 233, 463.
Clonsilla ; Cluain- sail each,
the meadow of sallows.

Clonskeagb 519

Clontarf, 472

Clontibret, i53

Clontinteen, . . . . 217

Clontinty 217

Clonturk ; the boar's
meadow.

Clonty, 235

Clontycoe, Clontycoo, . 489

Clonuff, 473

Clonygowan, .... 471

Olonyhurk 258

Cloon, 232

Cloonacaltry, . . . . 31 1

Index of Names.

547

PAGE

Cloonaff, 473

Cloonagh, 474

Cloonard, 234

Cloonascoffagh, ... 55

Cloonatreane, .... 487

Cloonawillen, .... 376
Cloonbeg; little meadow: p. 232

Cloonbrock, .... 484

Cloonbrone, .... 377

Cloonburren, .... 419
Clooncah ; battle meadow : 114

Clooncon, 480

Clooncoose, Clooncose, . 438

Clooncous, 438

Cloondacarra, .... 255

Cloondacon, .... 258

Cloondadauv, .... 258

Cloondaff 20

Cloondanagh, .... 259

Cloondara, 253

Cloonderavalley, . . . 252

Oloonederowen, . . . 251

Clooneen, 236

Cloonelt, 477

Cloonfad ; long meadow.
Cloonfln ; white meadow :

p. 232.

Cloonfinlough ; the mea-
dow of the clear lake.
Cloonf ree ; heathy meadow :
p. 519.

Oloongown 222

Cloongownagh, . . . 471

Clooniff, 473

Cloonkeen, 235

Cloonlara, 475

Cloonlaughil, .... 509
Cloonlee ; see Clonlea.

Cloonlogher, .... 235

Cloonlumney, .... 50
Cloonmore ; great meadow :

p. 232.

Cloonmullen, .... 376

Cloonnaflnneela, . . . 117

Oloonnagashel, ... 22

Gloonnameeltogue, . . 469

Cloonoghill, . . . . 511

Cloonrollagh, . . , 505

PAGE
Clooushannagh, Cloonshin-

nagh ; fox meadow : pp.

233, 483.

Cloonshee, 186

Cloonskea, 519

Cloontabonniv, . . . . 236
Cloontakilla, .... 236
Cloontakillew, .... 236
Cloontarrif, Cloontarriv, 472

Cloonteen, 236

Cloonties, .... 33, 236
Cloontubbrid ; the meadow

of the well : pp. 233, 452.
Cloonturk; boar's meadow :

p. 479.
Cloontuskert, .... 235

Cloonty 33, 236

Cloontycommade, . . . 215
Gloran, Clorane, . . . 415
Clorhane, Clorhaun, . . 415

Clorusk, 412

Olough, 412

Clorerhill, 36

Cloyne, 438

Cluain-Credhuil, ... 147
Cluain-da-en, .... 257

Clyduff, 31

Colehill, 515

Coleraine, Colerain, . . 531

Collon 514

Colp, 165

Comber, 63

Comer, 64

Gommaun, Commeen, . 432
Coneykeare, .... 481
Conicar, Conicker, . . 481

Conigar, 481

Conlig, 480

Connaught, 79

^•onnello baronies, . . 137
Connemara, . . . 127, 128
Connigar, Connigare, . 481

Connor, 480

Conva, 480

Convoy 480

Conwall 25

Cooga, 244

' Coogaquid, . . . . 246

048

Index of Names.

nun

Ooogue, 245

Coolatinny, ..... 483

Ooolattin, 519

Coolavehy, 507

Ooolayin, 128

Coolballow, .... 351

Coolbally 351

Coolballyogan, . . . 351
Coolballyshane, . . . 351
Coolbanagher, .... 385
Coolbane, Coolbaun ; white

back or white corner :

p. 530.
Cool boy ; yellow back or

corner : p. 530.
Coolcronoge, .... 299

Cooldao, 252

Coolderry ; back oak-wood :

p. 502.

Ooole barony, . . . . 531
Cooleen ; little corner : p. 531
Cooley Hills, .... 166

Ooolfree, 52:)

Coolgreany ; sunny corner,

or back : p. 530.

Coolhill 40

Coolkeenaght, .... 135
Coolkill ; backwood : p. 40.
Coolmountaln, .... 40
Coolnabrone, .... 376

Coolnacart, 224

Coolnacartan, .... 224
Coolnagrower, .... 489

Coolnagun, 480

Coolnaharragill, . . . 320
Coolnahinch, .... 442
Goolnamuck ; the cool or

corner of the pigs : pp.

478, 530.

Coolnanay, 473

Coolnanoglagh, . . . 210
Coolnashinnagh, . . . 483
Coolnashinny, .... 483
Coolock, Coologe, Culloge:

euldg, little corner.

Coolrahnee 531

Coolrain, Coolraine, . . 531
Coolrainey, 531

FAOE
Coolroe ; red corner or

back, 530

Coolure ; yew corner : p. 530

Coom, 432

Coomadavallig Lake, . 255

Coombein Dublin, . . 432

Coomdeeween, .... 211
Coomnagoppul at Kil-

larney, • 432

Coomnagun, .... 432

Goomnahorna, .... 432
Coomyduff near Killarney, 78

Coos, 437

Coosan, Coosane,Coosaun, 438

Coose, 437

Coosheen, 438

Cooslughoga, .... 437

Cor, Corr 397

Coracow, 251

Corbeagh, 397

Corcaghan, 462

Corcashy, 463

Corcobaskin 132

Corcomohide, .... 123

Corcomroe, barony of, . 128

Corcrain, 499

Corcreevy ; branchy hill :

pp. 397, 501.

Cordalea, 260

Corhawnagh, .... 232

Corhawny 232

Corhelshinagli, . . . 218

Cork 462

Corkagh, 462

Corkaguiny, barony of, 132

Corkaree, barony of, . 130

Corkashy, 463

Corkeeran, 397

Corkey, 462

CorkiBh, 463

Corlat, 338

Corlough, 487

Cornabaste, 22

Cornadarum 254

Cornagee, Cernageeha, . 397

Cornohoe 439

Cornohoova, Cornahore, 439

Cornakessagh 362

Index of

549

PAGE

Oornamramurry, . . . 118

Cornamucklagh, . . . 478

Cornasleehan, .... 371

Cornaveagh, .... 397

Corrabofin, 167

Corradeyerrid 254

Cor- <tdoo, Corradooa, . 337

Corradooey 337

Corraffrin, 119

Corragunt, 277

Corrahoash, .... 438

Corraweehill, .... 465

Corray 276

Correen, 398

Correenfeeradda, . . . 398

Corrinenty, 264

Corrofin, 367

Corrog, Corruge, . . . 397

Coahbride barony, . . 528

Coshlea barony, . . . 527

Coshma barony, . . . 528

Coshquin, 527

Cossaun, 373

Coumanare, 117

Coumaniller on Keeper-
hill 485

Coumshingane, 469, note.

Cozies, 437

Craan, Craane, . . . 420

Crag '410

Craggy kerriyan, . . . 410

Craglea, 197

Craig, .... 410,411

Craiganuller, .... 485

Craigatempin, .... 403

Craigatuke, 485

Oraigavad, 410

Craigmore ; great rock : p. 410

Gran 498

Cranacrower, .... 498

Crancam, 498

Crandaniel, 498

Crane 420

Oranfield 39

Cranlome, 498

Crann, Crannagh, . . 499

Crannaghtown, ... 37

Crannoge 299

PAQM

Crannogeboy, .... 299
Orannoge Island, . . . 299
Cranny ; same as Crannagh.

Crappagh, 399

Cratlie, Cratlieve, . . 380
Creevagh, . . . .451,501

Creeve, 217, 501

Creeveroe, 91

Creeyerey, 501

Creeyy, 501

Creg 410,411

Cregboy ; yellow rock.
Oregduff ; black rock : p. 410.

Gregg 411

Creggan, 411

Creggane, Creggaun, . 411
Cregmore ; great rock.
Cremorne barony, . . 137

Creyary, 501

Crew, 501

Crowbill 501

Crickaun, Crickeen, . . 382

Crimlin, 430

Crippaun 399

Orit 398

Croagh, 388

Croaghan, Croghaun, . 388
Croagbpatrick, . . . 197

Crock, 51, 382

Crockacapple 382

Crockada, 252

Crockanure, .... 382
Crockatanty, .... 303
Crockaun, Crockeen, . 382
Crocknagapple, . . . 382

Crockshane, 382

Crogh 388

Croghan, Croghan Hill, 388
Crohane, .... 53, 388
Cromaglan, Cromagloun,

pp. 430, 431.
Cromkill ; stooping wood :

p. 491.

Cromlin 430

Cromwell, 41

Cronoge, 299

Crookhaven, .... 388
Crosh 328

550

Index of Names.

PAGE
Crosheen, . , , . . 328

Cross, 327

Crossabeg, ; Crossa-beaga,

little crosses : p. 327.
Orossakeel ; slender crosses :

p. 327.
Crossan, Crossane, Cross-

aun, 328

Crossboyne, .... 152
Cross erlough, .... 328

Crossery, 329

Crossfarnoge 328

Crossgar, 328

Crossmacrin, .... 498
Crossmolina, .... 328
Crossmore ; great cross : p. 327

Crossoge, 328

Crossreagh ; grey cross : p. 327

Crotlie, 380

Crott, Crotta, .... 398

Crottan, 398

Crottees, 398

Cruagh, 501

Cruckeen, ..... 382

Cruit 398

Crumlia, . . . 430,431
Crusheen, Crusheeny, . 328
Crushybracken, . . . 328

Crussera 329

Crutt, Crutta, .... 398
Cuilbeg ; little wood : p. 491
Cuilkeel , narrow wood : p. 491
Cuilleen ; little wood : p. 491
Cuilleendaeagh, . . . 257
Cuilmore ; great wood : p. 491
Cuilsheegharry, . . . 186

Guilty bo, 493

Cuiltygower ; goats' woods :

pp. 475, 493.
Culfeightrin, .... 29

Cullahill 40,515

Cullan, Cullane, Cullaun, 514

Culleen 492

Cullen -513

Cullenagh, 514

Oullendra, 514

Cullen tra, Ctillontragh, . 514
Oullion, R»3

PAGB

Cully 493

Cullycapple, .... 493
Oulmullen ; the angle of

the mill : pp. 375, 529.

Cumber, 63

Cummeen, 432

Cummer, 64

Cunnagarale 25

Cunnaker, Cunnicar, . 481
Cunnigar, Cunnigare, . 481
Curkeen, Curkin, . . . 462

Curkish, 463

Curra, 463

Currabaha, Currabeha, . 463
Ourrabeg; small marsh : p. 463

Curragh 463

Curraghbeg ; little marsh :

p. 463.
Curraghboy ; yellow marsh :

p. 463.

Curraghbridge, ... 38
Curraghduff ; black marsh :

p. 463.
Curraghglass ; green marsh :

p. 463.

Curraghmore 463

Curragh of Kildare, . . 463
Curraghnadimpaun, . . 403

Ourraheen 463

Cut-ran, near Larne, . . 406
Curreen, Currin, . . . 463

Curry, 463

Curryquin ; Conn's marsh.
Curryroe ; red marsh.
Cusduff ; black foot.

Gush, 527

Cushendall, .... 527

Cushendun, 527

Cushleake, Cushlecka ; foot

of the flag-surfaced

rock: pp.416, 528.
Cushlough ; along the

lake (Mask) : p. 528.

Cuss, 527

Custafoor, 29

Cussan, Oussana, . , . 373

Daar Hirer, .... 502

Index of Names.

551

PAGE

Daars 33

Dalaradia 99

Dalkey Island, . . 106, 112

Dalriada, 87

Darnma, 253

Dangan, 306,307

Darragh, 502

Darraragh 505

Darrary, Darrery, . . . 505

Davillaun, 44

Dawrosa, Dawroa Head, 472

Decomet, 214

Deechomade, . . . . 215

Deehommed, .... 215
Deesert, Deeahart ; see Desert.

Dehomad, 215

Delville, 456

Delvin, barony of, . . 137

Derdaoil or Dariel, . . 252

Derinch, Deriniah, . . 502

Derk, . 437

Derlett 338

Deruagree, .... 503

Derniah, 502

Derrada, Derradd, . . 503

Derragh, 508

Derrane 504

Derreen, 504

Derreenard; high little

oak-wood.

Derreenataggart, . . . 504

Derreennagusfoor, . . 29

Derreena, 33

Derriea ; oak-wooda : p. 503
Derrin ; little oak-wood : p. 504

Derrindiff 473

Derrindrehid ; oak-wood

of the bridge : p. 368.

Derrinlaur in Waterford, 503
Derrinwillin ; oak-wood

of the mill: p. 375.

Derry 503

Derryad, Derryadda, . . 503

Derrybane, Derrybawn, . 503
Derrybeg ; little oak-wood : 503
Derrybrock ; oak-wood of

badgers : p. 484.

FAOB

Derry caw 116

Derryclone, Derrycloney,
Derrycloony; oak-wood
of the meadow: 233, 503.
Derrycoogh, .... 489
Derrycreery, .... 501
Derrydamph, . . . 64, 65
Derryduff ; black oak-wood : 503

Derryf adda, 503

Derrygraney, .... 335
Derry harriff, Derry harriv;
oak-wood of the bull :
471, 503.

Derry haw, . ... 116
Derryhawlagb, .... 161
Derryhirk ; the oak-wood
of the boar: pp. 479, 503.
Derryhowlaght, . . . 161
Derrykeadgran, . . . 265
Derrykeighan, .... 503
Derrylahan, Derrylane, . 503

Derrylahard 387

Derrylard, 387

Derry laur; same as itarrinlaur.
Derrylea ; grey oak-wood, 503
Derrylileagh Lake, . . 249
Derrymore ; great oak-
wood : p. 503.
Derrynabrock; same aa

Derrybrook.

Derrynacaheragh, . . . 286
Derrynahinch ; the oak-
wood of the river mea-
dow : pp. 441, 502.
Derrynafeana, .... 93
Derrynagree, .... 502
Derrynagun; oak-wood of

the hounds : p. 480.
Derrynanaff, .... 473
Derry nanampb, . . . 473

Derrynane, 155

Derrynaned, 490

Derrynanool, .... 31
Derrynaseer, .... 224
Derrynashallog, . . . 213
De/rynesa in Donegal ;
Doir-inis, oak-island :
pp. 440, 503.

552

Index of Names.

PAGE

Derrynure ; oak-wood or

the yew-tree : p. 511.

Derrywillow, .... 351

Derrywinny, .... 8

Desert, 325

Desertcreat 254

Desertegny ; Egnagh's

hermitage : p. 324.

