Placenames in Wicklow

Here are some thoughts on placenames in Wicklow and how I have approached the task of deciding which names to show on our maps, where to place them and what forms to use. I intend to improve the layout in due course as time allows: illustrate with more maps, images and more examples etc.


I don’t claim to be an expert on language and placenames but I have a longstanding interest in the hills of Dublin & Wicklow. I've always had an eye for landscape & topography and human cultural interaction, including the labels we apply to features of the landscape. Of course, like many others I learnt many names from the published Ordnance Survey maps – the One Inch Dublin & Wicklow sheets, the Half Inch Sheet 16 and the Geological Survey maps in B/W One Inch scale. As I rambled over the hills in the later 1970’s and early 80’s, I became aware of other ‘unmapped’ names through the writings of JB Malone and Liam Price. When I came to produce these maps of Wicklow, I decided that I’d look up some of these ‘unmapped’ names and see about recording them. Thus I entered the labyrinthic world of placenames!


I haven’t published a name on this mapping without careful consideration of the main factors a) what form of the name to choose and b) where can I locate the name and to what type of feature. One does not exist properly without the other and one of the weaknesses of previous collections of placenames is that often we just have a list of names which whilst interesting, are somewhat lifeless without location. Apart from the study of historical sources as listed below for example, I believe that many useful conclusions also can be drawn both by consulting local people who have lived and worked on the hills and examining the landscape on the ground. All sorts of little aspects not readily apparent in a paper listing can then make sense.
The classic definition of placenames on a map is along the lines that ‘Lettering should express by its style the nature of the feature, by its size the importance of the feature, by its placement the location, and by its spacing the extent of the feature'. Thus we have strived.

edited 28/05/2010 to add information on Lyre, Glanree/ King's River, Fancy and Cloghoge.

edited 30/05/2010 to add information on Cyowck and Moanbane/ Silsean


Sources:

• 
  The works of the Ordnance Survey in the 1840’s in the course of producing the Six Inch series and related mapping. These form many of the names we are familiar with as they were derived from the first countrywide systematic recording and presentation of placenames. See below for my analysis.
• 
  Maps that predate the work of the Ordnance Survey. There is a reasonable collection in the National Library of Ireland. The most notable relating to Wicklow is Jacob Nevill’s map of 1760 and derivatives. Many estate maps were produced in the 1700-1900 period for the landed gentry, for the purpose of managing rents and so on. Maps for Powerscourt & Ballinacor Estates for example, record many interesting names.
• 
  The works of Liam Price (1891-1967). I have leant heavily on Liam Price’s investigations – Liam was a district justice in Co.Wicklow in the early days of the new state. His career spanned from 1920 to 1950 and his job required him to be an early motorist as he travelled around the various courts in Baltinglass, Blessington, Wicklow and Arklow and so on. That was the day job but Liam’s ‘real work’ was in the collection of information on history, antiquities and placenames. Liam was a man for going to original sources and sought out hill farmers and rural country people, enquiring after sites and names. This information he recorded in a series of notebooks which in turn formed the basis for articles in various scholarly journals but he is best known for the seven small books, The Placenames of County Wicklow, which were published from 1945-67. His notebooks were published in 2002 in two volumes as The Liam Price Notebooks. Between these, there is a goldmine of information on such matters. Be warned though that the notebooks can be likened to a maze and you’ll as likely find information on a given place on the first page as the last! Notwithstanding that, there are many names recorded there that didn’t make the Placenames, perhaps Liam was uncertain of them or more likely, he forgot where he had written them years before! It should always be remembered that Liam had a walking impediment and whilst he undertook some hill walks which are recorded in his diaries, he probably wasn’t able for long days in the hills or rough ground. So whilst he visited many of the valleys and collected names in their vicinity, he wouldn’t have been necessarily familiar with the features lying above. He comments often enough, that you’d have to walk the hills to get the names.
• 
  J.B. Malone (1914-1990) who wrote The Open Road, Walking in Wicklow and a regular newspaper column in the Evening Herald, lists many placenames in his publications. JB was an active mountain walker and familiar with the hills. Doubtless he did get local names in his travels and passed same onto Price but on the whole I think it’s fair to say, he was familiar with Price’s work and drew many names from there.
• 
  C.G.Thompson is a shadowy and intriguing figure in these matters. He is mentioned several times in Price’s notebooks where he gave lists of names that he had collected for the hills. Described as ‘master at Mountjoy’ (school rather than jail?), his research on the ground seems to have predated Price as he gives him lists of names when Price starts recording in 1928. Judging from the names that Price lists, I would suggest that he was an active mountain walker and took a deep interest in the area. It would be very interesting to see if any more of his listings survive.
• 
  The work of Fr.Pádraig McCarthy on placenames around Rathdrum and Glenmalure in which he lists many names, sourced from parish records, collected mostly by Fr.Richard Galvin in the post Famine period. These are fascinating as they were collected after the OS mapping but before C.G.Thompson and Liam Price.
• 
  Local people. There are many names in the above sources where it is difficult to establish location – i.e. people have written down lists of names they have been given but with little or no guidance as to where they refer to. This particularly applied to the Glenmalure area and I was fortunate to be referred to Carmel O’Toole whom I asked for help in locating some of these names. Carmel talked to a few neighbours in the valley about the old names and I was very pleasantly surprised to meet them and find out that many of the names were still known, if little used nowadays. Furthermore they had names which did not appear in any of the above sources. This set me off on a journey around the Wicklow valleys and with the help of the Wicklow Uplands Council in identifying suitable people and other referrals etc., I met up with circa thirty people over the space of a few weeks – mostly hill farmers who would have been up on the hills over the years looking for sheep etc. This was a great help in confirming names that were still known, establishing some obsolete names and collecting c.160 ‘new’ names for various features. On the whole, these enquiries were received with interest and a desire to have some of the local names recorded and kept in use. Of course, I was often told – ‘You should have come 5,10,15 years ago – so and so had all those names’ but even in 2010, I am glad to report that there are still people who have a working knowledge of many hill names.

