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Date: 23/08/2025

Some months ago, the Placenames Branch was contacted by a native speaker of Scottish Gaelic from the Hebridean island of Lewis / Leòdhas enquiring about the Irish equivalent of the Gaelic placename element àirigh, which she explained as meaning “an area or pasture land for … summer milking of cattle”. She kindly followed up with the additional information that àirigh was often found in very remote locations. (For more discussion of Gaelic àirigh, which has a very interesting history in this part of Scotland, see Foster 2017; Fellow-Jensen, Nomina 1980.) In contrast, in Lewis / Leòdhas the word buaile was understood to refer to a cattle fold, enclosure, dairy, milking place, “usually on the periphery of the farmland or townland and used in commonage”. She went on to say, “The word [buaile] was not, as far as I can see, used for the distant grazing pastures for summer milking.”

This information is of particular interest to us, because in Irish placenames – contrary to what is often presumed – the generic element buaile was not restricted to ‘vertical’ transhumance, i.e., from lowlands to higher pastures. In fact, buaile could refer to any location, regardless of altitude, that became suitable for grazing under particular weather conditions, or to any place that had been specifically set aside for grazing at certain times of the year, as in Boleynanollag / Buaile na Nollag ‘the boley of Christmas-time’ (logainm.ie #21027) and Easterfield / Buaile na Cásca ‘the boley of Easter-time’ (logainm.ie #20989) in Co. Galway (‘Baulanacaske’ 1801); and Boolanacausk / Buaile na Cásca ‘the boley of Easter-time’ (logainm.ie #7433) in Co. Clare. (Even so, as we saw last week, care was still to be taken in some of the places chosen, e.g. Bolabradda / An Bhuaile Bhradach ‘the treacherous boley’ (logainm.ie #52877) and Ballybregagh / An Bhuaile Bhréagach ‘the false (deceptive, treacherous) boley’ (logainm.ie #52339) in Co. Wexford.)

In the examples from Lewis / Leòdhas, then, Scottish Gaelic àirigh served a different purpose to buaile, referring to locations further away from the farm. Note that Dwelly (Am Faclair Beag) s.v. àirigh gives ‘hill pasture’ and ‘Summer residence for herdsmen and cattle’. This is in keeping with the attested meanings of the word’s Old Irish forerunner áirge, i.e., ‘summer milking-places in the mountains’, ‘place for milking cows, byre, cowshed’ (it could also refer to the herd of cattle itself; eDIL s.v. áirge). See for example Luid Mael Ruain Tamlachta fechtas dia airge .i. ceppan i Sléib Mairgge “Máel Rúain of Tallaght once went to his summer milking-place, i.e., a clearing in Slievemargie” (quoted in Fergus Kelly, Early Irish Farming p. 44). In any case, this interesting correspondence concerning Hebridean examples of àirigh led us to seek placenames on our own island containing the Modern Irish form of the same word, áirí. (Cf. ‘a herd (of cattle), a pasture, a herdman’s hut’ Dinneen (1927) s.v. airghe; ‘milking-place; herd (of cows)’ Ó Dónaill s.v. áirí. Note the variation of short a- and long á-, which we will see again below.)

The first thing to be noted is that in Irish placenames the sense conveyed by Scottish àirigh – (remote) summer milking-place – is already covered by the predominant Modern Irish element buaile, which could be found on high ground or low, whether near or far from the farm, unlike the restricted distribution of Scottish Gaelic buaile on Leòdhas. Having said that, however, examples of áirí are not unknown in Irish townland names. It is ironic that what is probably the most unambiguous example could not be situated much further away from our correspondent’s home in the Hebrides! The townland of Drominaharee / Drom na hÁirí ‘the ridge of the (summer) milking-place’ (logainm.ie #23392) in Co. Kerry is some 700 km from Lewis, which if nothing else reminds us of the vast contiguous area once covered by the Gaelic-speaking world. Interestingly, the meaning of …na hÁirí in this placename was not understood by the local Irish-speaking community in the mid-19th century. Nor was it clear to the Irish scholar John O’Donovan, who visited the area in 1841 while working on the Ordnance Survey. O’Donovan was a native Irish-speaker and reasonably familiar with Middle Irish literature even at this early stage of his career. He interpreted the name as the ‘ridge of the watching’, confusing the final element with the unconnected word aire (eDIL s.v. 1 aire). Drominaharee / Drom na hÁirí is located in steep, mountainous terrain, very much in keeping with animal-husbandry restricted to the summer months. However, it would seem that by the late 18th/early 19th century, either the practice of bringing cattle to this particular áirí had long ceased, or the word had been completely usurped by buaile in common speech, and the meaning of the placename was forgotten.

Note that the word áiríoch ‘herdsman’ – a derivative of áirí (eDIL s.v. áirgech) – occurs in the name of another mountainous townland in Co. Kerry, Derreenanaryagh / Doirín na nÁiríoch ‘the (little) (oak-)grove of the herdsmen’ (logainm.ie #22330) near Glencar. Strange to say, O’Donovan correctly identified this word (‘shepherds’). So did Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha (a.k.a. An Seabhac), another highly regarded native Irish-speaking placenames scholar, in the 20th century.

Other upland examples in the southern half of Ireland include Glenary / Gleann Áirí ‘valley of (the) (summer) milking-place’ (logainm.ie #49236) in the Comeragh Mountains, Co. Waterford, and Killary / Coill Áirí ‘wood of (the) (summer) milking-place’ (logainm.ie #46377) near Ballina in Co. Tipperary. The same name appears as Killaree / Coill Áirí ‘wood of (the) (summer) milking-place’ (logainm.ie #26989) in Co. Kilkenny. Although this last example is not located in a mountainous area, the local topography is dominated by steep hills to the south and east of the Black Castle, mostly under tree cover, with large amounts of surface bedrock (see epa). Like the townlands already mentioned, this terrain would almost certainly have been suitable for grazing only in summer months. (Note again that the local Irish-speakers did not understand the word áirí in the 19th century: they told Eoghan Ó Comhraí / Eugene O’Curry, ‘there are three of the Kings of Ireland buried in [the large rath in Killaree townland], whence the name Kileree or the Cell of the King’ LSO I 203 (1839), as if *cill an rí!)

Still in the south, we find Arywee / Airí Bhuí ‘yellow (summer) milking-place’ (logainm.ie #31155) in Co. Limerick. (Airí is a local variant of áirí with short initial /a/.) This townland is located on relatively low land, however, and airí in question may have been near the peat bog in the west. Arrybreaga / Airí Bhréige ‘false (summer) milking-place’ (logainm.ie #32471) is another low-lying townland in the same county, mostly containing free-draining soil which would have been suitable for grazing all year round. In parts of the townland, however, grazing would have been restricted to fine weather, namely the surface bedrock extending up to the hilltop to the neighbouring Longstone to the east, and the area of peat fen to the west. As we saw last week, bréige, the genitive form of the noun bréag ‘falsehood, lie’ is used in Irish as an adjective meaning ‘false, deceptive’: the ‘false airí’ may have referred to one of these areas of marginal land which was not, despite first appearances, suitable for grazing.

So we come full circle and finish with a some more placenames containing the elements bréige (gen.) or bréagach (adj.) ‘lying, false; (dangerously) deceptive, treacherous’:

Ard Mhacha Bréige ‘the false Ard Mhacha’, the forerunner to Ardmaghbreague (logainm.ie #38187) and Armaghbrague (logainm.ie #56378; placenamesni) in Cos. Meath and Armagh, respectively, in contrast to the ‘real’ Ard Mhacha / Armagh (#1411561);
Knockbreaga / Cnoc Bréige ‘false, (dangerously) deceptive(?) hill’ (logainm.ie #37474) in Co. Mayo;
Boughilbreaga / An Buachaill Bréige ‘the false boy, cowherd’ (logainm.ie #1413201) in Co. Limerick (‘there is an old stone on top of it’ *c.*1973);
Shauneenabreaga / Seáinín na Bréige ‘the false Seáinín’ (logainm.ie #1421372) in Co. Waterford (a mountain-top cairn, WA002-080).
Foylenabreaga / Faill na Bréige ‘the false cliff’ (#1415485) beside the Aherlow River in Co. Limerick;
Trawbreaga Bay / Trá Bhréige ‘treacherous strand’ (logainm.ie #111463) in Co. Donegal (where the Ordnance Survey Letters record people being swept away by sudden tides);
Carnanbregagh / An Carnán Bréagach ‘the false/deceptive (little) cairn, heap of stones’ (logainm.ie #33822) in Co. Louth.

Last week we noted John O’Donovan’s personal description of the river Breagagh / An Bhréagach ‘the treacherous (river)’ in his native Co. Kilkenny, which got its name because it would often break its banks, sometimes with tragic consequences. When he was in West Kerry in 1841 the locals pointed out the dangerous rock near the mouth of Cuan Fionntrá (Ventry Harbour) with several smaller rocks between it and the mainland. These rocks, they said, “deceive the boatmen” (ÓD:AL); the Irish name of this treacherous feature is An Bréagaire ‘the liar’ (logainm.ie #1393949).

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 16/08/2025

In our discussion of nicknames among the Gaelic Irish over the last two weeks, we have noted a number of personal epithets and descriptive adjectives that were not all that complimentary. We continue the theme with a few more examples:

‘Ferrall Bradagh’ [Fearghal Bradach], i.e., thieving/dishonest Fearghal Bradach , of Co. Longford (Fiants [Eliz.] §4924, anno 1596);
‘Walter Bradagh m‘Laghlin boy’ [Ualtar Bradach mac Lochlainn Bhuí], i.e., thieving/dishonest Ualtar Bradach mac Lochlainn Bhuí , son of ‘yellow’ Lochlann of Co. Galway (Fiants [Eliz.] §4028, anno 1582) (see last week’s note for the epithet buí ‘yellow’; anglic. Laghlin could also represent the common Irish name Maoleachlainn);
‘Morgh bregaghe m‘Teig oge’ [Murcha Bréagach mac Taidhg Óig], i.e., lying/deceitful Murcha Bréagach mac Taidhg Óig , of Inchiquin, Co. Clare (Fiants [Eliz.] §3042, anno 1577);
‘John Bregagh’ [Seán Bréagach], i.e., lying/deceitful Seán Bréagach , [prob. Co. Limerick] (Fiants [Eliz.] §6461, anno 1600);
‘Edm. Bregagh M‘Echey, of Tullegolkhorke’ [Éamann Bréagach Mac an Chaoich], i.e., lying/deceitful Éamann Bréagach Mac an Chaoich , of ‘Tullegolkhorke’ [defunct], par. Iniskeen, Co. Cavan (Fiants §4908, anno 1586). (Mac an Chaoich was the name of the main branch of Muintir Raghallaigh (the O’Reillys) in southeast Co. Cavan (cf. #380); they gave their name to the barony of Clankee / Clann Chaoich , #11).

