BROWSE
An Ballán
genitive: an Bhalláin
(Irish)
Bullaun
(English)

Hierarchy

county

barony

civil parish

electoral division

Explanatory note

  • Gaeilge

    the cup-shaped rock-hole; the well
    Ar na bríonna éagsúla atá le ballán tá 'cloch a bhfuil poll nádúrtha inti (ar cruth cupa nó babhla)', agus as sin, 'tobar'. Faightear na balláin seo taobh le toibreacha beannaithe (cf. Fardal Seandálaíochta na Gaillimhe I, lgh. 90, 116), ach ar uairibh is cuid den tobar féin iad: féach Ballán Mhaolodhair, bf Cill Mhuirbhigh, agus Ballán an Cheathrair Álainn, bf Eochaill (par. Árainn), ar toibreacha iad; cf. leis Tobar an Bhalláin (‘it consists of a natural oval basin', Fardal Seandálaíochta lch. 118), bf An Cheathrú Rua Theas. Tá tobar ar theorainn thoir an bhaile fearainn idir chamáin anseo darb ainm 'St. Patrick's Well': cf. 'Ballayn Padryg' (tagairt don áit seo in Pontificia Hibernica, bl. 1223). Féach leis, 'b[allán] Barruinde, name of a spring', tagairt do Betha Colaim Chille in A Dictionary of the Irish Language, www.dil.ie, s.v. ballán.
    Féach an nóta faoi bf An Ballán, par. Cill Mhaoláin.

  • English

    the cup-shaped rock-hole; the well
    Amongst the several meanings of ballán are 'stone with a (cup-shaped) hole', and by extension, 'well'. These 'bullaun' stones are found alongside holy wells (cf. Archaeological Inventory of County Galway I, pp. 90, 116), but they sometimes form part of the well itself: see Ballán Mhaolodhair, townland Cill Mhuirbhigh, and Ballán an Cheathrair Álainn, townland Eochaill (par. Árainn); cf. Tobar an Bhalláin (‘it consists of a natural oval basin', Archaeological Inventory p. 118), townland An Cheathrú Rua Theas. There is a well on the E boundary of the present townland called 'St. Patrick's Well': cf. 'Ballayn Padryg' (a reference to this place in Pontificia Hibernica, anno 1223). See also 'b[allán] Barruinde, name of a spring', a reference to Betha Colaim Chille in A Dictionary of the Irish Language, www.dil.ie, s.v. ballán.
    See also the note on An Ballán, par. Cill Mhaoláin.

Centrepoint

53.2454, -8.55624latitude, longitude
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Archival records

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Historical references

1223
Ballayn Padryg
Pont. Hib. Leathanach: I.240
1302-6
Ballan
Pap. Tax. Leathanach: 222
1570
Ballane in Clanricarde
F Leathanach: 1581
1585
Ballan, vicarie de
Inq.(Ga) Leathanach: 138
1585
Ballay
CBC Leathanach: 49
1585
The Bealane
CBC Leathanach: 32
1660c
Knockanewollan
BSD (Ga) III Leathanach: 316
1819
Bullaun
Larkin (Ga)
1838
Cnoc a Bhulláin
"There is a grave yard in the townland of Bullan, but no vestige of a church is observable therein. Near this grave yard there was formerly a fort called Cnoc a Bhulláin, the hill of Bullaun..." [TOC 22/10/1838]
LSO (Ga) Leathanach: I.498
1838
Bullán, ‘a well’
"This name is applied to a basin like well: it occurs very frequently in the islands of Aran, where such wells are found in the solid rock. The name is applied in ancient MSS. to a tub or basin" [Nóta OD]
OD:AL
1838
Bullán
pl:AL
1838
Bullaun
BS:AL
1965c
(ˈbulɑ:n)
Áit.

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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