The names appearing on these maps should not be regarded as definitive in any way – hopefully they are a better representation than has appeared heretofore but there is always scope for improvement. In particular, there are many names in the above historical sources which I have been unable to locate but which further research might clarify. There may well be other lists of names collected by people over the years lying in various attics or collections. And of course, there are local people, who have lived and worked in these areas that might be able to help with names. I would greatly appreciate observations from anybody in relation to the above and with a view to improving future editions.

Bibliography and web links below.

 

Placenames: their value


Placenames are the labels we apply to the features and divisions of the landscape which we inhabit and visit. Like language, they change over time but there is a thread of continuity in many placenames that connect us back to the previous generations that also gazed at and toiled on the same landscape. It is a matter of courtesy and also of practical benefit to be familiar with the placenames both of where we live and also those regions that we visit regularly for recreation. We give these labels to the landscape for various reasons but primarily concerned with ownership, description/ directions and in connection with farming. We like to describe our hillwalks now in terms of a series of features with names and in the past hills and saddles had names connected with giving guidance to travellers – ‘you keep this side of that bump, Creagard – follow the Blind Brook and pass over The Black Banks’ etc. Those working the hills, keeping an eye on their sheep and those of their neighbours, had a network of names describing brooks, hollows, rocks, grazing spots etc. It is worth mentioning in the context of this latter aspect that most hill farmers would know, say Aughavannagh Mountain as the side slopes of the hill where sheep would be, rather than as a name of a summit as in Aughavannagh Mountain top.

Placenames: some aspects of their origins and usefulness.

1) Probably the most common theme in placenames are references to local topography. Examples: Monroe from Móin Ruadh - the bog with a reddish/brown tinge and Lugmore from An Log Mór - the big hollow. There are many nuances in such names and as they generally reflect the nature of the ground locally, they are of considerable interest and relevance to route planning. If you plan to ascend Knockgorragh, you may expect the terrain to be a bit rough underfoot from the root word, garbh. Take into account that a good number of the Irish root words can come from 'old Irish' and/or might have slightly different meanings to modern Irish e.g. Madra would generally be taken now as meaning a dog but in older forms madra meant a wolf or perhaps a fox, wheras madadh was a dog.


2) Manmade infrastructure is often found in placenames - churches, castles, bridges, fords, raths, mills. Examples: Kilbride from Cill Bhríde or Church of St.Bridget, Donard from Dún Ard or the high fort, Knockadreet from Cnoc a'Droichid or hill of the bridge.


3) Many placenames include a family name - the people who owned and/or farmed particular land. Examples: Ballydonnell from Baile Dhónaill, Donal's place or perhaps from a family name, the MacDonnell. Castletoole from a compound name - castle here referring to a rocky tor and Toole to the O'Toole clan.


4) Legends and pishogues feature in names. Fairies, spirits etc. Examples: Poulaphouca from Poll an Phúca or the hole of the watersprite, referring to the gorge and falls here lost in the creation of the reservoir. Knockshee or hill of the faeries etc.


5) Historic events can be recorded in placenames. Example: Mullycagh from Mullach Catha or hill of the battle.


Placenames: cultural aspects.


Placenames reflect the history, culture and language of an area over a long period of time. The east coast of Ireland and Wicklow in particular has experienced a tumultuous history over many centuries. Waves of invasion & plantation have left their imprint on the local names and to get a grasp of the names you must keep an eye on the history of the region. Whilst many names have an Irish language root, there are also a variety of other elements to be found, broadly as follows:


1) 'Old Irish' names, predating Christian times and the Vikings. These are difficult to identify as there are very few written records from these times. A few have been identified like Imaal from the tribe of the Uí Máil, Bre or Brea for Bray and Unry for Abhainn Righe, King's River.


2) Early church and ecclesiastical names. The church kept written records in relation to administration and territories etc. Names like Reefert in Glendalough, Kilpipe, Kilmacanogue, Hollywood or Sancta Bosca etc. all relate and can date from the 5th century onwards.


3) Vikings. The Vikings from Scandanavia came raiding along the Wicklow coast and inland via the valleys in the 8th century. Leaving aside the pillaging and plundering, some also settled and fished/ farmed. Names like Wicklow and Arklow come from this period. Wicklow is from Vikingr Lo or the river meadow/swamp of the Vikings, presumably the area we know as the Murrough.