The words bréagach ‘lying’ and bradach ‘thieving’ have a range of meanings and, of course, are not confined to personal epithets. A cow that wanders off its own land and interests itself in the crops of a neighbouring farmer, for instance, is a bó bhradach ‘trespassing cow’; bradach can also mean ‘obtained unjustly, stolen’ and – trespassing into the territory of bréagach – ‘false’ (see Dinneen, Ó Dónaill s.v.). In placenames, particularly those referring to topographical features, the sense these words convey is that the places in question are in some way unreliable, deceptive or even dangerous (compare Eng. treacherous conditions). The late Fiachra Mac Gabhann was no doubt correct in translating Moneenbradagh / An Móinín Bradach (logainm.ie #35707) in Co. Mayo as ‘the dangerous (little) bogland’ (Logainmneacha Mhaigh Eo V, p. 540). Note also that Portaghbradagh (logainm.ie #44765) in Co. Sligo was described in the 17th century as containing ‘Red Shaking Bog’ (Down Survey [1654], bar. Tireragh), whence its Irish name An Portach Bradach , ‘the dangerous peat bog’. This is also the most likely sense of bradach intended in the case of Bolabradda / An Bhuaile Bhradach (logainm.ie #52877), Co. Wexford, where the alluvial soil along the Inch River – suggesting historical overflowing – would have remained soft underfoot long after the surrounding ground had dried enough for cattle to be introduced (see Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV, p. 555).

Just like An Bhuaile Bhradach in Co. Wexford, there is a significant patch of alluvial soil in the townland of An Baile Bradach / Balbradagh (logainm.ie #38613) in Cp. Meath, and perhaps the element bradach in this placename is linked to that area remaining soft and muddy after the surrounding ground has long since become safe for cattle. In light of the generic baile ‘town(land)’, however, it is possible that bradach here is the substantivized adjective meaning ‘thief, plunderer’, and that the sense intended is Baile Bradach , ‘town(land) of (the) thieves’. Close analysis of the landscape and soil in other ambiguously named places, such as Boherbraddagh / Bóthar Bradach (logainm.ie #32035) in Co. Limerick (“thieving road / road of thieves” in Logainmneacha na hÉireann I, lch. 73), might throw some light on which meaning is more likely. Sometimes the topography seems to clearly indicate peril, as in the names of Glenbradagh / Gleann Bradach (logainm.ie #12300), a particularly steep-sided valley in Co. Cork, and An Méile Bradach (logainm.ie #1396731), a cluster of rocks off the coast of Na hArlanna in the Donegal Gaeltacht.

The word bréagach ‘lying, deceitful’ could also convey a sense of ‘dangerously deceptive, treacherous’. Parts of the townland of Ballybregagh / An Bhuaile Bhréagach (logainm.ie #52339) in Co. Wexford, for example, would remain unsuitable for cattle even after quite a long period of dry weather (see Logainmnneacha na hÉireann IV, p. 239). Bréagach in river-names warns of flash flooding or other deceptive behaviour, e.g. Breagagh / An Bhréagach , ‘the treacherous (river)’ in Cos. Tipperary (logainm.ie #116103) and Kilkenny (logainm.ie #116566) and the smaller Srahanbregach / An Sruthán Bréagach , ‘the false(?) stream’ (logainm.ie #41847) in Co. Offaly. (O’Donovan said that the river Breagagh / An Bhréagach in his native county of Kilkenny was “but a mere streamlet” in the summer, until there was an unexpected cloudburst over the mountains, whereupon “the little runnel is suddenly swelled to such a height that it often sweeps away men and cattle” LSO (Donegal [sic]) p.31 (1835).)

In other placenames, however, it is clear that bréagach did not have treacherous or dangerous connotations. As mentioned before in these notes, many geographical features are figuratively named from their appearance from a certain angle, giving rise to some very imaginative back-stories in folk etymology. (We find a nice subversion of the usual placename-etymologizing in the 9th-century tale Fionaíl Rónáin ‘the kin-slaying committed by Rónán’ (Mid.Ir. Fingal Rónáin). An important event in the story takes place near some stone cairns with the wonderful name Ba Aoife , ‘the cows of Aoife’. Rather surprisingly, the narrator does not attempt any imaginative analysis, stating matter-of-factly: “Ba Aoife ‘the cows of Aoife’ are stones on the side of the mountain. They look like white cows from afar.” [Bae Aífi .i. clocha filet la tóeb int ṡléibe. It cosmaile fri bú finna do chéin.] The author was merely keeping his powder dry: the plot takes a tragic turn when a character makes an untimely metaphorical reference to the cairns as ‘cows’. No spoilers! [Cf. FSÁG s.nn. Baoi Aoife, Bun Aoife.]) In any case, there are a number of placenames such as Farbreaga / An Fear Bréige (logainm.ie #55861) in Co. Wicklow (bréige, the genitive of the noun bréag ‘falsehood’, used as an adjective meaning ‘false’) and An Fear Bréagach (logainm.ie #1418649) in the south Kerry Gaeltacht (‘Cloch mhór ard, cheapfá gur fear atá ann’ 1969) which refer to stones resembling a human figure from a distance: both names can be translated as ‘the false man’. A reminder that truth is often only a matter of perspective. More examples next week!

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 09/08/2025

Last week we discussed the epithet carrach ‘mangy, scabby, rough-skinned’, which was prevalent enough among the Gaelic Irish in the Early Modern period to make its way into some townland names (e.g. Ballymacahara / Baile Mhic Aodha Charraigh ‘the town(land) of the son of scabby, mangy, rough-skinned Aodh’ (logainm.ie #55479) in Co. Wicklow). We will now look at some other relatively blunt epithets attached to the eponyms of administrative placenames.

Some of these epithets seem more pejorative than others: for example, Lissagroom / Lios Aodha Ghruama ‘the ring-fort of gloomy Aodh’ (logainm.ie #8091) in Co. Cork and Ballingayrour / Baile an Ghéill Ramhair ‘the town(land) of the fat hostage’ (logainm.ie #30902) in Co. Limerick do not have the same bite as Bishop’s Island / Oileán an Easpaig Ghortaigh ‘the island of the mean, stingy, hungry bishop’ (logainm.ie #7132) in Co. Clare. Others are more ambiguous, such as the word lúbach, which can mean ‘strong, supple’ – a fine epithet – but can also mean ‘slippery, crafty’! We cannot be sure how exactly ‘Moriertagh Loobagh McMolrony Fyn’ [Muircheartach Lúbach Mac Maolruanaidh Fhinn] earned his name, i.e. crafty(?)/supple(?) Muircheartach of the sept of Mac Maolruanaidh Fhinn (a branch of the McDonaghs in southeast Co. Sligo) (CPR p.331).

(We may note in passing that this epithet lúbach was also the source of a surname, as we saw last week with Ó Clabaigh, deriving from clabach ‘big-mouthed, big-lipped’. A family surnamed Ó Lúbaigh ‘the descendant of (An) Lúbach ((the) crafty(?)/supple(?) person)’ (anglic. Lubby/Looby) are commemorated in the townland name Ballylooby / Baile Uí Lúbaigh ‘the town(land) of Ó Lúbaigh’ (logainm.ie #31574) in Co. Limerick.)

Similarly, geancach literally means ‘snub-nosed’ (from geanc), but is also used for ‘snubby, surly, rude’ (eDIL s.v. genncach; FGB s.v. geancach). However, in the following examples – which occur across different generations of the same family – we appear to be dealing with an inherited facial feature: ‘Donald gangaughe O’Dowill’ [Dónall Geancach Ó Dúill], i.e., snub-nosed Dónall Ó Dúill of Kyle (par. Kilpatrick), near Crossabeg in Co. Wexford, received an official pardon in 1549 (Fiants [Ed.] §314), and his apparent grandson ‘Daniel Doyle alias Gankagh’ – another Dónall Geancach – of ‘Kildenis’ [defunct] in Tinnacross (par. Clone) near Enniscorthy, was implicated in connection with the 1641 rebellion (C. Ó Crualaoich & K. Whelan, Gaelic Wexford 1550-1650; cf. The Past 17 (1990), p.36). Among the many other bearers of this epithet was yet another Dónall, namely ‘Donyll geankaghe O’Cuyllon’ [Dónall Geancach Ó Coiliúin], i.e., snub-nosed/rude Dónall Ó Coiliúin (Cullen) of Downings in Co. Wicklow, who received a pardon in 1549 (Fiants [Ed.] §272). Closer to our own era, the local Irish-language name of the townland Knockwilliam (logainm.ie #27123) in Co. Kilkenny was recorded in 1839 as ‘cnoc uilliam gannca’ [Cnoc Liam Gheancaigh] ‘the hill of snub-nosed/rude Liam’. In east Co. Galway the local Irish pronunciation of Gorteenayanka / Goirtín an Gheancaigh ‘the (little) field of the snub-nosed or rude person’ (logainm.ie #20188) was still available to Placenames Branch researchers in the mid-20th century. Although unfortunately lacking surnames, these placenames provide further evidence of the prevalence of geancach ‘snub-nosed; rude’ as an epithet among the Gaelic Irish.

(In Ulster the related word geancánach referred to an unpleasant supernatural character beautifully described in Dinneen’s 1927 dictionary (s.v. geanncánach) as “one of the lower and more vicious kinds of fairies”; cf. “a fairy cobbler” FGB s.v. geancánach. Examples in northern placenames include Poll na nGeancánach / Pullagankana “the hole, pool of the malevolent snub-nosed fairies”, recorded in the parish of Shercock, Co. Cavan, in the 20th century.)

Not all epithets carried connotations of judgements of character. Some merely described hair colour or skin characteristics, such as bán ‘white’, ballach ‘freckled’, crón ‘dark yellow’, dubh ‘black’, fionn ‘fair’, liath ‘grey’, odhar ‘greyish-brown’, riabhach ‘greyish, dusky’. (NB It is very difficult to accurately trace the history and development of the words for colours in any given language, never mind trying to ‘match’ them directly with another language! Any English translations here should be taken as very rough guides.) These colour-based personal epithets are some of the most common survivals in townland names. See for example Ballyshonickbane / Baile Sheoinic Bháin ‘the town(land) of white Seoinic’ (logainm.ie #32243) in Co. Limerick; Gortshanecrone / Gort Sheáin Chróin ‘the field of dark yellow Seán’ (logainm.ie #13305) in Co. Cork; Ballyteigeduff / Baile Thaidhg Dhuibh ‘the town(land) of black Tadhg’ (logainm.ie #28485) in Co. Laois; Attithomasreva / Áit Tí Tomáis Riabhaigh ‘the house-site of greyish, dusky Tomás’ (logainm.ie #18891) in Co. Galway; and Léim Fhir Léith ‘leap of (the) grey man’ or ‘the leap of Fear Liath [personal name]’ (logainm.ie #22686) in the Co. Kerry Gaeltacht.