Desertmartin, .... 324

Desertserges, .... 324

Deune castle, .... 200

Devenish 472

Devil's Bit Mountain, . 435

Devlin, 363

Dian 307

Diffreen 243

Dingin 307

Dinginavanty, .... 307

Dingle 307

DinnRigh, .... 93

Dirk, 437

Disert, 325

Doe, The, in Donegal, . 124

Dog, Big, and Little, . . 257

Donabate, 226

Donacarney, .... 320

Donagh, 253,319

Donaghanie, .... 319

Donaghedy, 319

Donaghmore 319

Donaghmoyne, .... 319
Donard ; high fort: pp. 277, 385

Donegal, 97, 98

Doneraile, 280

Donn's House in Kerry, 164

Donnycarney, .... 320

Donohill, 511

Dooey, 337

Doogncloon 473

Dooglaun, Dooglen ; black glen.
Doogort ; black field : p. 230.

Dooglasha, 456

Doohallat, Dooharalat, . 162

Dooletter; black hill-side, 404

Doolin, 363

Doon 278

Doonally, 280

Doonan, Doonane, . 282

PAGE

Doonans, 282

Doonard ; high fort : pp.

277, 385.

Doonass, 459

Doonbeg ; small fort : p. 277
Doonbreedia; Brigid'e fort.

Dooncaha, 116

Doondonnell, .... 278
Dooneen, Dooneens, . . 281
Doonfeeny ; Finna's fort :

pp. 173, 277.

Doonisky, 284

Doonooney ; Una's fort : p. 277

Dorrery, 505

Doughcloyne, .... 473

Doughloon, 473

Douglas, Douglasha, . . 456

Dowling, 363

Down, .... 280, 281
Downamona, .... 281

Downeen, 281

Downing, Downings, . . 281
Downpatrick, . . 259, 280

Downs, 280

Drain, Drains, .... 518

Dreen, 518

Dreenagh, 518

Dreenan, Dreenaan, . . 518

Drehid, 368

Drehidtarsna, .... 369

Drim, 524

Drimagh, 525

Drimeen, Drimmin, . . 525

Drimna, 525

Drimnagh 525

Drinagh, Drinaghan, . 518

Drinan, 518

Drinane, Drinaun, . . 518

Driny, 518

Droghed, 368

Drogheda, 368

Drom, 524:

Droinada, Droinadda, . 624

Dromagh, 525

Dromaleague, .... 253
Dromaliraun, .... 508
Dromanallig, .... 294
Dromard ; high ridge : p. 524

Index of Names.

553

PAGE
Dromatouk ; hawk's ridge :

p. 485.
Drombeg ; small ridge :

p. 524.

Drombofinny, .... 167
Dromclogh ; stony ridge :

p. 411.

Dromcolliher, .... 51
Dromdaleague, .... 253
Dromdeeveen, . . . . 211
Dromderaown, Dromdira-

owen, 251

Dromdiralough, . . . 252

Dromeen, 525

Dromin, 525

Drominacreen 499

Dromina, Drominagh ; see

p. 525.

Dromineer, 459

Drommoher, .... 298

Dromnagh, 525

Dromore ; great ridge : p. 524.

Droum, 524

Drum, 524

Drumaa, 356

Drumacrittin, Druma-

cruttin, 398

Drumacullion, Drumacul-

lin ; holly ridge : p. 513.
Drumadoon ; the ridge of

the fort : pp. 277, 524.
Drumadrehid, .... 369
Drumadried, .... 369

Drumagh, 524

Drumahaire, . . 194, 259
Drumaheglis, .... 317

Drumahoe 439

Drumamuck ; ridge of the

pig : p. 478.
Drumanaffrin, .... 119

Drumanee, 476

Drumanure ; yew ridge ;

pp.511, 524.
Drumany ; ridges or ridged

land : p. 525.
Drumaquill ; ridge of hazel :

p. 514.
Drumar, ..... 117

PAGE
Drumard ; high ridge :

pp. 385, 524.

Drumarraght, .... 194
Drumashellig, .... 213
Drumatemple ; the ridge

of the church : pp 317,

524.
Drumatihugh ; ridge of

Hugh's house : pp. 301,

524.
Drumballyroney ; the ridge

of O'Rooney's town : p.

524.

Drumbanagher, . . . 385
Drumbane, Drumbaun ;

white ridge : p. 524.
Drumbarnet, .... 434
Drumbeg ; small ridge :

p. 524.
Drumbinnion ; ridge of the

little peak : p. 384.
Drumbo, Drumboe, . . 470

Drumbrughas 289

Drumcar, 367

Drumcaw,' 253

Drumcolumb ; St. Oolum-

ba's ridge : p. 524.
Drumcondra ; Conra's

ridge : p. 524.

Drumcoyet, 215

Drumcrin ; the ridge of

the tree : pp. 498, 524.
Drumcroohen, .... 101

Drumcroon 101

Drumcullen, Drumcullion, 513
Drumdaff ; ox ridge : p. 472.
Drumdeevin, . . . . 211
Drumderaown, . . . 251
Drumderg ; red ridge : p. 524
Drumduff ; black ridge :

p. 524.

Drumderalena, .... 252
Drumederglass, . . . 252

Drumfad, 525

Drumfada, 316

Drurafin ; white ridge : p. 524

Drumgallan 343

Drumgar ; short ridge.

554

Index of Names.

Run

Drumgill ; the ridge of the

Qall, or foreigner : pp. 95,

624.

Drumgonnelly, ... 57
Drumgoon; ridge of the

calves : pp. 471, 524.
Drumgoose, Drumgose, . 438
Brumgowna, Drumgow-

nagh ; the ridge of the

heifers: pp. 471, 524.

Drumhalry 125

Drumhainan, .... 204
Drumharriff, .... 472
Drumhawan, .... 203
Drumherriff, .... 472
Drumhillagh, .... 21
Drumhome, .... 14
Drumhuskert, .... 21

Drumillard, 485

Drumiller, 485

Drumina, 525

Drumkeeran, . . . . 513

Drumkirk 479

Drumlamph, .... 508
Drumleeran, .... 508
Drumline ; flax ridge: p. 524

Drumlish, 273

Drumlougher ; rushy ridge :

p. 524.

Drumman, Drumraans, . 525
Drummany ; see Drumany.
Drummeen, Drummin, . 525
Drummoher, .... 298

Drummond, 525

Drummuck, 18

Drummully ; the ridge of

the summit : pp. 391, 524.
Drummurry ; Murray's ridge.
Drumnacarra, .... 343
Drumnacooha, .... 489
Drumnacross ; the ridge of

the cross : pp. 327, 524.
Drumnadober : ridge of the

wells : see Tober.
DrumnaQnnagle, ... 117
Drumnafiunila, . . . 117

Drumnagah 116

Drumnaheark, .... 213

PAOB

Drumnahoe, .... 439
Drumnahunshin ; the ridge
of the ash ; pp. 506, 524.

Drumnanaliv 193

Drumnashaloge, . . . 213
Drumnashinnagh ; ridge of

the foxes ; p. 483.
Drumnasole, .... 217
Drummeen ; little ridge :
p. 524.

Drumneth, 490

Drumnid, 490

Drumragh, 276

Drumralla, 505

Drumreagh ; grey ridge : p. 524
Drumroe ; red ridge : p. 524.
Drumroosk, Drum rusk, . 3
Drumsamney, .... 204
Drumsastry, .... 242

Drumsaul, 113

Urumsawna, .... 204
Drumsjallon, .... 221
Drumshanbo, .... 304
Drumsheaver, .... 190
Drumsillagh, .... 21
Drumskea; bushy ridge:
p. 517.

Drumsna, 365

DrumsnauT, .... 365
Drumumna, .... 506
Drumurcher, .... 168

Duarrigle, 320

Dublin 45, 80, 363

Dufferin barony, . . . 243

Duhallow 424

Dulane, 68

Dullowbush 193

Dunaghy 279

Uunaraase, 279

Dunamon, 278

Dunboe 470

Duncla near Granard, . 277
Duncormick ; Oormac's for-
tress : p. 277.

Duncriffan at Howth, . 348
Dunerun, ..... 100
Dun-da-leth-glas, ... 259
Dundalk 279

Index of Names.

555

PAGE

Dundanfon, 307

Dundareirke, .... 254
Dundaryark, .... 255

Dunderk 437

Dundermot ; Diarmad'a

fort : p. 277.
Dunderrow, .... 14

Dundonald, 278

Dundonnell, .... 278

Dundragon, 199

Dundrum 280

Duneane, 256

Duneight 279

Dungall, 98

Dungarvan, 18

Dungeeba, windy fort.

Dunglow, 363

Dunhill, 280

Dunisky, 284

Dunleary, 140

Dunleer 323

Dunluce, 277

D unman way 384

Dunmore ; great fort : p. 277.
Dunmore Cave, . . . 437
Dunmoylan ; Moylan'sfort

p. 277.

Dunmoyle, 395

Dunmurry ; Dun-Muireadh-

aigh, Murray's fort : 277.

Dunnalong, 226

Dunnamau, 384

Dunn am ark, .... 225
Dunnavenny, .... 384
Dunnyvadden ; O'Madden's

fort.
Dunran ; fort of the rinn

or point : pp. 277, 405.
Dunseverick, .... 296
Dunshaughlin, .... 319
Dunsinane ; Senau's fort :

p. 277.

Duntinny 216

Duntryleague, .... 262

Durha, 14

Durless, 274

Durnisb, 502

Durra, 14

PAGB

Durrow, 13

Dyan, 307

Dysart, 325

Dysartenos, 159

Dysert, . . . 159, 325

Bantybeg, Eantymore, . 206
Eany River in Donegal, . 521

Eden, 523

Edenagor, 487

Edenamohill, .... 210
Edendarriff ; hill-brow of

the bulls : pp. 471, 523.

Edenderry, 523

Edendurk, 479

Bdenmore ; great hill-brow :

p. 523.
Edenticullo ; hill-brow of

Colla's house : pp.301, 523.

Edentiroory 302

Edentrillick, .... 263
Edentrumly ; hill-brow of

the elder: pp. 517, 523.
Ederdacurragh, . . . 252
Ederdaglass, .... 252
Edergole, Edergoole, . 529
Ednashanlaght, . . . 523

Ednego 223

Effrinagh, 120

Eglish 317

Elagh, 293

Elaghbeg, Elagbmore, . 293
Eliogarty, ; .... 136
Ellagh, ...... 293

Elphin, 114

Ely, 135

Emania, Palace of, . . 89

Emlagh 115

Emly, 59, 465

Emlygrennan, .... 59

Enagh 205

Ennereilly, 459

Ennis, .... 441,442
Ennisboyne, .... 151
Enniscorthy, .... 55

Enniskeen, 442

Enniskerry, 360

Enniskillen 163

556

Index of Names.

PAGE

Ennfsttmon, .... 442

Brrigal, .... 156, 320

Errigal Keerogue, . . 320

Errigal Trough, ... 320

Esk 447

Eskaheen, 446

Eskenacartan, .... 447

Esker 402

Eakeragh 402

Esker Riada 134

Eskerroe ; red esker : p. 402.

Esknamucky, .... 447

Eskragh, 402

Ess Waterfall 460

Essan, Eusaun 460

Estersnow, 325

Faddan 458

Faes of Athlone, ... 494

Paha, 296

Pahan, 28, 297

Fahanasoodry 297

Pahane 297

Faheens, 297

Faheeran, 297

Fahy, 296

Fahykeen 297

Faiafannan, 297

Fairymount, .... 183

Falleenadatba, ... 409

Fardrum, 57

Fargrim, 57

Farnagh, 515

Farnaght, 401

Farnahoe, 439

Farnamurry, .... 8

Farnane, 515

Farney, 515

Farnoge, 515

Farra 207

Farragh, 207

Farraghroe, .... 207

Farranacardy, .... 224
Farranaleen ; land of the

flax.

Farranboley, .... 240

Farranseer, . . . . . 224

Farrow, 207

PAGF

Farsetmore, 361

Faraid, 361

Farta, Fartagh, . . . 315

Fartha, 345

Fary 207

Fasagh, 496

Fassadinin, 496

Fassagh 496

Fassaroe, 496

Faughanvale, .... 25

Faussagli Lane, Dublin, 496

Feagh 494

Feale Hirer 166

Fedany 459

Feddan 458

Feeagh, 494

Feeard, 494

Feebane 493

Feebeg 493

Feemore, 493

Feenagh, 494

Feenish, 493

Feevagh, 495

Feigh 297

Feighcullen, .... 494

Feltrim 482

Fenagh, 494

Fermanagh, 131

Fermoy 125

Fermoyle, 397

Fernagh, Ferney, . . . 515

Ferns, 515

Ferrard, 135

Ferta, Fertagh, ... 345

Fethard 494

Fews, 494

Fiddan, Fiddane, Fiddaun, 458

Fiddaunnageeroge, . . 458

Fiddown, 494

Fidorfe, 54

Fihoges 298

Fincarn ; white earn : p. 332.

Findrum, 30

Fingall, 96

Finish, 493

Finisk, 42

Finliff, 379

Finn River and Lake, 173. 174

Index of Names.

557

PAGF

Finnadork ; wood of boars :

p. 479.

Finnahy, 31

Pinnea, 356

Finnis, 494

Finnow Stream, . . . 454

Fintona, 44

Fintra, Fintragh, . . . 445
Foildarrig ; red cliff : p. 409.

Foilduff, 28

Foilnageragh ; cliff of the

sheep : pp. 409, 473.

Foilnaman, 409

Foilnamuck ; hog's cliff :

pp. 409, 478.

Foilycleara, 409

Foorkill, 53

Forenaghts, .... 400

Formal, Formil, ... 397

Formoyle, 397

Formweel, 397

Fornaghts, 401

Forramoyle, .... 207

Forth baronies, ... 132

Foy, Foyagh, .... 207

Foybeg, Foyduff, ... 207

Foyfin, 297

Foygh 297

Foylatalure 28

Foyle 409

Foy more, 297

Foyoges, 298

Freagh, 520

Freaghduff, 520

Freaghillaun 520

Freaghmeen; smooth heath :

p. 520.

Freaghmore, . . . 520

Freahanes, 521

Freeduff, 520

Freeheen, ; little heath : p. 520

Freffans 521

Frehans, 521

Freshford, .... 36

Freugh 520

Freughmore, .... 520
Fuarchosacb, .... 29

Funshion Eiver, . • . 506

PAGE

Funshin, Funshinacrh, . 606

Funsboge, . . . . . 506

Furrow, 207

Fyagh, 297

Gairha, 497

Galbally, 98

Galboley, 99

Galboola, Galbooly, . . 99

Qallagh 344

Gallan 343

Gallane, Gallanes, . . 343

Gallavally, 98

Gallen barony, . . . 136

Gallon 246

Gallonnamraher, . . . 246

Gallow, 334

Galtrim 517

Galvally, 98

Galwally, 98

Galwolie, ..... 99

Gardrum, 57

Gargrim, 57

Garnavilla near Caher, . 500
Garradreen ; garden of

blackthorn : pp. 229, 517.

