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Date: 22/04/2024

Unlike the word for the native Irish festival of spring, Iombolg (< Old Irish Imbolc), which was completely superseded by Lá Fhéile Bhríde “the feast day of Saint Brigit” during the early Christian period, the Irish word for the festival of Summer, Bealtaine (< OIr. Beltaine) remains in common use right up until the present day, generally in reference to the whole month of May (see eDIL s.v. Bel(l)taine). It also survives in a handful of townland names including Lisbalting/Lios Bealtaine “the ring-fort of May” (#48350) in Tipperary, Beltany/An Bhealtaine in Donegal (#16481) and Tyrone (#63248), Beltany Mountain/Sliabh na Bealtaine (#14425) in Donegal and Tamnaghvelton/Tamhnaigh Bhealtaine “the grassy upland of May” (#1417840) in Armagh, the townland in which the mill-town of Laurelvale (#136051) was established in the nineteenth century. A more unusual placename containing an indirect reference to Bealtaine “May” is Baile Maoilbhealtaine “the town(land) of Maoilbhealtaine” (#12121) in Cork. Maoilbhealtaine is an exceedingly rare personal name modelled on the type seen in Maolphádraig “servant of Pádraig” < maol + Pádraig/Saint Patrick (eDIL s.v. 3 Máel). This once-common manner of forming personal names, discussed in an earlier note, seems to have largely died out by the late medieval period. This structure typically involved maol + a saint’s name, but by-names or nicknames were also formed on the same model, as in Maolanfa “servant of (the) storm” < anfa “storm”, from which we get the surname Ó Maolanfa (var. Ó Maolanfaidh)/Melamfy. The personal name Maoilbhealtaine “servant of Bealtaine/May” doubtless belongs to this category. Baile Maoilbhealtaine was anglicized as Maytown, which, of course, is only partially accurate — the fact that it contains an old Gaelic personal name has been lost in the translation. There are two other townlands named Maytown in Ireland, one in Wexford and one in Armagh. However, neither appear to have any connection with the month of May or the festival of Bealtaine. In Wexford, Maytown (#54165) is possibly an English placename consisting of mead “meadow” and town, while the etymology of Maytown in Armagh is even more opaque (see the discussion note and historical evidence at PlacenamesNI.org). For a full discussion of Bealtaine see Kay Muhr, ‘Bealtaine in Irish and Scottish Place-names’, The Journal of Scottish Name Studies 10.

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Baile Maoilbhealtaine/Maytown
• Sliabh na Bealtaine/Beltany Mountain
• An Bhealtaine/Beltany
• Lios Bealtaine/Lisbalting
• Baile Méad/Maytown
• An Bhealtaine/Beltany
• Tamhnaigh Bhealtaine/Laurelvale
• Tamhnaigh Bhealtaine/Tamnaghvelton

Date: 15/04/2024

As we are now well into calving season in the countryside it is interesting to note some of the numerous townland names that refer to the two common words signifying calf in Irish, gamhain and lao. Although placenames referring to calves form only a small portion of the huge overall number of townland names which refer to cows (a proliferation which derives from the central importance of cattle husbandry in Gaelic Irish society) they are nonetheless far too numerous to list in full here. Examples include Ballinalea/Buaile na Lao “the boley, cattle-fold of the calves” (#55476) in Wicklow; Móin na Lao/Móin na Lao “the bog(land) of the calves” (#53313) in Wexford; Cornalee/Corr na Lao “the round hill of the calves” (#42521) in Roscommon; Gortnalee/Gort na Lao in Laois (#28695) and Fermanagh (#60537); Lios na Lao “the ringfort of the calves”, which is the forerunner to Lisnalea in Cavan and Kilkenny as well as Lisnalee in Monaghan (see logainm.ie); Cluain Lao “pasture of (the) calves”, which is the forerunner to Clonlea in Clare, Clonleigh in Donegal, Cloonlee in Galway, Roscommon and Mayo, Clonlee in Offaly, Clonalea in Tipperary (see logainm.ie); Drumalee/Droim an Lao “the ridge of the calf” (#4602) in Cavan. Killaloo in Derry is from Coill an Lao “the wood of the calf” (#58830), a placename that makes clear that the existence of woodland and cattle husbandry need not be mutually exclusive, as is often the case with more intensive modern farming methods. (Note that all of the placenames referring to calves in the plural use the genitive form …na lao “of the calves” rather than the modern ‘strong plural’ ending …na laonna “of the calves” [see eDIL s.v. lóeg]; we know of no townland name, excluding modern translations such as Deerpark/Páirc na bhFianna, whose Irish form contains a strong genitive plural ending in -anna.) The particularly deceiving spelling of Culdaly in Sligo at first sight seems to point to the surname Ó Dálaigh/Daly, but in fact this townland name is pronounced with the stress on the last syllable. It is an anglicization of Coill Dá Lao “wood of (the) two calves” (#45533), another placename that reflects the practice of cattle-grazing in wooded areas. Remarkably, a 1930 recording of one of the last native Irish speakers from the Culdaly area features a song praising the wonders of this very townland (archived online at the Doegen Records Web Project under the title ‘Coill Dá Laogh’). Of note in the context of the current article is the laudatory line ‘Tá caoirigh bhána ann is díol eallaigh…’ (“There are white sheep there and plenty cattle…”).