One very common adjective of this type was buí, which basically means ‘yellow’. Although this word could be used in reference to hair colour, particularly in the earlier language (cf. Mid.Ir. foltbuide ‘yellow-haired’ eDIL s.v. folt, falt compds. (1)), as a personal epithet it was frequently used as a term for tanned, sallow skin (FGB s.v. 3 buí (2)). (Note that crón was used of skin of a darker tone than buí, and is often translated ‘swarthy’; see eDIL s.v. crón.) Although this type of skin does not seem to have been highly prized by the Gaels, the term buí was not particularly offensive. It features in a well-known Irish proverb which reminds us that beauty is only skin deep, and also cautions us not to rush to judgement, lest we ourselves be judged: Más peaca a bheith buí, tá na mílte damanta! “If it’s a sin to have sallow skin, then thousands of us are damned!”

Buí ‘yellow’ occurs in conjunction with personal names in a number of townland names, such as Ballyduboy / Baile Dháith Bhuí ‘the town(land) of ‘yellow’ Dáith [a version of Dáibhí]’ (logainm.ie # 53145) in Co. Wexford; Ballymacshaneboy / Baile Mhic Sheáin Bhuí ‘the town(land) of the son of ‘yellow’ Seán’ (logainm.ie #30800) in Co. Limerick; Ballyjohnboy / Baile Sheáin Bhuí ‘the town(land) of ‘yellow’ Seán’ (logainm.ie #27364) in Co. Kilkenny; Clone / Cluain Mhic Sheáin Bhuí ‘the meadow, pasture of the son of ‘yellow’ Seán’ (logainm.ie #30800) in Co. Limerick; Inisdauwee / Inis Dáith Bhuí ‘the island of ‘yellow’ Dáith’ (logainm.ie #20679) in Co. Galway; and Tawnycoolawee / Tamhnaigh Mhic Giolla Bhuí ‘the arable field of the son of Giolla Buí [‘the ‘yellow’ fellow’]’, or ‘the arable field of Mac Giolla Bhuí [a surname usually anglicized McIlwee]’ (logainm.ie #35715) in Co. Mayo.

Incidentally, if buí referred to hair colour rather than skin tone in any of these examples, it would have been quite the complimentary epithet in an Irish context. According to Fynes Moryson – the English historian who served as secretary to the notorious Mountjoy, Lord Deputy of Ireland, during the period 1600–1603 – the Gaelic Irish were particularly fond of ‘yellow’ hair (see Analecta Hibernica 37: ‘The Irish Sections of Fynes Moryson’s Unpublished Itinerary’, ed. Graham Kew). By yellow it is likely that Moryson meant what would now be called blond hair, which may have overlapped in sense with Irish buí. (The word blond(e) had yet to become established in English at this period. Note that Shakespeare also refers to yellow hair as an idealized symbol of youth and vitality: see Janziz (1997) ‘A Study of Colour Words in Shakespeare’s Works’ (PhD, Sheffield).)

These are only some of the Gaelic Irish epithets that come down to us in townland names in Ireland. We hope to be able to carry out a proper analysis on this topic in the coming years. Obviously, the modern corpus of townland names preserves only a tiny proportion of the vast range of Irish nicknames and personal epithets found in Irish and English historical sources. (Not to mention striking examples from early literature such as Aiteannchaithreach ‘abounding in furze-like pubic hair’!). A few further examples are preserved in fortuitous references to defunct historical placenames, leading to the usual sobering realization that countless others have perished since the destruction of Gaelic Irish society in the 17th century.

To lift the mood a little, we will finish with the adjective súgach. This word is very similar to Eng. merry in that it can quite innocently mean ‘cheerful, happy’ but is far more likely to imply ‘mellow with drink, tipsy’ (FGB s.v. súgach; eDIL s.v. súcach): Má chím daoine súgacha is má bhím súgach leo / ó cad é sin don té sin nach mbaineann sin dó? ‘if I see tipsy people, and if I’m tipsy myself with them / what’s that to the person whose business it isn’t?’ As a personal epithet it occurred in two historical placenames – both apparently referring to the same individual – near Ballywilliamroe (par. Monart), in the area known as The Duffry / An Dufair ‘the wilderness, jungle’ west of Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. The anglicized spellings ‘Rahingerrald soughagh’ (NAI-Lodge-4-237) and ‘Aghgarraltsugagh’ (The Civil Survey of Wexford IX p. 279) point to Irish Ráithín Ghearailt Shúgaigh ‘the ring-fort of tipsy, cheerful Gearalt’ and Áth Ghearailt Shúgaigh ‘the ford of tipsy, cheerful Gearalt’, respectively. No other information about Gearalt Súgach survives: perhaps it would be too cynical to infer that he may occasionally have had difficulty crossing the ford named in his honour, the poor creature /ˈkreːt̪ər/!

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 02/08/2025

Last week we noted the surname Ó Clabaigh (anglic. Clabby), borne by a professional Gaelic family who held hereditary office as airchinnigh (church-stewards) and as intergenerational (parish) priests at Oran / Órán in Co. Roscommon. We begin this week’s note with a closer look at the surname itself. Most native Irish surnames formed with Ó (earlier Ua, originally meaning ‘grandson of’) are based on the personal name of the family’s ultimate ancestor. For example, the family surnamed Ó Maoileoin (anglic. Malone) purport to trace their lineage back to a person named Maoileoin (< Maol Eoin ‘(tonsured) servant of (Saint) Eoin’). This is also true, though to a slightly lesser extent, for those surnames formed with Mac (originally meaning ‘son of’): the surname Mac Aodha (anglic. Hughes, McKay, etc.) harks back to a progenitor named Aodh.

However, in some instances, the basic element of the surname does not come from a personal name, per se. Ó Clabaigh is based on the epithet clabach ‘big-mouthed’ or ‘garrulous’, or even – as the editors of the Annals of Loch Cé translated it – ‘thick-lipped’ (eDIL s.v. clapach; Ó Dónaill s.v. clabach; Dinneen s.v. id.; cf. ‘Geróid clapach … thick-lipped’ (Annals of Loch Cé anno 1581)). The Irish annals and genealogies abound in nicknames and epithets. Further examples can also be found in English government documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, which record the names of Irish-speakers of both native Gaelic and Old English (gaelicized Anglo-Norman) descent. Hundreds of unique nicknames and epithets can be found in these sources, not even including repetitions of commonly used and relatively neutral adjectives such as beag ‘little’, mór ‘big, senior’, óg ‘young, junior’, etc. Not all of the epithets were as innocuous as these, of course; the word clabach is likely to have been a derogatory or at least mildly offensive nickname in any of its senses, notwithstanding the current fashion for fuller lips. Indeed, the nicknames found among the Gaelic Irish in these sources would be very unlikely to be recorded in modern-day official documents, to put it mildly, and most would be considered highly inappropriate outside the immediate family or intimate social circle of the bearer.

For example, there is no shortage of examples of the epithet gránna ‘ugly’. See for instance the official pardons given to ‘Gilpatrike Grane O’Morro’ [Giolla Phádraig Gránna Ó Murchú], i.e., Ugly Giolla Phádraig Ó Murchú (Murphy) of Kilpatrick near Crossabeg in Co. Wexford, in 1552 (Fiants [Ed.] §959); to ‘Diermod grana m‘Manus M‘Donogh’ [Diarmaid Gránna mac Mánais Mac Donncha], i.e, Ugly Diarmaid, son of Mánas Mac Donncha (McDonagh) of Bricklieve, Co. Sligo, in the 1580s (Fiants [Eliz.] §5805); and to ‘Shane Grana O’Carrolane’ [Seán Gránna Ó Cearúlláin], i.e., Ugly Seán Ó Cearúlláin (Carolan) of Co. Meath, in 1610 (CPR, p.183). The same epithet also occurs in great numbers in Irish sources: it is found among members of the Mac Diarmada and the Ó hAirt families in Mac Fhirbhisigh’s Book of Genealogies (LMnG) (c. 1666). We will not speculate whether the prevalence of gránna as an epithet implies that the Gaels were not generally very good-looking or, conversely, that they had extremely high standards of physical beauty.

There are many other such ‘derogatory’ epithets found in these and other sources, some more well-known than others. Other examples include ‘Owen Loghtaghe O’Hairt’ [Eoghan Lochtach Ó hAirt], i.e., Faulty/Wicked(?)/Slightly Mad(?) Eoghan Ó hAirt (Harte), of Ballyconnell in Co. Sligo (Fiants [Eliz.] §4706); ‘John Kykeraghe Roche’ [Séan Cíocrach de Róiste], i.e., Gluttonous Seán de Róiste (Roche), of Kilcavan in south Co. Wexford (Fiants [Ed.] §317); ‘Cahir moddere’ [Cathaoir Modartha], i.e., Gloomy Cathaoir, of Ardamine, Co. Wexford (Fiants [Eliz.] §6789); ‘Edm. sallagh M‘Gillegallingee’ [Éamann Salach Mac Giolla(…)], i.e., Dirty Éamann [Mac Giolla(…)], of ‘Ratyhlie’ [now defunct] near Easky, Co. Sligo (Fiants [Eliz.] §5805).