Garran, Garrane, . . 498

Garranamanagh, . . . 498
Garranbane, Garranbaun ;

white shrubbery : 498.

Garranekinnefeake, . . 498
Garranenagappul ; shrub-
bery of the horses : pp.
475, 498.

Garranes ; shrubberies : p. 498.
Gar ran more ; great shrub-
bery : p. 498.

Garraun, 498

Garrisker, 402

Garry 230

Garryard ; high garden :

pp. 229, 385.
Garrybane, Garrybaun ;
white garden : p. 229.

Garrycastle, barony of, . 229
Garryclone, Garrycloyne ;
meadow garden : pp.
229, 233.

558

Index of Name*.

PAGE

Garrydoolis ; garden of the

black fort.
Garryduff ; black garden :

p. 229.
Garrymore ; great garden :

p. 229.
Garrynagran ; garden of

the trees : p. 498.
Garryowen, .... 230

Garrysallagh 230

Garryspellane ; Spillane's

garden ; p. 229.
Garryvicleheen, . . 230

Gartan, 230

Gaulstown, Gallstown, . 98

Gay Island 488

Gearagh, Gearha, . . . 497
Gearhameen, . . 497, 498

Geeragh, 497

Giant's Causeway, 163, 164.
Glack ; a hollow.

Glan, 428

Glanatnaw, 365

^•lanbehy; birchy glen:

pp. 428, 506.
Glandaeagh, .... 257

Glandine, 429

Glandore, 195

Glannagalt in Kerry, . 172
Glannarouge; glen of the

defeat: p. 116.

Glanoe, 510

Glantane, Glantaun, . . 429

Glanworth, 455

Glasakeeran ; stream of

the quicken-trees : pp.

456, 513.

Glashaboy, 456

Glashare, 117

Glashawee, 456

Glaaheen, Glasheena, . 456
Glasheenaulin, .... 456
Glasheennabaultina, . . 202

Glashina, 456

Glasnevin, 456

Glassavullaun, . . . 393

Glasthule 456

Glen, 428

PAOB

Glenacroghery, . . . 221

Glenagarey, 473

Glenagower, .... 475

Glenanaffrin, .... 120

Glenanair in Limerick, . 116

Glenasmole, .... 490
Glenavaddra; dog's glen: p. 480

Glenavy, 323

Glenbane ; white glen.
Glenbeg; little glen.

Glencar, 343

Gleneovet, 214

Glendaduff 260

Glendahork, .... 258

Glendalough, .... 254
Glendarragh ; oak glen : p. 502

Glendavagh, .... 254

Glendayock, .... 258

Glendavoolagh, . . . 253

Glendine, 429

Glendowan Mountains, . 429
Glenduff ; black glen.

Gleneany in Donegal, . 521

Glenfada-na-sealga, . . 430

Glenfarne, 615

Glengall ; glen of

foreigners : p. 95.
Glengarriff ; rugged glen.

Glengavlin, 529

Glenglush, 456

Gleninagh ; the ivy glen :

p. 521.

Glenish, 477

Glenkeeragh ; same as

Glenagarey.
Glenkeeran ; glen of the

quicken-trees : p. 513.

Glenlevan, 508

Glenlough, Glenloughan,

Glejaloughaun ; glen of

the lake.
Glenmore ; great glen.

Glenmullion 429

Glennageeragh, . . . 473

Glennagross 42S

Glennahaglish, . . . 311

Glennahoo, 439

Glennahulla. .... 339

Index of Names.

559

Gleimamaddy, . .
Glennan, Glennaun,
Glennanoge, . .
Glennasheeyar, .
Glennawoo,

PAGE

428
429
210
190
194

Glennoo, 439

Gleno, Glenoe, . . . 510
Glenofaush, .... 165
Glen of the Downs, . . 281
Glenogra ; Ogra's Glen.
Glenosheen in Lime-
rick, 92

G-lenquin, 51

Glenreagh, Glenrevagh;

grey glen.
Q-lenroe ; red glen.

Gleiiscoheen in Kerry, . 165

Glensmoil, 490

Glensouska in Kerry, . 1 67

Glentaue, Glentaun, . . 429

Glenties in Donegal, . . 430

Glen veagh, birch glen : p. 506.

Glenwhirry in Antrim, . 53
Glin Castle, . . . 411,429

Glyn, Glynn, .... 429

Gneeve, Gneeves, . . . 245

Gola, 529

Golan, 529

Golden in Tipperary, . 529

Gole, 529

Goleen 529

Gort 230

Gortaganniff, Gortaganny, 230

Gortahar, 419

Gortalassa, 273

Gortananny 461

Gortinure, 512

Gortavella, Gortavilly, . 500
Gortavoata ; field of the

moat.
Gortbeg ; little field.

Gortbofinna 167

Gorteen 230

Gorteenaniska ; little field

of the water.

Gortgommon, .... 214
Gortgranagh ; grain fi»ld:
p. 230.

PAGE

Gortin 230

Gortinagin, 222

Gortinlieve 379

Gortinure, . . . 229, 512
Gortknappagh ; hilly

field : p. 230, 399.
Gortlee ; calf field : p.

230, 470.

Gortmarrahafineen, . . 118
Gortmillish, .... 230
Gortmore ; great field : p.

230.

Gortnaboul, ... 22

Gortnadullagh, . . 23

Gortnafurra, . . . 207
Gortnagappul, . . . 475
Gortnagarde, . . . 224-
Gortnaglogh, . . . 230
Gortnagoyne, . . . 488
Gortnagross, . . . 328
Gortnagrour, . . . 489
Gortnahaha, Gortnahey, 377

Gortnahomna 506

Gortnahoo, Gortnahoon, 439
Gortnalaragh, .... 475
Gortnalee; field of the

calves.
Gortnamona ; bog field :

pp. 230, 467.
Gortnamucklagh ; the

field of the piggeries :

pp. 230, 478.
Gortnasillagh ; the field

of the sallows : p. 230.
Gortnaskeagh, . . . . 519
Gortnaskeagh, Gortnas-

key, 519

Gortnararnoge, . . . 515

Gortnavea, 477

Gortnaveigh, .... 477

Gortnavern 515

Gortroe ; red field : p. 230.

Gortvunatrime,
Gougane Barra,
Goul, . . .
Goulaun, . .
Goulbeg, .

517
462
529
529
530
252

660

Index of Names.

PAGE

Goulmore, 530

Gowel, 529

Gowlan, Gowlane, . . 529

Gowlaun, 529

Graffa, Graffee, ... 237

Graffan, Graffin, ... 237

Graffoge, Graffy, . . . 237

Gragan, Gragane, . . . 353

Grageen, Graigeen, . . 353

Graigue, 353

Graiguealug, .... 353

Graiguefrahane, . . . 353

Graiguenamanagh, . . 353

Graiguenaspiddoge, . . 353

Graney River, .... 335
Grangegeeth ; the windy

grange.

Granny's grave, . . . 336
Gransha ; a grange, a

place for grain.

Greaghnaroog, .... 116
Great Bear Island in

Kerry, 133

Greenan, Greenane, . . 292
Greenan Ely, . . 292, 293

Greenaun, 292

Greenbatter, .... 45

Greenoge, ... . 293

Grenan 292

Grenanstown, .... 292

Gubbacrock 255

Gurt, 230

Gurteen, 230

Gurteenasowna, . . . 204
Gurteenroe ; red little

field : p. 230.

Gyleen 530

Hag's Head,

... 171

... 317

Hinchoge, 506

Horse Island, .... 474
Howth, 80, 348

Ida barony, 124

Idrone baronies, .... 131
Ikeathy barony, . . . 131
T11"-n, niano, Illaun, . 442

PACE

Illananummera, . . . 442

Illanfad, 442

Illanroe, Illaunroe ; red

island : p. 442.
Illaunfadda, .... 442
Illauninagb, .... 442

Illaunslee, 379

Imaile in Wicklow, . . 124

Inagh, 5-21

Inan, Inane 521

Inch, .... 71, 72, 441
Inchagoill in Lough Cor-

rib, 95

Inchantotane ; river-holm

of the burning : pp.238, 441
Inchenagh island, . . 264

Inchenny, 461

Inchideraille, .... 252
Inchmore ; great island :p. 441

Inis, Inish, 441

Inishannon, 14

Inishargy, 410

Inishbofin, . . 71, 167, 168
Inishcourcy, . . . 71, 72
Inishdadroum, . . . 254
Inishdauwee, .... 259

Inishdavar, 254

Inishdaweel, .... 259
Inishfad; long island.

Inishfree, 520

Inislikeen, 442

Inishkeeragh, .... 474
Inishlackan ; the island

of the laclcan : pp. 418, 441.
Inishmaan ; middle island.
Inishmacsaint, .... 441
Inishmore ; great island : p. 441
Inish muck ; pig island.

Inishnagor, 442

Inishowen 140

Inishrush ; the island of

the peninsula : p. 443.
Inishtubbrid ; the island

of the well : p. 452.

Inishturk 479

Inistioge, ..... 442
Innisf alien, ... 110, 155
Inshinagb, 506

Index of Names.

561

PAGE

Inver, 459

Inver in Antrim, . . . 126

Inver in Donegal, . . . 146

Ireland, 88

Ireland's Eye, . . 106, 109
Isertkelly, . . . 325, 326

Isertkieran, 326

Ishartmon 326

Iskanaraacteera Lake, . 483

Isafalcon, 42

Islandderry ; island or

holm of the oak-wood :

p. 502.

Island Magee, . . .79, 405

Isle of Man, .... 164

Iveleary, 124

Iverk barony, .... 124

Iveruss, 123

Kanturk, 479

Katty Gtollogher, . . 41

Keadagh, 391

Keadeenhill, .... 391

Keadew, 391

Keady, 391

Keadydrinagh, .... 391

Keeldra, 317

Keeldrum ; narrow ridge.

Keeloge, Keeloges, . 33

Keelty, Keelties, . . 493

Keenaght barony, . 135

Keeran, Keerhan, . 513

Keimaneigh, Pass of, 476

Kenmare, 523

Kenmare Bay, . . . 164
Ken are or Kinure; Ceann-

iubhair, head of the

yew: pp. 511, 522.

Kerane, Keraun, . . . 513

Kernan, . .... . . 334

Kerry 127

Kerrykyle, 265

Kesh, 362

Keshcarrigan, .... 362
Kevit : see p. 214.

Kilbaha, 507

Kilbeg ; small church or

wood.

VOL I.

PAGS

Kilbeheny, 507

Kilboy ; yellow church.

KiLbreckan, 147

Kilbreedy, 315

Kilbride, 315

Kilcanavee, 425

Kilcanway, 425

Kilcarn ; church or wood

of the earn.

Kilclare, 492

Kilclay, 313

Kilcleagh, 313

Kilclief in Down, ... 313

Kilclonfert 149

Kilcolman, 314

Kilcooly ; church of the

angle or corner : p. 530.

Kilcruaig, 388

Kilcruit, 398

Kilcullen, 315

Kildallan, 235

Kildalkey 278

Kildare 115

Kildaree, 259

Kildorrery, 505

Kildrought 369

Kilduff ; black church or

wood.

Kilflnane, .... 102, 154

Kilfa'thmone, .... 494

Kilgullane, 344

Kilkeel ; narrow church.

Kilkenneth in Scotland, . 315

Kilkenny, 314

Kilkenzie in Scotland, . 315

Kilkieran, Kilkeeran, . 150

Killadangan, .... 308

Killadrown, .... 251

Killadysert, 325

Killanummery, . . . 394

Killanure, 512

Killarney, 518

Killarney Lakes, . . . 448

Killashandra, .... 63

Killashee, . . . 185, 186

Killaspugbrone, ... 84

Killavil, 31

Killawillin, 376

37

662

Index of Names.

PAGE

Killederdaowen, . . . 251

Killeedy, 147

Killeen, 316

Killeenatruan, .... 458

Killeenerk, 213

Killeennagalliye, . . . 193

Killeens, 316

Killeentierna, .... 316

Killeeny, 316

Killeigh, 315

KiUenaule, 146

Killery Harbour, ... 51

Killeyy or Killeavy, . . 379

Killian, 150

Killinane ; same ol Kiltin-

ane : p. 154.

Killinardan, .... 386

Killisk, Killiskea, . .446, 447

Killiskey, 446

Killoe, 510

Killonan, 157

Killough ; church of the
lough.

Killulla, 339

Killure, 512

Killybegs, 33

Kiilycrappin, .... 399

Killynamph, .... 22

Killyon, 150

Killywillin, 376

Kilmacrenan, .... 49

Kilmainbam, .... 52

Kilmallock, 154

Kilmanagh, .... 146

Kilmeedy 148

Kilminfoyle, .... 16

Kilmore 492

Kiliuore-Moy 103

Kilmountain, .... 40

Kilmoyle, 395

Kilmurry 315

Kilmurvy, 466

Kilnacloghy, .... 412

Kilnafrehan, .... 521

Kilnahulla 339

Kilnahushoge, .... 490
Kilnaleck ; wood of the flag-
surfaced laud : p. 416.

I'AGB

Kilnalun 489

Kilnamanagb, .... 492

Kilnauiarre, .... 116

Kilreisk, 463

Kilrush ; the church of the

wood or peninsula.
Kilshruley; the church of

the stream : p. 457.

Kiltenan, 23

Kiltenanlea 23

Kiltinny, 216

Kiltober, 453

Kiltubbrid 453

KiltullagL, 389

Kiltybegs 493

Kiltyclogb, Kiityclogher 493

Kiltynashinnagh, . . 493

Kilwatermoy, ... 40
Kimuiid ; same as Kevit

Kinalea barony, . . 122

Kinalmeaky barony, . 75

Kinard, 522

Kinawly, 145

Kilcon 522

Kincora, 367

Kineagh, 476

Kinego 223

Kineigh, 475

Kinelarty, 122

Kingstown, 140

Kinlough ; head of the lake.
Kinnakillew ; head of the

wood : p. 492.

Kinnea, 475

Kinnegar, 481

Kinneigh, 474

Kinnewry; yew head: p. 511

Kinnitty, 155

Kinsale, Kinsalebeg, . . 523

Kinsaley, ..... 523

Kintale 523

Kintogher ; head of the

causeway : pp. 374, 522.

Kinturk, 522

Kinure ; head of the yew :

p. 522.

Kinyarra, 522

Kish, Kisha, . . .362

Index of Names.

