BROWSE
Cill Dhéagláin
genitive: Chill Dhéagláin
validated name (What is this?)
(Irish)
Ashbourne
(English)

Glossary

English church

Explanatory note

  • Gaeilge

    the church of Déaglán
    Déaglán — ainm pearsanta

    Cill Dhéagláin a thugtar i nGaeilge ar bhaile Ashbourne agus ar bf, par Killegland araon. Tá stádas dlíthiúil ag an ainm Gaeilge sin ó reachtaíodh An tOrdú Logainmneacha (Foirmeacha Gaeilge) 1975 (I.R. Uimh. 133/1975 - http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1975/si/133/made/ga/print). Bunaíodh na foirmeacha Gaeilge san ordú sin ar thaighde cuimsitheach a thosnaigh an Brainse Logainmneacha sna 1950í, agus tar éis tréimhse comhairliúcháin leis an bpobal sna 1960í d'fhaomhaigh an Coimisiún Logainmneacha na hainmneacha Gaeilge sa leabhar Ainmneacha Gaeilge na mBailte Poist (1969).

    Bhí leagan Gaeilge eile in úsáid i mblianta beaga an 20ú haois .i. ‘Dún Riabhach’. Cuireadh an leagan seo os comhair an phobail den chéad uair in Post-Sheanchas (1905), leabhrán a chuir Seosamh Laoide i dtoll a chéile ar son Chonradh na Gaeilge chun liosta Béarla–Gaeilge d'ainmneacha na mbailte poist a chur ar fáil do Ghaeilgeoirí. Sa leabhrán úd moladh ‘Ashbourne or Dunrea, Dublin: Dún Riabhach, Baile Átha Cliath’. Féach nóta Laoide faoin mbaile in Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge X (1899) 540 mar a ndeir, ‘It shows the seoinínteacht of the local population ... when a few houses built by an Englishman named Bourne ... should make them forget the original name ... Dunrea = Dún Riabhach’. Ach is amhlaidh a thagraíonn an logainm Gaeilge úd don bhaile fearainn teorantach Dunreagh (#37738), par. Dhomhnach Mór, nach raibh aon chuid de bhaile Ashbourne ann ag an am. (I Leabhar na nDeachúna (1833) is é ‘Killeglan’ an seoladh a bhí ag gach éinne sa pharóiste seo, lena n-áiríodh Frederick Bourne a thug ainm don bhaile nua (féach http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004625673/004625673_00212.pdf ) — cf. freisin tagairtí stairiúla ar nós ‘The Parish and Towne of Killiglan’ sa Civil Survey (1659). Is léir gur ghlac Ashbourne áit Killegland seachas Dunreagh mar ainm an bhaile.)

    Cheartaigh Laoide an botún seo os íseal sa dara cuid de Post-Sheanchas (1911), liosta leasaithe Gaeilge–Béarla, mar a bhfuil ‘Clagnán, Baile Átha Cliath’ ag freagairt do ‘Killegland or Ashbourne, Dublin’. (Pléifimid an fhoirm Ghaeilge ‘Clagnán’ thíos.) Ina ainneoin sin, is cosúil gur ghlac roinnt daoine leis an bhfoirm ‘Dún Riabhach’ as an gcéad eagrán de Post-Sheanchas (1905). Sin é a bhí le fáil ar an liosta oifigiúil de phostoifigí an tSaorstáit (‘Poistifigí i Saorstát Éireann’ (*c.*1927)), agus bhí sé le fáil i ngach eagrán de Eolaí an Phoist idir sin agus 1971. (Tugadh dhá fhoirm Ghaeilge faoi ‘Ashbourne (Killegland) (Dunrea)’ in Log-ainmneacha le Risteard Ó Foghludha (1937) .i. ‘Cill Déaglán [sic], Dún Riabhach’.) Mar a dúramar thuas, tá an t-ainm Cill Dhéagláin in úsáid oifigiúil ó na 1950í, cé nár ghlac an tSeirbhís Poist leis an ainm sin go dtí 1977.