Although extremely widespread in daily life, these derogatory epithets are not commonly found in modern townland names. (That is not to say that they never featured in placenames. Sometimes they occur in older forms before falling out of use: see for example Aghfarrell / Áth Fhearaíl ‘the ford of Fearaíol [< Fearghal]’ (#17417) on the Co. Dublin/Wicklow border, formerly Áth Fhearaíl Fhinn ‘the ford of fair(-haired) Fearaíol’: ‘Agherillin’ (c. 1578), ‘Aghferylin’ (1605), ‘Aghfarrellfin’ (c. 1660) → ‘Affarrell’ (1664).) But a handful of examples do survive. Carrach ‘scabby, rough-skinned, mangy’ is a very commonly occurring epithet, no doubt due to the prevalence of skin diseases in the absence of effective medical treatments. Example include ‘Tirrelagh Carrogh McPhellim O’Connor, gent’ [Toirealach Carrach mac Féilim Ó Conchúir], i.e., Scabby/Mangy/Rough-Skinned Toirealach, son of Féilim Ó Conchúir (O’Connor), of Co. Sligo (CPR p.20); ‘Wm. Carragh Bermigam, horsm[a]n’ [Liam Carrach Mac Fheorais], i.e., Scabby Liam Mac Fheorais (Bermingham) of Co. Meath (Fiants [Eliz.] §3952); ‘Brian carragh mcAlexander McDonill, galloglass’ [Brian Carrach mac Alastair Mac Dónaill], i.e., Scabby Brian son of Alastar Mac Dónaill (McDonnell) of Co. Wicklow (Fiants [Eliz.] §444); ‘Patrick carraugh Forlong’ [Pádraig Carrach Forlang], i.e., Scabby Pádraig Forlang (Furlong) of Glynn in Co. Wexford (Fiants [Eliz.] §61). This epithet carrach is unusual insofar as it is found in more than one townland name. In Co. Wicklow we have Ballymacahara / Baile Mhic Aodha Charraigh ‘the town(land) of the son of scabby, mangy, rough-skinned Aodh’ (logainm.ie #55479), while both Ballyshane in Co. Wexford (logainm.ie #53282) (‘Ballyshancarragh’, anno 1757, CGn. 205.48.135029) and Ballyshancarragh in Co. Carlow (logainm.ie #3225) are from Baile Sheáin Charraigh ‘the town(land) of mangy, scabby, rough-skinned Seán’.

These skin ailments were not confined to the southeast, however! There are two separate townlands in the Donegal Gaeltacht called Mín Ghiolla Charraigh ‘the mountain grass-land of (An) Giolla Carrach [(the) Scabby Fellow]’ (logainm.ie #14971; #16180). Here, (An) Giolla Carrach would seem to be a nickname: compare ‘Giolla Críost mac Aonghusa, aonmhac leis .i. an Giolla Carrach (Sithriug a ainm)’ [Giolla Críost son of Aonghas had one son, i.e., An Giolla Carrach “the Scabby Fellow” (Sithreag was his [real] name)], in the genealogy of a South Ulster family (LMnG §315.2).

(More next week.)

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 23/07/2025

Last week’s contribution concerning the theme of wells, springs and fountains in Irish placenames focused of the element tobar ‘well, fountain, spring, source’ and its occurrence in placenames that sometimes reflect the reputed curative properties of their waters, all the while barely mentioning other terms that can also refer to a ‘well’, ‘spring’ or ‘fountain’ such as tiobra, or its more commonly occurring variant tiobraid (a fossilised oblique form of tiobra) as in Tipperary / Tiobraid Árann ‘the well, spring, fountain, source of (at the) Ára (possibly an old name of the river flowing through Tipperary town (see Onomasticon DIAS s.n. ára))’, and fuarán as in Carrownaworan / Ceathrú na bhFuarán ‘the quarter (land) of the springs, fountains’ (logainm.ie #45715) in Co. Sligo.

While tiobra / tiobraid ‘well, spring, fountain, source’ cannot be considered at all rare in townland names, it is particularly noticeable that it rarely occurs in conjunction with a personal name, as is the case in Tibberaghny / Tiobra Fhachna ‘the well of Fachna (< Mid.Ir. Fachtna)’ (logainm.ie #26492) in Co. Kilkenny. This contrasts greatly with placenames containing tobar ‘well, fountain, spring, source’ of which there are many more examples with personal names, as in Toberphelim / Tobar Féilim ‘Féilim’s well’ (logainm.ie #32934) in Co. Longford; Toberjarleth / Tobar Iarlatha ‘Iarlaith’s well’ (logainm.ie # 21995) in Co. Galway and Toberrory / Tobar Ruairí ‘Ruairí’s well’ (logainm.ie #43913) in Co. Roscommon. Not to mention the ubiquity of townlands and wells called Toberbride / Tobar Bhríde (sometimes also Tobar Bríde, i.e. with a fossilised form of gen. Bríde without initial lenition) ‘St. Brigid’s well’ or Toberpatrick / Tobar Phádraig (sometimes also Tobar Pádraig) ‘St. Patrick’s well’. This implies that tobar was far more commonly used than tiobra / tiobraid, but it is worth noting that tiobraid was not at all uncommon as a qualifier, as seen in placenames such as Aughatubbrid or Chatsworth/ Achadh Tiobraide “field of (the) well, spring, fountain, source” (logainm.ie #26541) in Co. Kilkenny; Baile na Tiobraide ‘the town(land) of the well, spring’ is the forerunner to Ballintubbert (logainm.ie #28120) and Springhill (earlier ‘Balletibred’) (logainm.ie #28860) in Co. Laois, as well as Ballintubbrid (logainm.ie #31887) in Co. Limerick. We also have Kiltubbrid / Cill Tiobraide ‘church of (the) spring, fountain’ (logainm.ie #40330; #40825) in Co. Monaghan; Clontubbrid / Cluain Tiobraide ‘meadow, pasture of (the) spring, fountain’ in Cos. Mayo (logainm.ie #36824) and Kilkenny (logainm.ie #27473); Ballintubbrid / Baile na dTiobrad ‘the town(land) of the springs, fountains’ (logainm.ie #52227) in Co. Wexford; Lisnatubbrid / Lios na dTiobrad ‘the ringfort of the springs, fountains’ (logainm.ie #48375) in Co. Tipperary; Kiltubbrid/Cill Tiobrad ‘church of springs, fountains’ (logainm.ie #29335) in Co. Leitrim; while Cluain Tiobrad ‘meadow, pasture of springs, fountains’ is the forerunner to Clontibret (logainm.ie #1979) in Co. Monaghan, Cloontubbrid (logainm.ie #30033) in Co. Leitrim and Cloontubbrid in Cos. Mayo (logainm.ie #35972) and Kerry (logainm.ie #23901). The frequency of tiobraid in combination with cluain ‘meadow, pasture’ is particularly striking, and although the specific reason for this is unclear, it may be connected to the fact that while cluain is generally explained as meaning a “meadow, pasture” or similar (see FGB, Dinneen cluain; DIL clúain), Julius Pokorny (Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, I 1959 p. 603) traces the word back to Indo-European *klop-ni-, from the root *klep- meaning ‘feucht’ “damp” (cf. Pádraig Ó Cearbhaill, Logainmneacha na hÉireann III: Cluain i Logainmneacha Co. Thiobraid Árann, p. 19). This suggests that cluain originally referred to ‘wet’ pasture, and this was often likely caused by the present of springs therein, although a riverside location appears to be the most common feature of placenames with cluain.

Unlike either tobar or tiobraid, which commonly feature in the beginning of placenames (as the generic) and also as a qualifier as seen above, the word fuarán (< Old Irish úarán ‘spring, ‘a well spring or fountain’’) or any variant thereof, appears to occur as the generic element in initial position of placenames in barely any modern townland name. This observation might lead one to suggest that fuarán wasn’t particularly productive as a word in spoken Irish, but it does, in fact, occur relatively frequently as a qualifier in townland names, which largely undermines any presumption that it wasn’t commonly used in Irish. For example, we have Carrownaworan / Ceathrú na bhFuarán “the quarter (land measure) of the springs” (logainm.ie #45715) in Co. Sligo; Aghanoran / Achadh an Fhuaráin ‘the field of the spring’ (logainm.ie #33002) in Co. Longford; Carrickanoran / Carraig an Fhuaráin ‘the rock of the spring’ in Cos. Kilkenny (logainm.ie #27169) and Monaghan (logainm.ie #40895); Knockanoran / Cnoc an Fhuaráin ‘the hill of the spring’ in Cos. Wexford (logainm.ie #54079), Laois (logainm.ie # 27962) and Cork (logainm.ie #8924); along with Coolanoran / Cúil an Fhuaráin ‘the recess of the spring’ (logainm.ie #32158) in Co. Limerick. Additionally, Baile an Fhuaráin ‘the town(land) of the spring’ is the forerunner to Ballynoran, as found in Cos. Tipperary (logainm.ie #47427) and Cork (logainm.ie #12063), as well as Ballinoran (logainm.ie #31077) in Co. Limerick. In regard to the etymology of fuarán which goes back to Old Irish úarán (dil.ie s.v.), it is generally understood by linguists to be connected to the forerunner of Old Irish úar ‘cold’ (see J. Vendryes, Lexique Étymologique de l’Irlandais Ancien; T U, 1978), and this is clearly how it was understood when the placename An Fuarán ‘the spring, ‘a spring well or fountain’’ was translated as ‘Coldewelle’ [Coldwells] in Co. Kildare as early as 1243 (see logainm.ie #25820).

A further derivate of Old Irish úarán ‘spring, ‘a spring well or fountain’ is the variant órán (Ó Dónaill s.v. órán), as found in a small number of placenames in Connaught, where one finds, for example, Oranbeg / Órán Beag ‘spring, small’ (logainm.ie #18799), and the very well-known neighbouring Oranmore / Órán Mór ‘spring, big’ (logainm.ie #18476) in Co. Galway. Notably, while Oranmore / Órán Mór is attested as ‘Uarán Mór’ in written sources, spoken Irish forms of the name recorded in the 1960s clearly reflect an initial long Ó /oː/ as in /oːrɑːn moːr/, a fact to which recognition was given in the official Irish form of the names, Órán Mór and Órán Beag.

As a qualifier we also find órán ‘spring, fountain’ in a handful of townlands in Co. Galway such as Barnanoraun / Barr na nÓrán ‘the (hill-)top of the springs” (logainm.ie #18055). A number of streams are depicted as having their source in this townland on the Ordnance Survey 6″ map — it is, then, certainly true to its name. Two further townlands that contain this element in Co. Galway are Lisheenanoran / Lisín an Óráin ‘the (small) ringfort of the spring’ (logainm.ie #18424) near Corrandulla, and Oranhill / Cnoc Óráin ‘hill of (the) spring’ (logainm.ie #18615) next to Oranmore. It is also possible that órán, when found as the final element in a number of other placenames refers to a ‘spring’, but sometimes this may also be a reflex of the homophonous personal name Órán (< Early Mod. Ir. Odhrán), e.g. Cloonoran / Cluain Óráin ‘meadow, pasture of (the) spring; or Órán’s meadow, pasture’ (logainm.ie #20540) in Co. Galway (see also Castlebellew / Cluain Óráin Íochtarach (logainm.ie #20538) and Cloonoranoughter / Cluain Óráin Uachtarach (logainm.ie #20527); along with two townlands called Gorteenoran (logainm.ie #30371) and Georgia or Gorteenoran (logainm.ie #30390) in Co. Leitrim, which are both from an original Goirtín Óráin ‘(small) field of (the) spring; or ‘Órán’s (small) field’.