563

PAGE

Tfishnboy, 362

Kish Light, Dublin Bay, 362

Kishoge, 362

Knappagh, ..... 399

Knappoge, 399

Knawhill, 116

Knickeen, 381

Knock, 381

Knockacorha in Eoscommon ;

hill of the pillar-stone :

pp. 343, 381.

Knockacullen, . . . . 513
Knockadangan ; hill of the

fortress : p. 306.
Knockaderry ; the hill of

the oak-wood : pp. 381, 503.

Knockadoo, 337

Knockadreet,. . . .369
Knockadrehid, . . .369
Knockagallane, . . 344
Knockahorrea, . . . 343
Knockalassa, . . . 273
Knockalegan, . . . 344
Knockalisheen ; thehill of the

little lis or fort : p. 273.
Knockaluskraun, ... 238
Knockan, Knockane, . 381
Knockanaff rin, .... 1 19
Knockanare ; the hill of the

slaughter: pp. 117, 381.
Knockanaryark, . . . 215
Knockanattin ; hill of the

furze : p. 519.

Knockaneag 476

Knockanee, 476

Knockanemorney, .
Knockanenabohilly ,
Knockanevin, . .
Knockaniska, . .
Knockanuamohilly,
Knockannavlyman,
Knockanoran, . .
Knockanree, . .
Knockanully,

419
209
381
446
209
211
453
20
339

Knockanure ; yew-hill : pp.

381,511.

Knookaphreaghaun, . . 485
Knockatancashlane, . . 23

PACK

Knockatarriy, .... 472
Knockatarry, .... 472
Knockatemple ; the hill of

the church : pp. 317, 381.
Knockaterriff, .... 472
Knockatinnole, . . . 207
Knockatloe, .... 208
Knockatlowig, .... 208
Knockatober ; the hill of

the well : pp. 381, 450.
Knockatoor ; the hill of the

bleach-green : pp. 236, 381.
Knockatotaun, .... 238

Knockaun, 381

Knockaunavogga, . . . 211
Knockaunbaun, ... 3
Knockauneevin, . . . 381
Knockaunnadrankady, 469,

note.

Knockaunnagoun, . . 222
Knockauntouragh, . . 295
Knocbiunvicteera, . . 483
Knockavaddra, . . . . 480
Knockavaddy, .... 480
Knockavilla, Knockaville 500

Knockavoe, 182

Knockawaddra, ... 480
Knockawaddy, .... 480
Knockbane, Knockbaun ;

white hill.
Knockbeha ; birch-hill : p. 50fi

Knockbine 384

Knockboha, 3u5

Knockboy ; yellow hill.
Knockbrack ; speckled hill.
Knockbroad, .... 40
Knockcroghery, . . . 221
Knockday ; ox-hill : p. 472.

Knockdoo, 20

Knockdown, .... 41

Knockduff, 20

Knockea, 381

Knockeen, 381

Knockeenahone, . . . 439

Knockerk 213

Knockfierna, .... 381
Knockglass ; green hill.
Kuockgorui ; blue hilL

564

Index of Name*.

PAGE

Knockgraffon, .... 191
Knocklayd in Antrim, . 381
Knocklong in Limerick, . 101
Knockloakeraun, . . . 233
Knoekma near Tuam, . 183
Knockmanagh ; middle hill.
Knockmehill, .... 465
Knockuiore ; great hill.
Knockmoyle, .... 396
Knockrnullin ; the hill of

the mill : p. 375.
Knocknabeast, . . . 199
Enocknaboha, .... 305
Knocknabohilly, ... 209
Knocknaboley, Knockna-
boola, Knocknabooly ;
hill of the dairy ; see p. 239
Knocknaclogha, . 211

Knocknacrohy, . 220

Knocknafeadalea, . 192

Knocknagapple, . 382

K nocknagappul, . 382

Knocknagaul in Limerick;
the hill of the Gauls, or
foreigners : p. 95.
Knocknageeha ; windy hill.
Knocknageragh ; hill of the

sheep.

Knocknagin, .... 221
Knocknaglogh ; the hill of

the stones : p. 411.
Knocknagore, .... 22
Knocknagoogh, . . . 489
Knocknagower, ... 22
Knocknagown, .... 222
Knocknaguilliagb, . . 22
Knocknahoe, .... 439
Knocknahooan, . . . 439
Knocknahorna , the hill of

the barley.
Knocknalooricaun, . . 191

Knocknamoe 22

Knocknamohill, . . . 209
Knocknamona, . . . 467
Knocknamuck ; the hill of

the pigs : see p. 478.
KnockiKiimrny ; sloe-lull
p. 518.

PAGE

Knocknaiiuss, .... 477
Knocknarea near Sligo ; the
hill of the executions.
See Ardnarea.

Knocknasawna, . - . 203
Knocknasheega, . . . 186
Knocknaskeagh, . . . 519
Krocknaveagh, Knocknavey ;

hill of the deer : p. 476.
Knocknawhishoge, . . 490
Knockninny, .... 152
Knockpatrick ; Patrick's hill.
Knockraha, Knocknaraha ;

hill of the fort : see p.

274.

Knockramer, .... 20
Knockranny ; ferny hill.
Knockratb ; the hill of the

rath or fort : see p. 274.
Knockreagh : grey hill.
Knockroe ; red hill.
Knockrower, Knockrour, 20
Knockshanbally ; the hill

of the old town.
Knocksouna, .... 203
Knocktemple ; the hill

of the church : p. 317.
Knocktopher, .... 54
Knockullard, .... 517

Knoppoge, 398

Kyle 316

Kylebeg ; small church

or wood.
Kylefreaghane, . .521

Kylernore, 492

Kylenagoneenv, • . . 481
Kyletaun, . .... 401

Labasheeda,
Labbacallee,
Labbadermody,
Labba Iscur,
Labbainolaga, .
Labby,

341
342
342
341
153
341

Labbyeslin, 341

Lack, 416

Lacka, 418

Lackabane, Lackabaun, . 418

Index of Names.

565

PAGE

Lac-kagli 417

Lackamore ; great hill-
side : p. 418.

Lackan, 418

Lackanagrour, .... 489

Lackanaicarry, .... 360

Lackandarra, .... 418
Lackareagh ; grey bill-
side : p. 418.
Lackaroe ; red hill-side.

Lackaun, 419

Lackeen, 416

Lacken, 418

Lackenacoombe, . . . 432

Lackendarragb, . . . 418

Lagacurry, 431

Lagan, 79, 432

Laganeany, 202

Laghil, Laghile, . . . 509

Laght, Laghta, ... 337

Laghtagalla, .... 337

Laghtane, 337

Lagnamuck, 431

Lagnaviddoge, .... 431

Lagore, 476

Laharan, 242

Lahard, 387

Lahardan, Lahardane, . 387

Lahardaun, 387

Laheratanvally, . . . 310

Lahertidaly, .... 310

Lahesheragh, .... 242

Lahinch, 443

Lakyle ; half wood : pp.

241, 491.

Lambay Island, . 106, HI

Lammy, 509

Lanaglug, 323

Landahussy, .... 323

Landbrock, 323

Landmore, 323

Lannyhussy, .... 323

Lara, 310

Laracor, 310

Laragh, .... 309, 310

Laraghaleas, .... 310

Laraghbrjan, . „ . . 310

Laraghshankill, . . . 310

PAGE

Lareen, 310

Largan, 403

Larganroagh, .... 403
Largatreany ; hill-side of

the corncrake: pp. 403, 487

Largy, 403

Largynagreana, . . . 403

Largygillagh, .... 403

Lame in Antrim, . . . 126

Larne River 107

Larrycormick, .... 41

Lateeve, 526

Latt, 338

Latteragh, 404

Lattery, 404

Laughil, 509

Laune River, .... 508

Lauragh, 309

Lavagh 508

Laval ly, -.242

Lavey, 509

Laxweir near Limerick :

pp. 106, 109.

Leaffony 497

Leafin, 497

Leamirlea, .... 171

Leamydoody, .... 171

Leamyglissan, . . . . 171

Leap Castle, . . . . 171

Lear, 530

Locale barony, .... 242

Lecarrow, . . . . 244

Leek, 416

Leckan, Leckaun, . . 418

Leckcavarna, . . . . 515
Leckpatrick ; Patrick's

flagstone : p. 416.

Leeg 416

Leegane, 344

Leek, Leeke 416

Lefinn, 497

Legacurry, Legaghory, . 431

Legaduff, 473

Legan, 344

L«gananny, ... . 462

Legane, Legaun, . . . 344

Leggandorragh, . . . 432
Legland ; same as Leighlin.

566

Index of Names.

PAGE
Legnabraid ; the hollow

of the gorge : see p. 523.
Legnawly Glebe, . . . 146

Legvoy, 416

Lehinch, 443

Leighlin, 430

Leighmoney, .... 497

Leinster 94,112

Leitrim, 525

Leii 129

Leixlip, .... 106, 109
Leny ; a wet meadow.
Lennox in Scotland, . . 508

Lerhin, 310

Lerrig in Kerry ; a hill-side.

Lessanny 274

Lcssans, 274

Letfern, 338

Letter, 405

Letters, Letteragh, . . 404

Letteran 404

Letterbeg ; little hill-side.
Letterbrick, .... 405

Letterbrock 105

Letterfad ; long hill-side: p. 404
Lettergeeragh, .... 405

Letterkeen, 405

Letterkenny, .... 141

Letterlicky 405

Lettermacaward, . . . 405
Lettermore ; great hill-side.
Lettermullan, .... 404
Letternadarriv ; hill-side

of the bulls : p. 471.
Lettershambo ; the wet

hill-side of the old tent :

see p. 304.
Lettershendony, . . . 405

Lettery, 404

Lettreen, 404

Levally, 242

Leven in Scotland, . 508
Leyny barony, .... 136

Liafin 497

Lick, 416

Lickane, 418

Lickbla 166

Lickeen, .... - 416

PAGE
Lickfinn; white fl.ig-stone :

p. 416.
Lickmolassy, .... 416

Lickoran, 453

Lifford 63

Liggins, 344

Lightford bridge in Mayo, 219
Lignapeiste, .... 199
Limerick, .... 49, 50

Limnagh, 50

Lisadian, 307

Lisalbanagh, .... 273
Lisanisk, Lisanisky, . . 283

Lisaquill, 515

Lisarearke, 215

Lisataggart, .... 273
Lisavaddy ; fort of the dog :

pp. 270, 480.

Lisbalting, 201

Lisbane, Lisbaun ; white

fort : p. 271.

Lisbarnet, 434

Lisbellaw, . ... 59, 358

Lisboduff 167

Lisbofin, 167

Liscahane, 273

Liscahill ; Cahill's fort : p. 271
Liscannor; Canar's fort:

p. 271.

Liscarroll, 273

Liscartan ; the fort of the

forge : pp. 224, 271.
Lisclogher ; stony fort : see

p. 413.

Liscunnell, 193

Lisdachon, 258

Lisdarush 255

Lisdaulan 258

Lisdavock, 258

Lisdavraher, . . . 260

Lisdavuck, 259

Lisdoo ; black fort : p. 271.

Lisdoonan, 283

Lisdoonvarna, .... 282

Lisdown, 283

Lisdowney in Kilkenny ;

Downey's fort : p 271.
Lisduff ; black fort : p. 271.

Index of Namcz.

567

PAGE

Lieduggan ; Duggan's fort.

Lisfarbegnagommaun, . 191

LisfennelJ 117

Lisgarriff ; rough fort.

Lisgonnell 193

Lisgoole, 529

Lisheen, ..... 273

Lislarheen, 310

Lislea ; grey fort.

Lisleyane, />08

Lismore, 272

Lismoyle, 395

Lismullin ; fort of the mill :

p. 375.

Lisnabantry, .... 273

Lisnabilla, 500

Lisnabo ; cow's fort : p. 469.
Lisnacreeve, Lisnacreevy ;

fort of the branchy tree :

pp. 271, 501.

Lisnacroppan, .... 399

Lienacullia, 492

Lisnadarragh, .... 502

Lisnadurk, 23

Lisnafeddaly, .... 192

Lisnafeedy 192

Lisnafiffy, 54

Lisnafinelly, .... 117

Lisnafulla 116

Lisnagancell, ... .192

Lisnageenly, .... 192

Lisnageeragh, .... 284

lisnagommon, .... 214

Lisnagonnell, .... 192

Lisnagore, 30

Lisnagowan, .... 284

Lisnagower, .... 30

Lisnagree, 284

Lisnagrough ; fort of the

stacks : pp. 271, 387.

Lisnagry, 284

Lisnagunnell, .... 192

Lisnagunnion. . . . 481

Lisnahall, 409

Lisnahay, 377

Lisnahirka, .... 213

Lisnahoon, 439

Lisnalee, . . • . . 20

PAGE
Lisnamuck ; fort of the

pigs : p. 478.
Lisnaneane ; fort of the

birds : p. 484.

Lisnapaste, 199

Lisnaskea, 519

Lisnanees, 3

Lisnascragh, .... 192

Lisnatreeclee, .... 264

Lisnaveane 93

Lisnaviddoge, .... 22

Lisnisk, Lisnisky. . . 283

Lispopple, 209

Lisrathdine, .... 292

Lissadill, Lissadoill, . . 273

Lissakeole 192

Lissan, Lissane, . . . 274

Lissanaffrin, . . . . 120

Lissanalta, 387

Lissanearla, .... 273

Lisaaneena, Lissaneeny, . 206

Lissaneigh, 486

Lissaniska. Lissanisky, . 283

Lissaphuca, 159

Lissaquill ; fort of the

hazel : p. 514.
Lissard ; high fort.

Lissarinka, 191

Lissatotan ; fort of the

burning : p. 238.
Lissavalley ; the fort of the

road (bealach) : p. 371.

Lissen, Lissen Hall, . . 274

Listowel, . . . . . 273

Lissonuffy, 273

Little Dog, 258

Lixnaw, 365

Loch-da-damh, . . 258

Loghill, 509

Lomanagh, Lomaunagh, 50

Lomcloon, 50

Lonart, ...... 300

Londonderry, .... 503

Lonehort, Lonehurt, . 301
Longfield, . . 39, 63, 509

Longford, 300

Loop Head, .... 170

Lome in Scotland, . . 87

568

Index oj Names.

PAGE

Lorum, 19

Loskeran, 238

Lough, 447

Loughacutteen, . . . 227

Loughan, 448

Lough Anaffrin, , . 120

Loughamagore, . . . 487

Loughanaskin, . . . 448

Loughandoul, . . . 199

Loughane, Loughaun, . 448

Loughanreagh, . . 449

Loughanstown, . . 449
Loughatarriff, Loughater-

riff : p. 472.

Loughaunnaweelaun, . 487

Lough Araul, .... 4

Lough Banagher, . . 385

Lough Beagh ; birch lake :

p. 506.