    Ó thaobh na teangeolaíochta de, tugann an fhianaise le fios gur Cill Dhéagláin atá taobh thiar den logainm béarlaithe ‘Killegland’. Den chuid is mó ní scríobhtaí an litir -d- i dtosach an dara heilimint san fhianaise stairiúil, leithéid ‘Kilegelan’, ‘Killegelan’, ‘Killeglan’ in Register of the Abbey of St. Thomas (13ú haois); ‘Killeglan’ (bliain 1302–6, 1414, 1634), ‘Killegland’ (*c.*1660). Ach díol spéise an litriú ‘[ecclesiam de] Kildeglan’ luaite in éineacht le ‘Radtothe’ [Ráth Tó] in Reg. St. Thomas, lch.26, ar chairt ón gcéad leath den 13ú haois: measaimid go léiríonn an litriú seo an bunchonsan D- sa cháilitheoir agus go gcuireann sé Cill Dhéagláin in iúl. Is féidir an fhorbairt go ‘Killeglan’ a mhíniú de bharr chomhshamhlú -l le D(h)-.

    Tá sé d'ádh againn gur breacadh síos an leagan áitiúil d'ainm an bhaile ó chainteoirí dúchais Gaeilge sa bhliain 1836. Ghlaodarsan ‘Clagnán’ ar an áit. Dealraíonn sé gur foirm choimrithe í seo de Cill Dhéagláin ina ndearnadh an dara -l- a athrú go -n- freisin, de bharr díshamhlaithe (cf. chimney os coinne chimley sa Bhéarla). Is é forbairt atá le tuiscint, mar sin, Cill Dhéagláin > *Cill Éagláin > *Cléagláin > *Cléagnáin > ‘Clagnán’. (Shonraigh Pádraig Ó Caoimh, an scoláire a bhreac an leagan Gaeilge seo, go raibh an chéad -a- san ainm ‘Clagnán’ fuaimnithe ‘like ĕ’ agus go raibh an -l- leathan, in LSO (Mí) 269.) Tabhair faoi deara go réitíonn an litriú ‘Cleglin’, atá le fáil ar léarscáil Larkin in 1812, leis an bhforbairt seo.

    Deirtear linn in Betha Decclain gur bhunaigh an naomh sin mainistir i mBreá (< SG Brega .i. an dúiche seo i gCúige na Mí) agus gur uaidh a ainmníodh í. Dhealródh sé gur Cill Dhéagláin an fhondúireacht atá i gceist. Más ea, taispeánann forbairt an logainm go raibh Déaglán seandearmadta sa cheantar mar éarlamh.

    Níor cheart gan tagairt a dhéanamh do logainm stairiúil eile ón gcuid seo den Mhí .i. ‘[ i ] Cill Dumi Gluinn i ndeisciurt Breg’. Mheas an mórscoláire Pádraig Ó Riain gurbh ionann an tseanláthair eaglasta seo agus bf Killegland idir chamáin (féach A Dictionary of Irish Saints, p.478–9; cf. ‘Prob. tl. / p. Killegland (Ashbourne)’, FSÁG s.n. Ceall Dumha Gluinn “Ch[urch] of champion's mound”). Níl aon eolas againn faoi shuíomh beacht na háite sin, áfach. Ní mór a rá go dtiocfadh a leithéid de logainm salach ar na tagairtí luatha is féidir a ionannú le Killegland go cinnte. Cuireann na foirmeacha stairiúla in -ane, -an in iúl gur a-ghuta fada a bhí i siolla deiridh an cháilitheora, mar atá le fáil in ...Dhéagláin ach nach bhfuil le fáil in [...Dumha] Gluinn — agus féach go raibh an guta fada céanna (nó neachtar acu a-ghuta soiléir) le clos san ainm Gaeilge áitiúil a breacadh ó chainteoirí dúchais i 1836 freisin, cé nár thuigeadarsan bunús an ainm. Féach freisin an guta -e--ey- a léirítear sa siolla leathdheiridh, m.sh. ‘Killeglan’, ‘Keleyghlen’, rud ba dheacair a réiteach le Dumha. Díol spéise go ndéanann na Ceithre Mháistrí agus Mac Colgáin tagairt d'fhoirm ghiorraithe den logainm eile úd .i. ‘abb Chille dumha’ agus ‘Kill-duma ... in regione Bregagarum’ (FSÁG ibid.) — ní fhaightear a leithéid de leagan gearr (*Kildua, *Kildoo) in aon tagairt stairiúil don Killegland faoi chaibidil. (Nóta ullmhaithe agus uaslódáilte ag Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill).

