As we cross the threshold of New Year many of us in Ireland will be hopeful that the negative effects of climate crisis may be mitigated in the coming years by an urgent increase in the use of renewable energy sources such as wind, tide and sun. In regard to wind, it is unfortunately true to say that we can sometimes have too much of a good thing. Enormous and violent wind storms are not an event solely associated with climate change, and the historical record documents many such storms in the past. In this country, probably no storm is as well known in folk memory as Oíche na Gaoithe Móire ‘the Night of the Big Wind’, which struck Ireland and northwest Europe on January 6, 1839, the Feast of the Epiphany or Nollaig na mBan ‘women’s Christmas’ as it is generally called in Irish. John O’Donovan and Thomas O’Conor from the Topographical Department of the Ordnance Survey were caught in the wind and snow while on fieldwork in Co. Wicklow, and the former’s graphic account of the experience can be found in the Ordnance Survey Letters, Co. Wicklow (pp. 205–208).

While it may seem counterintuitive, the generation of electricity by wind turbines can be problematic in overly windy conditions. The locations preferred by engineers may not, in fact, be particularly noted for strong winds, but must rather guarantee steady winds. Thus, while viewing a map of windfarm locations in the State (seai.ie: windatlas), it is interesting to note that none of the places seem to have any reference to wind in their Irish names, despite the fact that they must all be relatively windy. That is not to say that Irish-speakers ignored the wind when naming places, as even a quick search on logainm.ie for the element gaoithe, the genitive singular form of gaoth ‘wind’, will show. There are also other words for ‘wind’, ‘gust’, etc., found in townland names also such as siota, as in Ballyhitt / Baile Shiota ‘town(land) of (the) gust’ (logainm.ie #54388) in Co. Wexford, which interestingly lies next to the townland of Coldblow (logainm.ie #54389), but we will confine ourselves to the ninety-odd townland names that contain gaoth ‘wind’ (gen. sg. gaoithe ‘of wind’), ranging geographically from Bennnageeha / Binn na Gaoithe ‘the (mountain) peak of the wind’ (logainm.ie #24732) in Co. Kerry to Drumnagee / Droim na Gaoithe the ridge of the wind’ (logainm.ie #61785; placenamesni.org) in Co. Antrim. Indeed, like Binn na Gaoithe and Droim na Gaoithe, many townland names containing gaoth refer to elevated sites: see Ardgeeha / Ard Gaoithe ‘height of (the) wind’ (logainm.ie #48326) in Co. Tipperary; Ard na Gaoithe ‘the height of the wind’, precursor to Ardnageeha (logainm.ie #12645) and Ardnageehy (logainm.ie #12070) in Co. Cork; Knockaunnageeha / Cnocán na Gaoithe ‘the hillock of the wind’ (logainm.ie #19121) in Co. Galway; Cnoc na Gaoithe ‘the hill of the wind’, forerunner to Knocknageeha in Cos. Clare (logainm.ie #7880), Monaghan (logainm.ie #41018), Mayo (logainm.ie #34989; #37430) and Sligo (logainm.ie #45070; #45675); Knocknagee in Co. Kildare (logainm.ie #24906); as well as Knocknageehy in Cos. Cork (logainm.ie #9135) and Mayo (logainm.ie #35638). Cornageeha / Corr na Gaoithe the round hill of the wind’ also refers to elevated windy locations in Cos. Roscommon (logainm.ie #42357), Leitrim (logainm.ie #29398; #29474; 30085; #30164); Sligo (logainm.ie #45503) and Mayo (logainm.ie #36825). Anglicized as Cornagee, the same Irish name occurs in Cos. Roscommon (logainm.ie #43065), Cavan (logainm.ie #3748; #5578) and Fermanagh (logainm.ie #59021; placenamesni.org). Other elevated locations in which gaoth ‘wind’ is referred to in the name are Mulgeeth / Maol Gaoithe ‘bald hillock of (the) wind’ (logainm.ie #25547) in Co. Kildare and Tulligee / Tulaigh Ghaoithe ‘mound of (the) wind’ (logainm.ie #9006) in Co. Cork.

We are all familiar with the experience of standing in a street into which the wind tends to funnel and blow a gale; similar topographical conditions gave rise to the commonly repeated placename Bearna na Gaoithe ‘the gap of the wind’ anglicized as Barnageehy (logainm.ie #13695) in Co. Cork and translated as Windgap (logainm.ie #49060) in Co. Waterford. In north Co. Kildare the English townland name Windgates (logainm.ie #25472) is attested as ‘Lez Wyndyates’ as early as 1475; remarkably, however, an even earlier reference ‘Bernegeyh’ (1305) – found nowhere else in the anglicized written records – confirms the authenticity of the name ‘bearna na gaoithe’ recorded from a local Irish-speaker in 1838. In contrast, no evidence survives to indicate the Irish name for Windgate (logainm.ie #55044) near Greystones in Co. Wicklow, possibly a creation of early English-speaking colonists (‘Le Windgates’ 1280). We do know, however, that the old name for the modern townlands of Jockeyhall / Leaca an Mheantáin (logainm.ie #30621) and Tonbaun / An Tóin Bhán (logainm.ie #30625) in Co. Limerick was Bearna na Gaoithe (‘leithsheisreach bhéirne na gaoithe’ c. 1550).

