Local Place Names
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Local Placenames Sean Mac Labhrai on once People at home and visitors to Ireland are frequently located the seaboard. Shakespeare wrote that name as amused at the names of certain places e.g. Tannyoky, ".... a rose by any other would smell just Ballymacaratty, Knocknamuckly, Lisnacroppin etc. but sweet" and while he rightly pointed out that the names regrettably their amusement is seldom matched by their of things and places are arbitrary and could thus be curiosity, for if they were to inquire further, in almost changed at will without affecting the things or the every case they would discover that the names derive places, the great author's love of and fascination with originally from Gaelic, and that possibly some local language must have made him wonder at the meaning ? scholar might be knowledgeable regarding their of the title of his place of birth Stratford-on-Avon, meanings. The aim of this brief article is to stimulate the shallow crossing at the river in the glen. The interest in the meanings of placenames in Ireland by element avon (Abhainn) appears in the name (1) giving a brief introduction to the study and (2) by Craigavon (Creag abhann) the rock by the river, and illustrating with an attempt to explain a selection of inAvonmore (Abhainn Mhor) the big river, while the local placenames. element Strath or Srath (Srath) is found in the town of Strabane tSraith the white INTRODUCTION (An Ban) river-valley and in the Scottish town of Strathclyde (Sraith History holds the explanation as to why the major Claidhe) the river-valley of the Clyde. ity of placenames in Ireland cannot be immediately Hence the naming of almost every place and feature a understood nowadays. Celtic peoples expanding their in the landscape was gradual process which evolved influence across the continent finally arrived in the over centuries and which has ultimately given to Ireland British Isles some time around 500 B.C. and soon after one of the richest and most varied repetoires of as we the Celtic invasion, the language and culture of the placenames in the world. Indeed learn from the Celts was dominant in these islands. From this period writings of Dr. Robin Flower, former curator of Gaelic the Celtic speaking people began to give names to the manuscripts in the British Museum, the acquisition of ? of a various physical features in their new environment knowledge the meanings of placenames formed fundamental of the of the Irish classical mountains, hills, lakes, grasslands, rivers, bogs, fords, part training swamps, valleys and plains, names which (a) were poets (c. 1200 -1600 A.D.) and itwas this body which connected to characteristics which they identified in earned for Ireland the second half of the reputation of those places (e.g. Lisnacroppin (Lios na genapan] the being "a land of saints and scholars." fort of the boulders; Knocknamuckly (Cnoc na Muc "For the poets of Ireland cultivated with an a Liath) the hill of the grey pigs) or (b) which related unremitting assiduity study to which they gave the to an historical incident which occurred in the place name "dindshenchas," the lore of the high places, until (e.g. Lisnabrague (Lios na breige] the fort of the lie; by the accretion of centuries there came into existence Lissummon (Lios Iomana] the fort of the football) or a large body of literature in prose and verse, forming (c) which recalled someone who had been associated a kind of Dictionary of National Topography, which with the place (e.g. Tannyoky (Tamhnach Eochaidh] fitted the famous sites of the country each with its Eochaidh's grassy upland; Bally macaratty (Baile Mag appropriate legend. It was one of the obligations of a Oireachtaigh] McGarrity's townland). poet to have this knowledge ready at call, and if faced While further invasions of England by Romans, by a demand to relate the associations of some deserted or to an Angles, Saxons and Normans meant that many of the rath lonely pillar-stone he failed render exact original Celtic names were substituted by names from and credible account, he was shamed to the very roots the language of the new inhabitants, the modern of his being." (The Irish Ttadition ll)79, 1) placenames of almost all of Ireland, Scotland and We should not conclude however that the Celts were to an Wales and a considerable part of England derive from the only civilization develop elaborate naming ? the of loi in their habitat we read an tongue the Celt. Perhaps, the most memorable system places a leleience in the Bible to the example of Celtic placcnamc in England is that of inteicstinj' place where lestis was Dover (Dobhar) pronounced either M(lo\ci" ot enieilied, 'Golgotha, which means the place ol the "door" meaning water, a name which suits the coast.il skull" (Mat. 27:33) thus proving that the Jewish location of the town ideally. The