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Droim an Lao/Drumalee
• Gort na Lao/Gortnalee
• Corr na Lao/Cornalee
• Coill Dá Lao/Culdaly
• Móin na Lao/Monalee
• Buaile na Lao/Ballinalea
• Coill an Lao/Killaloo
• Gort na Lao/Gortnalee

Date: 08/04/2024

The nature of Ireland’s colonial past, as well as the more recent language shift from Irish to English, meant that Irish placenames — when not translated or replaced with new names — have long been shoehorned into the unsuitable phonetic system of the dominant administrative language. This has left us with many anglicized townland names which on face value might represent one of a number of possible Irish precursors. For instance, a modern spelling such as Ballinahorna could easily derive from Baile na hEorna “the town(land) of the barley”, Buaile na hEorna “the boley, cattle-fold of the barley” or even Bealach na hEorna “the pass of the barley”. Such variation in potential Irish forerunners means that the historical evidence for every townland name must be thoroughly researched by An Brainse Logainmneacha/Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, before being analysed by An Coiste Logainmneacha/Placenames Committee who advise the Minister for the Gaeltacht on establishing the Irish version of each placename under Part 5 of the Official Languages Act 2003. Of the various possible methods of anglicization to contend with, by far the most common is the direct transposition into English by phonetic approximation: to use one of the examples above, Buaile na hEorna “the boley, cattle-fold of the barley” (#52773) in Wexford became Ballinahorna. In this type of anglicization, elements of the original Irish placename can sometimes remain quite apparent (such as -nahorna < Ir. na heorna), but can often be rendered less recognizable due to various types of linguistic corruption. These can include regular phonetic developments of the name through long years of use by English speakers, including confusion with more common elements (such Balli- representing Ir.* buaile* “boley, cattle-fold” where it more usually represents Ir. baile “town(land)”), as well as the unavoidable loss of fidelity in consonant quality, etc., caused by the initial anglicization itself. In a small proportion of cases the anglicized Irish name itself went on to be completely discarded and replaced by an entirely new English name, such as Ramstown outside Gorey in Wexford, which superseded Tomready, an anglicization of Tom Roide “hillock of (the) bog-mire” (#53045), in the early eighteenth century. Another large category is that of translated placenames, such as Streamstown/Baile an tSrutháin “the town(land) of the stream” (#44671) in Sligo. There are many interesting sub-categories of translation which will be highlighted in future notes. One such consists of names in which certain words have been tweaked in translation, apparently due to prudishness. In Galway we have the mountain called Devilsmother, whose original Irish name was Magairlí an Deamhain “the devil’s testicles” (#1166434); in Kerry Magairlí Muice “testicles of (the) pig” (#1394803) was translated as Pigs Rocks. (It should be pointed out that the same thing happened in Scotland, too: Bod an Deamhain “the devil’s penis”, the name of a peak in the Cairngorms/Am Monadh Ruadh, was made Devil’s Point in English.) And Cnoc an Chaca (#31782) in Limerick — literally “the hill of excrement” but closer in meaning to “the worthless hill” — was rendered as Sugarhill. This tendency towards euphemism was not only confined to English translations, although examples from Irish are very difficult to identify with certainty. In Sligo we find that Log an Chaca “the hollow of excrement (i.e., the worthless hollow)” (#45107) morphed into Log an Chatha “the hollow of the battle” in Irish itself. In that case it seems that a battle was thought preferable to excrement — one supposes it’s all a matter of timing! (Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Cnoc an Chaca/Sugarhill
• Baile an tSrutháin/Ballintrofaun
• Log an Chatha/Lugacaha
• Buaile na hEorna/Ballinahorna
• Tom Roide Íochtarach/Ramstown Lower
• Magairlí an Deamhain/Devilsmother
• Magairlí Muice/Pigs Rocks