  • English

    the church of Déaglán
    Déaglán — personal name

    Cill Dhéagláin is the Irish name of the town of Ashbourne as well as the townland and civil parish of Killegland. The name has had official status since the signing of The Placenames (Irish Forms) Order 1975 (I.R. No. 133/1975 - http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1975/si/133/made/ga/print). The Irish forms in that placenames order were based on thorough research begun by the Placenames Branch in the 1950s, and were put before public consultation in the 1960s before being approved by the Placenames Commission in the publication Ainmneacha Gaeilge na mBailte Poist (1969).

    There was another Irish form used in the early years of the 20th century, namely ‘Dún Riabhach’. This version first came to light in the booklet Post-Sheanchas (1905), which was put together by Seosamh Laoide (Joseph Henry Lloyd) for Conradh na Gaeilge in order to provide an English–Irish list of the postal towns for the use of Irish speakers. The booklet recommended ‘Ashbourne or Dunrea, Dublin: Dún Riabhach, Baile Átha Cliath’. See Laoide's note about the name of the town in Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge X (1899) 540 in which he says, ‘It shows the seoinínteacht [i.e., “shoneenism”] of the local population ... when a few houses built by an Englishman named Bourne ... should make them forget the original name ... Dunrea = Dún Riabhach’. However, that Irish placename actually refers to the townland of Dunreagh (#37738), par. Donaghmore, which at that time did not contain any part of the town of Ashbourne. (In 1833 the Tithe Applotment Book gives ‘Killeglan’ as the address of every person in this parish, including Frederick Bourne from whom the English name Ashbourne is derived (see http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004625673/004625673_00212.pdf ). Cf. also historical references such as ‘The Parish and Towne of Killiglan’ in the Civil Survey (1659). It is clear that Ashbourne took the place of Killegland and not Dunreagh as the name of the village.)

    This error was silently corrected by Laoide in the second part of Post-Sheanchas (1911), the Irish–English version of the list, in which only ‘Clagnán, Baile Átha Cliath’ was given, corresponding to ‘Killegland or Ashbourne, Dublin’. (We will return to the name ‘Clagnán’ below.) Nevertheless, his mistaken initial form ‘Dún Riabhach’ had gained some traction from the first edition of Post-Sheanchas (1905), and this was the form that appeared on the first bilingual list of post offices in the fledgling Freestate (‘Poistifigí i Saorstát Éireann’) (*c.*1927), and in every edition of Eolaí an Phoist down to 1971. (Risteard Ó Foghludha's Log-ainmneacha (1937) gave two forms under ‘Ashbourne (Killegland) (Dunrea)’, namely ‘Cill Déaglán [sic], Dún Riabhach’.) As already mentioned, Cill Dhéagláin was established as the official form in the 1950s, but the postal service did not accept that name until 1977.