4) Old English/ Norman names. Dermot MacMurrough lost his kingdom of Leinster in 1166, looked for help from King Henry of England, who in turn referred him to the Normans led by Strongbow. The Norman force came shortly after, restored Dermot but also took significant holdings of land in return. The resulting Anglo Norman settlement extended through many parts of Wicklow, they were more organised in terms of charting their new territories adapting old names but introducing many new placenames. Examples: Blakestown, Davidstown, Curtlestown.


5) Irish names. The O'Byrne, O'Toole's and others move into Wicklow from the Kildare side in the 1200's. At first they live peacefully under the Anglo Norman regime but gradually turn to war. By the 1300's, they largely supplant the Anglo Norman settlers in the upland and mountain areas. Again the placenames morph - these new settlers speak Irish but are familiar with the Norman names so they keep some, gaelicise others and make new placenames in Irish. Examples: Walterstown became Ballyvaltron, Simonswood became Kiltimon. Many of the names with an Irish root, later anglicised come from this period - like Lugageeraun or Glendalough etc.


6) Plantation names. The Anglo Norman influence gradually waned in Wicklow and Ireland generally but the English re established their control in the 17th and 18th centuries with several plantations (ethnic cleansing). The lowland coast strip was well enough controlled up till the 1798 rebellion and for a period of time thereafter, whilst the hills were the base of significant Irish rebel groups who raided the estate lands lower down. This led to the construction of the Military Road and barracks in the early 1800's. Many large estates were created in this period by seizing land and setting up tenants who paid rents etc. to landlords. Of course, the new gentry liked to fashion new names as well, so we have Ashford, Charlesland, Downshire etc.


7) Modern English names. These fall into two broad categories (a) those associated with local people, mostly English speaking since perhaps the 1700’s. So we have names like The Rushy Brook or The Green Hollows, the latter a place where there’d be better grazing for sheep amongst the heather and bog. (b) those associated with recent settlement, housing estates etc. – marketing names like Silvercross or Glendale etc., usually relatively meaningless in terms of local history or topography and more to do with sales & marketing. Some new names like Parnell Park etc. will have a local connection.


8) Modern Irish names. Although Irish has not been widely spoken in Wicklow for 200-300 years, I observe that there is a growing practice to make up an Irish name even where a perfectly good one exists from another culture, for no better reason than it is believed that there should be an Irish form. So we have An Bhó Dhearg for Redcow or Áth na Fuinseoige for Ashford which are of course just literal translations and have no historical merit. There are modern Irish names used in housing developments and so on that do have some local relevance e.g. Cois Cairn

Categories of placenames


We give labels to the landscape for various reasons but there are two broad categories (1) names for administrative and legal purposes and (2) names of physical features in the landscape. There is of course often considerable overlap, so Glendalough describes the two lakes in the valley as well as being used for administrative purposes. Whereas a name like The Shiny Flags is related to a specific place where water glistens on rocks.


Administrative names in order of size might be (a) state (b) province (c) county (d) barony (e) parish (f) townland (g) sub townland (h) field. In general each is a subdivision of the former: so many fields make up a townland, so many townlands a parish or barony, so many baronies a county etc. The second observation worth making is that names tend to be well known and stable on the higher side of the hierarchy but as you progress down into townland and in particular field names, you will find more local variation and multiple names.


The other factor affecting permanence is that the further you look back in time, the more variation in names will be found. The reason is simple, just like language; placenames were and are transferred aurally, particularly local names. Prior to the 1800’s, records of placenames are generally found in administrative and legal documents relating to land ownership and territorial claims of church and state. Sound recording had not been invented, so we don't know what the everyday names sounded like. The great six inch survey of Ireland in the 1840’s was the first detailed mapping to document the names of the countryside on a national basis. As in the oft quoted opinion of the victors getting to write the history, so the versions of the names recorded and set down by the Ordnance Survey at this time have become the de facto official versions in most cases, regardless of their accuracy or completeness. There is a move in recent years towards standardised versions of names, not least to meet the requirements of digital processing, which does not cope well with variations in spelling – a local postman may be able to recognise Moanroe & Moonroo as the same place but a computer controlled letter sorting machine will not take to it. The Placenames Commission has been instructed to standardise placenames in this regard. Personally, I regard this is a loss – there is considerable cultural value in the many and varied local versions of some names.

The Ordnance Survey placenames and the Wicklow Hills


Prior to the six inch survey of Ireland, there were various regional, county and local estate maps of varying quality. The most notable perhaps relating to Wicklow is Jacob Nevill’s map of County Wicklow of 1760 and derivatives. The Ordnance Survey was set up in London in 1791 for the purpose of producing military maps. It was given the task of mapping Ireland in 1824 and set about planning & implementing this great task over the next decade. A framework of accurately measured points had to be established – a triangulation network, the apexes of which are the familiar triangulation pillars seen on many hilltops. The angles of the great triangles were measured by an instrument called a theodolite. Scale was provided by measuring one triangle side, very accurately by means of bars set end to end. Trigonometry was then used to calculate the co-ordinates of each trig pillar. This was completed by 1832 and these then formed the basis of smaller local triangles and finally ground survey to map in the detail. This work was largely undertaken in the late 1830’s and published over the following decade as the six inch and one inch sheets etc. The ground survey was by teams of survey sappers measuring with chains, plane tabling etc. Placenames were recorded as the survey teams progressed over the landscape. It was a phenomenal physical as well as technical achievement of its day – each field had to be walked and measured, whether on flat easy land or rough, rocky steep hill terrain. A remarkable degree of accuracy was achieved considering the very basic technology available. I have great respect for the efforts involved – the very opposite in many ways to modern topographic mapping which relies on imagery and remote sensing etc.
There are two factors worthy of consideration in relation to placenames on Ordnance Survey mapping and which indicate why, in terms of upland names we should cast a cold questioning eye on same:

• The primary areas of interest to the survey were urban areas and rural arable land. The survey was for means of public administration and taxation etc. Mountain land then, as now was regarded as somewhat worthless. A glance at any six inch sheet abutting the hills will show considerable detail in the valleys but great blank spaces on the open mountain land, generally that above 1000 feet in altitude. Little work was done up high, except for the purposes of triangulation measurements. It is therefore reasonable to assume that little effort was made to collect names in the uplands. The view of the day is illustrated in the following quote from The Ordnance Survey Letters: Wicklow, page 2, where Eugene Curry writes on 13th December 1838 that ‘The fineness of this day induced me to visit Lough Bray and its stupendous cliffs and wild mountain scenery. To the sportsman, the geologist, or the artist, this might afford a pleasing enough excursion but the Antiquary finds nothing there but rocks, cliffs, waters and bogs, as old, and apparently as untouched by the fashioning hand of man, as the foundations of the earth. I was not able to ascend the top of Kippure Mountain over which the boundary line of Dublin and Wicklow runs, on account of the heavy mist that enveloped it, but as far as my enquiry goes it contains nothing of antiquarian interest.’ This is from a team of scholars, Eugene Curry, John O’Donovan and Thomas O’Conor who were tasked with investigating the sites and placenames of Wicklow in this instance and advising George Petrie of the OS as to the correct portrayal of names on the new mapping. Curry’s view would not have been untypical of the day and was illustrated frequently in line drawings of the times showing the mountains to be fiercesome and dangerous places. These three gentlemen were given about four months in the depths of winter in 1838/39 to cover the entire county! As might be guessed they concentrated on the main towns, villages and sites of antiquarian interest. One may presume that the upland areas, particularly in the bleak mid winter, held little interest for them.
• The field surveyors were largely collected from British army ranks, presumably supplemented with Irish labourers. It is reasonable to assume that those tasked with writing and recording placenames were literate members, probably officers of the army. They had two ‘problems’ a) they were dealing with local Irish people who had strong local accents. Whilst Irish was probably not widely spoken as an everyday language at this time, the placenames having an Irish root and learnt aurally were doubtless pronounced ‘as Gaeilge’ or close to it, still are in many cases. Various conventions were applied to anglicise these names i.e. to write down some ‘English’ form of the Irish name. How well this was achieved must have been purely down to the diligence of individual interviewers. This writer having collected names from various hill farmers in recent years, having knowledge of local idiom and a working knowledge of Irish, found it a very subjective matter to try and capture in writing some placenames. The sounds can be elusive and change even when repeated. How well your average British army officer managed can only be conjectured. b) they were working at a time when placenames were more fluid, less fixed as they were generally not written down. Different local people might well have had differing names for the same site; farmers in different valleys might well have had different names for the same common features and so. Again, we can only conjecture as to how thoroughly names were investigated at the time and perhaps it is just happenstance that one particular form of name is the official name now, according to whom the survey party met on the day.

These factors are well illustrated in the various sources like Price quoted above where multiple forms of names were collected at a later date. In some instances names printed on OS maps are unknown to local people. Barnacullian in Wicklow is a good example. Price enquired after it in the 1920’s-40’s and found no knowledge of it in nearby valleys. I enquired in 2010 and whilst it was known as a ‘map name’ to some hill farmers, it wasn’t a name they said they’d have used in everyday work. There is a name Barnacuilloge known somewhere in that area which could be another form of same.

Which are the correct names?


People get attached to certain spellings or forms of names. They'll argue over and get annoyed about whether it should be Shroughan, Shraughan, Shroughawn, Sruhan etc., which is a pointless exercise as they are all essentially versions of the one name, sruthán - a small stream. However we can't go back in time and it is extremely unlikely that Irish will ever be spoken again as a main language in Wicklow. The anglicised forms are part of the cultural fabric and with mutations, the original forms are often uncertain. When deciding what names should be used, the names on the Ordnance Survey records are a starting point but I believe that careful consideration also needs to be given to the names recorded on older maps, the lists of names collected by Price, Galvin and others. Above all, perhaps consideration has to be given to the local people who have lived and/or farmed in these hills for many years. If anybody knows the ‘correct’ names insofar as they can be known, it is these people.