Date: 01/04/2024

Although the origin of the custom of making fools out of people on 1st April is unclear, it would appear that Ireland, like everywhere else, has always had its share of individuals who have managed to earn that name for themselves — so much so that amadán, one of the many Irish words for “fool” (see eDIL s.v. ammatán), even features in Irish townland names. We have Ardamadane/Ard Amadán “height of (the) fools” (#9258) in Cork, Lisomadaun/Lios Amadáin “ringfort of (the) fool” (#30066) in Leitrim, and Tiromedan/Tír Amadán “land of (the) fools” (#41133) in Monaghan. The word is also found in a number of minor names (names below the level of the adminstrative townland) such as Asnanomedan/Eas an Amadáin “the waterfall of the fool” (#1395279) and Altanamadan Stream/Sruthán Allt an Amadáin “the stream of the cliff of the fool” (#1395230) in Donegal, and a couple of interesting translations such as Beggarman’s Lough/Loch an Amadáin “the lake of the fool” (#1397495) in Galway and — one for the music lovers — Giants Steps/Steipeanna an Amadáin Mhóir “the steps of the big fool” (#1394447) in Kerry. It is safe to say that none of these are likely to be chosen as the names of new housing developments in the near future. Amadán was almost exclusively used in the sense “foolish man”, but in the interests of balance it is important to note that not all fools in Gaelic Ireland were male. The Irish language also has a word usually only used in the sense of a “foolish woman”, namely óinseach (see eDIL s.v. óinsech). Although this word does not occur in any townland name, it does not necessarily follow that there were fewer foolish women than men in Gaelic Ireland. Examples survive from minor names, such as Carrignanonshagh/Carraig na nÓinseach “the rock of the foolish women” (#49787) in Waterford and Lackannoanshagh/Leac na nÓinseach “the flagstone of the foolish women” (#1398247) in Galway. While it is not certain that the name of the Kerry river Owenshagh/An Óinseach (#116521) was originally intended to be identical to this word, it was certainly interpreted as such by later native speakers. (Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Ard Amadáin/Ardamadane
• Lios Amadáin/Lisomadaun
• Tír Amadán/Tiromedan
• Carraig na nÓinseach/Carrignanonshagh
• An Óinseach/Owenshagh
• Steipeanna an Amadáin Mhóir/Giants Steps
• Sruthán Allt an Amadáin/Altanamadan Stream
• Eas an Amadáin/Asnanomedan
• Loch an Amadáin/Beggarman's Lough
• Leac na nÓinseach/Lackannoanshagh