Loughbeg ; little lake.

Lough Boderg, ... 167

Lough Bofin, .... 167

Loughbollard, . , . . 351

Lough Bray, .... 390

Loughbrickland, ... 48

Lough Conn, .... 448

Lough Corrib, .... 164

Loughcrew, 501

Loughcrot, 398

Lough Oullen ; holly lake :

p. 513.

Lough Dagea 256

Lough T)erg, .... 172

Lough Derravaragh, . 505

Lough Eask, .... 447

Lough Erne, .... 176
Loughfad ; long lake.

Lough Finn in Donegal, 173

Lough Foyhin, ... 298

Lough Gillagancan, . . 194

Lough Gillaganleanc, . 194

Lough Gillaganleny, . 194

Lough Graney, . . . 335

Lough Guitane, . . . 227

Loughill 509

Lough Lagan, .... 432
Lough Leane at Killarney, 448

Loughloughan, . . . 488

PAGE

Loughlynch, . . 443
Lough Melvin, . . 54

Loughmuck, . . 175

Loughnagin, . . 222

Lough nagoyne, . 489

Loughnabinch, . 300

Loughnaloughan, . 488
Loughnaneane ; lake of

the birda : p. 484.

Loughnapiast, .... 199
Loughnasollis ; the lake

of the light : see p. 217.

Loughnaweeloge, . . . 487
Lough Neagh, . . 52, 176
Lough Oughter ; upper lake.

Loughrea, 448

Lough Veagh ; birch lake :

p. 506.

Loughwheelion, . . . 487
Loumanagh, .... 50

Lowery, Lowerymore, . 508

Luffany 54

Lugalustran, .... 238
Luganiska ; hollow of the

water : p. 446.

Lugatryna, 488

Lugduff Mountain, . . 431

Lugganaffrin, .... 119

Luggelaw, 391

Lughanagb, .... 28
Lughinny, . . . . • 28
Lugmore : great hollow.

Lugnademon, . . . . 197
Lugnamuddagh, ... 2]

Lugnaquillia Mountain, 431

Luimnagh, 50

Lumcloon, 50

Lurnnagh, 50

Lurgan, 527

Lurraga, 527

Lynally, 322

Lynn, 322, 323

Lyrane, Lyranes, . . . 530

Lyranearla, 530

Lyre, Lyreen, .... 530

Lyrenafreaghaun, . . 521

Lyrenageeha, . . . : 530

Lyre-na-grena, . . . 630

Index of Names.

569

PAGE

Mace 526

Macosquin, 423

Madame, 44

Magh-Breagh, .... 422
Magh-da-gheisi, . . . 248

Maghera, 426

Maghera 145

Magherabane, Maghera-

baun ; white plain : p. 426.
Magberabeg ; small plain :

p. 426.
Magheraboy ; yellow plain :

p. 426.
Magheracloone ; the plain

of the meadow.
Magheraculmoney, . . 497

Magheradrool 426

Magherahamlet, . . . 162
Magherahoney, ... 40
Magheralagan ; plain of

the hollow : pp. 426, 432.
Magheralamfield, . . . 509
Magheralough ; plain of

the lake.

Magheramore ; great plain.
Magherareagh ; grey plain.
Magherarny, .... 518
Maghernagran ; plain of

the trees : p. 499.

Maghery, 426

Magheryard ; high plain: p. 426

Magh-Inis, 243

Maglass ; green plain : p. 422.
Magunihy barony, 424

Mahee Island, . . 143

Maigue River, . . 32

Maine, Mayne, . 425

Malahide Kirer, . 98

Mai Bay, 171

Mallow 423

Man, Isle of 164

Managher, 58

Marsh, The, in Cork, . 462

Masreagh, 526

Massbrook, 120

Massereene, .... 526

Massreagh, 526

Masteragwee, .... 44

PAGB

Mastergeeha, Mastergeehy, 44

Maulagh, 394

Maulane, 394

Maulanimerish, . . 394

Maulashangarry, . . 394
Maulin ; little hill : p. 394.

Maulnahorna, . . . 394

Maulnarouga, ... 116

Maura, Maum Hotel, 176

Maumakeogh, ... 175

Maumnahaltora, . . 176

Maumnaman, . . . 176

Maumturk, 176

Mausrevagh, .... 526

Mausrower, 526

Maw, 425

Mawillian, 376

Maws, 425

Maynooth, 134

Mayo, 510

Mealough, 396

Meelaghans, .... 396

Meeldrum, Meeleen, . . 396

Meelgarrow, .... 396

Meelick, 466

Meelon, 396

Meelshane, 396

Meenabaltin, .... 201

Meenabrock, .... 484

Meenagorp, 116

Meenamullaghan, . . . 393

Meenanall, 175

Mwenarvnaghan, . . . 385

Meena'.'ean, 93

Meenawullaghan, . . . 393

Meendacalliagb, . . . 260

Meenkeeragh 473

Mellison, ..... 274

Mellon, 396

Middlethird, . . .243

Millane, 396

Milleen, 394

Milleennahorna, . . . 394

Milleeny, 33

Milligan, 396

Milligans, 397

Milltown, 376

Moanaspick ; bishop's bog.

570

Index of Names.

PAGK

Moanaviddoge, .... 487
Moanduff ; black bog : p. 467.

Moanmore, 467

Moanroe ; red bog : p. 467.

Moanteen, 468

Moanvane, Moanvaun ;

white bog : p. 467.

Moat* Moate, . . . . 291
Mobarnan ; plain of the

gap : pp. 425, 434.

Mogeely, 425

Mogh, 252

Moher ; Moher Cliffs, . 298

Mohera 298

Moheracreeyy, .... 298

Mogheragh, .... 298

Mogheranea, .... 298

Mohercrom 59

Mohereen, 298

Mohill, 465

Mohober, 452

Moig, Moigh, .... 425

Molly 41

Molynadinta, .... 217

Moloaky 238

Molough ; Magh-locha :

plain of the lake.

Monabraher, .... 467

Monagay, 488

Monaghan, 497

Monagilleeny, .... 316

Monagor, 487

Monalour, 467

Monambrahev, . . . 467

Monamintra, .... 467
Monamoe ; bog of the cows :

p. 470.

Monamraher, .... 467

Monanearla, .... 467

Monaquill, 515

Monard : high bog.

Monashinnagh, . . . 483

Monasteranenagh , . . 205

Monatarriy, .... 472
Monatogher; bog of the

causeway : p. 374.

Monatore 237

Monatray, 445

PACK

Moneen 468

Moneenabrone, . . . 468
Moneenagunnell, . . . 468

Mbneteen, 468

Money, 496

Moneydorragh, . . . 497
Moneyduff ; black shrub-
bery : p. 496.

Moneygal], 99

Moneygore ; goats' brake:

p. 475.

Moneygorm ; blue shrubbery.
Moneyruore : great shrubbery.
Moneyscalp, .... 435
Moneyteige ; Teige's shrub-
bery : p. 496.
Monfad : long bog.

Monivea, 497

Monmore, 467

Monroe ; red bog : p. 467.
Montanavoe, .... 305

Monteen, 468

Montiagb, Montiaghs, . 468

Monvore, 467

Mooretown, .... 37
Morgallion, barony of, . 136
Mostragee, 44

Mota,
Mothel, Mothell, .
Mountain-foot,
Mountgarret, . .
Mountmellick,
Mountsion, . . .
Mourne Mountains,
Movanagher, . .
Movilla, Moville, .

Moy,

Moyacomb,

291
465
528
291
466
41
138
385
423
424
52,258

Moyard ; high plain : p. 385

Moyarta 346

Moybane : whitish plain.

Moycullen, 513

Moydow, 337

Moy drum ; the plain of the

drum or ridge.

Moygawnagh, . . . . 471
Moygoish barony, . . . 137
Moyhill 465

Index of Names.

571

PAGE

Moylan, Moylaun, . . 396
Moyle, .... 396, 397

Moyleen, 396

Moyles, 396

Moylinny, ..... 275
Moylish, Moylisha, . . 273

Moyliss 273

Moymlough 176

Moymore ; great plain : p. 474.

Moynalty, 424

Moyne, 425

Moynoe, 510

Moynure ; plain of the

yew : p. 511.
Moyrus; the plain of the

promontory: pp.424, 443.

Moys 424

Moyvally, 373

Muckanagh, .... 479

Muckelty, 479

Muckenagh 479

Mucker, Muckera, . . 479

Muckery 479

Muekinish, Mucknish, . 478

Mucklagh, 478

Mucklin, 236

Mucklone, Muckloon, . 236

Mucklagh 479

Muckno, 366

Muckrim, Muckrum ; pig

ridge : see Aughrim.

Muekross, 443

Mucksna near Kenmare, 366

Muff 54, 55, 425

Muilrea mountain, . . 427

Mul, 392

Mulboy, 393

Muldowney at Malahide, 99

Mulkaun, 303

Mulkeeragh, .... 393

Mulla, 392

Mullacrew 501

Mullafarry in Mayo, . 206
Mullagh, . . . 392, 393
Mullaghanish mountain, 477
Mullaghard ; high summit.
Mullagkareirk mountains, 215
MuUaghattln, .... 393

PAGE

Mullaghbane, Mullaghbawn ;

white summit : p. 391.
Mullaghboy ; yellow sum-
mit : p. 391.

Mullaghcarton, . . . 224
Mullaghcroghery, . . 221"
Mullaghdoo, Mullaghduff ;

black summit : p. 391.
Mullaghfin ; white summit.
Mullaghglass ; green summit.
Mullaghinshigo, Mullaghin-
shogagh ; summit of the
ash : p. 506.

Mullaghmeen 393

Mullaghmore ; great sum-
mit : p. 391.

Mullaghnamoyagh, . . 22
Mullaghroe ; red summit :

p. 391.

Mullaghselsana, . . . 217
Mullaghshee, .... 183
Mullaghsillogagh, . . 393
Mullaghtinny, ... 216

Mullan 393

Mullanaffrin, .... 119
Mullanagore, Mullana-

gower, 393

Mullanalamphry, . . 508
Mullananallog, ... 22
Mullanaskea, Mullanaskeagh ;
Mullannaskeagh ; bushy
hill : pp. 391, 518.
Mullanasole; hill of the

lights: pp. 217, 391.
Mullanavannog, . . . 486
Mullans, .... 33, 393
Mullantlavan, .... 508
Mullanraum, .... 176
MullaEiver, .... 392

Mullarney, 518

Mullasawny, .... 203

Mullaun, 393

Mullauns, .... 33, 393

Mullen, 376

Mullenaranky, .... 212
Mullenlupraghaun, . . 191
Mullenmore ; great mill : p. 375
Mullennahone in Kilkenny, 439

672

Index of Names.

PAGE

Mullennakill 376

Mullin, 376

Mullinahone in Tipperary, 449

Mullinavat, 376

Mull of Cantire, ... 396

Mull of Galloway, . . 396

Mully 392

Mullycagh, 116

Mullycovet, 214

Mullykivet, 214

Mullynaveagh, . . . 486

Mulnasheefrog, . . . 186

Mulnaveagh, .... 486

Munster, 113

Munterloney Hills, . . 123

Muntermellan, . . . 123

Munterneese, .... 123

Munterowen, .... 123

Murlough, 145

Murragh, 466

Murreagh, 466

Murrisk, 467

Murroogh, 466

Murrow of Wicklow, . 466

Murvagh, 466

Murrey, 466

Muskerry baronies, . . 132

Mutton Island, . . . 474

Mweelahorna, .... 396

Mweelaun, 396

Mweelbane, .... 396

Mweeleen, 396

Mweeling, 396

Naan, ....
Naas, ....
Nadanuller, . .
Nadaphreaghane, .
Nadnaveagh, . .

24

207
490
490
490

Nadneagh 490

Nafarty, 345

Nappagh, 399

Nappan, ...... 399

Nart, 24

Nash 207

Naul, 23

Navan Port, The, . . 90

Neamhnach Well, . . 375

PAGE

Ned 490

Neddaiagh 257

Neddans 24

Nedeen 490

Nenagh, 71, 205

Nenagh River, ... 71

Nendrum, 143

Newragh, 512

Newrath, 513

New Boss, 495

Newry, 512

Nicker, Nickeres, . . . 481

Ninch, 24

Nobber 24

Nohoval, 25

Nooaff, 440

Nooan, 440

Nore River, ... 24, 27

Noughaval, 25

Nuenna River, .... 24

Nurchossy 28

Nure, 512

Nurney, 321

Nutfield, 36

Offaly, 130

Offerlane 124

Oghill, 511

Oghilly 511

Oghly, 511

Oil, The, 24

Olderfleet Castle, ... 107

OldLeighlin, .... 430

Oltore, 120

Omaun, -more and-beg, 214

Onagh, 455

Onan's rock, .... 156

Oneilland baronies, . . 138

Oola, 516

Oran, 453

Oranmore, 453

Oughaval, .... 25, 26

Oughteragh 271

Oulart 516

Ounageeragh River, . . 454

Ounagh, 455

Ovens, The 440

Ovoca Rirer. ... 79, 80

Index of Names.

573

PAGE

Ow Eiver, 454

Owbeg River, .... 454

Owenass River, . . . 460

Owenbristy, .... 440
Owencloghy ; stony river : p.

411.

Owendalulagh Eiver, . 248
Owenkillew ; river of the

wood : pp. 454, 491.

Owenmore, 455

Owennafeana Eiver, . . 93

Owen O'Coffey Eiver, . 71

Owen O'Garney River, . 528
Owenreagh, grey river : p. 454

Owles, The, .... 352

Ownanare Eiver, . . . 117

Owveg, 454

Oxmantown, . . 106, 1 13

Ox Mountains, ... 57

Paps, The, . . . 164,259

Parkatotaun, .... 239
Parkmore ; great field.

Phale, 358

Philipstown, .... 307

Phoenix Park 42

Phrenixtown, .... 37

Ploopluck, 190

Pobble O'Keeffe, ... 209

Polfore, 436

Pollacappul 475

Polladaossan, .... 252

Pollagh, 437

Pollaginnive, .... 436

Pollahoney 436

Pollakeel 246

Pollamore, 246

Pollanass at Glendalough, 460

Pollans, 437

Pollaphuca, .... 188

Pollboy ; yellow hole : p. 435

Poll-da-fhiach, ... 257

Polldorragha, .... 436

Polleens, 437

Polleeny; 437

Pollnaranny, .... 436

Pollrane, 436

Pollrauny, 436

PAOH
Pollrone in Kilkenny :

Poll-Ruadhain, Euan's

hole : p. 435.
Pollsillagh ; the hole of

the sallows : p. 435.

