The Portland daily press., 1882-01-26
Names Of Irish Places.
How the Strange Words Brought by Ca
BILE Tell of Old Manners and Customs.
New York World.l

A year ago the World published an article
giving the literal meaning of the names Of the
principal cities and towns in Ireland, and just
now, when the cable is burdened every day
with the weird names of the townlands and
villages where agrarian crimes are perpetrated
or suspects arrested, or collisions occur be-
tween the people and police, it may not be un-
interesting to extend the list Ballina, in the
County Mayo, the centre of the disturbed dis
trict in the extreme northwest, is written Bel
atha-an-fheadha pronounced Bellahana) in the
old writings, and means the fordmouth Of the
wood. Knockannamohilly County Tipperary.
where a tenant who had paid his rent was
murdered the other day, means the hill of the
boys, so called like many other places of sim
liar name because there in ancient times the
young men used to meet to indulge in games
and dancing with an occasional fight, after the
labor of the day. Ballindollaghan, County Roe-
common, where sub-inspector Of constabulary
was recently committed for murder by Coro-
ner's jury, is without doubt place to be avoid
ed, for the name means the town OF the dulla-
ghan. The dullaghan is the most formidable
of the fairy gentry in Ireland. He carries his
head either under his arm or in his pocket,
and sometimes by way of diversion makes a
football of it, kicking it from townland to 9
townland. Puckstown, County Louth, is SO
called because it is haunted by pooka, one
of the tribe OF Puck. Emily, County Tipperary,
is Imlagh, swamp. One of the first Irish
saints, st. Allbhe, built church On the edge
of lake that once existed there, and the place
has been see ever since. Cullen, County Cork,
is from Cuillion, the holly, and the word Gull
lion has curious history. On the Druidic New
Years Day, when the chief priest cut the mis-
tletoe from the oak tree, the Gauls cried: "Au
Gull Tan nesyi" whence the festival or custom
of the Guignolee which exists in Brittany and
Lower Canada. Gui is the French for mistle-
toe and cuilion looks as IL it might be a cor
ruption OF Gui ran neuf.
THE CANDLES OF THE FAIRIES.
Lisgonnell, County Tyrone, is an uncanny
spot meaning the lis or fort OF the candles.
These candles are seen all over Ireland and are
popularly supposed to be of fairy origin, but
are more probably the French feGr toilets or
will-o'-the-wisps. Lisnascreagh means the fort
of the screeching, because there o. nights the
fairies meet to fight, and fighting screech. The
peasant knows that when the fairies make war
upon each other in this way trouble Is brewing
for poor old Ireland. 1t is probable, therefore,
that the fairies are perpetually at war. The
Irish names, and there are thousands OF them,
in which the word Ross or Ros appears, are us
ually connected with a wood. Thus New Ross,
County Wexford, is called in the old writings
Ros-mic- -Treoin, the wood of the son OF Treun.
This has been corrupted by the natives into
Rosemacrone, and it is said that one Rose Ma
crone founded the town. Shillelagh, barony
in Wicklow, was once the camp or settlement
of the descendants of Elach. 1t was famous
for its oak woods, hence an oak stick came to
be known as a shillelagh. Tamlaght has ap-
peared in the cable dispatches more than once
of late as the name OF townlands where the
Sub-Commissioners Of the Land Court have re-
duced rents and inspected farms. It is COM
mon name and sometimes appears in the form
OF Tallaght or Towlaght or Toulett or taw-
laght It means the monument of the plague.
The first colonist who settled In Ireland was
Casair, beautiful young woman who landed
ON the coast of Waterford exactly forty days
before the deluge. So far as is known, the
stream of immigration was suspended during
the flood; but shortly after the waters subsided,
Parthalon landed with band OF followers and
settled at Tallaght, near Dublin. Tradition
records that this colony was swept away by an
epidemic, 10000 persons pershing IN one week
1t has been contended, but not with much sue
cess, that Caius Julius Caesar was an Irishman
and came of the family of Casair. There is no
doubt, however, if the contentious of some
Irishmen are worth anything, that Coriolanns
was originally bog-trotter, Cory O'Laney BY
name, and OF course Orion was giaringiy
Irish.
THE LEGEND OF LoUGH FINN.
Lough Finn is 80 called in the tradition be-
cause there Finn, the sister of Fergeman, one
Of the heroes of Finn MacCumhall perished
while swimming to the relief of Fergeman,
who had been attacked by wild boar. Cashel
means a castle. Core, one Of the Kings OF
Munster, erected fort there which became
the centre of his dominion. Some authorities
say that it is derived from Cis-all-tribute rent
IA tax like the soutage in early English histo-
~, because there the Kings of Munster re-
ceiyed their rents. The no-rent programme
dates back to that day, for it is recorded that
the sub-chiefs struck against Cores demands
and left him as poor as a modern landlord. He
issued no proclamation denouncing that Land
League as illegal, but suddenly fell upon the
No-rent men and butchered them in cold blood,
placing their heads upon the battlements of
his castle as warning to all and sundry Core
became SO disguised with his tenantry that he
changed the name of Cashel to Sheerim, or
fairy-ridge, but after his death the original was
restored. Innumerable names end in "tinny,"
which is the Irish word "teine," meaning FIRE.
The Druids lighted fires in honor of their god
Belinus, alias Apollo on all their great feast
days, such as May Day and Midsummer Day.
The custom was, too, at no remote day, to
light the fords with pile of burning turf or q
lantern swinging in an adjacent tree; and this
practice is also accountable in many cases for
the termination 'stinny" Another common
termination Is "crohy' derived from 'scroch."
Croch literally means cross, but more often
gallows, hence names ending in "crohy" may
be taken to be those Of sites where the scaffoid
once stood, and where good patriots perished
at the hands of the common hangman. "Shal-
Ian" or 'shallon," another common termins-
tion, comes from "sealan," the rope used on
such painful occasions.