Date: 25/03/2024

While only one known example of An Nollaig “Christmas” occurs among townland names, namely Boleynanollag/Buaile na Nollag “the boley, cattle-fold of Christmas” (#21027) in Galway, the feast of An Cháisc “Easter” occurs far more frequently. On a similar theme to Boleynanollag/Buaile na Nollag we find Boolanacausk/Buaile na Cásca “the boley, cattle-fold of Easter” (#7433) in Clare; and another Buaile na Cásca was loosely translated Easterfield (#20989) in Galway. These names most likely referred to an area of land that regularly became available for grazing each year around Easter. It is notable, however, that most of the other townland names referring to An Cháisc “Easter” specifically refer to elevated ground, as in Knocknacaska/Cnoc na Cásca “the hill of Easter” (#24263) in Kerry; Cornacask/Corr na Cásca “the round hill of Easter” (#20472) in Galway (also half-translated as Easterfield); Drumcask/Droim Cásca “the ridge of Easter” (#4026) in Cavan; and Mullanacask/Mullach na Cásca “the summit of Easter” (#40582) in Monaghan. These names probably derive from the native Irish custom of holding assemblies on hills. Indeed, this is hinted at in the explanation of Cnoc na Cásca “the hill of Easter” in Kerry which John O’Donovan wrote in the Parish Namebook of the Ordnance Survey: ‘hill of Easter (meetings here)’. In Monaghan he noted ‘some ceremonies here Easter Sunday’ in the case of Mullanacask/Mullach na Cásca “the summit of Easter”. How Kilnacask/Coill na Cásca “the wood of Easter” (#48861) in Tipperary might have received its name is, however, less certain. (Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Droim Cásca/Drumcask
• Buaile na Cásca/Boolanacausk
• Corr na Cásca/Easterfield or Cornacask
• Buaile na Cásca/Easterfield
• Buaile na Nollag/Boleynanollag
• Cnoc na Cásca/Knocknacaska
• Mullach na Cásca/Mullanacask
• Coill na Cásca Íochtarach/Kilnacask Lower

Date: 18/03/2024

Owing to the early date of Easter, Palm Sunday occurs this year at the end of the third week of March, on Sunday 24th. The present writer is reminded of correspondence received many years ago concerning a place called Palmfield near Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. After much fruitless searching, it came to light that the name — which featured on no Ordnance Survey map — was in fact a late nineteenth-century local translation of Gort na nIúr “the field of the yew-trees”, from which the townland name of Gortanure (#43296) on the Roscommon–Mayo border is derived. It had literally almost been ‘lost in translation’. At first glance, Palmfield might seem an odd way of rendering Gort na nIúr into English. However, the word iúr “yew” has long been equated with “palm” in a religious context in Irish, playing the role of a familiar local substitute for the Biblical tree in phrases such as Domhnach an Iúir “Sunday of the yew”, an Irish term for Palm Sunday. Once this is known, translation of Gort na Iúr “the field of the yew-trees” as Palmfield is perfectly understandable and, indeed, reasonable. There are well over 100 townland names containing iúr “yew-tree” or a derivative thereof, reflecting the erstwhile abundance of that particular tree in Ireland. Moreover, it is particularly notable that we have a number of townland names such as Killinure/Coill an Iúir which as well as meaning “the wood of the (one particular, remarkable) yew-tree” can also mean “the wood of yew, i.e. yew-wood” in Laois, Longford, Wexford and Westmeath (see logainm.ie), a type of woodland which is now exceedingly rare in Ireland. The Irish word eo also meant “yew”; see for example Mayo/Maigh Eo “plain of (the) yew-tree” (#1820). This element also features in the commonly occurring placename Eochaill “yew-wood”, the forerunner of Oghil in Galway (#18690), Kildare (#25212), Longford (#33239), Sligo (#44916), Wicklow (#55449); Oghill in Leitrim (#30069), Monaghan (#39569); Foughill in Armagh (#56808) (with prosthetic f-, similar to Ulster foscail for oscail “open”); the extremely well-known Youghal (#13715) in Cork and a less well-known Youghal (#46368) in Tipperary. It was also the original Irish name of Moynehall (#5281) in Cavan. These names are also likely to have originally referred to forests of yew-trees. In that regard, it is worth noting that Eochaill, as a close compound of noun+noun (< eo “yew” + coill “wood”), is typically a placename of very early provenance, as that structure was not generally productive after the ninth century. It is to be hoped that in the future, comprehensive pollen analysis may be able to indicate likely time periods for the coining of these and other placenames containing references to tree species. In view of the evidence for such forests of yew in Ireland in the past, perhaps it is time to lend the iúr/eo “yew” a helping hand in re-establishing itself as a common tree in the Irish landscape. (Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Maigh Eo/Mayo
• Eochaill/Moynehall
• Eochaill/Youghal
• Eochaill/Oghil
• Eochaill/Oghil
• Eochaill/Oghill
• Eochaill/Oghil
• Eochaill/Oghill
• Gort na nIúr/Gortanure
• Eochaill/Oghil
• Eochaill/Youghal
• Eochaill Uachtarach/Oghil Upper
• Feochaill Íochtarach/Foughill Etra