Polltalloon, .... 437

Poolbeg 435

Portlaw, 391

Portnasnow, 365

Portnatrynod, .... 264

Portraine, Ill

Portrush in Antrim, . . 444

Portumna, 506

Pottle, 246

Pottlebane, Pottleboy, . 246

Poulacappul, .... 475

Pouladown, .... 199
Poulagower ; goat's hole :

pp. 436, 475.

Poulaluppercadaun, . . 191

Poulanassy 460

Poulaniska ; water hole :

pp. 436, 446.

Pouldine 436

Poultalloon, .... 437

Pubble, 209

Pubblebrien, .... 208

Puckstown, 188

Pullagh, 437

Pullans, 436

Pulleen Bay and Caves, 436

Pullens in Donegal, . . 436

Quilcagh Mountain,

Quilly

Quilty, ....

6

493
493

Eacavan, 401

Eaford, Galway; Ir. Ath-

a-ratha, the ford of the

rath : pp. 274, 354.
Rahaniska, Eahanisky, . 284
Eahard ; high fort : pp.

274, 385.

Eaharney, 276

Eaheanbo 264

Eaheen, Raheens, . . 276
Eaheenacrehy, .... 220

Tndex of Name*.

Raheenaniska, .

PAGB
. 283
. 284
Rabeendarragh ; little fort

of the oak : pp. 276, 502,
Raheenduff ; black little

fort : p. 276.
Raheennahown ; little fort

of the river : pp. 276, 454.

Raheenroe, 276

Rabelty, 477

Raheny 276

Rahinnane, 155

Raigh 276

Rakeeragh, 284

Ralaghan, 505

Rallagh 505

Ranacroghy, .... 220

Randown, 405

Raphoe, 304

Rarkanillin at Dalkey, . 216

Rashee, 185

RasheenWood, ... 496
Ratawragh, .... 295

Rath, 274

Rathangan, .... 51
Rathaniska, .... 283

Rathanny, 462

Rathanure ; fort of the

yew : p. 511.
Rathard ; high fort : pp.

273, 385.
Rathaspick ; the fort of

the bishop : p. 274.
Rathbane, Rathbaun : white

rath : p. 274.

Rathbarna, 283

Rathbeg ; small fort.
Ritbborney, .... 419

Rathbranagh 486

Rathcahill ; Cahill's fort.

Rathcoole, 92

Rathcormack ; Cormac's

fort.

Rathdowney 232

Rathdrum, 275

Rathduff ; black fort.
Rathedan ; the rath of the

edan or brow : p. 523.

PAGE

Rathfeigh in Meath, . . 297
Rathfryland, .... 63
Ratbglass ; green fort.
Rathgory ; Guaire's fort.
Rathkieran, .... 150
Rathlackan; fort of the

hill-side : p. 418.
Rathleary at Tara, . . 140
Rathlin Island, . . 79, 112

Rathmore, 275

Rathmoyle, 395

Rathnacarton 224

Rathnafushoc-o, . . . 490
Rathnageeragh, . . . 284
Rathnagore ; goats' fort :

p. 475.

Rathnaneane, . . . 484, 485
Rathnaseer, .... 224

Rathnew, 275

Rathpoge, 189

Rathpooka, 189

Rathroe ; red fort : p. 274.
Rathronan ; Ronan'a fort :

p. 274.
Rathsallagh ; dirty fort : p. 274

Rath-sithe, 186

Rathskeagh ; bushy fort :

p. 518.
Rathtrillick, .... 263

Ratburd, 275

Rathurles 274

Rathvilla, 500

Rathyilly, 500

Raw, Raws 276

Rawes, 32

Ray, . 276

Rea, 426

Readoty 426

Reanabobul, .... 209
Reanabrone, . 20

Reanadimpaun, . . . 403
Reanahumana, . . . 214
Reanagishagh, .... 426
Reanascreena ; the plain of

the shrine : pp. 321, 426.

Reask, 463

Redchair or Richchair, . 434
' Red City, 36

Index of Names.

575

PAGE

Keen, 405, 407

Reenadisei-t 406

Reenard ; high point.
Reenroe ; red point.
Reenydonagan, . . . 406
Rehill, ...... 427

Reilig-na-Riogh, ... 346

Reisk 463

Relagb 426

Relick, 346

Relickmurry, .... 346

Remeen, 426

Reskatirriff ; bull's marsh :
pp. 463, 471.

Revallagh, 373

Riesk, 463

Rin, 405,407

Rinanagh, Rinanny, . 406

Rinawade, 226

Rine, 405, 407

Rineanna, 406

Rinecaha 407

Rineroe ; red point : p. 405.

Ring 405, 407

Ringabelh 501

Ringacoltig, .... 225
Ringagonagb, .... 407
Ringaphuca ; the pooka's
point.

Ringarogy, 116

Ringaskiddy 406

Ringbane, Ringbaun : white

point.
Ringcurran, .... 406

Ringfad, 407

Ringhaddy, 407

Ringrone, 406

Ringsend at Dublin . . 406

Ringstown, 212

Ringvilla, Ringville, . 407
Rinmore ; great point : p. 405

Rinn, 405, 407

Rinnafarset ; point of the

farset : p. 361.

Rinnarogue, . . .116
Rinneen, .... 407
Rinrainy Island, . . . 407
Rinyille in Galway, . , 407

PAGE

Risk 463

Roeillaun, 443

Roemore, 276

Roosca, 464

Roosk, Rosska, Itooskngh, 464

Roosky, 464

Rosconimon, .... 495

Roscroa, 495

Rosdama 253

Rosdrehid, 369

Rosdroit, 369

Roselick (-beg, -more), . 346
Roshin, Rossan ; little

promontory ; p. 443.
Roskeen, ... . . 495
Rosnakill ; peninsula of
the church : pp. 313, 443.

Ross 443, 494

Rossbane ; white wood.
Rossbegh or Rossbehy, . 444
Rossbeg ; small wood.

or promontory : pp. 313,443
Rossbenchuir, .... 385
Ross Carbery, .... 495
Ross Castle, .... 443

Rosscor, 487

Rossdagamph, . . .57, 258
Rossdanean, .... 257

Rosserk 495

Rosses, The, .... 444

Rossinver, 444

Rossmore ; great wood or
peninsula : 443, 495

Rossolus, 217

Rossorry, 444

Rostollus, . . u , 217
Round town,. , . . , 511
Rousky, ...... 464

Route, The, .... 88

Rush 444

Rusheen, Rusheens, . 496

Russagh, 474

Rusk 464

Rusky 464

Saggart, 157

Saintfield, ..... 231
Saint John's. . , . , 405

576

Index of Names.

PAGE

Saint Mullin's, ... 158
Salmon Leap on the Lif-

fey, 108

Salt, baronies 109

Saul, 113

Saval, 114

Sawel Mountain, . . . 114

Scalp, 435

Scalpnagoun, .... 435

Scar 420

Scarawalsh in Wexforcl, 38

Scardan, Scardans, . . 461

Scardaun, 461

Scarnageeragh, . . . 360

Scarragh, Skarragh, . . 360

Scarriff, 360

Scarriffhollis, .... 220

Scart 496

Scartaglin, 496

Scarteen, 496

Scartlea, 496

Scarva, Scaryy, . . . 359

Scary hill, 40

Scoraagh, 524

Scota's graye, .... 165

Scotia, 88

Scotland, 88

Seadavog, 311

Seagoe, 311

Seapatrick, 311

See 311

Seeaghanbane, .... 312

Seeaghandoo, .... 312
Seeconglass, ... .311

Seefin, 92

Seeghane, 312

Seehanes, 312

Seein, 92

Seeoran, 311

Seirkieran, 150

Selshan, 218

Seskin, 463

Seskinnamadra marsh

of the dogs : pp. 463, 479.

Seskin rea, 463

Seskinryan ; Evan's marsh :

p. 463.

Sess, 245

PAGE

245

245

Shallany, 221

Sheskin, 463

Shallon 221

Shanaclogh, . . . . 412
Shanacloon ; old meadow :

p. 233.

Shanagarry ; oldgarden :p. 229
Shanagolden, .... 524
Shanakill ; old church : p. 313
Shanavally ; old town : p. 347
Shanbally ; old town : p. 347.
Shanbo, Sbanboe, . . . 304

Shanbogh, 304

Shanclogh, 412

Shandon, 282

Shandrum ; old ridge : p. 524
Shane, Shanes, . . . 187
Shangarry ; old garden : p. 229

Shankill, 315

Shanliss ; old fort.

Shanlongford 21

Shanmullagh; old summit :

p. 391.

Shannon, 282

Shannon River, ... 79

Shanonagh, 319

Shantallow j Seantalamh :

old land.

Shantarny ; old field : p. 231.
Shanyally ; old town.
Shean, Sheean, Sheeaun, 187
Sheeana, Sheeawn, . . 187

Sheegorey, 185

Sheegys, 186

Sheehaun, 187

Shee hills, 184

Sheehys, The, ... 185
Sheena, Sheeny, ... 186
Sheerevagh, .... 185

Sheetrim, 185

Shelburne 123

Shelmaliere, . . 123

Shesharoe, . . . . 245
Shesheraghkeale, . . . 242
Shesheragbmore, . . . 242
1 Shesheraghscanlan, . . 242

Index of Names.

577

PAGE

Sheshia 245

Sheshiv 245

Sheshodonnell, ... 245

Sheskin, 463

Sheskinatawy, .... 463

Shillelagh, 123

Shinrone, 311

Shronacarton, • . . 224

Shrone, 523

Shronebeha, .... 523

Shronedarragli, . . 61

Shrough 61,457

Shruel 48

Shrule, 48

Sidh Buidhbh, . ... 181

Sidh Truim, .... 183

Sileshaun, 218

Sion, 186

Sistrakeel, 242

Skagb, 518

Skahanagh, 519

Skea, Skeagh, . . . .518

Skeaghanore, .... 519

Skeanaveane, .... 93

Skehanagh, .... 519

Skeheen, 519

Skeheenarinky, , . . 212

Skelgagh, 421

Skellig rocks, .... 421
Skelpy ; full of skelps or
splits : p. 435.

Skenarget, 519

Skeoge, 519

Skephubble, .... 209

Skerriff, ...... 360

Skerries, 420

Skerry, 420

Skerrywhirry, ... 53

Skinstown, 36

Skreen, Skrine, . 157, 321

Slaghtaverty, .... 331

Slaghtfreeclen 66

Slaghtmanus, .... 66

Slaghtneill, 66

Slaghtybogy 66

Slane, 344

Slanore in Cavan, . . 12

Sleamaine, 379

VOL. I

PAGE

Sleaty, ... - . 380
Slee 371

Sleehaun, 371

Sleemanagh 371

Blemish Mountain, . . 379
Sleveen, Slevin, . 380, 381

Slevinagee 381

Slieveanilra, .... 485
Slieve Ardagh ; mountain

of Ardagh ; which see.

Slieveatrue 263

Slieve Aughty, ... 248
Slievebane, Slievebaun ;

white mountain : p. 380.
Slievebeagh, .... 161
Slievebernagh, .... 379
Slievebloom Mountains, 166
Slieveboy ; yellow hill : p. 379
Slieve Breagh, . . 135, 423
Slieve Callan, .... 514
Slieve Carbury, . . . 141
Slieve Carna ; mountain of

the earn : pp. 332, 379.
Slievecoiltia ; mountain of

woods : p. 493.

Slieve Commedagh, . . 215
Slieve Daeane, .... 256
Slieve Donard, . . 138, 144
Slieve Eelim, .... 52
Slieve Fuad, .... 166
Slieve Golry, .... 125
Slieve Gullion, . . . 513
Slieve League, .... 416
Slieve Lougher, . . . 120

Slieve Margy 380

Slieve Mish, .... 380
Slievemore ; great mountain :

p. 379.
Slievemuck ; pig mountain :

p. 478.
Slievenacallee ; the mountain

of the hag : p. 379.
Slie vena griddle, . . . 342
Slievenaman, .... 184
Slievenamuck, .... 478
Slievenisky ; watery moun-
tain.

Slieve O'Flynn,

38

397

578

Ind<x of Names.

PAGE

Slievereagb, .... 102
Slieyeroe; red mountain : p. 379

Sliguff 57

Sljne Head, . 66, 82, 171

Snauih-da-en, . . *. . 256

Snaye bridge near Bantrv, ,365

Sollus, ....... 217

Spelgagb, 421

Spellickanee, .... 421

Spink, 421

Spinkan, 422

Srahatloe 208

Srananny, 61

Sraud ; a street : p. 350 .

Sroankeeragb, .... 523

Sroohill, 48

Sroolane, Srooleen, . . 458

Sroughan, 458

Sroughmore ; great stream-
let : p. 457.

Srue, Sruh, 457

Sruffan, Sruffaun, . . 458

Srugreana, 61

Stabannon, 65

Stackallen, 65

Stacumny 65

Staholmog 303

Stakally, 65

Stalleen, 65

Stamboul 58

Stamullin, 303

Stang ; a measure of land.

Stapolin, 65

Stillorgan, 65

Stirue, 65

StoHecarthy ; Stuam-Charth-

aigh, Carthacb's stang or
measure of land.
Stonybatter in Dublin, . 45

Stock, 408

Stookan, Stookans, . . 408

Stookeen, Stookeens, . 408

Stracashel in Donegal, . 430

Stradavoher, .... 352

Stradbally 352

Stradbrook, 352

Strode 352

Stradeen 352

PAGB

Stradone, 62

Stradowan, 62

Stradreagb 352

Straduff ; black river-holm.

Straid, 352

Stralustrin, 238

Strancally, 61

Strangford Lougb, . . 107

Stroan, 458

Strokestown, .... 36

Struell, 48, 457

Sugar Loaf Mountain, . 530

Sunday's Well, ... 452

Syonan, 157

Syunchin, 311

Taboe ; cow-house : pp.
301, 469.

Taduff, 301

Taghadoe, 302

Taghboy, 301

Tagbboyne, 150

Tagheen, 301

Tagbmon, 303

Tallaght, 161

Tallow, 390

Tamlagbt, Tamlat, . . 162

Tamnaflcarbet, ... 231

Tamnafiglassan, . . . 231

Tamnagh, 231

Tamnaghbane,. . . . 231

Tamnaghvelton, . . . 201

Tamney 231

Tamnyagan, .... 44

Tamnymartin, .... 232

Tanderagee, .... 526

Tara, 291 295

Tardree, 29

Tartan, 400

Tassan, 29

Tattanafinnell, . . . . 117

Tattentlieve, .... -M6
Tattygare ; abort (ate or

land measure : p. 246.
Tattymoyle ; bald tate :

pp. 246, 395.

Tattynageeragh, . . . 246

Taughboyue, .... 151

Index of Names.