    Linguistically, the evidence points to Cill Dhéagláin as the underlying form of the anglicised placename Killegland. For the most part the name was spelled without -d- at the beginning of the second element, e.g. ‘Kilegelan’, ‘Killegelan’, ‘Killeglan’ in Register of the Abbey of St. Thomas (13th century); ‘Killeglan’ (1302–6, 1414, 1634), ‘Killegland’ (*c.*1660). Note, however, the early 13th century spelling ‘[ecclesiam de] Kildeglan’ mentioned in conjuction with ‘Radtothe’ in Reg. St. Thomas, p.26: we consider this to be an indication of the radical D- of the qualifying element, indicating Cill Dhéagláin. The spellings without -d-, e.g. 'Killeglan', seem to reflect the assimilation of -l to the following D(h)-.

    We are fortunate that the local Irish name of Killegland was recorded from native speakers in the town in the year 1836. They called it ‘Clagnán’, which appears to be an abridged form of Cill Dhéagláin in which the second -l- has also changed to -n- due to dissimilation (cf. chimney versus chimley in English). This can be roughly portrayed as a development from Cill Dhéagláin > *Cill Éagláin > *Cléagláin > *Cléagnáin > ‘Clagnán’. (Patrick O'Keeffe, the scholar who wrote down this local Irish form, specified that the first -a- of ‘Clagnán’ was actually pronounced ‘like ĕ’ with the preceding -l- broad; see OSL (Meath) 269.) Note that the intermediate form ‘Cleglin’ found on Larkin's map of 1812 also fits in with this proposed development.

    It is stated in Betha Decclain that he established a monastery in Breá (< SG Brega, the name of this part of the province of Meath) which was named after him; it would seem that this Cill Dhéagláin is the place in question. However, the corruption of the original form of the placename strongly suggests that any memory of Saint Déaglán as patron had been lost at a very early date.

    It would be remiss not to mention another historical placename from this part of Meath, ‘i Cill Dumi Gluinn i ndeisciurt Breg’. The scholar Pádraig Ó Riain identified this place with the present townland of Killegland (see A Dictionary of Irish Saints, p.478–9; cf. ‘Prob. tl. / p. Killegland (Ashbourne)’, FSÁG s.n. Ceall Dumha Gluinn “Ch[urch] of champion's mound”). We have no information about the exact location, however. It must be said that such a placename would not be entirely compatible with the early historical forms that do definitely refer to our Killegland. The early spellings in -ane, -an suggest a long a-vowel in the final syllable of the qualifier, as found in ...Dhéagláin but not in [...Dumha] Gluinn — note that this long vowel (or at least a clear a-vowel) was also found in the Irish form recorded from native speakers in 1836, who were unaware of the origin of the name. It would also be difficult to interpret the vocalism of the penultimate syllable in the historical forms, usually -e- or -ey- as in ‘Killeglan’ and ‘Keleyghlen’, as a reflex of Dumha. Note that the Four Masters and Colgan, writing in the 17th century, also refer to a shorter form of that historical placename: ‘abb Chille dumha’ and ‘Kill-duma ... in regione Bregagarum’ (FSÁG ibid.) — nothing like *Kildua or *Kildoo is found in any historical reference to our Killegland. (Note prepared and uploaded by Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill.)

Centrepoint

53.5101, -6.39561latitude, longitude
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Properties

POThere is or was once a post office here

Archival records

scanned imagescanned imagescanned imagescanned imagescanned imagescanned image

Historical references

1833
Ashbourne (James Hog)
TAB
1836
Ashbourne
Inhabs.:AL Leathanach: Mí021,12
1836
Ashbourne
HCER 1826:AL Leathanach: Mí021,12
1836
Ashboden & Ashburn
pron.:AL Leathanach: Mí021,12
1836
Ashbourne
OD:AL Leathanach: Mí021,12
1836
Ashboden, Ashburn
The people corrupt the names of Mr Bourne and his BAILE into Boden and Ashboden. They also call the village Ashburn. (POC, lch 269).
LSO
1837
Killegland, or Killeylan, also called Kilmeglan,
...a parish...containing 473 inhabitants, who are all in the post-town of Ashbourne, of which the parish principally consists. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath... In the R. C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Rathoath, and has a chapel at Ahsbourne. ()
Top. Dict.

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.

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