But that raises the issue of what should be regarded as ‘correct’. Is it the official form, perhaps as originally recorded by the Ordnance Survey and validated by the Placenames Commission along with an Irish translation? Is it an historical form of the name or that collected on the ground which makes more sense? Or perhaps a modern name adapted by hillwalkers in the absence of a name and /or knowledge of the local version? The hill top, Mullaghcleevaun East is known locally by hill farmers both in Glenmacanass and Glenbride as ‘Stony Hill’ or ‘Stony Top’, a reference to the boulders and rock strewn around the summit in a landscape otherwise of blanket bog. If you were to do a plebiscite, you’d find the vast majority of people who might have a name for that spot would know it as Mullaghcleevaun East from the OS map, yet that name has all the hallmarks of a ‘bureaucrat’ who didn’t know the name and just added East to the name of the main summit. Whereas the name Stony Hill has the ring of authenticity but the point is that very few know it by that name – so which is ‘correct’? Placenames also change, even locally, over time. Should we use the old forms of the name or the ones in current use? Glenmacnass is another good example: many people would know this form of the name from the OS and I’ve seen it loosely translated in the past as the ‘glen of the son of somebody’. However, the local form of the name is still Glenmacanass or Glenm(i)canass and this is as found on Nevill’s 1760 map. Furthermore, older documents again show it as Loganas and Glenlugganas – the Log an Eas is the hollow of the glacial valley at the base of the waterfall. So, an original form was likely Gleann Log an Eas – the glen of the hollow of the waterfall. Again which is ‘correct’ – the likely original form, the corrupted but related form as still used by locals or the further corrupted OS form which is the most widely known?



Nevill 1760


Some issues and names worthy of mention, relating in particular to upland placenames:


Barna – Ballina – Boleyna
Barna in a placename is tricky as it can derive either from the Irish word Bearna - a gap or pass or from Barr na – the height or summit of something. The location of the name must be looked at - the name Barnawellyeen or Barnaweenyeen is known for area on the upper west side of Glenmacanass and almost certainly comes from Bearna as there is a significant low point on the ridge here between Tonelagee and Mullaghcleevaun. Whereas Barnagoneen is an older form of the OS name Ballinagoneen. Barnagoneen would appear to be from Barr na gCoinín – the height of the rabbits. Ballina or Bally or Bal all come the Irish word, Baile meaning variously a place where people live or own, a settlement sometimes or just an individual house or even just a place someone farms. Boley comes from Buaile – usually a high place, up away from the main habitations, where livestock would be brought in summer for grazing. The three forms of this prefix can sometimes be found in various forms of the same name e.g. Ballyboy, Boleynaboy – maybe the locals called it the latter but the OS surveyor just assumed it was Bally when writing down the name – ‘sure they all sound the same’ etc.!!


Leoh
This is a peculiar word and I think it may have some significance in Wicklow. It possibly derives from the word Lágh or Lágha. It appears in Luggala, Log an Lágh – hollow or coum of the hill and has in the past taken to be an Anglo Saxon term for a hill – there are hills in Scotland and North England called Law or Low. However, others dispute this interpretation in Ireland. If it does come from this root and depending on how lágh was originally pronounced – it might help to explain the term Lo, Leoh, Lyoh etc. that also appear in Wicklow. Lo has also been explained as a marshy place where mallows grow but that seems unlikely in terms of the places where the name applies. In Glendalough – we have the Glenealo valley, the valley above the Upper Lake, past the mines – two forms of this name collected in early 1900’s are Glanalagh and Glanaslagh. The latter could well come from Gleann Eas Lágh – glen of the waterfall of the hill, which would fit the site well as we have the waterfall there. The name Leoh or Lo occurs in particular in the Glenmalure & Glen Imaal area – Leohard is the local name for the OS Clohernagh, Lobawn is over near Donard. If there is a connection that explains these places well – the high hill, the fair hill etc. and is more likely that the marsh mallow explanation.

Lyre
Lyre occurs quite commonly as a local name. It comes from the Irish word Ladhar - a toe or tine (of fork), but in placenames it generally refers to a slanty outcrop of rock or a rocky gully perhaps. Walk up along the Miner's Road by the upper lake in Glendalough and loop across at the Spinc, you'll see lines of slanting gullies and rocky ribs - these are Lyres. So we have Lyreavea - the lyre of the birch probably, Lyreanuisce - lyre with water in it, the Split Stone Lyre, which I'm fairly sure is named after the obvious boulder on the Spinc ridge which has been split by frost action and lies at the head of the lyre.


Cor
In Wicklow often comes from the word Carraig/ Corrig – a rock. Cornagreine/ Cornagrainya/ Corrigreine etc. all coming from Carraig na nGréine – the sunny rock. Cornamadra from Carraig na Madra – rock of the wolf or fox.


Ban – Bawn
Ban or bawn in a placename needs consideration – it either derives from the Irish word Bán – white, but in case of hills, perhaps a pale or fair colour to the land, maybe grassy etc.  However Bán is also an old word for a field or pasture and Bánóg is a small field. You need to look at the local context to see which might apply. Examples : Lobawn – probably the fair coloured hill, Slievenabawnoge – probably the hill of the small field(s).


Eas – Easca/ Aska – Eiscín/ Askin
All similar sounds found mixed up in hill placenames and all connected with water. Eas is a waterfall as in Pollanass, Poll an Eas – the hole of the waterfall. Easca often anglicised as Aska is a marsh, Askavore or Easca Mhór – the big marshy place. Eiscín often anglicised as Askinna or Askna seems to be a bog stream, a minor rivulet running through marshy ground. Askinbawn, Eiscín Bhán – bog stream of the field or perhaps running white when in flood etc.