579

PAGE
Taurbeg, Taurmore, . . 295

Tavanagh, 232

Tavanaskea, .... 232
Tavnaghdrissagh, . . . 231

Tavraun, 296

Tawlaght 162

Tawnagh, 231

TawnaghaknafP, ... 231
Tawnaghbeg ; littlefield : p. 231
Tawnaghlaghan, ... 231
Tawnaghmore ; great field :

p. 231.

Tawnakeel, 231

Tawny 231

Tawnybrack, .... 231

Tawnyeely, 231

Tawran, 296

Teebane, 301

Teemore, 301

Teevnabinnia 526

Teltown, .... 166, 202
Tempanroe, .... 403
Templeacbally, . . . 464
Templebredon, . . . 318
Teniplecarn, .... 318
Temple-etney, .... 318
Templemichael, ... 318
Templemolaga, . . . 153
Templemore, .... 318

Templemoyle 395

Templenacarriga ; the church

of the rock : pp. 317, 409.
Templenahurney, . . . 321
Templenaskellig, . . . 421
Templenoe, Templenew ;

new church : p. 317.
Templepatrick, ... 96
Templeshanbo, . . . 304
Templetogher, .... 374
Templetuohy, . . . . 318

Tempo, 30

Tennyphobble 216

Tents 217

Terenure, 511

Termon Magrath, . . 311
Terryglass, . . 247, 248

Terryland, 63

Tethmoy, 253

PAGB

Tevrin, 296

The Braid, 523

The Faes of Athlone, . 494

The Moy, 425

The Oil 24

The Ovens near Cork, . 440

TheOwles 352

The Bosses, 444

TheSheehys, .... 184

The Squince, .... 474

Three Gneeves, . . . 245

Thurles, -274

Tiaquin, 302

Tibberaghny in Kilkenny, 452

Tibohine, 151

Tibraddan 301

Ticknick, Ticknock, . . 382
Tievebrack ; speckled hill-side.

Tievedeevan, . . . . 211

Tievenavarnog, . . . 526
Tiglin in Wicklow ; the

house of the glen ; p. 301

Tikineor, 367

Tiknock, 382

Timahoe, 303

Timoleague, .... 153

Timolin, 158

Timpan, Timpaun, . . 403

Timpany 403

Tinamuck, 478

Tinaranna, Tinaranny ;

house of the point : pp.

301, 405.

Tincurragh, Tincurry, . 301

Tinnahincb, .... 301
Tinnakill, Tinnakilly ;

house of the church or

wood: pp. 301, 313.

Tinnascart, Tinnascarty, 301

Tinnick, 382

Tinnies, 217

Tinnycross ; house of the

cross : pp. 301, 327.

Tinoran, 453

Tin tore 237

Tipper 452

Tipperary, 453

Tipperkevin, .... 452

580

Index of Names.

PAGE

TipperstowB, . . . 452
Tiranascragh, .... 402
Tirawley barony . . .139

Tirconnell, 140

Tireragh barony, . . . 139
Tirerrill barony, . . . 139
Tirfinnog, . ". . . . 485
Tirkeeran barony, . . 137

Tisaran, 35

Tiscoffin 54

Tithewer 237

Tlaghtga 202

Tober 450

Toberaheena, .... 452

Toberatasha 194

Toberayilla, 451

Toberawnaun, .... 157

Toberbilly, 451

Toberbunny, .... 451

Toberburr, 48

Tober Canvore, ... 103
Tobercurry, ... .451

Tobereevil, 196

Tober finnick 486

Toberhead, i. e. Tubrid : JL 452
Toberloona, .... 96
Toberlownagh, . . . 451

Tobermolaga 153

Tobermore, 451

Tobernabrone, .... 377
Tobernagalt, .... 172
Tobernapeaeta, . . . 199

Tobernooan 325

Toberreendonev, . . 452
Togher, ..".... 374
Tombreen ; Brian's tomb : p. 335

Tomcoyle, 41

Tomdeely, 336

Tomduff ; black tumulus:

p. 335.

Tomfinlough, .... 336
Tomgraney, .... 335
Tomiea Mountain, . . 336
Tomnahulla, .... 339

Tomregan, 41

Tonagh, 231

Tonaghmore, .... 231
Tonaghneeve, .... 231

MAI

Tonanilt, 387

Tonbaun, 526

Tonduff, Toneduff, . . 526

Toueel, 526

Tonlegee, 5-H

Tonn Cleena, .... 195

Tonregee, 526

Tonrevagh : grey bottom.

Tonroe, 526

Tooman, 336

Toorabeola, 383

Toome, .....* 335
Toomog, ... ; . 336

Toomona, 336

Toornore, Toomour, . . 260
Toouiyvara, .... 336

Toor, 236

Tooraleagan 3H

Toorard ; high bleach-
green : p. 236.

Tooreen 236

Tooreennablauha, . . . 237
Tooreennagrena, . . . 237

Toorfune, 237

Toornageeba, .... 237

Toortane 400

Toralt 399

Tore Mountain, . . . 479

Tormore, 399

Tornaroy 399

Tory Island, . . 162, 400

Touagbty, 101

Tourin 236

Towlaght, Towlett, . . 162
Towerbeg, Towermore, . 296

Towlaght, 161

Trakieran at Cape Clear, 150
Tralee, ....... 444

Tralong 226

Tramore, Trawinore, . 445
Trawnamaddree, . . . 445

Trean, 243

Treanaraullin, .... 243
Treanfohiiiiauii, . . . 243

Treanlaur, 213

Treanmanagli, .... 243
Trevet, .... 133, 2f,2
Trien, 243

Index of Names.

581

FACIE

rrienaltenagb, .... 243

Trillick 263

Trillickacurry, .... 2(53

Trillickatemple, . . . 263

Trim, 517

Trimmer, 517

Tromaun, Tromman, . 517

Trough, 242

True 2 \2

Trumman, 517

Trummer, 517

Trummery, 517

Tuam 254

Tubbrid 452, 453

Tulach-min 152

Tulla, Tullagb, ... 389

Tullaghcullion, ... 389

Tullagfaan 389

Tullaghans, .... 389

Tullaghaun, 389

Tullaghcullion .... 3S9

Tullaha ; Tulcha, hills : p. 389

Tullahaught, .... 2(>5

Tullahogue in Tyrone, . 210

Tullanavert, .... 389

I ullans, 389

Tullantanty, .... 303

Tullantintin, . . . . 216

I'ullen, Tullin, ... 389

Tullig 389

Tullintloy, 208

Tullow, Tullowpbelim, . 131

Tully 389

Tullyallen, 35

Tullyard ; high hill : p.

385, 389.
Tullybane, Tullybaun ;

white hill: p. 389.

Tullybeg ; small hill : p. 389

Tullycullion, .... 389
Tullyglass ; green hill.

Tullyhaw barony, r . 123

Tullyhog in Tyrone, , . 210

Tully land, ..... 63

Tullyloughdaugb, . . 259

Tullymongan at Cavan, . 389
Tullymore ; great hill :

p. 389,

PAGB
Tullynacrosa ; the hill of

the cross : pp. 327, 389,
Tullynagardy, .... 224
Tully nagrow, .... 51
Tullynahearka, . . . 213
Tullynaskeagh, . . . 519
Tullynure ; hill of the yew :

pp. 389,511.
Tulljroe; red hill: p. 389.

Tullyrusk 464

Tully trasna; cross hill:

pp. 388.
Tullyullagh, .... 339

Tummery 29

Tumna, 336

Tuosist ; Tuath O'Siosta,

O'Siosta's territory : p. 124

Turagb 29

Ture ; an tiubhar ; the ye\v.
See pp. 29, 511.

Turlough, 449

Turtane, 400

Twelve Pins, .... 383

Two Gneeves 245

Tyfarnham in Westmeath ;

Farannan's or Arannan's

house.

Tymon, 303

Tyone, 301

Tyrella, 65

Tyrone, 14C

Ullanes, TJllauns, ... 339

Ulster, 112

Ulusker 339

Uinmera, 394

Ummeraboy 394

Ummeracain, TJmrycam, 394

Ummerafree 394

Ummery, Umry, . . . 394

Unshinagh, 506

Uiishog, 506

Upperthird, .... 213

Uragh, 512

Urcher, 108

Uregare, 512

Urney, Urny, ... 29, 321

UsnaghHill .... 200

582

Index of Names.

Valentia Island, . 102, 505
Vartry River, ... 125
Velvet Strand, .... 341

Ventry, 445

Ventry Harbour, . . . 172

Ward, Hill of, ... 202
Wateresk ; upper channel.
Waterford, . . 106

Wexford, 10(5

Wicklow, . . . 106, 108

Windgap, Windygap, . 433

Windgate, .... 433

Winetavern-street, . . 351

Wood of 0, 38

Yellowbatter, .... 45

Youghal 510

INDEX OF ROOT WORDS,

WITH PRONUNCIATION, MEANING, AND REFERENCE.

ABH [aw or ow], a river, 454.
Abhainn [owen], a river, 454.
Abhall [owl, ool, or avel],

an apple, an apple-tree,

513.

Achadh [aha], a field, 232.
Adharc [eye-ark, aw-ark,] a

horn, 213.
Aebhell [Eevel], the fairy queen

of North Munster, 196.
Aen [ain], one, 263.
Aenach [enagh], a fair, 205.
Aiffrionn, the Mass, 64, 119.
Aileach, [ellagh], a circular

etone fortress, 293.
Aill [oil], a cliff, 408.
Aireagal, a habitation, 320.
Airne [arney], a sloe, 518.
Ait [aut], a place or site, 301.
Aiteann [attan], furze, 519.
Aith [ah], a kiln, 377.
Aitheach-Tuatha [Ahathoohii],

the plebeian races, 101.
Alt, a cliff or glen side, 387.
Altoir [altore], an altar, 120.
An, the Irish article, 23.
Ar [awr], slaughter, 117.
Ard, high, a height, 385.
Arracht, a spectre, 194,
Ath, a ford, 43, 354.
Bad [baud], a boat, 226.
Badbun [bawn], a bawnf a cow

fortress, 308

Baile [bally], a town or town

land, 347.
Baile-biataigh [bally-beety], a

victualler's townland, 241.
Baile-bo, 245.
Baisleac [bauslack], a basilica

or church, 324.
Bare, a bark or boat, 225.
Barr [baur], the top, 528.
Beachaire [backera], a beeman

152,

Bealach [ballagh], a road, 371.
Bealltaine [beltany], the first

day of May, 200.
Beann [ban], a peak or pin-
nacle, 382.
Beannchar [banagher], horns,

gables, or peaks, 385.
Beannai<jhthe [bannihe], bless-
ed, 108.
Beansidhe [banshee], a fairy

spirit, 180.
Beam, bearna [barn, barna], a

gap, 433.
Bearnach [barnagh], gapped,

282.

Beith [beh], the birch-tree, 506.
Bel or beul [bale], a mouth,

an entrance, a ford, 357.
Bile [billa], an ancient tree,

499.

Biorar [birrer], watercress, 48.
Bladhmann, boasting, 211.

684

Index of Root Words.

Bo, a cow, 469.

Bui rearm [burren], a large rock,

a rocky district, 418.
Both [boh], a tent or hut, 303.
Bothar'fboherl a road, 44, 370.
Bouchail [boohill], a boy, 209.
Braghad [brand], the throat,

a gorge, 523.
Bran, a raven, 486.
Breach [breaghj a wolf, 482.
Hri [bree], a hill, 390.
Bro, a quern, a mill-stone, 376.
Broc [bruck], a badger, 484.
Brocach [bruckagh], a badger

warren, 484.

Brugh [bru], a mansion, 287.
Bruighean [breean], a mansion,

a fairy palace, 289.
Buaile [boolia], a feeding or

uiilking-place for cows, 239.
Buirghes [burris], a burgage

or borough, 352.
Bun, the end or bottom of

anything, 528.
Cabban [cavan], a hollow, a

round hill, 401.
Cadban [coin], a barnacle duck,

488.
Caech [kay], blind, purblind,

122.

Caera [kaira], a sheep, 473.
Caerthainn [kairhan], the

quicken-tree, 513.
Cairthe [carha], a pillar-stone,

343.
Caiseal [cashel], a circular

stone fort, 286.
Caislean [cashlaun], a castle,

305.
Gala, a marshy meadow, a

landing-place for boats, 464.
Gapall, a horse, 475.
Cam, a monumental heap of

stones, 332.

Can, a rock, rocky land, 419.
Carraig [carrig], a rock, 409.
Cartron, a quarter of land, 245.
Casan [cassaun], a path, 373.
Cath, [.-ah], a battle. 115.

Cathair [caber], a circular

stone fort, a city, 284.
Ceallurach [calloorah], an old

burial-ground, 316.
Cealtrach [ealtragh], an old

burial-ground, 316.
Ceann [can], the heid, 522.
Ceapach [cappa], a tillage plot,

228.

Ceard, an artificer, 223.
Ceardcha, a workshop, 224.
Ceathramhadh [carhoo], a

quarter 243.

Ceide [keady], a hill, 391.
Ceis [kesh], a wicker-work

bridge or causeway, 361.
Ceol-sithe [coleshee], fairy

music, 192.

Cill [kill] a church, 314.
Cinel, kindred, race, 122.
Cladh [cly or claw], a ditch,

31.

Clann, children ; a tribe, 122.
Clar, a board ; a plain, 427.
Clais [clash], a trench, 119.
Cliath [clee], a hurdle, 362.
Cliodhna [cleena], the fairy

queen of South Munster,

195.
Cloch, a stone ; a stone castle,

411.

Clochan, a row of stepping-
stones across a river, 364.
Cluain [cloon], an insulated

meadow, 233.

Cluiche [cluha], a game, 211,
Cluricane, a kind of fairy, 190.
Cnamh [knav], a bone, 116.
Cnap [knap, k pronounced], a

knob ; a little hill, 398.
Cnoc [knoc, Tc pronounced], a

hill, 51, 381.
Cobhlach [cowlagh], a fleet,

225.
Coigeadh [coga], a fifth part ;

a province, 244.
Coill, a wood, 491.
Coimbead[covade], watching,

guarding, 214.

Index of Root Words.

585

Coinicer [cunnikere], a rabbit
warren, 481.

Coinin [cunneen], a rabbit, 481.

Coinneall, a candle, 5, 192.

Coirthe [corha] ; see Cairthe.

Coll, the hazel, 514.

Coinan [curnmaun], tbe curved
stick used in hurling, 213.

Congbhail [congwall], a habi-
tation, 25.

Cor, a round hill, &c., 397.

Cora, Coradh, a weir, 367.

Core, Corca, race ; progeny,
123.

Corcach [corkaghj.a marsh,462.

Corp, a body, a corpse, 116.

Corr, a crane, 487.

Cos [cuss], a foot, 527.

Cot, a small boat, 226.