In the case of Oran / Órán (logainm.ie # 2114) in Co. Roscommon there can be no doubt about its origin as it is attested a number of times in Irish literary sources, both in the simplex form of ‘Uarán’, and with qualifiers as in ‘Fuaran Mhoighe h-Oi’ ‘Órán of Maigh nAí’ (Maigh nAí is a defunct territorial name) and ‘Uarán nGaraidh’ (et var.) which retain the more conservative spellings (f)uarán ‘spring, fountain’. Anglicised ‘Oraneclabby’ recorded circa 1660 reflects another longer version of this placenames namely Órán Uí Chlabaigh ‘Órán of Ó Clabaigh’ (< Uarán), and this association with the surname Ó Clabaigh is no accident or once-off. In 1558 ‘Giolla Colaim O Clapaicch [Giolla Cholaim Ó Clabaigh]’ was described as the successor of St. Patrick at Oran (ARE V, p. 1542), and 100 years earlier in 1454 ‘Cornelius Oclabaid [Conchúr? Ó Clabaigh]’ was recorded as ‘perpetual vicar’ of this parish, i.e. ‘St. Patrick’s de Fuaian [Fuaran]’ (Calendar of Papal Registers X, pp. 704-714). Ó Clabaigh was accused by ‘Maurice Oclabaid [Muiris? Ó Clabaigh]’of having made a ‘simoniacal agreement’ to divide the ecclesiastical income of Oran with ‘Matthew Oclabaid [Matha Ó Clabaigh] who has also formerly claimed a right to that vicarage’. We have, then, three Ó Clabaighs involved in the dispute concerning the fruits of this parish, which is actually no coincidence. This family’s association with the ecclesiastical foundation at Oran was so profound that P. W. Woulfe specifically referred to the Ó Clabaighs function as ‘erenaghs [airchinnigh ‘stewards’] of the church founded by St. Patrick’s at Oran’ (Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall). In this regard it is important to note that clerical families in the Gaelic Irish church, as in this instance, were not as we would imagine in today’s world — in fact the office of parish vicar or comharba ‘successor (of the founder)’ frequently passed from father to son (both being priests). Indeed, in this instance it is possible that both ‘Matthew’ and ‘Cornelius’ were father and son. There certainly seems to be more than initially meets the eye in the history of the placename Oran and it’s Irish precursors!

Date: 19/07/2025

We are fortunate enough in Ireland that the worst ‘water shortage’ we suffer is the occasional hosepipe ban in mid-July. Not all countries are so lucky! If we do have a hot summer, we are reminded of the vital importance of a reliable supply of fresh potable water. Local authorities – and nowadays also Uisce Éireann – often turn to boreholes to exploit the abundant natural water reservoirs under our feet, but of course, Mother Nature is also kind enough to bring the water to the surface in the form of natural springs. One way or another, humans have been going to the well for many thousands of years, and it is no surprise that references to these important sources of fresh water are also abundant in Irish townland names.

This week we will introduce the most common terms for wells or springs in placenames, beginning with tiobra ‘well, spring, fountain, source’ (see eDIL s.v. tipra; cf. Carey, Éigse 52 (2002) p. 80). This word often occurs in its fossilized oblique form tiobraid, the most well-known example of which is of course Tipperary / Tiobraid Árann ‘the well of/at the (river) Ára’. (See River Ara / An Ára (#67249); cf. F.J. Byrne, Éigse 9 (1958) p. 25). Another term is fuarán ‘spring, fountain’ (Ó Dónaill s.v. fuarán; var. uarán), as in Carrownaworan / Ceathrú na bhFuarán ‘the quarter(land) of the springs, fountains’ (logainm.ie #45715) in Co. Sligo. Fuarán is a development from the Old Irish úarán ‘spring, well or fountain’ (eDIL s.v.). As we will see next week, this also developed to órán in some dialects, especially in Connaught, e.g. Oran / Órán ‘spring, fountain’ (logainm.ie #2114) in Co. Roscommon.

Of course, the word that most frequently occurs in placenames – so frequently that we could not possibly list all the examples – is tobar ‘a well, fountain, spring, source’ (Ó Dónaill s.v.; eDIL s.v. topar). While the toibreacha, tiobracha, fuaráin and uaráin that gave their names to these places can all be presumed to have been sources of good potable water, other characteristics are sometimes implied in the placename itself. For example, in Co. Wexford we have Toberanierin near Camolin – a location now probably most famous as the site of a United Irishman victory during the 1798 rebellion – for which the linguistic evidence collected by the Placenames Branch clearly suggests derivation from Tobar an Iarainn ‘the well of the iron’ (logainm.ie #52786) (‘Tober in ernig’ 1581). It is salient to note that there is a well in Toberanierin South described on the Ordnance Survey 6″ map (1st edition) as a Spa Well, and on later editions as a Spa Well (Chalybeate). Chalybeate generally refers to mineral waters containing salts of iron, which became fashionable to consume in the 18th century. Unlike many other ‘luxury destination spas’ which have sprung up around the country in recent years – even in locations with no such natural chalybeate feature – the well in Toberanierin does not seem to have been exploited for its medicinal benefits in living memory. Nevertheless, the Irish townland name tells us that its special properties were well-known long before the Spa Well was engraved on the 19th-century maps.

Well-names sometimes refer to more specific cures. (For a thorough discussion of curative and supernatural associations of wells see The holy wells of County Kilkenny (2018) by Dr. Pádraig Ó Dálaigh, former Higher Placenames Officer at the Placenames Branch.) The reason for the naming of Toberanania / Tobar an Fhaithne ‘the well of (the cure for) the wart” (logainm.ie #45003) in Co. Sligo, for example, needs no explanation. (It is interesting that by the mid-19th century local Irish-speakers appear to have reinterpreted faithne as the name of a weed.) An interesting investigation was carried out at Tobernagalt / Tobar na nGealt ‘the well of the mad people’ (logainm.ie #1414570) in the townland of Scrallaghbeg / An Screallach Bheag (#24607) in the well-known valley of Glannagalt / Gleann na nGealt ‘the valley of the mad people’ (logainm.ie #24603), close to the Co. Kerry Gaeltacht. The Ordnance Survey Parish Namebook (1841) described the well as ‘a Spring … visited by the Mad people’ and noted that it was located only a hundred metres or so from ‘Ath na nGelth’ [Áth na nGealt ‘the ford of the mad people’]. When the producers of the TG4 programme Cogar had a sample of water from Tobar na nGealt analysed, it was discovered that it was unusually rich in lithium, a mineral frequently used in the treatment of bipolar disorders and depression (see West Kerry Blog). Whether coincidence or not, it would be interesting to find out if the waters in any of the springs around another Glannagalt / Gleann na nGealt ‘the valley of the mad people’ (logainm.ie #41350) in the parish of Kilbarrymeadan in Co. Waterford have similar qualities! Not only that, it would be very desirable to carry out a similar analysis of the water in all the wells locally reputed to have had traditional curative powers, as recorded in sources such as the Ordnance Survey records or the later Schools’ Folklore Collection. We could be in for some very revealing findings.

Further examples of tobar, tiobra/tiobraid and fuarán, uarán will be discussed next week.

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 12/07/2025

Continuing on last week’s theme of the names Eoin, Seán and Seon in townland names, all of which in some way have a loose, though not always direct, connection with the English name John, we can continue our discussion with diminutive forms of that name as they appear in townland names.

One such diminutive is Johnin, which is found in the English name of the townland Johninstown (logainm.ie #25464) in Co. Kildare. (We will come to the Irish name of the townland presently.) Johnin was generally gaelicized as Seoinín but unlike Seán, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, neither Seoinín nor indeed Seon itself appear to have become popular among the Gaelic Irish. On the other hand, the gaelicized Anglo-Normans (or ‘Old English’) continued to use both Seon and Seoinín in Irish, as is clear, for example, from Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh’s 17th-century compilation of Irish genealogies (see Ó Muraíle (ed.) Leabhar Mór na nGenealach vol. 5, index). Thus, evidence for Seon and its diminutive Seoinín in townland names is generally found in areas where there was substantial Anglo-Norman settlement followed by gaelicization when the descendants of the settlers adopted the Irish language: examples include Ruthstown / Baile Sheoin Rua ‘the townland of Seon Rua’ (logainm.ie #26975) in Co. Kilkenny (in which Rua is the local Irish form of the Anglo-Norman surname Ruth: cf. ‘Johnroothston’ 1613); and Farranshone / Fearann Seoin ‘the land of Seon’ (logainm.ie #30471; #30587) in Co. Limerick. Johnstown in Co. Louth (logainm.ie #33579) was recorded locally as ‘Baile seón’ [Baile Sheoin] during the course of the Ordnance Survey, and the historical evidence for Johnstown (#52633) near Bunclody in Co. Wexford also reflects derivation from Baile Sheoin (see Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV, p. 1078).

Further examples of the diminutive Seoinín (< Eng. Johnin) include Baile Mhic Sheoinín ‘the town(land) of the son of Seoinín’ anglicized as Ballymacshoneen in Cos. Wexford (logainm.ie #54110) and Cork (logainm.ie #8939), while Baile Sheoinín ‘the town(land) of Seoinín’ is the forerunner to Ballyshoneen in Cos. Cork (logainm.ie #9206; #9436), Limerick (logainm.ie #32413) and Waterford (logainm.ie #50402), as well as Ballyjennings in Co. Mayo (logainm.ie #35038). Seoinín is also found in Clonmacshane / Cloch Mhic Sheoinín ‘the stone (structure) of the son of Seoinín’ (logainm.ie #3534) in Co. Carlow; Graigueshoneen / Gráig Sheoinín ‘the hamlet of Seoinín’ (logainm.ie #49783) and Farranshoneen / Fearann tSeoinín ‘the land of Seoinín’ (logainm.ie #50301) in Co. Waterford; along with Lackenshoneen / Leacain tSeoinín ‘the hillside of Seoinín’ (logainm.ie #9357) in Co. Cork.

It is interesting to note that the name Seoinín later became a derogatory term both in Irish and in Hiberno-English (Shoneen) for a person who tended to mimic English culture (“a shoneen, a jackeen or johnnie, an aper of foreign ways…” Dinneen s.v. Seoinín). This pejorative usage is further evidence that Seoinín, unlike the name Seán, never actually became popular among the Gaelic Irish of native descent.