Troman
The word Troman or Tromán is common enough in Wicklow and is associated with mountain streams. The word is also used for dwarf elder bushes but I don’t think there is a connection here as mountain streams are not the typical habitat of elder. Sometimes a small stream is just called Troman, in other cases there is an adjective as in Tromawnabrack – Tromán Breac, the speckled mountain stream perhaps a reference to the colour of the water and rocks or pebbles in same. The word Brook is also widely given for the same feature but is of more ‘recent’ origin – perhaps 1800’s on.

Inch
Inch occurs frequently as a field name. An Inch or Inse is a river meadow, I suppose a place liable to flood. Inchavore, Inse Mhór – the big river meadow.

Kyle or Kil. Well known conundrum; arising from anglicising of the Irish word, Cill for a church or Coill for a wood. The original meaning can be guessed at by establishing if there were or are ecclesiastical remains in the area and second part of name is a personal or family name – hence Kilbride is from Cill Bhríde – Bridget’s church. If above meaning is not likely, then likely to derive from a wood – hence Kilmore from An Choill Mhór – the big wood. Woods are obviously very common features of the landscape hence you’d think that names with Kil, Kill or Kyle would predominately come from that source but there was a significant wave of early ‘hermits’ and saints following on from St.Patrick, who came across from Wales and Britain and set up small churches along the east coast of Ireland.

Lugnaquilla
Lugnaquilla is thought to come from either Log na Coille – the hollow of the wood or Log na gCoileach – the hollow of the cock (grouse). The former is thought more likely nowadays but either way the hollow referred to is most likely the great gash of the North Prison. There are three hollows or coums on Lugnaquilla and the North Prison is the most striking, particularly from the Imaal side which was settled in ancient times. The other coums appear to be Lugcoolmeen for the South Prison (Price thought this the east ridge towards Leohard – Clohernagh, but locals in Glenmalure place this name in South Prison area) and Lugueer for the hollow above the Fraughan Rock Glen. However when viewed from afar, particularly Kildare and Carlow etc., these coums are not apparent. What is easily observed though is the great relative height of Lugnaquilla – it is the highest point in Ireland outside of Kerry. One would expect a name more in keeping with this perhaps prefixed by Ard, Sliabh, Croaghan, Mullagh etc. However Lugnaquilla is recorded as a name in that area on Nevill’s map of 1760 and there doesn’t seem to be any modern tradition of any other name other than Lug. There is however a possibility that an older name may be preserved in the name, Baravore of Glenmalure. This is recorded as Bollyvorrevore in 1639 and Bollyvorewore in 1664, likely coming from Buaile an Bhairr Mhóir – the booley (see above) of the great height. The boundaries of Baravore townland extend from the floor of Glenmalure at Baravore ford, right up through the Fraughaun Rock glen to the summit ridge of Lugnaquilla. The booley could have been in the valley floor of Glenmalure and the ‘great height’ could refer to the steep sided glen but it could equally have been in what we call the Fraughaun Rock glen now, either above or below the waterfall, probably below as that's where the better grazing would be. If the booley was in either of these locations, the logic would have to be that the Barr Mhór is the 'great height' of Lugnaquilla which hangs above this valley. So perhaps an old name for Lugnaquilla is An Barr Mhór – simply the great height.

 



The Log na Coille or North Prison of Lugnaquilla? Viewed from Imaal.

Table Mountain
Where is Table Mountain? The OS have it north of the pass through which Table Track or The Stony Road passes from Glenmalure to Glen Imaal - a very ancient route. They mark it as the highest point of that slight rise crowned with peat hags. Table Mountain is also a townland extending to the west and downhill to where you would enter the military lands. Nevill (1760) has Table Mtn. south of the pass. There are some puzzling aspects to this. Firstly Nevill labels Kamenabuloge approx. where this pass is - this is how local people more or less pronounce it still i.e. 'came' rather 'cam'. It is generally accepted that the first part of the name is from the Irish, Céim - meaning a step or a way. There are other suggestions for the second part but, na mBulóg - bullock seems widely accepted - so step/way/route of the bullocks. This seems clearly to relate to the route between the two valleys. Nevill in 1760 clearly marks Table Mtn south of Kamenabuloge i.e. he has Table Mtn. approx. in the position of where the hill nowadays called Camenabologue is marked by OS. Nevill's map does not show the route of the Stony Road but Allen's update in 1834, pictured here does. There are further curious aspects - Nevill's map is pretty reliable on the whole, only shows main upland names and most of these names have an Irish root. If Nevill were just picking out the main hills to name, the hill south of the pass is far more distinctive - there is a rise of about 60m to same, whereas the low area to the north rises less than 10m. It's also curious that an English name crops up here at this early time. Why is it called Table Mtn. as most other placenames in the region have Irish root. Of course, the name Table suggests a flat area and the area might be expected to feature, being close to a trading route.