Date: 11/03/2024

As we approach 17th March and the Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, it may be timely to remind ourselves that the frequent use of Patrick, or its Irish form Pádraig, as a personal name in Ireland is a relatively recent phenomenon. It has already been noted in an earlier discussion of Bríd/Saint Brigit that saints’ names by themselves were generally avoided as personal names among those of Gaelic descent in medieval Ireland. The fashion was to add either maol “devotee, servant (lit. tonsure)” or giolla “servant” to the saint’s name to denote devotion, as in Maolbhríde and Giolla Bhríde, Maolphádraig and Giolla Phádraig, etc. Thus we find placenames containing personal names of this structure, such as the following two examples from Sligo: Rathmulpatrick/Ráth Mhaolphádraig “the ring-fort of Maolphádraig” (#45291) and Carrowgilpatrick/Ceathrú Mhic Giolla Phádraig “quarter of the son of Giolla Phádraig” (#44954) — of course Mac Giolla Phádraig does occur a surname, but this would be unlikely in a Sligo context. On the other hand, where we have placenames of a clearly ecclesiastical nature, such as the relatively common Kilbride/Cill Bhríde “the church of Bríd/Saint Brigit”, Kilpatrick/Cill Phádraig “the church of Pádraig/Saint Patrick” and Toberpatrick/Tobar Pádraig “the well of Pádraig/Saint Patrick”, we can be quite certain that the qualifying personal name refers to none other than the saint. However, when it comes to Patrick and its Irish version Pádraig, things are not quite as straightforward. Long after the arrival of the patron saint in the fifth century, the name Patrick was re-introduced into Ireland as a secular personal name by the Anglo-Normans. Although it would not take hold among the Gaelic Irish, it remained popular among those of Anglo-Norman descent. Within a few generations the vast majority of the colony had been thoroughly gaelicized, and Patrick became Pádraig. Thus where we find the personal name Pádraig in placenames which are not of an ecclesiastical nature, it can reasonably be presumed that the eponym (the person from whom the placename is derived) came from gaelicized Anglo-Norman stock. It should be no surprise that all of the following examples are located in areas heavily colonized by the Anglo-Normans and then subsequently re-gaelicized: Ballypatrick/Baile Phádraig “the town(land) of Pádraig/Patrick” in Kilkenny (#26454) and Tipperary (three examples); Boolypatrick in Cork (#9263) and Belpatrick in Louth (#33531) which both derive from Buaile Phádraig “the boley, cattle-fold of Pádraig/Patrick”; Careysville/Baile Mhic Phádraig “the town(land) of the son of Pádraig/Patrick” (#10073) and Downmacpatrick/Dún Mhic Phádraig “the fort of the son of Pádraig/Patrick” (#10908) in Cork. Somewhat counterintuitively, therefore, such an apparently simple Irish placename as Ballypatrick/Baile Phádraig “the town(land) of Pádraig/Patrick” not only indicates probable Anglo-Norman settlement in the first instance, but also the subsequent re-gaelicization of the area in question. (Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Buaile Phádraig/Boolypatrick
• Baile Mhic Phádraig/Careysville
• Dún Mhic Phádraig/Downmacpatrick or Oldhead
• Baile Phádraig/Ballypatrick
• Buaile Phádraig/Belpatrick
• Ceathrú Mhic Giolla Phádraig/Carrowgilpatrick
• Ráth Mhaolphádraig/Rathmulpatrick