same woid appeals peoples developed placenames. We also know that it in two Donegal towns, Bundoran (Bun Dnbhrriinl and was the North American Indians who gave the names Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair) both of which are again to several of the 52 of the United States and toNiagara 16 POYNTZPASS AND DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY means which "thundering waters." that of Joyce could hope to provide a comprehensive The major problem remains however, that in the last and accurate list of all the placenames of Ireland, so a 150 years majority of the population of Ireland has research into this field was commissioned by the Dublin changed from speaking Irish to speaking English and Government and ever since a team of scholars, whose nowadays only a small minority speak the former headquarters are in the Phoenix Park, are actively we no language daily. As such longer understand the engaged in researching Irish placenames. language of our native placenames which tradition has In Ulster the Celtic Department of Queen's to us we to handed down and must therefore look University has made a major contribution to the study us our scholars of Irish to assist in understanding of having had 3 periodicals whose sole concern was with placenames. placenames. The first of these Dindshenchas was SOURCES succeeded by the Bulletin of the Ulster P/acename Society and since 1986 the current publication is Even before the Gaelic Literary renaissance at the entitled Aimn. end of the last much work had been century, important These latter works tend to be geared towards the the likes of John O' Donovan and completed by Eugene academic student however and are therefore not really both of whom assisted the Ordinance Curry Survey suited to the needs of the casual reader for whom Joyce which was commenced in 1836. travelled around They still has a much more rapid appeal. While Joyce's Ireland at a time when Irish was still generally spoken original work is long since out of print an abridged and valuable information the gleaned regarding pocket edition is available from the Applet ree Press meanings of placenames from local oral tradition. since 1984. One work which is to be avoided however this research was never Unfortunately however, on account of its lack of authority is The Meaning of and remains even in form directly published today the Irish Placenames by James O' Connell published by of letters and notes the of the among manuscripts Royal the Blackstaff Press in 1979. The attempted translations Irish Academy. make no reference to the original Gaelic nor to the The first on this in 1869 major publication subject geographic.il location ol the places mentioned and The and of Irish Names of Places Origin History indeed are frequently iar-fetched and erroneous. The volumes I - III the Limerick schoolteacher Patrick by author has voluntecied up to 3,(XX)meanings and given Weston remains until as the a Joyce, today major the impression that tcsc.itch into placenames is simple reference work for students of this field of study. and exact discipline, but we will presently discover that Volumes I and II deal with the elements in primary such is far fiom being the truth as the search to unveil Irish while Volume III is a of placenames gazateer the authentic meanings of Irish placenames is fraught with their forms and placenames original Gaelic with many ditliuilttes and dangers. translations. Yet not even as monumental a work as Lisraw?The fort which j\ivc its name to a town land, now the site of a water tower. POYNTZPASS AND DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY_17 - ? 1 ^ | IRISH LOCAL NAMES ; EXPLAINED. t BY J 1 P. W. JOYCE, LL.D.,M.R.LA. i i ' Gpiallam cimceall na pofcla, NEW EDITION. DUBLIN: WGLASHA8 & GILL, 50, UPPER SACKYILLE-STREET LONDON* WH1TTAKEK & CO.; SIMPEIN, MARSHALL, * CO EDINBURGH: JOHN MENZIES & CO The Title Page of one of P. W. Joyce's books on the subject. 18 POYNTZPASS AND DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY Local Placenames Linguistic corruption is what renders the study of been supported by a local tradition that there are coal placenames a rather inexact science. This corruption deposits in the townland which some locals ? is two-fold oral and written. The first cartographers remembered having been mined. Not until I discovered (makers of maps) who recorded placenames in the the early written form of the word "minclointy" was various surveys were almost invariably of English I in any doubt that my original assumption was cor planter extraction. As such they had a poor ear for the rect. In actual fact the prefix "mion" simply means exact Gaelic pronunciation of a placename and often small and has nothing whatsoever to do with either coal wrote down an approximate rendering of the sounds or turf! The lesson, of course, is caution and open in phonetic English.