spade is used. It affords lime-stone and clay. Here is Blake's hill' over the sea, whither the young men of Galway were wont to come a horseback the third day of their May-game, and there dine between this hill and the castle of Barna. Sir Morogh Flaherty" of Aghnenure, defeated an army out of Clanrickard, the 22nd of June, A. D. 1564, on the strand of Traybane. -MS. Trin. Coll. Lib. H. 2, 17. I here take the opportunity of correcting an error in the History of Galway, p. 3, occasioned by adopting Vallancey's erroneous derivations of Clann Feapgal and Gaillim, neither of which means "tribes of merchants," as there stated: the former signifying the descendants of Farrell, a Christian name common among the O'Hallorans; and the latter the river which flows through the town. See note, p. 28, ante. For more of the sept of O'Halloran, see Additional Notes. 'Blake's hill.—In Irish Cnoc a blacaiz, is now called the White Cliff of Barna, and appears rather a conspicuous object on entering the bay. The May games, and other old customs, as “riding the ring," &c., formerly practised here, have long since fallen into disuse. The "young men" of the present day would be ashamed of those homely but manly amusements of their forefathers; although it is to be feared, that many of their modern pastimes are not altogether of so innocent a character. name of his celebrated kinsman Morough na d-tuadh, [Morough of the Battleaxes] O'Flaherty. But the omission in this instance I consider merely accidental; although in our author's time, when the Irish were broken down by the wars of the seventeenth century, many of them began to fashion their names, by omitting the prefixes O' and Mac, which were among the few remnants of national distinction that then remained to them. This they did to make their old Irish names more English-like, and consequently more palatable to their dominant neighbours; and it was a literal fulfilment of the wish of Spenser, expressed a century before, that "all the O's and Mac's should be utterly forbidden and extinguished." Many of the O'Flaherties, and chiefly the more respectable of them, then became mere "Flaherties." Our author never submitted to this mark of national degradation, like his kinsmen of Aghnenure, or Lemonfield. Then appeared, for the first time, "Bryan Flaherty, of Lemonfield, Esq. Morogh Flaherty, his son. Edmond Flaherty, of Tolly," &c.-Extract from the will of the first named, dated the 30th Dec. A. D. 1721, bane'. This strand yields plenty of cockles; and, with a drudge, oysters are to be found near it. Westward from thence, and from Galway four miles, the river of Forbagh runs to the sea; near which was a great fish cast, Anno 1667, another about a mile thence at Koylagh, the 17th of May, 1674, thirty foot long and seaven foot high. Two miles from the river of Forbagh" to the river of Spidell*, on which the salmon cannot pass a steep salmon leap, a mile from the bridge on the mouth of the river, first built Anno 1670, by the publick charges. On the east-side of the river, by the high water mark of the sea, stands the church of Spidell, dedicated to St. Enna', patron of Aran, whose feast is kept the 21st day of March. Spidell is so called of Spittle, or Hospitall. From this river, which separates the parish of Moycullin here from the parish of Kilanhin on the west Prerog. Office. For valuable observations on Irish names, see Mr. O'Donovan's curious papers in the Irish Penny Journal, A. D. 1841, which it is to be hoped he may yet be induced to enlarge and give in a more substantial form to the public. V ▾ Traybane. In Irish, Trái bán, liteterally the White Strand, as it is still called. Cockles are here found in abundance; but no oysters. The fishermen pleasantly relate, that the latter migrated to the opposite shore of the bay, to the great oyster beds of Poldoody, belonging to that excellent and patriotic gentleman, Burton Bindon, Esq. "Forbagh.-Fopbaċ, now pronounced Furrobagh. This river flows into the bay. In the Composition of A. D. 1585, Ballyneforbagh in Gnobeg, is stated to contain four quarters of land, which, with most of of that district, was granted by James I. to Hugh O'Flaherty, our author's father, by letters patent, dated 25th Jan. A. D. 1617. -Rot. Pat. * Spidell. Spidéal, an hospital. Spital is an old English term for hospital, and is still used in Scotland. "Rob not the spital."-Jonson. In the Composition of A. D. 1585, the townland here is called Ballynspiddell. The river of Spiddle is nine miles west of Galway, and is much prized for salmon fishing. It flows out of a lake in the townland of Shannagarraun, and falls into the bay nearly opposite Ceánn bonne, or Black head. Y St. Enna.For an account of this celebrated Saint, whose memory is still venerated here, and in the islands of Aran, see Colgan's Acta Sanctorum, p. 704. of it, to the river of Ally are two miles; and in the midle way is the creeke of Crompan, a very secure harbour for boats, much frequented by the fishermen of Galway. Ally river divides Gnobeg on the east, from Gnomore on the west in those parts, whence to Cromlin river is two miles: not far from which, westward, 3rd June, 1682, was a fish cast on Miny shore, thirty foot long and seaven high. Near Miny is the castle of Inveran, where Walter Fada Bourke was murthered by the procurement of his stepmother Finnola River of Ally.