A number of terms denoting structures such as lisín ‘(little) ring-fort’, lios ‘ring fort’, ráithín ‘(little) ring-fort’ and dún ‘fort’ are also found with gaoth, and one presumes that they were located in windy locations: see for example Dungeeha / Dún Gaoithe ‘fort of (the) wind’ (logainm.ie #31881) in Co. Limerick; and Lisheennageeha / Lisín na Gaoithe the (little) ring-fort of the wind’ (logainm.ie #21733) in Co. Galway. Indeed, Raheenagee / Ráithín na Gaoithe (logainm.ie #52501) in Co. Wexford was sometimes called Cnoc Ráithín na Gaoithe ‘the hill of the (litte) ring-fort of the wind’, referring to the elevated topography.

We also have Lisnageeha / Lios na Gaoithe ‘the ring-fort of the wind’ (logainm.ie #35682) in Co. Mayo (‘Lissnegihie’ 1617), which has the exotic alias Antigua (earliest surviving attestation 1783). The fact that this latter name itself contains a very, very indirect reference to ‘wind’, insofar as Antigua is one of the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean (Eng. leeward ‘sheltered from the wind’), is almost certainly a coincidence. In Ireland, after the dispossessions of the 17th and early 18th centuries, many of the new houses and estates of the landed gentry were given fashionable names unconnected with the landscape or pre-existing toponymy. The new names often reflected the rapid expansion of the British Empire, which was spearheaded by the navy: witness Gibraltar in Cos. Dublin, Meath, Monaghan and Wicklow, or Portobello in Cos. Dublin and Roscommon, etc. In this period, Antigua was well known throughout the Empire for the key role it played in the Atlantic slave trade, not only through its own sugar plantations but as the location of a naval base built in 1725 to protect British interests in the area. (Antigua is also found as a field-name in England; see Field, A New Dictionary of English Field Names.)

To return to placenames referring to features of the Irish countryside, however; most of us are probably familiar with the image of a lone hawthorn tree bent and sculpted by the prevailing westerly winds. It is little surprise that this very image finds its way into native Irish placenames in the guise of Shenageehy / Sceach na Gaoithe ‘the hawthorn of the wind’ (logainm.ie #17991) in Co. Galway. (To this day, even outside the Irish-speaking areas the common word for ‘hawthorn’ is skeagh, an anglicization of Irish sceach.) The English-language formation Annefield (logainm.ie #34993) in Co. Mayo clearly has nothing to do with either wind or hawthorns, but it replaced another Sceach na Gaoithe ‘the hawthorn of the wind’. (It is interesting to note in passing that Annefield (logainm.ie #11114; #26629; #53637; #57110) and its variant Annfield (logainm.ie #17262; #26786) were quite fashionable among the Anglo-Irish gentry, finding their way into the names (or aliases) of a number of townlands created during the abovementioned period. However, not every Annefield or Annfield is of English origin: Annfield (logainm.ie #47110) in Co. Tipperary is actually a half-translation of Gort Eanaigh, pronounced roughly *Gort-anna in the local Irish dialect, meaning ‘field of (the) marsh’.

There are a great many other placenames that contain the element gaoth 'wind’ also, but we will mention only another few here. The Irish townland name Baile na Gaoithe ‘the town(land) of the wind’ is anglicized Ballynageeha (logainm.ie #18789) in Co. Galway; Balgeeth (logainm.ie #38083) in Co. Meath; and Ballinagee twice in Co. Wicklow (logainm.ie #54875; #55120) and once in Co. Wexford (logainm.ie #54531). It is interesting to note that the last-mentioned Baile na Gaoithe, now lying within the bounds of Wexford town, lies next to the townland of Whitemill where a windmill is shown on the Down Survey barony map c. 1655 (see downsurvey.tcd.ie: Forth); the terrier to the relevant parish map records both a windmill and a watermill (downsurvey.tcd.ie: Forth, St. Peter’s). Placenames mentioning windmills are also found elsewhere, of course: in Co. Longford we have Mullingee / Muileann Gaoithe ‘(the) windmill’ (logainm.ie #32941) where, in the absence of archaeological remains, the Irish placename itself represents the only evidence for the existence of a windmill. There is a townland known in English as Windmill (logainm.ie #47552) near Cashel, Co. Tipperary (‘Windmill’ 1609), an early reference to which provides us with the descriptive Irish form ‘Botherewolyngyhy’ (1553) [Bóthar an Mhuilinn Ghaoithe] ‘the road of the windmill’; later references show that the Irish name of the townland itself was, or had morphed to, Baile an Mhuilinn ‘the town(land) of the mill’ (‘Baile an Mhuillin’ 1840; cf. ‘Milltowne alias Windmill’ 1666). The townland names Windmill in Cos. Kildare (logainm.ie #25511), Louth (logainm.ie #33619; #34008) and Westmeath (logainm.ie #51663) are likely to be of English origin, along with Windmill Lands (logainm.ie #17092) in Co. Dublin.