A different diminutive of John is found in the underlying form of the English townland name Jonastown (logainm.ie #54013) in south Co. Wexford, earlier attested as ‘Ionokeston’ (1540–1), ‘Jonickstown’ (1577), ‘Johnnockstown’ (1622), and so on. These earlier forms of the name clearly reflect an underlying Johnock+’s+town. In fact the name Johnock seems to have been very common in Ireland and its gaelicized forms Seonac or Seonag are found in quite a few placenames: see for example Ballyshonickbane / Baile Sheoinic Bháin ‘the town(land) of white(-haired) Seonac’ (logainm.ie #32243) in Co. Limerick; Farran / Fearann Mhic Sheoinic ‘the land of the son of Seoineac’ (logainm.ie #8891) in Co. Cork (in which Seoineac is a variant of Seonac with palatalized/slender -n-); Sapperton / Baile Mhic Sheonaic ‘the town(land) of the son of Seonac’ (logainm.ie #50160) in Co. Waterford (‘Sappertown alias BallimcShonick’ (1735)); Ballyshonock / Baile Sheonaic ‘the town(land) of Seonac’ (logainm.ie #49829; #52627) in Cos. Waterford and Wexford. The Irish forerunner to Ballyshonock (logainm.ie #12793) and Ballyhonock (logainm.ie #13666) in Co. Cork appears to be Baile Sheonac, with an uninflected genitive Sheonac.

The townland name Johnstown (logainm.ie #55501) near Arklow, Co. Wicklow, also turns out to derive not from *Baile Sheáin or *Baile Sheoin, but from Baile Sheonac. The earliest historical evidence, e.g. ‘Bally[s]onicke’ (1620) and ‘Ballyshanoge’ (1715), indicate that the qualifying personal name was still understood in the English tradition to have been connected with John (‘Johnstown’ 1668, 1724, etc.).

Townland names containing the name Seonac also seem confined to areas colonized by the Anglo-Normans and then later gaelicized, which might on the face of it imply that the name never became very popular among those of native Gaelic Irish stock. However, some examples of the name do occur among that group in Irish genealogical tracts, and it would appear, therefore, that unlike Seoinín the name Seonac was not solely confined to the gaelicized Anglo-Normans or ‘Old English’.

Hopefully the above information has gone some way to explaining why, in Irish placenames, the English name John is equated not only with Eoin but also with the separate but not entirely unrelated names Seán, Seon, Seoinín and Seonac. We can now to turn our sights on another curious subset of placenames which contain John(’s)- in their English forms but have no connection to any of the aforementioned Irish personal names: these are Johnstown in the civil parish of Kilmichael in Co. Cork, Saint Johnstown in Co. Tipperary and Johnstown near Kells in Co. Meath.

In Co. Cork, the English name Johnstown (logainm.ie #9793) appears to have arisen as a result of the misinterpretation of the Irish name of the place, Cill Sheanaigh (earlier Cill tSeanaigh) ‘the church of Seanach’. The eponym was Seanach, whose name – borne by numerous clerics in the Irish church – seems to have been interpreted as being in some way related to English John. In Co. Tipperary, Baile an tSeánaigh (‘Ballentane’ 1601, ‘Baile an t-seána’ 1840), the somewhat unusual Irish name for the townland called Saint Johnstown (logainm.ie #47647) in English, does not contain a personal name at all. Baile an tSeánaigh means ‘the town(land) of An Seánach’, in which An Seánach signifies ‘the person surnamed Saint John’. That surname is attested in connection with the townland in early references, e.g. ‘John de Sancto Johanne of Scadaneston’ (*Scaddanstown being a historical alias of the place).

There is a Johnstown (#38191) near Kells in Co. Meath which the local Irish speakers called ‘Baile sheonoid’ [Baile Sheonóid] (1836). The personal name Seonó(i)d is a gaelicized form of the Middle English name Jonot — yet another diminutive of John! — now more commonly found in English as the surname and feminine personal name Janet (see P. Hanks, R. Coates, P. McClure: Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland). Again, however, it appears that to English-speakers, the underlying relationship with the name John was clearly understood — the English name of this townland is realized as Johnstown, et var., throughout the historical record. Indeed, the only evidence for the original underlying form *Jonotstown is provided by the local Irish version recorded in 1836. It is worth pointing out that this is in direct contrast to the evidence for Johninstown (logainm.ie #25464) in Co. Kildare, mentioned above. In that case, the overwhelming majority of the historical forms, as well as the modern form of the placename in English, reflect the name Johnin. Only the earliest surviving reference to the English name, ‘Johnston’ (1540), points to John. It is noteworthy, therefore, that although Johninstown had been firmly established in the English-language tradition since the beginning of the seventeenth century (‘Jeninstown’ 1621), a local Irish speaker consulted in 1837 called the place ‘baile sheoin’ [Baile Sheoin] rather than the anticipated *Baile Sheoinín. Remarkably, this seemingly anomalous form is in fact supported by the solitary surviving transliterated reference to the Irish name in the historical record, ‘Ballyshean’ 1563.)

As we won’t be widening our net to include placenames containing any of the more distant cousins of John (Jack, Jackett, Jackson, Jackman…) this just leaves us with Saint Johnstown / Baile Suingean (logainm.ie #1416625) in Co. Donegal — but the explanation of that one will have to wait for another day.

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 01/07/2025

As we saw last week, Eoin (Baiste), the Irish name for Saint John (the Baptist), is a pre–Anglo-Norman borrowing from Latin Joannes (see Gaelic Personal Names, D. Ó Corráin & Fidelma Maguire (1981) s.n. Eoin; see also D. Greene, Ériu 35 (1984)). It would be tempting to consider the possibility, therefore, that an Irish-language placename such as Ballyowen / Baile Eoin ‘the town(land) of (Saint) John’ (logainm.ie #53384), near Wellingtonbridge in Co. Wexford, must predate the Anglo-Norman invasion. The eponym is certainly Eoin ‘(Saint) John’, rather than the similar sounding native Irish name Eoghan: the townland contains a holy well named Saint John’s Well, and Saint John was also the patron of the church of the parish, in the adjacent townland of Ballylannan (see Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV: Townland Names of Co. Wexford, p.387). Typologically, however, it would be extremely unusual to find the structure ‘baile + saint’s name’ in a townland name of Irish origin, in contrast to the corresponding formation ‘saint’s name + -town’ in English coinages. One such English example is Johnstown near Naas in Co. Kildare (logainm.ie #1181). The earliest references, such as ‘Joneston’ (c 1280), do not tell us much; however, this placename in fact derives from a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, as is clear from 17th-century references to ‘Ecclesia S. Joannis Baptistae’, ‘Ville Sancti Joannis’ on a list of Co. Kildare churches. Note also, in passing, that the generic element baile ‘town(land)’ itself only really began to flourish in the 12th century (see Toner, ‘Baile: settlement and landholding in medieval Ireland’, Éigse 34 (2004)).
With all this in mind, it is far more likely that anglicized Ballyowen in Co. Wexford represents an Irish placename of an early Anglo-Norman coinage *(Saint) Johnstown ‘the town(land) of (the church of) Saint John’. This part of Co. Wexford was heavily colonized after the invasion but, as happened throughout the country, Irish remained the vernacular of the natives and was soon adopted by the descendants of the early settlers themselves (see C. Ó Crualaoich & K. Whelan, Gaelic Wexford 1550 – 1650, forthcoming; see also C. Ó Crualaoich, ‘Some evidence in Tudor Fiants, Calendar of Patent Rolls and Inquisitions for Irish among families of Anglo-Norman descent in county Wexford between 1540 and 1640’, Studia Hibernica 34 (2006–2007), pp.85–110). The recommended official Irish version of the townland name is therefore Baile Eoin ‘the town(land) of Saint John’, in recognition of its association with the church of Saint John the Baptist (see Placenames (Co. Wexford) Order – Draft 2016).
Why, then, is it more usual to find Baile Sheáin ‘the town(land) of Seán’ as the Irish version of Johnstown elsewhere in the draft placenames order for Co. Wexford, and in the placenames orders for other counties? Furthermore, why is the Irish form of Johnstown (logainm.ie #55501) near Arklow in Co. Wicklow Baile Sheonac ‘the town(land) of Seonac’, while Johnstown (logainm.ie #33579) in Co. Louth is Baile Sheoin ‘the town(land) of Seon’? And there are further ‘inconsistencies’: the Irish name of Johnstown (logainm.ie #9793) in the civil parish of Kilmichael in Co. Cork is Cill Sheanaigh; Saint Johnstown (logainm.ie #47647) in Co. Tipperary is Baile an tSeánaigh; and Johnstown (logainm.ie #38191) southeast of Kells in Co. Meath is Baile Sheonóid.
Of course, as is often the case, the Irish forms only seem problematic when viewed from the point of view of their English names! To begin with, Eoin (as found in Eoin Baiste, ‘Saint John the Baptist’) is not the only possible Irish-language equivalent to the English name John. In fact, the Biblical origins of Eoin (< Lat. Joannes) are probably not very well known to Irish-speakers, such is the strength of the equivalence of Irish Seán and English John in modern usage. But even that equivalence is not straightforward: Irish Seán does not derive directly from the English name John at all, but from its Anglo-Norman equivalent Jehan (see Ó Corráin & Maguire, s.n. Seán). Like many other Anglo-Norman names adopted by the Gaelic Irish, Seán became so popular that the townland names in which it occurs are simply too numerous to list here. Seán (< AN Jehan) was subsequently anglicized (or, at a push, ‘re-anglicized’) as John, as is clear from late medieval and early modern English documents (e.g. ‘John alias Shane O’Doeran’ [Seán Ó Deoráin], Inq. Lag. Car. I 66), further cementing the equivalence Seán = John in modern Irish-language usage. For this reason, when no evidence happens to survive for the local Irish form of a placename containing John, the official name uses the standard Seán, as in Johnstown → Baile Sheáin (logainm.ie #16671) in Co. Dublin.
However, in a number of cases, some very interesting evidence for the local Irish form of the placename does happen to come down to us. We will discuss some of this evidence next week, but not before making a brief mention of one of the more commonly occurring examples, Baile Sheoin ‘the town(land) of Seon’. Although listed as a variant of Seán (< AN Jehan) in some sources (e.g. Ó Corráin & Maguire, s.n. Seán), Seon – pronounced [ʃoːn] with a long o-vowel – is a direct Irish borrowing of Middle English John. For the most part, the two borrowings Seán and Seon were treated as very distinct names in Irish. (To be continued next week.)

