BROWSE
townland
Ráth Chearnaigh
genitive: Ráth Chearnaigh
(Irish)
Rathjarney
(English)

Glossary

ráth, ráith
English ring-fort

Explanatory note

  • English

    ?Cearnach's ringfort

    While this anglicised place-name is quite well attested its etymology is uncertain.

    The occurrence of the voiced palato-alveolar fricative /dʒ/ (as in English John) in an Irish place-name is often hard to account for, as this phoneme is extremely rare in Irish (see BALLYGERRY (#54371), par. Kilrane). It is therefore difficult to determine the Irish precursor to the anglicised qualifying element -jarney here.

    The early forms (1–3, 5, 6, 7) are quite consistent in showing initial ia- /ja-/ in the second element. It is likely that the ‘alias’ form in the ASE, ‘Rath-Jarny als. Rathgarny’ (6, 6a), merely gives two written versions then current in authoritative sources; compare the spelling in DS and BSD in J- (3, 5) and the Census spelling in -g- (4) (cf. LnÉ i p.xiv). It is possible that this form in -g- itself originates in a miscopying of capital I- or J-, in which case its occurrence on later maps may be due to transcription from these or similar documents (cf. 14). It is interesting to note in this regard that the sources for the Namebook examples in -j- (11, 13) are somewhat more informal than those providing -g- (12).

    Overall, then, these seventeenth-century spellings would appear to be variations on an underlying anglicised form similar to *Rath-Iarney/*Rath-Jarney. The difficulty lies in the interpretation of the -i-/j- in these earliest examples: whether it was intended from the beginning to represent a consonantal j-sound akin to /ʒ/ or /dʒ/, or whether it initally represented a semi-vocalic /j/ (as in English y) which subsequently developed to the modern /dʒ/.

    If these seventeenth-century forms in -i-/ j- are taken as the y-sound /j/, then they might be understood to represent an initial diphthong /ia/, as in Iarnaigh, gen. sg. of the personal name Iarnach or of the common noun iarnach “fetters; ploughshare” (see FGB iarnach, DIL íarnach). In regard to the subsequent development of /j/ to /dʒ/ a comparison might perhaps be made to the anglicisation of the initial diphthong /ia/ (> /ja/) > /dʒa/ in the personal name Iarlaith > Jarlath. But this hypothesis is undermined by the absence of unambiguous evidence for /eː/ or /iː/ in the penultimate syllable, the usual anglicised realisation of the diphthong ia in Wexford (see LEEGANE (#53434), par. Clongeen; BALLYLEIGH (#53337), par. St. Mullin’s).

    On the other hand, if the initial phoneme in the Irish qualifier was represented in transliterated English form as consonantal -j- /ʒ/ or /dʒ/, then O’Donovan’s derivation from ‘Rath Cearnaigh’ [Ráth Chearnaigh] (15) (see also Joyce iii p.539; BPP p.81) may be preferable: the anglicisation of slender Irish ch- /xʹ/ as /ʃ/ is attested elsewhere (e.g. Kilmashogue < Cill Mochíog; see logainm.ie) and the personal name Cearnach occurs frequently in early Irish sources (see CGH p.543 Cernach). Ráth “rath” in this instance probably refers to the site of the earthwork located in this townland (see AIW 904).

    [Excerpt from Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV: Townland Names of County Wexford, 2016]

Centrepoint

52.2767, -6.48343latitude, longitude
Irish Grid (with letter)
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Irish Grid (without letter)
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Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM)
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Historical references

1627
Rathiarnan (Joh’ Rawceter)
Inq. Lag. Alt: 21 CI
1641c
Raiarnerene (Alex. Devereux)
Wexford Rebel List 1641 Leathanach: 38
1654
Rath Jervey (Robt. Esmond)
CS (LG) Imleabhar: IX, Leathanach: 300
1655
Rathjarney
DS
1655c
Rathjarrey
DS Comp. (LG)
1659
Rathgarvyn
Cen. Leathanach: 533
1660
Rath Jervey (Rob. Esmond)
BSD (LG) Leathanach: 73
1667
Rath-Jarny alias Rathgarny
ASE Leathanach: 144
1713
Rathjarny (Gray-Knox)
CGn. Imleabhar: 21, Leathanach: 9, Uimhir: 10640
1714
Rathcarny (Jefferys-Knox)
CGn. Imleabhar: 13, Leathanach: 274, Uimhir: 5744
1720
Rathcarney (Geering-Radford)
CGn. Imleabhar: 32, Leathanach: 12, Uimhir: 18699
1726
Rathjarny (Knox-Monk)
CGn. Imleabhar: 50, Leathanach: 102, Uimhir: 32227
1812
Rathjarny (Grogan-Brewster)
CGn. Imleabhar: 642, Leathanach: 168, Uimhir: 442278
1813
Rathgarney
Léars. Eastáit Cliffe (LG)
1816
Rathgarney
Gill (Wexford)
1830c
Rathjarney
TAB Leathanach: 3
1840
Rath Cearnaigh, 'Kearney's fort'
OD:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach (AL): 22
1840
Rathgarney
Gill Map:AL (LG) Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 22
1840
Rathgarney
GJReturn:AL (LG) Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 22
1840
Rathgarney[1808]
CM:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 22
1840
Rathgarny
Hore, H.:AL (LG)
1840
Rathgarny[1667]
Patent:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 22
1840
Rathjarnee
Freeholders:AL (LG) Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 22
1840
Rathjarney
Armstrong, W.:AL (LG) Ráth Mhac nAodha
1840
Rathjarney
BS:AL Imleabhar: I, Leathanach: 22
1840
Rathjarny "'J' very soft not 'g'." [Nóta OD]
OD:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach (AL): 22

Please note: Some of the documentation from the archives of the Placenames Branch is available here. It indicates the range of research contributions undertaken by the Branch on this placename over the years. It may not constitute a complete record, and evidence may not be sequenced on the basis of validity. It is on this basis that this material is made available to the public.

Archival and research material provided on this site may be used, subject to acknowledgement. Issues regarding republication or other permissions or copyright should be addressed to logainm@dcu.ie.

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