Date: 04/03/2024

A recurring feature of Irish placenames is the use of terms for parts of the human body in reference to features of a similar shape in in the landscape. Thus we have many examples of Claggan/An Cloigeann “the head, skull” as the names of headlands; Eden/An tÉadan “the forehead” in reference to cliffs or other precipices; Stroove/An tSrúibh (variant of srubh) “the snout” in reference to protruding features; and Aught/An tUcht “chest; breast; bosom” in reference to features similar in shape to a breast or bosom. Indeed, one particularly striking example of the last-mentioned is found at Ballyhought/Baile Uchta “town(land) of, at (the) breast(-like hill)” between Ballycanew and Wexford Town, where the name most likely refers to the distinct shape of the two small hills just over the townland boundary in the neighbouring Mahanagh (#52301). These hills are visible to the east just after the Unyoke Inn when travelling southwards on the R741 (see Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV; Townland Names of Co. Wexford, p. 343), and the perceived similarity to a female bosom really couldn’t be much more obvious when viewed from the road in question. In truth there are too many examples among the townland names of Ireland of the use of terms referring to parts of the human body to outline here. (Art Ó Maolfabhail, former Chief Placenames Officer, discussed this topic in two articles in the journal Ainm 1 (1986), 2 (1987).) One of the more common and familiar examples would be the figurative use of béal “mouth” to describe an opening or approach, as seen in so many names in combination with áth “ford”, as in Ballina/Béal an Átha “the mouth of (i.e., approach to) the ford” (#9935). Another particularly common example would be lorga “shin” in reference to a “long low ridge; strip of land” as in Baile na Lorgan “the town(land) of the long low ridge or strip of land”, the original Irish name of Castleblayney (#1167095). (The English name is from the plantation undertaker Edward Blayney who received appropriated lands here in the early seventeenth century.) Indeed, lorga is particularly common in drumlin country around Counties Monaghan and Cavan where there is an abundance of long, low ridges. It frequently occurs in its dative form An Lorgain, as for example in the name of the town in County Armagh anglicized as Lurgan (#1166423; see also placenamesni.org s.n. Lurgan).
The topographical meaning of placename elements originally referring to body parts is usually quite clear — e.g. droim “ridge, long hill (lit. back [of human or animal])”, ceann “head(land)” — but there are some instances where this is not the case. For instance, the word bolg “belly, stomach, abdomen”, quite common in placenames, has a large semantic range including “bag”, “bellows”, “bulge”, “broad part”, “middle” (FGB s.v. bolg). One might imagine that it usually refers to land with a notable rounded protuberance, but this is not always so, given that it has also been explained as meaning a “chasm; gap, cleft” (eDIL s.v. 1 bolg) — although some regard this as an invention on the part of later glossators of medieval manuscripts. To add to the problems, there has been much academic debate about the possibility that bolg as found in placenames may sometimes also refer to an earlier population group (eDIL s.v. Bolg) and not to any feature of the landscape at all! Therefore, for instance, although Clonbulloge/Cluain Bolg in County Offaly is probably best explained as meaning “pasture of, at (the) bumps” (#41652), given that it is located between three round hills all above 70 metres in height one cannot rule out the possibility of “pasture of the gaps” or even “the pasture of the Boilg (population group)”. Similarly, Aghabulloge/Achadh Bolg (#492) in County Cork (also called Aghabullogue in English) might be translated as “field of (the) bumps” or “the field of the Boilg (population group)”. The former explanation is probably more likely given the presence of a number of hilltops directly surrounding the site of the village. Interestingly, the connection between Aghabulloge/Achadh Bolg and the patron saint of the ecclesiastical site located there, Eolang, was of such significance that it features in the early calendars of Irish saints such as the 9th century Féilire Óengusso:

Eolang, cáid, cáin áge, Achidh Bó [recte Bolg], búaid lére

“Eolang, a beauteous pillar, of Aghabulloge, triumph of piety”

(The Martryology of Oengus the Culdee, p. 192; see also Historical Dictionary of Gaelic Placenames, Fascicle I (Names in A-)).