Craebh [crave], a branch ; a
large branchy tree, 501.

Craig [crag], a rock, 410.

Crann, a tree, 498.

Crannog, an artificial island or
lake-dwelling, 299.

Creabbar [crour], a wood-cock,
489.

Creamh, wild garlic, 65.

Croch, a cross ; a gallows, 220.

Crochaire, a hangman, 221.

Cromlech, a sepulchral monu-
ment, 339.

Cros, a cross, 327.

Cruach, a rick ; a round hill,
387.

Cruit [crit], a hump : a rL md
little hill, 398.

Cruithne, the Picts, 100.

Cu, a hound, 479, 480.

Cuach [coogh], a cuckoo, 489.

Cuas, a caye ; a cove, 437.

Cuil [cooil], a corner, 530.

Cuillionn [cullion], holly, 513.

Oum [coom], a hollow, 432.

Currach, a marsh, 463.

Da, a prefix, 148, note.

Da [daw], two, 247.

Dainirean [dangan], a fortress,
306

Dair [dar], an oak, 502.

Dairbhre [darrery], a place of
oaks, 504.

Daire or doire [derry], an oak-
grove, 503.

Dal [daul], a part ; a tribe, 87,
128.

Dalian [dallaun] ; see gallau.

Damh [dauv], an ox, 472.

Dealbh [dalliv], a shape ; a
spectre, 193.

Dealg [dallig], a thorn, 112.

Deamhan, a demon, 198, 199.

Dearc, Derc [derk], a cave, 437

Dearmhagh [darwah], oak-
plain, 13.

Diabhal [deeal], the de7il,
200.

Diomhaein [deeveen], ic le ;
vain, 211.

Disert, a desert ; a hermitage,
324.

Do, a prefix, 148 note.

Domhnach, a church, 318.

Draeighean [dreean], the black-
thorn, 517.

Droichead [drohed], a bridge,
368.

Druim [drum], the back; a
hill-ridge, 524.

Dullaghan, a kind of spectre,
193.

Dumha [dooa], a burial mound
336.

Dun, a fortified residence, 80,
277.

Dur, strong, 274.

Each [agh], a horse, 474.

Eaglais [aglish], a church, 317.

Eanach fannagh], amarsh,461.

Earrach [arragh], spring, 200.

Eas [ass], ess, a waterfall, 459.

Eas, easog [ass, assoge], a wea-
sel, 27.

Eascu, eascan [asscu, aaskan],
an eel, 27.

Edar, between, 261.

Eidhnean [eynaun], ivy, 521.

Eilit feint], a doe, 477.

586

Index of Root Words.

Eisc [esk], a water channel,447.
Eiscir [esker], a sand-hill, 402.
Eithiar, an air demon, 195.
En [ain], a bird, 484.
E6 [6], a yew-tree, 509.
E6chaill [ohill], a yew-wood,

510.
Ethiar [ehir], an air-demon,

195.
Eudan [eadan], the forehead ;

a hill-brow, 523.
Ey [Danish], an island, 106,

111.

Fael [fail], a wolf, 482.
Faeilean [fweelaun], a sea-gull,

486.
Faeilog [fweeloge], a sea-gull,

486.

Faill [foyle], a cliff, 408.
Faitche [faha], an exercise

green, 296.
Farraeh [farra], a place of

meeting, 207.

Fasach [faussagh], a wilder-
ness, 496.

Feadan, a streamlet, 458.
Fead, a whistle, 192.
Feadog [fadddge], a plover,

487-
Feann6g [fannoge], a royston

crow, 486.

Feara [farra], men, 125.
Fearann [far ran], land, 242.
Fearn, Fe,irn6g[farn,farnoge],

the alder, 515.
Fearsad [farsad], a sand-bank,

361.
Fert, ferta, a trench ; a grave,

344.

Fiach [feeagh], a raven, 486.
Fiadh [feea], a deer, 476.
Fianna, the ancient Feni, 91.
Fidh [8h], a wood, 491, 493.
Fionghal [finnal], the murder

of a relative, 1 17.
Fir, men, 125.
Foghmhar [fower], harvest,

200.
Ford (Danish), 106.

F<5rnocht, a bare hill, 400.

Forrach, a meeting-place, 207.

Fraech [freagh], heath, 520.

Fraechan, Fraechog, a whortle-
berry, 520.

Fuaran [fooran], a cold spring,
453.

Fuath [fooa], a spectre, 194.

Fuil, blood, 116

Fuinnse, Fuinnseann, Fuin-
seog [funsha, funshan, fun-
shoge], the ash-tree, 506.

Fuiseog [fwishoge], a lark, 490

Gabhal [gowl], a fork, 529.

Qabhar [gower], a goat, 475.

Gaertha [gairha], a thicket
along a river, 497.

Q-aeth [gwee], wind. 44.

Gaire [gaurya], laughter, 211.

Gall, a foreigner, a standing
stone, 94, 95, 344.

Gillian [galliiun], a standing-
stone, 343.

Gallon, a measure of land, 246.

Gam ban [gowan], a calf, 470

Gamhnach [gownagh] a milk-
ing cow, 471.

Garran, a shrubbery, 498.

Garrdha [gaura], a garden, 22^1

Gasun [gossoon], a boy, 210.

Gealt [gait], a lunatic, 172.

Ge'dh [gay], a goose, 488.

Geimhridh [gevrih], winter.
200.

Glaise, glaia, glas [glasli-,.
glash, glas], a streamlet, 45f;

Gleann [glan], a glen, 428.

Gniomh [gneere], a measure
land, 245.

Gobha [gow], a smith, 222.

Gort, a field, 230.

Grafan, a grubbing axe, 237-

Graig, a Tillage, 353.

Grian [greean], the sun, 291,
335.

Grianan [greenan], a summer
house ; a palace, 291.

Guiila [goola], the shoulder ; a
hill, 124.

Index of Root Words,

587

rmleach[imlagh],amarsh,465.
Inbber [inver], a river-mouth,

459.

fnis, an island, 440.
lolar [iller], an eagle, 485.
lomairQ [ummera], a ridge or

hill, 393.

loman, hurling, 214.
Iubhar[ure], the yew-tree, 511.
Lacha, a duck, 488.
Ladhar [lyre, lear], a fork, a

river-fork, 530.
Laegh [lay], a calf, 470.
Lag, a hollow in a mountain,

431.

Lagh[law], a hill, 391.
Lann, a house ; a church, 321 .
Larach [lauragh], a mare, 475.
Lntbair, lathrach [lauher, lau-

rngh], a site, 309, 310.
Lax (Danish), a salmon, 109.
I .eaba, leabaidh [labba, labby],

a bed, 340.

I .eac [lack], a flag-stone, 416.
I .eaca, leacan [lacka, lackan],

a hill-side, 418.
Leacht [laght], a monumental

heap, 66, 337.
Leamh, leamhan [lav, lavaun],

the elm, 507.

Leamhchoill[lavwhill], an elm-
wood, 40, 508.
Learg [larg], a hill-side, 403.
Leath [lab], half, 242.
Leathard [lahard], a gentle

hill, 386.

Leim [lame], a leap, 170, 171.
Leithinnsi, [lehinshi], a penin-
sula, 443.
Leitir, [letter], a wet hill-side,

404.
Leprechan, a kind of fairy,

190.

Liag [leeg], a flag-stone, 416.
Liagan, a pillar-stone, 344.
Liathmhuine [leewinny], a

grey shrubbery, 497.
Lie [lick], a flag-stone, 416.

Lios, a circular fort, 271.

Loch, a lake, 447.

Loisgrean [luskraun], corn

burnt in the ear, 238.
Loisgthe [luska], burnt, 238.
Loin, bare, 49, 50.
Lon, londubh [londuv],

a blackbird, 489.
Long, an encampment, a ship,

102, 226,

Longphort, a fortress, 300.
Loughryman, a kind of fairy,

190.
Luchorpan, [loohorpaun], a

kind of fairy, 190.
Lug, a hollow in a mountain,

431.
Lughnasadh [loonasa], the first

of August, 202.
Luppercadan, luprachan, a

kind of fairy, 190.
Lurga, Lurgan, the shin ; a

long stripe or hill, 527.
Lurican, lurrigadan, a kind of

fairy, 190.
Machaire [maghera], a plain,

426.
Mac-tire [macteera], a wolf,

483.
Madadb, madradh [nmdda,

maddra], a dog, 479, 480.
Madhm [maum], a high moun-
tain pass, 176.

Mael [mwail], bald ; a horn-
less cow ; a bald hill, 395.
Maeil [mweel], a whirlpool,

98.
Maethail [mwayhil], soft land,

465.

Magadh [mogga], joking, 211.
Magh [maw], a plain, 54, 55.

422.

Mant, the gum, 109.
Mantan, mantach, a toothless

person, 109.

Marbh [marve], dead, 116.
Mas, the thigh; a long hill,

526.

588

Index of Root Words.

Meall [tnal], a lump, a little

hill, 33, 394.
Miliuc [meelick,] low marshy

land, 465.

Mo, a prefix, 148, note.
Moin [mone], a bog, 467.
M6intean, mointin [moanthaun

moantbeen], a little bog ;

boggy land, 40, 468.
Mota, a moat, 290.
Mothar, a ruined fort, 298.
Mac, a pig, 478.
Muilenn [mullen], a mill, 375.
Muine [money], a brake, 496.
Huintir [munter],a family. 123.
Muirisc [murrisk], a sea-side

marsb, 466.

Mullach, a summit, 391.
Murbhach [murvah], a salt

marsh, 466.

Murbholg, a sea inlet, 145.
Nas, an assembly place. 207.
Nathir [nahir], a snake, 27.
Nead [nad], a bird's nest, 490.
Noa, noble, 74.
Og [ogej young, 210.
Oglach, a youth, 210.
Oilean, an island, 442.
Omua, an oak, 506.
Ore (I)an.), a sanely point, 108.
Os, a fawn, 477.
Piast [peeast], a reptile, 199.
Pobul [pubble] people, 208.
Poll, a hole, a measure, 2-16.
Pottle, a measure of land, 2-16.
Pr6achan [prehaun], a crow,

485.

Plica, a kind of fairy, 188.
Radhare [ryark], sight ; view,

215.

Raidhe [ree], descendants, 125.
Rail, ral [rawl], an oak, 505.
Rath, a circular fort, 274.
R<?:;lh [ray], a mountain-flat,

426-

Reilig[rellig], a cemetery, 346.
Riaghadh [reeaj hanging, 105.
Riasc [reesk], a marsh, 463.
Rince [rinka], a dance, 212.

Rinn, a point, 405.

Eos, a wood ; a point, 443,

495.

Ruag, a rout, 116.
Rusg, a marsh, 464.
Sabhall [saul], a barn, 113.
Saer [sair], a carpenter, 224.
Samhradh [sowra], summer,

200.
Samhuin [savin, or sowan],

the first of November, 202.
Scairbh [scarriff], a shallow

ford, 360.

Scairt [scart], a thicket, 496.
Scardan, a small cataract, 460.
Sceach [skagh], a white-thorn.

518.

Scealp [skalp] a cleft, 434.
Sceilig [skellig] a rock, 420.
Sceir [sker], a sharp rock, 4'3
Serin [skreen], a shrine, 321.
Seabhac [shouk], a hawk, 485.
Sealan, a hangman's rope, 221
Swilg [shallog], hunting, 213.
Seiseadh [shesha],a sixth, 245.
Seisreach [shesheragh], a men

sure of land, 242.
Seiscena [sheskin], a marsb,

463.
Siabhra [sheeyra], a fairy, 181 ,

190.
Sidh [shee], a fairy hill ; a

fairy, 179.
Sidhean, [sheeaun], a fairy

mount, 186.

Sidbeog [sheeoge], a fairy, 184.
Siol, seed ; descendants, 123.
Si«nnach [shinnagh], a fox,

483.
Sleamhan [slavan], the elm,

507.
Sliabh [sleeve], a mountain,

379.

Slidhe [slee], a road, 371.
Sluagh [sloo], a host, 207*
Smol, smdlach [smole, smo-

lagh], a thrush, 489.
Snainh [snauv], swimmiogja

swimming ford, 365.

Index of Root Word*.

Soillge [soilsha], light, 216.
Soillsean. light, 217, 218.
Solas [sullus], light, 217.
Speilic [spt-llic], a splintery

rock, 4'J1.

Spincfspink], a sharp rock, 421.
Sradbnaile [sradvally], an un-
fortified village of one

street, 352.

Sraid [grand], a street, 351.
Sr6n [srone], the nose, 523.
Sruth [sruh], a stream, 457-
Sruthair [sruhar], a stream,

457
Sruthan [sruhaun], a stream,

458.

Ster(Danish),aplace,106, 113
Stuaic [stook], a pointed pin-
nacle, 408.
Siigach, merry, 210.
Suidhe [see], a seat, 310.
Taebh [tave], the side, 526.
Taimhleacht [tavlaght], a

plague grave, 162.
Taise [tasha], a fetch or ghost,

194.
Tarnhnach [tawnagh], a field,

44, 231.

Tarbh [tarriv], a bull, 471.
Tate, a measure of land, 246.
Teach [tah], a house, 35, 65,

301.
Teulach [tallagh], a family,

123.
Teamhair [tawer], a high

place with a wide view, 294.
Teampull [tampul], a church,

317.

Teine [tinna], fire, 216.
Teotan [totaun], a burning,

238.

Tigh [tee] ; see teach.

Tiompan [timpaun], a star A-
ing stone; a little hill, 4' 3

Tionol, an assembly, 207.

Tipra ; see tobar.

Tobar, a well, 450.

Tdchar, a causeway, 374.

T6in [thone], the backside ;
a hill ; bottom land, 525.

Tor, a tower; a tower-like
rock, 399.

Tore [turk], a boar, 479.

Tradnach [trynagh], a corn-
crake, 487.

Traigh [tra], a strand, 444.

Tri [three], three, 261.

Trian, a third part, 243.

Tricha [triha], a cantred, 241.

Tromm, the elder-tree, 517.

Tuaim [toom], a tumulus or
mound, 335.

Tuar [toor], a bleach-green,
236.

Tuath [tua], a district, 124.

Tulach, a little hill, 35, 389.

Turlach, a lake that dries in
summer, 449.

Ua, a grandson ; a descendant,
123.

Uagh, uaimh [ooa, ooiv], a
cave, 438.

Uaran ; see Fuaran.

Ubhall ; see Abhall.

Uisce [iska], water, 446.

Uinnseann ; see Fuinnse.

Uladh [ulla], a tomb ; a peni-
tential station, 338

Urchur [urker], a cast or
throw, 168.

Urnaidhe [urny], a prayer ;
an oratory, 321.

,4S

DA
920

1910
v.l

Joyce, Pa trie*: We s ton

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