Allen 1834 from Nevill 1760

Table Mtn., might not be a mountain but rather just a grazing area on the side and indeed Bill Cullen of Imaal, indicated to us that the Table was an 'inset mtn' just near the army engine house - this is the flat terrace that I've marked as Table Hill (within Table Mountain townland). Other hill farmers in the area have the following understanding: Camenabologue is a townland, an area of mountainside. The Table Track or Stoney Road runs up here close to Conavalla or Cunnavally - where you cross the saddle is sometimes called the Stony Top but more often the Black Banks after the peat hags that lie to the north (where OS has Table Mtn.). The hill to the south is referred to as the White Brow i.e. what walkers might call Camenabolgue. The switchback track to the Elbow was engineered by the Military around 1800 to relieve the gradient, presumably around time of the main Military Road construction. The steep, older alternative is the Stoney Road. It's a complex area in terms of placenames - I have marked as many alternatives as I can. My own feeling is that the route over the hills is the Céim na mBulóg, Kamenabuloge. The Black Banks is the best name for the area north of the pass. Table Mountain could be the hill south of the pass on the basis of relative size and the reliability of Nevill. It could also be the wee inset terrace and side of the hill and/or a name for the large flat boggy area of the Black Banks, given a name on the basis of its familiarity to travellers passing over the gap.

Corrigasleggaun/ Corriganarrig
Another wee puzzle with a modern slant. This is located at GR 048911 and marked with a spot height of 794m on OSI sheet 56. The name Corrigasleggaun does not appear on the old six/one inch maps and was not published on the 1st edition sheet 56, it was only added to later editions, presumably on advice from walkers. Walkers who presumably got the name from Liam Price's work but who may just be guilty of a little slack text & mapreading!! Spot height 2534 ft was the only spot height marked here on the old Wicklow One Inch maps - Price identified this as Corrigasleggaun but this spot height is not the highest point in the area, that is the above mentioned spot height called 794m on OS. The two points are markedly different, spot height 2534ft lying approx SW of W end of Kelly's Lough whilst spot height (and summit) 794m lies a little N of W of end of lake.

If you walk SE from spot height 794m for about 4-500 metres, you descend a little, the ground then levels out and there is a small rise in an area of peathags, if I recall correctly. The highest point here is at c.052907 and is c. 780m in altitude, as I measured it, there is no spot height on sheet 56 for this point. However on the old six inch and one inch maps of Wicklow, the situation is reversed - this latter point is marked as 2534ft. (ignore that 2534ft is 772m - they co-incide in position) and there is no sp.ht. on the higher summit.

Liam Price who studied placenames in Wicklow in considerable detail in the 1920-40's, is quite clear on page 56 of The Placenames of County Wicklow that pt2534ft is Corrigasleggaun and says that the next hill to the west is Corriganarrig, after that the ridge to Clohernagh (Leohard). He got this info. from 'a young man at the bridge' on 28th May 1939.

Now in the absence of the spot ht. for the higher summit, you might suspect Price's mapreading and that when he was on the higher summit, he thought it was pt2534ft as that's the only spot height shown. But not so... in his diary entry (Liam Price Notebooks p351) he says 'I sat on the top of Corrigasleggaun having my lunch and looked across the 'Prison' at the ridge of Lug. Corriganarrig is about the same height: it is between Corrigasleggaun and Lugcoolmeen' Price considers that Lugcoolmeen is the eastern ridge of Lugnaquilla or part thereof leading towards what we call Clohernagh. So there's no mistake - he knew he was on the lower summit, the 2534ft (I measure 780m) and his description matches the ground.

Now, it is possible that he misinterpreted what he learnt from the 'young man at the bridge'. If they were looking up the hills from say Aughavannagh direction presumably, it would be hard to pick out much difference in the two places. Depends on what yer man said - but Price definitely formed the opinion that it was Corrigasleggaun first, then Corriganarrig, then Lug ridge.

Interestingly, Price also collected the names Corriganarrig & Corrigasleggaun in 1933 from a farmer, Martin O'Toole in Farbreaga and adds that there is a 'Corrigahahny', E of Corrigasleggaun and a 'Corrigagoppul', further E again. Possibly what OSI call Carawaystick Mtn. or sp ht 597? Alternatively and quite possibly, all these names refer to individual rocks or specific rocky areas on the mountains here. Finally, the current hill farmers in Glenmalure don't use the names, Corriganarrig & Corrigasleggaun - the whole hill is just called The Lough Mountain.


Glendalough
Is easily translated as Gleann Dá Loch – the glen of the two lakes but what are the names of the two lakes? Given that virtually every other lake in Wicklow has a specific name, how is it that the two lakes that are the best known and most visited over many centuries are only known as Upper Lake and Lower Lake, surely surveyors conventions rather than genuine local names. There is a name recorded for the lower lake - Loch na Péiste – the lake of the worm or water serpent. This is related to one of the legends recorded concerning St.Kevin in the Irish Lives of the Saints where Kevin banishes a monster which is torturing him from one lake to the other. The document is in an old form of Irish though and two forms appear to contradict themselves in terms of which lake he drove the monster from and to. The phrase ‘Loch lágh’ is used, see Leoh above, and it’s possible that this is an old name for the Upper Lake – the lake of the hill.