Saint Eolang’s association with Aghabulloge was so important in the politics of the early Irish church that a large amount of native literature was produced in order to emphasize not only that link, but also his association with Saint Fionnbharr (see Pádraig Ó Riain, ‘To be Named is to Exist: The instructive case of Achadh Bolg’ in P. O’Flanagan & C. Buttimer (eds.), Cork – History and Society (Dublin, 1993), pp. 45‒61; see also Pádraig Ó Riain, A Dictionary of Irish Saints (Dublin, 2012), p. 297). Apparently, Eolang’s activities were not confined to Aghabulloge and County Cork: he may also be the eponym of Timolin/Tuaim Eolaing “hillock of Eolang” (see logainm.ie #41176) in County Offaly and Camolin/Cam Eolaing “(river-)bend of Eolang” (see logainm.ie #53095) in County Wexford (see also Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV: Townland Names of Co. Wexford, p. 604). Indeed, it seems that Eolang of Aghabulloge was a well-travelled man, as in Irish hagiographic literature he is also mentioned in the company of Fionnbharr of Cork and Maodhóg of Ferns on a pilgrimage to trip to Rome:

Dochuaidh Bairri iarsin do Roimh, do ghabail gradh nespuicc ar áen ocus Eolang, ocus Maedhócc Ferna

“Bairre went after that to Rome, to take the grade of bishop together with Eolang, and Maodhóg of Ferns”

(Bethada Náem nÉrenn, I p. 17)

• Achadh Bolg/Aghabulloge
• Béal an Átha/Ballina
• Tuaim Eolaing/Timolin
• Cluain Bolg/Clonbulloge
• Baile Uchta/Ballyhought
• Cam Eolaing/Camolin
• An Lorgain/Lurgan
• Baile na Lorgan/Castleblayney

Date: 26/02/2024

As we enter into the month of March it is notable that despite the proximity of Wales to Ireland, the Welsh patron saint Dai/David, whose feast is celebrated on 1st March, is not mentioned in Irish calendars of saints. In fact, the principal saint listed under that date is Seanán of Scattery Island/Inis Cathaigh (#7214) in Clare. The name David itself was brought to Ireland with the Anglo-Norman invasion — the early waves of which largely emanated from Wales — and subsequently gaelicized as Dáibhéad (producing the surname Mac Dháibhéid/(Mc)Davitt/(Mc)Devitt/(Mc)Kevitt). Its diminutive form Davy was realized as Dáibhí, which became the most common version of the name in Irish-speaking areas. This name was popular among families of both gaelicized Anglo-Norman and native Gaelic stock, and therefore it is no surprise to find it in townland names such as Derrydavy/Doire Dháibhí “the (oak )wood, grove of Dáibhí” (#28554) in Laois and Ballydavid/Baile Dáibhí “the town(land) of Dáibhí” (#18435) in Galway. However, in some dialects, the palatal (slender) consonant /v′/ represented by -(i)bh- in Irish orthography was lost in certain positions, and disyllabic Dáibhí became monosyllabic in speech, producing the variant form Dáith. This form can clearly be seen in the historical evidence for a number of anglicized placenames such as Ballyda (#10198) in Cork, Ballydaw (#27719) in Kilkenny, and the Wexford townlands Ballydaw or Davidstown (#52608) and Ballyday (#53315). Hence Baile Dháith “the town(land) of Dáith (David)” as the standard Irish form of these names. There was another completely unrelated and relatively rare native Irish personal name Dá Thí, now written Dáithí, which was a traditional favourite of the Ó Dúda/O’Dowd sept in Sligo but was never in common use amongst the native Irish in other parts of the country. The name may feature in the minor name Tobar Sean-Dáithí “the well of old Dáithí” (#1415832) in Limerick; however, it certainly occurs in the placename Lough Dahybaun/Loch Dháithí Bháin “the lake of Dáithí bán [i.e., white(-haired) Dáithí]” (#114293) in north Mayo, near the barony of Tireragh in Sligo where, saliently, the Ó Dúda/O’Dowd sept had been the principal family. After the decline of the Gaelic order the O’Dowds began to anglicize traditional Dáithí as David, a name with which it has no connection — just as we have already seen with Méabh becoming Madge and Mór becoming Mary. However, an unfortunate misunderstanding has arisen over the course of the last hundred years or so by virtue of this obscure personal name Dáithí having being spuriously adopted as the standard gaelicized form of the name David since the early days of the Gaelic Revival at the turn of the twentieth century. The identification of the two names has become so well established that it is often assumed that placenames such as Davidstown/Baile Dháith (#27543) in Kilkenny and Ballydavid/Baile Dháibhí (#12126) in Cork, etc., should more properly be rendered ** Baile Dháithí in Irish — the historical evidence shows that nothing could be further from the truth! (Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Inis Cathaigh/Scattery Island
• Baile Dháith/Ballyda
• Baile Dháibhí/Ballydavid
• Baile Dháibhí Láir/Ballydavid Middle
• Baile Dháith/Davidstown
• Baile Dháith/Ballydaw
• Doire Dháibhí/Derrydavy
• Baile Dháith/Ballydaw or Davidstown
• Baile Dháith/Ballyday
• Loch Dháithí Bháin/Lough Dahybaun
• Tobar Sean-Dáithí/Tobershandahy

