Friday 31 December 2010

Bushmills - Kiss the Causey 2

Some new signs have appeared since I blogged on this topic a year ago. The Ulster-Scots forms appear underneath the official names and some of the latter were introduced in rural areas in the 1970s; townland names have been reinstated in addresses. Irish forms for Moyle District Council [pdf file] have been compiled by the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project. The Dictionary of the Scots Language is a useful source for Scots spellings.


DSL gives Raw, Rau for a line of houses. MDC has a translation of the street name: Corrán Mhic Giolla Dhuibh. It's based on the presumption that Huey derives from an older Argyllshire name Macilghuie. MDC refers to a Robert Huey, a Bushmills grocer mentioned in the Ordnance Survey, but I think Dr David Huey, a Bushmills doctor who came from Ballynarry Upper, to be the more likely origin. Huey's Corner is at the junction of Priestland Road and Dunluce Road.


MDC: Bóthar an Chairn Bhodhair is based on Bóthar, 'road' and Carn Bodhar, 'deaf carn'. Staunin is Scots for standing and this would relate to a standing stone rather than to a cairn, a heap of loose stones.


The Haw is a minor name in the townland of Curramoney, parish of Billy. It also appears twice as a townland name in north-east Donegal. MDC: Bóthar na hInse - It seems to be a variant of haugh, a Scots 
word for flat ground beside a river.

DSL:     *m.Sc. 1996 John Murray Aspen 4: 

ahint thir hills
in amang the riggs an dykes,
haughs an howes,
there’s bits and bittocks

Perhaps Haugh Road would be more appropriate than Hawthorne (as in bush).


MDC: Bóthar na Sráide is based on An tSráid, 'the street/village'. Straid is a minor name in the townland of Croaghmore, parish of Ballintoy; it also appears as an element in the nearby townland of Ballinastraid.

DSL: Strade is a variant of straid as in astride a horse. I can't see a connection with Straid, the place-name.

Heavily in the sadle I  strade , And all the day on him I rade