Glanreebeg & King's River
Glanree is associated with the valley that carries the Glenreemore River and runs up to the Art O'Neill memorial plaque. Clearly from Gleann Rí - the glen of the kings. But who were the kings referred to - you might think of Art O'Neill and Hugh Roe O'Donnell but they escaped and Art died here in 1592. The name Unry is recorded prior to that in 1533 and is accepted to come from Abhainn Rí and refers to the larger King's River which as a name appears in 1655 and is assumed to be a direct translation. This process is slightly unusual though as most Irish names tended to be anglicised phonetically rather than directly translated. The kings may be a much older reference going back to various clans and tribal groups - the name Reefert in Glendalough is thought to signify the burial place of kings and given the long history of travel between these valleys over Wicklow Gap (see below) these references to kings are likely connected. I am uncertain as to location of Glanreebeg - Liam Price gets the name a few times but is also uncertain as to what is being pointed out to him - he eventually plumps for the small steep valley that runs between the Nye Rocks and The Flags. However I have seen a map annotated by the late Con Costello, who bought a wee house up in Knocknadroose - Con was involved in local history and enquired from his neighbours re local names back in the 1960's/70's, I think. On this map, Glanreebeg is given for the valley that carries the Asbawn Brook - this does make sense topographically, as this valley is a smaller subsidiary valley of the Glenreemore. Finally there is another old name, Cushkilay which is associated with the King's River Valley. Price thinks it might be a name for the valley as a whole or just a part of it near Granaghbeg. It possibly means something like 'foot of the hill' and the 'lay' ending may be a form of the word Leoh, see above.

Wicklow Gap
A similar query on this to the lakes in Glendalough must arise. This pass between West Wicklow and East Wicklow has been used since early times and carries three roads, two disused. It is most unlikely that travellers in early centuries called this the Wicklow Gap, which name has a nineteenth century ring to it. They most certainly had a name for it, for means of giving directions but what was it?

Fancy
The mountain lying above the granite cliffs of Lough Tay has several names attached to it. Generally known nowadays as Fancy or Luggala Mountain, it is thought that originally the name Fancy referred to the south eastern slopes. Luggala is the valley proper and is thought to represent the' hollow of the hill'. Luggala Mountain is properly the grazing on the side of the hill, rather than the summit. The name Carigeymanue appears here on Nevill's map of 1760, and what appears to be the related Carrigminnaun is given by JB Malone in Walking in Wicklow. This likely refers to the great cliff - minnaun is used for cliffs on Achill. Liam Price doesn't list this name but enquires after the hill and is told on a couple of occasions that the top is called Glananaganaill. Glan is not a name you'd associate with a mountain top but I suspect that this was/is the name of the great gully that splits the cliffs - it's a valley or gully and 'aill' at the end of the name, possibly comes from the Irish for cliff.

Cloghoge
The hill called Knocknacloghoge is locally called just the Cloghoge, pronounced Cl-hoge. A Clochóg is a stony place and is used widely is this area for the old ruined houses, the Cloghoge River etc. The hill is also called The Dalty.

Cyowck/ Kwoyck/ Cyouck/ Carrigshouk
All forms of the same name which is likely from Seabhac - a hawk. Price records it as Cyowck or Cyouck and that is very close to what local people call it in 2010 - 'Kee-owack', it sounds like. Carrigshouk would be from Carraig Seabhac - the rock of the hawk or falcon but as I note, locally now it seems to be just referred as Cyowck.

Moanbane/ Silsean
Which is which? I spent some time enquiring into this and the evidence points to Silshean or Shilshean being the northern end. The OS letters for Wicklow record a Silshaw Brook in 1838, to immediate north of mountain. Liam Price says that the northern end is known locally as Shilshean in the 1940's. Seamus MacDonnell from Kylebeg, a local hill farmer who grew up in the area, told me that he thought Silsean was the northern end in Feb 2010. It's not clear entirely what Shileshean derives from - Price speculates that it may be connected to Solais or Soilse - Soillseán - a place of light. The Shiney Flags glen may have an echo of this - the shine or light is from from water glistening as it flows down the rocky slabs. Moanbane could be from Móin Bhán - the white or fair coloured bog but there are other possibilities. I enquired also in King's River Valley and the name Shilshean or variants doesn't seem to be known there - it'd be over the other side of the hill. They just called the whole hill, Moanbane - so perhaps Moanbane applies to the hill as a whole with Silsean being the northern end or side.

 

Bibliography and web links:
'The Origin and History of Irish names of Places' by P.W.Joyce

'The Placenames of Co.Wicklow' by Liam Price. Seven volumes by barony. Available from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies in original form or volumes 1-6 in searchable PDF from QuintinPublications.com

'The Liam Price Notebooks' edited by Chris Corlett and Mairéad Weaver. Two volumes. ISBN 0755712846.

'Beneath the Poulaphuca Reservoir' edited by Chris Corlett. ISBN 978 0755776061

'The Open Road' and 'Walking in Wicklow' by J.B.Malone.

'Neighbourhood of Dublin' by Weston St.John Joyce.

Journals of the Roundwood & District Historical Society.

The National Library of Ireland in Kildare Street, Dublin has a collection of old maps. Many of these are available for public viewing but you must apply for a readers ticket etc.

www.logainm.ie - website of the Placenames Commission, a good starting point with old records (though sources often appear narrow in terms of variety).

www.focal.ie - a modern Irish dictionary.

www.dil.ie - a dictionary for old Irish.

www.osi.ie - Ordnance Survey Ireland.

 

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