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 21/06/2025

A visitor to the Galway Gaeltacht at this time of the year might be struck by the sight of blazing bonfires on the night of 23rd June, the eve of St. John’s feast-day. In Ireland, these mid-summer fires appear to have been transferred from the ancient May festival of Bealtaine (see Kay Muhr, ‘Bealtaine in Irish and Scottish Place-Names’, Journal of Scottish Name Studies 10). It is notable that the saint celebrated on the night of 23rd/24th June, Saint John the Baptist – Eoin Baiste in Irish – does not feature in the Martyrology of Donegal (see Felire na Naomh nÉrennach), the 17th-century version of the ecclesiastical calendar of native saints. Note also that parishes dedicated to Saint John are found for the most part in areas heavily colonized by the Anglo-Normans. Witness Saint John’s / Paróiste Eoin in Cos. Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Wexford, and Waterford (see logainm.ie). The parish of Teach Eoin ‘Saint John’s (religious) house’ (logainm.ie #2112) in Co. Roscommon, called Saint John’s in English, can also be traced to Anglo-Norman settlement in the area, as can Teampall Eoin ‘Saint John’s church’ (logainm.ie #2147) in Sligo Town, and Templeowen / Teampall Eoin (logainm.ie #3548) at Tullow in Co. Carlow refers to a friary founded in 1314 by Simon Lumbard and Hugh Talun (see Historic Environment Viewer: CW008-045001).

Of the placenames commemorating this saint, the ones containing the element cill ‘church’ are perhaps the most interesting, such as the parish of Killone / Cill Eoin ‘the church of Saint John’ (logainm.ie #485) near Ennis in Co. Clare. The generic element cill ‘church, cell’ usually denotes an ecclesiastical site of some antiquity (see Pádraig Ó Cearbhaill, Logainmneacha na hÉireann II: Cill i logainmneacha Co. Thiobraid Árann (2007) lch.2), but the example in Co. Clare refers to an Augustian foundation that certainly post-dates the Anglo-Norman invasion. There are other attested examples of Cill Eoin ‘the church of Saint John’ in Cos. Cork, Down, Galway and Waterford, easily confused with the slightly more common Cill Eoghain ‘the church of Saint Eoghan’, commemorating a native saint. Note that these two placenames are homophonous in later Modern Irish and we are often reliant on secondary evidence, such as patron dates, to identify the original Irish precursor. (As to the official anglicized spellings, based on the information gathered by the Irish scholars at the Topographical Department, the Ordnance Survey standardized Cill Eoin to Killone and Cill Eoghain to Killowen wherever they could, but later research sometimes shows their analysis to have been incorrect.)

(Note in passing that the saint’s full title was used in the Irish name of the townland Baptistgrange / Gráinseach Eoin Baiste ‘the grange of John the Baptist’ (logainm.ie #47624) in Co. Tipperary: ‘grainseach Eóin Baiste’ (1840), another placename of probable Anglo-Norman origin.)

The proliferation of Anglo-Norman dedications does not necessarily mean that Saint John the Baptist was neglected by the Irish prior to the invasion. We have some good onomastic evidence to the contrary. Although omitted from the 17th-century martyrology mentioned above, we should note that Eoin (Saint John the Baptist) is mentioned in the earlier Irish calendars: ‘Ríg-gein Iohain baptaist…’ in The Martryology of Oengus the Culdee/Félire Óengusso Céili Dé [24th July, recte June]. (As mentioned before, Irish Eoin is a borrowing from Biblical Latin Joannes, in contrast to the later borrowings Seon and Seán from the Anglo-Normans, through English John and Norman French Jehan, respectively.) But of course a mere mention in the early calendar is not in itself evidence of an Irish cult of Saint John, as many other non-Irish saints who were never venerated in Ireland are included in the same source. Stronger evidence is found in the form of the surname Ó Maoileoin ‘descendant of the follower of St. John’ (now generally anglicized Malone). The significance is that the prefix Ó (Mid.Ir. Úa) ‘descendant of’ (originally meaning ‘grandson of’) was not productive in Irish surnames after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans. (Native surnames coined after the invasion use the prefix mac ‘descendant of’, originally ‘son of’, or no prefix at all, e.g. Mac Seáin [anglic. McShane], Caomhánach [anglic. Cavanagh/Kavanagh].) Therefore, the existence of the surname Ó Maoileoin ‘descendant of the follower of Saint John’ points to veneration of John the Baptist in Gaelic society before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans. The underlying personal name is of course Maoileoin [Mid.Ir. Mael Eóin] (cf. eDIL s.v. 3 Mael (c); cf. ‘Maoileoin, epscop acus angcoiri’ [Maoileoin, bishop and anchorite] in the Martyrology of Donegal (20th October)).

Woulfe also notes ‘a distinguished family of ecclesiastics of Clonmacnoise, of which several O’Malones were abbots and bishops’ (SGG s.v. Ó Maoileóin). Members of the Ó Maoileoin family also crop up as clerics in other places: they were undoubtedly active in the dioceses of Clonfert / Cluain Fearta, Killaloe / Cill Dálua and Tuam / Tuaim, with other possible examples (see Calendar of Papal Registers, passim). Some of these references mention papal dispensations given to the offspring of unions between a priest and an unmarried woman. As mentioned in previous notes, the frequency with which these types of dispensations were issued in Ireland implies that the office of priesthood within the Gaelic Church was regularly passed from father to son. This led to the creation of ‘clerical families’ which persisted in Ireland long after celibacy had become official policy in the rest of the Church. This tradition seems to have survived into the late medieval and early modern period, only coming to an end with the destruction of Gaelic society in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Take for instance a papal letter dated January 1412, concerning the promotion of a clerk, Donald Omulluyn [Dónall Ó Maoileoin] of the diocese of Killaloe, ‘to all, even holy orders and hold a benefice … of Castro Conayng’ [Castleconnell / Caisleán Uí Chonaill (logainm.ie #31374)]. This Donald / Dónall had only lately received papal dispensation as the son of a priest and an unmarried woman (Calendar of Papal Registers VI, pp.254–270). Another such dispensation was given to John Omuleoyn [Seán/Eoin(?) Ó Maoileoin], a priest of the diocese of Tuam, before he received a promotion to the rectory of ‘Magcarnan’ [Moycarn / Maigh Charnáin (logainm.ie #217)] in 1422 (Calendar of Papal Registers VII pp.228–229). The vacancy had arisen upon the death of one Maurianus Omuleoyn, and it is not impossible that this was John’s own father! (The Latinate form Maurianus/Marianus, which was popular enough among Irish clerics in the late medieval period, probably represents Irish Maolmhuire [Mid.Ir. Mael Muire] ‘follower of the Virgin Mary’ in this case. Note that it was also used to refer to Mairín Ó Briain (†1236), archbishop of Cashel (AIF anno 1238), whose Irish (religous) name is a direct diminutive of Muire [earlier Maire] ‘the Virgin Mary’.)

As we have mentioned in earlier notes, recent research has shown – somewhat counterintuitively – that native Irish surnames are not very common in Irish townland names. Those surnames that do occur generally refer to families with a professional pedigree – clerical, legal, literary, etc. – who received better terms of tenure than other Gaelic families. (See C. Ó Crualaoich, ‘Townland and Defunct Placenames in Sligo: Evidence for Surnames in the Historical Forms of Townland and other Placenames’ (Part I)’, in Sligo Field Club Journal, 3 (2017); (Part II), in Sligo Field Club Journal, 4 (2019).) Therefore it should come as no surprise that a surname with the ecclesiastical pedigree of Ó Maoileoin should be found in the townland names Ballyvelone in Co. Cork and Ballymalone in Co. Clare, both of which derive from Baile Uí Mhaoileoin ‘the town(land) of Ó Maoileoin’. It is likely that the families involved were granted those lands on the basis of their professional status.

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

Date: 09/06/2025

The famous mythological hero Cú Chulainn we mentioned last week is not directly mentioned in the name of any townland in Ireland. However, he is commemorated in many non-administrative placenames. (We usually call these non-administrative placenames minor names even though they can include massive geographical features!)

The first of these minor placenames is the well-known headland in southwest Co. Clare known in English as Loop Head (logainm.ie #104201). The Irish name Ceann Léime “headland of (the) leap” (in reference to a chasm on the coastline) could still be heard from local native speakers well into the 20th century. However, the headland was also well known by the longer name, Léim Chon Culainn “the leap of Cú Chulainn”. One of the earliest attestations in Irish sources is found in the 11th-century Cert Ríg Caisil (‘The Right of the King of Caiseal / Cashel’), which describes the historic district of Corca Bhaiscinn as extending from Léim Chon Culainn to Clarecastle (#1412543) (‘ó tá Lém Chon Culainn co Clár Átha Dá Chara’). It is interesting to note, then, that even the earliest surviving anglicized sources reflect the name Ceann Léime, for example ‘Can Leame’ on Boazio’s map Irlandiæ accvrata descriptio first published in 1599. Curiously, although the modern English name derives from a translation of this Irish form, it is not *Leap Head as we might anticipate, but rather Loop Head. (We will have to leave discussion of this unexpected English form for another day, though it may not be unconnected with the topic of the remainder of this note.)

Cú Chulainn also features in the names of much smaller features, e.g. the two separate cairns just outside the modern Gaeltacht in Corca Dhuibhne, Co. Kerry, both called Cuchullin’s House / Tigh Chú Chulainn (logainm.ie #101129; #1414794), in which the genitive form Chú Chulainn (hypercorrected to ‘…Conchulain’ by John O’Donovan in the Ordnance Survey Namebooks) implies a much later origin than Léim Chon Culainn. He is also commemorated in a number of names found in early Irish literature, some of which were imaginary and all of which are now defunct. We are told that in Binn Éadair / Howth, Co. Dublin, there was a place called Bern Chon Culaind [Bearn Chon Culainn] “the gap of Cú Chulainn”. In Teamhair / Tara, Co. Meath, there were said to be places called Córus Cind Chonchulainn [Córas Cinn Chon Culainn] “the measure of the head of Cú Chulainn”, Láthrach Scéith Con Chulainn [Láithreach Scéith Chon Culainn] “the site of the shield of Cú Chulainn” and Méide Con Chulainn [Méidhe Chon Culainn] “the (decapitated) neck of Cú Chulainn”! (These places in Tara were right beside Ráth Chonchúir Mhic Neasa, named after the king of Ulster whose service Cú Chulainn joined as a youth, as mentioned in a previous note.) In Cú Chulainn’s old stomping-ground of Co. Louth we are told of Echlasc Ech Con Chulainn [Eachlasc Each Con Culainn] “the horse-shelters of Cú Chulainn” near Dún Dealgan / Dundalk and Grellach Con Chulainn [Greallach Chon Culainn] “the miry place of Cú Chulainn” near Baile Átha Fhirdhia / Ardee. (Ardee has its own tragic connections to Cú Chulainn, of course!) (For these and other references to placenames in Irish literature, see DIAS E-Onomasticon – Donnchadh Ó Corráin’s annotated version of Edmund Hogan’s Onomasticon Goedelicum (1910) – and the essential modern series Foclóir Stairiúil Áitainmneacha na Gaeilge / Historical Dictionary of Gaelic Placenames.).

