BROWSE
townland
Ráth Mhac gCorra
genitive: Ráth Mhac gCorra
non-validated name (What is this?)
(Irish)
Rathmagurry
(English)

Glossary

English round hill, pointed hill, hollow; pointed, conspicuous, odd
ráth, ráith
English ring-fort

Hierarchy

county

barony

civil parish

Explanatory note

  • Gaeilge

    the ring-fort of Mic Corra; the ring-fort of the sons of Corr?
    Mic Corra (gin. Mhac gCorra) — sloinne nó ainm athartha san iolra

    -o--u- le fáil sa siolla leathdheiridh den chuid is mó de na foirmeacha stairiúla, m.sh. ‘Rahmagorra’ (Cen.), ‘Ramagorra’ (HMR) agus ‘Rathnagura’ (Rentals: Wood-Martin), rud a thagann salach ar mholadh an Donnabhánaigh san Ainmleabhar .i. ‘Rath Mhac Garraigh, “Magarry’s fort”’. D'fhéadfaí cuid den fhianaise a thaispeánann -a- sa siolla seo (m.sh. ‘Rathfagarry’ (BSD), ‘Rathfagary’ (Hib. Del.)) a léamh mar réadú ar *Ráth Mhac Garraigh, ach toisc go bhfuil siad le fáil i bhfoinsí a bhíonn ag brath ar a chéile níl siad go hiomlán iontaofa. Díol suntais, áfach, an leagan Gaeilge áitiúil a breacadh i bpeann luaidhe le linn na Suirbhéireachta Ordanáis .i. ‘raith mhac gurraigh’ — ní réiteodh sé seo le *M(h)ac Garraigh ach an oiread. Ar bhonn teangeolaíochta, ní thugann an fhianaise le fios go raibh guta tosaigh íseal /a/ sa siolla leathdheiridh den logainm Gaeilge, ach guta cúil níos airde ar nós /o/ go ndearna /u/ de sa bhéarlú, mar atá le sonrú in Rathmagurry.

    Cuireadh Ráth Mhic Fhearaigh “the fort of Mac Fhearaigh (McGarry)” san áireamh freisin, tharla an sloinne úd a bheith chomh coitianta sin i Sligeach (Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall, lch.359), ach dála ‘Rath Mhac Garraigh’ ag Ó Donnabháin ní réiteodh sé leis an bhfianaise. (Is cosúil, áfach, go bhfuil an sloinne úd le fáil sa logainm bf Sessuegarry/Seiseadh Mhic Fhearaigh “the sixth (measure of land) of Mac Fhearaigh (brl. McGarry)” (#45653), ainm bhaile fearainn eile i bpar. Achadh Conaire, cé nach bhfuil an fhianaise ansiúd ar aon fhocal ina thaobh.)

    Pé ar domhan de, toisc nach mbeadh *Mac Garraigh, *Mac Fhearaigh, srl., oiriúnach don fhianaise, is é is dóichí Ráth Mhac gCorra nó a leithéid, ina bhfuil foirm iolra d'ainm athartha nó de shloinne bunaithe ar an ainm pearsanta Corr (gin. Corra) a bhfuil fianaise air sna foinsí Gaeilge is luaithe (féach CGH lch.568).

    Níl aon ráth le fáil sa bhaile fearainn; b'fhéidir go dtagraíonn an chéad eilimint don imfhálú atá díreach taobh thall den teorainn in bf An Droim Bán, sa pharóiste céanna.
    [CÓC]

  • English

    the ring-fort of Mic Corra; the ring-fort of the sons of Corr?
    Mic Corra (gen. Mhac gCorra) — plural patronymic or surname

    The evidence for this anglicised place-name is somewhat problematic.

    Most early historical forms of the name have a penultimate -o- or -u- such as ‘Rahmagorra’ (Cen.), ‘Ramagorra’ (HMR) and ‘Rathnagura’ (Rentals: Wood-Martin), which are at odds with John O’Donovan’s suggested ‘Rath Mhac Garraigh, “Magarry’s fort”’ in the Ordnance Survey Parish Namebook. It is true that a number of the earlier historical forms with penultimate -a- such as ‘Rathfagarry’ (BSD) and ‘Rathfagary’ (Hib. Del.) could be considered to support derivation from the likes of *Ráth Mhac Garraigh, but these are found in related sources and therefore somewhat problematic. Saliently, however, the local Irish pronunciation noted in pencil during the course of the Ordnance Survey, ‘raith mhac gurraigh’, would also be at odds with suggested *Mhac Garraigh. On the whole, the linguistic evidence does not reflect a low front vowel such as /a/ in the penultimate syllable of the underlying Irish name, but rather a higher back-vowel such as /o/ which was subsequently fronted to /u/ in anglicisation, as seen in Rathmagurry.

    Derivation from Ráth Mhic Fhearaigh “the fort of Mac Fhearaigh (McGarry)” was also considered, given the prevalence of that surname in Sligo (see Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall, p.359), but this was rejected for much the same reason as O’Donovan’s suggested ‘Rath Mhac Garraigh’. (This surname appears to be found in bf Sessuegarry/Seiseadh Mhic Fhearaigh “the sixth (measure of land) of Mac Fhearaigh (anglic. McGarry)” (#45653), another townland in the parish of Achonry, although the evidence there is not without its problems.)

    In any case, given the unsuitability of Rathmagurry from *Mac Garraigh, *Mac Fhearaigh or similar, the most likely derivation is from Ráth Mhac gCorra or similar, containing a plural form of a patronymic or surname based on the personal name Corr (gen. Corra) which is attested in early Irish sources (see CGH p.568).

    No rath is recorded in the townland; the first element may refer to the ringfort just over the townland boundary in Drumbaun (par. Achonry).
    [CÓC]

Centrepoint

54.0125, -8.80534latitude, longitude
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Archival records

scanned image

Historical references

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Nóta
1617
Rathogarra, Rathagorra
CPR Leathanach: 321b
1633–6
Rathnagura
Rentals: Wood-Martin II Leathanach: 163
1659
Rahmagorra
Cen. Leathanach: 598
1660c
Rathfagarry
BSD Leathanach: 138
1665c
Ramagorry
HMR Leathanach: 19
1669
Rathfagorry
ASE Leathanach: 200
1685c
Rathfagary
Hib. Del.
1709
Rathfaggury
CGn. Leathanach: 5.304.1938
1709
Rathfaghury
CGn. Leathanach: 6.425.2383
1739
Rathfagurry ows. Rathnagurry
CGn. Leathanach: 97.498.69321
1811
Rathmagurry
CGn. Leathanach: 698.565.479279
1836
Rathmagurry
BS:AL Leathanach: Sl002,135
1836
Rathmagurry
CM:AL
1836
The property of Ansley Knox Esqr ... The Owin Garv or Coarse River ... forms part of the boundary of this townland
Desc. Rem.:AL
1836
Rathfagarry
DS:AL
1836
Rathmagurry
Flyn, Revd. J:AL
1836
Rathmagurry
Moystyn, Revd. G.T.:AL
1836
Rath Mhac Garraigh “Magarry’s fort”
OD:AL
1836
Rathmagurry
OD:AL
1836
Raith mhac gurraigh
pl:AL

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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