Date: 19/02/2024

Although some inland fisheries re-open at the beginning of January, many only resume at the beginning of March or ever later. This onset of the angling season brings to mind the bradán feasa “salmon of knowledge” of Irish mythology. Salmon fishing was an important part of life during the Gaelic Irish era, a fact which is not immediately apparent from townland names, which contain few unambiguous references to the king of fish. We have Loughnambraddan/Loch na mBradán “the lake of the salmon” (#14637) in Donegal along with Maine/Maighean an Bhradáin “the eminent place of the salmon” (#33505) in Louth. However, as often happens with placename elements, Bradán can also occur as a personal name: Tullybradan/Tulaigh Bhradáin “mound of Bradán” (#30342) in Leitrim and Meenybraddan/Mín Uí Bhradáin “Ó Bradáin’s tract of grassland” (#13955) in Donegal refer to the personal name and its associated surname, respectively.

However, probably the best-known placename in Ireland referring to salmon — Leixlip (#893), the name of a town and parish on the Kildare–Dublin border — is not of Irish origin at all. The name means “salmon-leap” (it is found in early documents in the latinized form Saltus Salmonum) but whether it originated in Old Norse (from the Vikings) or Middle English (from the Anglo-Normans) is a matter of debate. If it is derived from Old Norse Lax-hløypa it would be by far the furthest inland of the 30 or so verifiably Scandinavian placenames that survive in Ireland. Anglo-Norman origin has been suggested to be more likely, from the Middle English elements lax + hlēap (as found in non-Scandinavian placenames in England such as Lexmere “salmon-pool”, Ruislip “rush-leap”, etc.). The modern Irish form Léim an Bhradáin is a translation, but there is good evidence that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Irish speakers knew the town by the gaelicized name *Leaspaic — phonetic adaptation working in the opposite direction to usual in the Irish context.

Far more numerous — too numerous to list in full here — are the townland names which contain an indirect reference to fishing in the form of the element cora “weir”. Examples include Baile na Cora “the town(land) of the weir” in Cork, Limerick, Mayo, Waterford, Armagh, Galway, and Sligo (see logainm.ie); Barr na Cora “top, hilltop of the weir” in Cork, Galway and Longford (see logainm.ie); Béal Átha na Cora “approach to the ford of the weir” in Donegal, Mayo, Armagh and Limerick (see logainm.ie). The most widely known placename containing a reference to a cora “weir” is Midleton, the name of a town and civil parish in Cork, whose Irish name is Mainistir na Corann “the monastery of (the river of) the weir” (#658). Corann is a variant genitive singular form of cora, referring to the name of the river on which the monastery was founded, Owennacurra/Abhainn na Cora “the river of the weir” (#116509). The same river — the scene of such devastating flooding in October 2023 — also gave its name to the village of Ballinacurra/Baile na Cora “the town of (the river of) the weir” (#12283) just 2km south of Midleton.

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

• Mainistir na Corann/Middleton
• Léim an Bhradáin/Leixlip
• Baile na Cora Thiar/Ballynacorra West
• Mín Uí Bhradáin/Meenybraddan
• Loch na mBradán/Loughnambraddan
• Tulaigh Bhradáin/Tullybradan
• Maighean an Bhradáin/Maine
• Abhainn na Cora/Owennacurra