Returning to Ceann Léime “(the) headland of (the) leap”, we find the same placename repeated at a second location further up the west coast in Co. Galway. This example also has a very unexpected English form, namely Slyne Head (logainm.ie #1165703). Again, we find the reasonably accurate anglicized spelling ‘Can Leame’ both on Boazio’s map (see above) and on another roughly contemporary John Speed’s The Province of Connaught with the City of Galway described (c 1610). One of the earliest Irish attestations is ‘Ceann leime’ (1684) in A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught written A.D. 1684 by Roderic O’Flaherty (Ruairí Ó Flaithbheartaigh). It is unclear whether the modern English name Slyne Head is a half-translation of Ceann Léime as *Lem Head, with an intrusive S- giving *Slemhead – note that O’Flaherty gives the English forms ‘Slimhead’ and ‘Slimehead’ (1684) – or whether it is an unconnected name of English origin.

Similarly to Ceann Léime in Co. Clare (formerly called Léim Chon Culainn), this Ceann Léime in Co. Galway was earlier known as Léim Lára “mare’s leap” (see Éamonn Ó Tuathail, ‘Léim Lára’, Éigse VI, pp.155-156; A. B. Taylor, ‘Léim Lára – Ceann Léime’, Éigse IX, pp.30-31). It is remarkable to note that this headland was of such significance to mariners that it appears to be recorded in the Landnámabók – the medieval account of the Viking settlement of Iceland – as Jǫlduhlaup “mare’s leap”. As the first element jalda “mare” seems confined to poetic language, unlike the more common word merr “mare” (see Icelandic English Dictionary, (1962, reprint, Oxford)), Jǫlduhlaup “mare’s leap” appears to have been a carefully made translation. Whatever the case, it is clear that the Old Norse translator of the name had an understanding of Irish.

Of course, this is not the only example of speakers of Old Norse interacting with the Irish placenames they encountered here. The modern English name of Dalkey (logainm.ie #17503) in Co. Dublin is derived from what might be described as an Old Norse calque of the original Irish name Deilginis “thorn-island” in which the Middle Irish elements delg + inis have been replaced by Old Norse dálk + øy. The English name of Ireland’s Eye / Inis Mac Neasáin “the island of the sons of Neasán” (logainm.ie #17542) is from a Norse version of an alternative Irish name for that island, namely Inis Éireann “the island of Éire”, from the female personal name Éire, gen. Éireann (Mid.Ir. Ériu, gen. Érenn). This was incorrectly translated as if it contained a reference to the country-name Éire (see DIAS e-onomasticon s.n. inis érenn). Further examples can be found in Dónall Mac Giolla Easpaig, ‘L’influence Scandinave sur la Toponymie Irlandaise’, in É. Ridel (ed.), L’Héritage Maritime des Vikings en Europe de l’Ouest (Caen, 2002) pp. 441‒82.

These placenames showing Old Norse interaction with Irish placenames are of particular significance in terms of the linguistic history of Ireland, as they provide evidence for a familiarity of the Irish language among the early Vikings. Indeed, given our knowledge of significant Viking settlement in Ireland, it is remarkable that there are so few placenames of unambiguous Norse origin in the country (see Mac Giolla Easpaig, ibid.). It is also striking that with very few exceptions, Old Norse coinages were not adopted by the Irish: for example, the introduction of the new name Veðrafjǫrðr (now Eng. Waterford) had no impact whatsoever on the name Irish-speakers used, which is still to this day Port Láirge. Note that this is in very stark contrast to the situation in the Western Isles of Scotland, where there are countless examples of Norse placenames in gaelicized form.

Furthermore, while Scandinavian placenames in Ireland survive almost exclusively in the English-language stratum, this need not necessarily imply that the names were transmitted directly from Old Norse-speakers to the Anglo-Normans upon their arrival. While there were some vestiges of Norse/Irish bilingualism in Dublin into the 12th century (see Ó Corráin, ‘Old Norse and medieval Irish: bilingualism in Viking-age Dublin’, Dublin and the medieval world (2009), building on the research of Bugge, Nordisk sprog og nordisk nationalitet i Irland (1905)), the weight of the evidence points to widespread gaelicization. (In the earliest records of the Anglo-Normans the vast majority of surnames of Scandinavian origin appear as reflexes of the Irish forms – i.e., Macthorkel rather than Thorkelsson – and many gaelicized forms of Old Norse personal names feature in contemporary placenames of Irish-language origin.) In this context it is salient to note that the only Old Norse placenames the Anglo-Normans themselves adopted were the names of headlands, inlets and islands that would already have been familiar to generations of seafarers through what Ó Corráin called ‘the lingua franca of Ostman sailors and merchants’.

The dearth of Old Norse placenames in Ireland may point to the very early adoption of Irish as the vernacular among Scandinavian settlers in Ireland. But it might also point in the other direction: it could suggest that a significant number of the Vikings arriving in Ireland via Scotland – not only the specific group mentioned in the historical sources as the Gall-Goídil (Mod.Ir. Gall-Ghaeil) “foreign Irish” – already had a knowledge of the Irish language, possibly due to kinship ties with the Gaelic population of that country. Reliable historical evidence from the annals is very scanty, and the analysis of the toponymic evidence is very tricky. We will return to this topic next week.

[Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill]

Featured themes

Truth can be a matter of perspective (Part II)
Arrybreaga / Airí Bhréige
‘(the) false (summer) milking-place’
(logainm.ie #32471)

Truth can be a matter of perspective (Part I)
Farbreaga / An Fear Bréige
‘the false man’
(logainm.ie #55861)

Nicknames in Gaelic Irish Society:
Ugly, greedy, faulty, lame, snub-nosed, gloomy, tipsy… (Part II).
Gorteenayanka / Goirtín an Gheancaigh
‘the (little) field of the snub-nosed, rude person’
20188

Nicknames in Gaelic Irish Society: Ugly, greedy, faulty, lame, snub-nosed…(Part I)
Ballymacahara / Baile Mhic Aodha Charraigh
‘the town(land) of the son of scabby, rough-skinned, mangy Aodh’

Cold water and wells: tiobra, tiobraid, uarán, fuarán, órán
Oran/Órán ‘spring, fountain’
(see logainm.ie #2114)

Fresh water and wells
Tobar na nGealt ‘the well of the mad people’
(see logainm.ie #1414570)

Confusion reigns! (Part II)
The strange derivation of English Johnstown from Baile Eoin, Baile Sheáin, Baile Sheoin, Baile Sheonac, Baile Sheonóid and Baile an tSeánaigh!

A confusion of Johns (Part I)
Eng. Johnstown from Ir. Baile Eoin, Baile Sheáin, Baile Sheoin, Baile Sheonac, Baile Sheonóid or Baile an tSeánaigh!
(see logainm.ie)

John the Baptist, Saint John’s Eve and the surname Malone (Ó Maoileoin)
Saint John’s / Teampall Eoin ‘the church of John the Baptist’
(see logainm.ie #2147)

Loop Head / Ceann Léime “headland of (the) leap”
(see logainm.ie #104201)

Featured themes

Truth can be a matter of perspective (Part II) Arrybreaga / Airí Bhréige ‘(the) false (summer) milking-place’ (logainm.ie #32471)

Truth can be a matter of perspective (Part I) Farbreaga / An Fear Bréige ‘the false man’ (logainm.ie #55861)

Nicknames in Gaelic Irish Society: Ugly, greedy, faulty, lame, snub-nosed, gloomy, tipsy… (Part II). Gorteenayanka / Goirtín an Gheancaigh ‘the (little) field of the snub-nosed, rude person’ 20188

Nicknames in Gaelic Irish Society: Ugly, greedy, faulty, lame, snub-nosed…(Part I) Ballymacahara / Baile Mhic Aodha Charraigh ‘the town(land) of the son of scabby, rough-skinned, mangy Aodh’

Cold water and wells: tiobra, tiobraid, uarán, fuarán, órán Oran/Órán ‘spring, fountain’ (see logainm.ie #2114)

Fresh water and wells Tobar na nGealt ‘the well of the mad people’ (see logainm.ie #1414570)

Confusion reigns! (Part II) The strange derivation of English Johnstown from Baile Eoin, Baile Sheáin, Baile Sheoin, Baile Sheonac, Baile Sheonóid and Baile an tSeánaigh!

A confusion of Johns (Part I) Eng. Johnstown from Ir. Baile Eoin, Baile Sheáin, Baile Sheoin, Baile Sheonac, Baile Sheonóid or Baile an tSeánaigh! (see logainm.ie)

John the Baptist, Saint John’s Eve and the surname Malone (Ó Maoileoin) Saint John’s / Teampall Eoin ‘the church of John the Baptist’ (see logainm.ie #2147)

Loop Head / Ceann Léime “headland of (the) leap” (see logainm.ie #104201)

Truth can be a matter of perspective (Part II)
Arrybreaga / Airí Bhréige
‘(the) false (summer) milking-place’
(logainm.ie #32471)

Truth can be a matter of perspective (Part I)
Farbreaga / An Fear Bréige
‘the false man’
(logainm.ie #55861)

Nicknames in Gaelic Irish Society:
Ugly, greedy, faulty, lame, snub-nosed, gloomy, tipsy… (Part II).
Gorteenayanka / Goirtín an Gheancaigh
‘the (little) field of the snub-nosed, rude person’
20188

Nicknames in Gaelic Irish Society: Ugly, greedy, faulty, lame, snub-nosed…(Part I)
Ballymacahara / Baile Mhic Aodha Charraigh
‘the town(land) of the son of scabby, rough-skinned, mangy Aodh’

Cold water and wells: tiobra, tiobraid, uarán, fuarán, órán
Oran/Órán ‘spring, fountain’
(see logainm.ie #2114)

Fresh water and wells
Tobar na nGealt ‘the well of the mad people’
(see logainm.ie #1414570)

Confusion reigns! (Part II)
The strange derivation of English Johnstown from Baile Eoin, Baile Sheáin, Baile Sheoin, Baile Sheonac, Baile Sheonóid and Baile an tSeánaigh!

A confusion of Johns (Part I)
Eng. Johnstown from Ir. Baile Eoin, Baile Sheáin, Baile Sheoin, Baile Sheonac, Baile Sheonóid or Baile an tSeánaigh!
(see logainm.ie)

John the Baptist, Saint John’s Eve and the surname Malone (Ó Maoileoin)
Saint John’s / Teampall Eoin ‘the church of John the Baptist’
(see logainm.ie #2147)

Loop Head / Ceann Léime “headland of (the) leap”
(see logainm.ie #104201)