In my family’s region within Cois Fharraige lays a range of gardens and landmarks bearing names that might seem inconsequential to the untrained eye. Few people beyond the borders of this land have any notion of their being. Notwithstanding, their significance cannot be undermined.
Names such as Garrynin, Curragh Garden, Infirmary, The Furthest Outfield Garden, Cladding Garden, Granite Garden, Cloch a’Teampáin, and Garryninline might typically be referred to as insignificant placenames. These monikers occupy diminutive spaces and are indeed familiar to only a sparse population.
Still, their value is entrenched in how they reflect historical fragments and establish a bond with the local environment. Their existence presents us with insights into the geographical attributes of the land and the segment of life that may have since ceased to exist.
Today in the Curragh Garden the presence of a currach demon is evident, but nobody can recall when it was that their numbers surged within my family’s territory. The garden’s name, Garry an Lin, is a hint that at some point, their population had indeed increased.
There remains hardly any evidence of the culture of the net within the region today, yet the old house could be the last vestige of that culture. What exactly does Stone imply by Teampáin is intriguing. The term refers to an enormous boulder located along the shoreline, in the vicinity of the Shore Garden.
A teampán, on one hand, is a musical instrument, and one might wonder about its correlation with a stone. No visible similarities with a harp or any other instrument can be drawn. However, natural occurrences like flooding and beaching gives us insight into how rocks lay on the ocean bed. This pattern can be likened to a minimal harbour, which expands almost linear towards the Stonewall while sea inundation occurs.
Could it have been a gateway for the vessels historically known to seafarers, with Stone a’Teampáin serving as a guidepost? As stated by O’Donnell’s dictionary, the term drive holds a dual meaning, not as an instrument, but as a sheltered, profound harbour.
Who’d be bold enough to dismiss the importance of such minor placenames? They’re quite significant after all, as suggested by the Placenames Committee.
In accordance with the Official Languages Act, a fresh placenames committee is due for establishment, with appointments to be confirmed this week, and the inaugural assembly slated for this coming Thursday.
The Placenames Committee came into being in 1992 with the aim to tackle the ‘Tuscany Downs’ phenomenon, an enduring trend in which developers rely on fabricated names of foreign elegance to christen residential estates, rather than using the local vernacular. It’s speculated that they are under the illusion that such labels could impart a sense of opulence and popularity to their properties.
The practice continues, sadly diluting and eradicating traditional Irish place names. This is unsurprising, as the creation of new estates continues apace with fabricated names being bestowed upon them – clearly proof that the trend is far from obsolete.
An enforcement that encourages communities within these new estates to retain their original names will be instrumental, lending value to the locale’s heritage and culture.
Slated for appointment to the committee are ten members, inclusive of a chairperson, with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media’s Chief Placenames Officer serving as the secretary. The committee, like its predecessors, will operate on a voluntary basis and will serve a tenure of three years.
On the establishment of this new committee, Minister Catherine Martin commented, “Having experts who have been trained in this field to assist the newly-established Placenames Committee under this statute is a positive development.” She added, “This new team will aid my Department in speeding up placenames orders, and ensure that the public has clear visibility of the Placenames Branch’s efforts.”
Demonstrating the complexity and delicacy of the placenames matter, there’s news of a local councillor in County Tipperary attempting to rename a village. Reports suggest that a name alteration is being considered for Ballyclerihan. It’s said that locals refer to the village as Clerihan. Local representative John Fitzgerald was quoted on the radio as insisting that not only the locals but even the dogs in the town required this change.
While it’s unclear whether there are plans for alterations to the Irish version, the parish and school are referred to as ‘Clerks’ in the Schools’ Collection at dúchas.ie. The surname Ó Clerkáin is referred to on logainm.ie. Yet, a different interpretation is provided in the Schools’ Collection’s description, where an 1930s entry by educator, James Bates, suggests that the term ‘clerihan’ references shrub vegetation in local tradition. According to Mr. Bates, the village south side had a hazel from which the name originated.
Local place names can indeed stir up a wealth of knowledge and curiosities! Preserving a country’s place names is crucial, as demonstrated by the complications involved in the story of Bally clerk. Dr Fiachra Mac Gabhann, a distinguished scholar and contemporary, collected the place names of islands, natural features, and townlands in Co Mayo. His collection, titled Logainmneacha Mhaigh Eo, was termed ‘one of the most significant books ever published in Irish’.
This perhaps hints at the scale and value of the work carried out by the Placenames Committee. Roughly 5,000 primary schools participated in the Schools’ Collection during the 1930s, which has since amassed nearly half a million pages in the UCD collection’s archives.
As time goes by and generations pass, we risk losing many minor and major place names. The selling of properties and change in ownership can further aid in their disappearance. However, efforts to immortalise them are still possible. A new database of minor place names, established in 2016, can be accessed at meitheal.logainm.ie/ga/. It might prove useful to create a new team focused on educating primary school children on this matter.
This could greatly expedite this vital work!