To finish our discussion we will return to Wexford town, where we find what was surely the crowning glory of renewable wind energy in Early Modern Ireland. In a small area just outside the 17th century town, the Down Survey barony map depicts no less than 17 windmills, which must be an Irish record (downsurvey.tcd.ie: Forth). The area in which this cluster of windmills was located – not too far from the abovementioned Ballinagee / Baile na Gaoithe ‘the town(land) of the wind’ – is still sometimes referred to locally as Windmill Hill. As ever, in Baile na Gaoithe we see that our Irish-speaking forebears were well in touch with the lie of the land when it came to placenames, and we also note the central role played by renewable power in the 17th century, something we are (slowly) trying to replicate in our own day.

Down Survey Barony Map c. 1655. (Library of Trinity College Dublin: https://downsurvey.tchpc.tcd.ie/down-survey-maps.php#bm=Forth&c=Wexford)

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

The period between 25th December and 6th January is known in Irish as Idir an dá Nollaig “between the two Christmases”. The latter date — the Catholic feast of the Epiphany — is sometimes called Nollaig Bheag “little Christmas”, but is probably best known as Nollaig na mBan “women’s Christmas”. While we know of no direct mention of Nollaig na mBan in townland names, references to women occur frequently. Examples are very often found in respect of land held by religious orders, as in the case of Ballynagalliagh/Baile na gCailleach “the (town)land of the nuns” (#45165) in Sligo and Kilnagalliagh/Cill na gCailleach “the church of the nuns” (#7286) in Clare. It is important to note that in placenames cailleach (gen. sg. caillí) generally has the sense “nun”, which was formerly the primary meaning of the word — the now more commonly understood sense “hag, witch”, although it was used in the old sagas, is far less common in placenames (cf. eDIL s.v. caillech). However, in some cases verifiable examples of cailleach meaning “hag” can be found hidden in the historical evidence. One such example is the name of a place which will have been encountered during the week of Nollaig na mBan “women’s Christmas” by the tens of thousands who have resumed their daily commute to Dublin, namely Downs/An Dún “the fort” (#55524). The well-known Glen of the Downs in Wicklow is called Gleann Dá Ghrua “glen of the two hill-brows” (#113096) in Irish, but its English appellation actually derives from two neighbouring townland names: Downs/An Dún “the fort” (#55524) and Downshill/Cnoc an Dúin “the hill of the fort” (#55515), just west of the glen. The dún “fort” in question, which sits on a hilltop in Downshill, is usually referred to in historical sources as ‘the Downe’ or later ‘Downs’, which both clearly reflect the underlying Irish name. However, in 1547 we find it called ‘Down calybere’ in a pardon to ‘Caloaghe M‘Edo … O’Byrne’ [Calbhach mac Aodha Ó Broin (Calbhach the son of Aodh O’Byrne)], a form which suggests an underlying Dún Chaillí Béarra “fort of the Cailleach Bhéarra”. The Cailleach Bhéarra was the mythological goddess figure of native Irish culture generally called the Hag of Beara in English. The Irish form of the placename implied by the anglicized spelling ‘Down calybere’ happens to be confirmed in an account of the traditional inauguration sites of Ireland given in Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (FFÉ) (c. 1630) by Seathrún Céitinn (Geoffrey Keating):

Ar Dhún Caillighe Béirre do gairthí Ó Brain, agus Mac Eochadha do ghaireadh é.

“Ó Broin/O’Byrne [i.e., the Chief of the Uí Bhroin/O’Byrnes] used be declared at Dún Chaillí Béarra, and it was Mac Eochaidh/Kehoe (Keogh) who declared him”.

FFÉ iii, p. 14

Interestingly, Céitinn also record that it was the same learned family of Mac Eochaidh/Kehoe who inaugurated the Chief of the Cinnsealach/Kinsella sept of north Wexford, at a place called Leac Mhic Eochaidh “the flagstone of Mac Eochaidh/Kehoe”:

Ar Leic mic Eochadha do gairthí tighearna Cinnsiolach; agus Mac Eochadha do ghaireadh é.

“Cinnsealach/Kinsella [i.e., the Chief of the Cinnsealach/Kinsella sept] used be declared at Leac Mhic Eochaidh, and it was Mac Eochaidh who declared him”.

ibid.

The site of Leac Mhic Eochaidh lies 15km northwest of Gorey on the Wicklow border (in the townland of Loggan/An Logán (#53297). The last recorded assembly at Leac Mhic Eochaidh was in 1592, and neither this name nor Dún Chaillí Béarra are now well-known.

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)