-In Irish Ɑbainn na h-aille, so called from the townland of Aille, through which it flows. It is two miles west of Spiddle. "Gnobegg is bounded from Srawan I Garwane on the north side, to Galway, saving the liberties, and soe alonge the river of Donkelie (or Ally) to Galway aforesaid, by east."-Rot. Pat. 29° Eliz., quoted in Appendix. The name of this river may be traced to the O'Kealy's (O'Cadhla), the ancient chiefs of Conmhaicne-mara, of whom more will be found in the sequel. a Cromlin.—Miny.—Inveran.—Cpuim¿linn. This river flows into the bay between the townlands of Poulgorm and Cartronkeel, about three Irish miles west of Ally river. There are two portions of the parish of Kilcummin here insulated by the parish of Killannin.-Miny. Now called Minna.-Inveran. Inbepan. This castle stands a short distance west of Cromlin river, on a little cpompán, or creek, from which it takes its name. b Walter Fada Bourke.-Walter the Tall. He was the son of David Bourke (great grandson of Edmund na fesoige, for whom see Lodge's Peerage, vol. iv. p. 231), by his first wife. Finola O'Flaherty was the second wife of David. By her he had Riroeapo an lapain, called Iron Dick, and to secure the inheritance for the latter, his mother caused his elder halfbrother, Walter Fada, to be murdered, as above related. In this object the murderess succeeded, for her son, Iron Dick, did inherit all his father's vast possessions, and became one of the greatest men of his time. See Sir Henry Sidney's curious description of him, quoted by Lodge, vol. iv. p. 232, where, among other things, he says, "Surelye, my lords, he is well wonne, for he is a great man; his land lyeth along the west-north-west coast of this realme, where he hath many goodly havens, and is a Lorde in territore of three tymes as much land as the Earle of Clanrickarde is." He was father of Sir Tibbott na Long, first Viscount Mayo. The retributive justice of Providence visibly pursued this foul murder, in the fate of that man's descendants. To pursue the subject further would Finnola Flaherty, by her brother Donnel Fitz-Rory Og Flaherty, Anno 1549, deceased. Thence, westward, at Moerras, is an altar of St. Columb-Kille by a brooke, and his well within the sea shore. His feast is celebrated on the 9th of June. From Cromlin river to the river of Casla are two miles, This river falls into Casla haven, and hath salmon and trout-fishing on it yearly. These white trouts are called Lihain, and come on the rivers from the sea as salmons doe. On Casla haven, in the year 1674, memorable for dearth of corn through all Ireland, the herring fishing of Galway Bay failing, herring fishing was discovered, and soe continued for five years after, and failed againe. They were larger and sooner come than Galway fish. There I saw a herring eighteen inches long. Between Casla Haven and Fearmore, or the Great Man's Haven', lyes the be irrelevant here. It is, therefore, left to the future historian of this district. On c Moerras. Casla. - On Mackensie's chart, Moerras is called Murris. It is west of Inveran castle. On the townland of Cloghmore there is an old churchyard called after St. Columbkille. Mackensie's chart and Larkin's map are marked the ruins of a church. See the Ordnance Survey map of this district, for the situation of the altar and well nentioned above. The river of Casla, where it falls into the bay of that name, is four Irish miles west of the mouth of Crumlin river. The bay is called in Irish Cuan Chairle, the bay of Caushlia. Mackensie and Larkin properly call it Casleh bay; but Mr. Nimmo, in his piloting directions before alluded to, calls it "Cas land tello, or Casleh harbour," p. 172. Castello is a corrupt pronunciation of Casleh, or Casla, the proper name of the bay, and therefore ought to have been rejected by him. d Great Man's Haven.-In Irish Cuan an fir moir, now called Great Man's Bay, lies west of Casla, a peninsula of about two Irish miles in breadth running between them. It was called by the same name in A. D. 1560 See the Annals of the Four Masters, who relate, that in that year, a vessel was driven on a rock at the entrance of Great Man's Bay in Iar Connaught, and that upwards of 100 men were lost, among whom was Tuathal (Toole) O'Malley, the best pilot of a long ship in his time. The people here relate, that the "Great man" who gave name to this bay, was a giant; land of Killin, about four miles, where stands a church by the sea-side, which antiquity named Inismacaw church, the feast day whereof is on the 15th of March. Westward of Great Man's Haven, that he lived a long time ago, and seized and plundered all the vessels that passed that way. They still shew a large hollow rock which they call his churn, Cuinneog an fir móip; and three other rocks called Ŏrannrad an fir móir, which supported the cauldron wherein he boiled the whales which he caught with a fishing rod! "His angle-rod made of a sturdy oak, His line a cable which in storms ne'er broke; His hook he baited with a dragon's tail, And sat upon a rock, and bobb'd for whale." That some "great man," "at some distant period, did dwell at or about Great Man's Bay, and give name to it, may be admitted without incurring the charge of credulity but when he lived, and his name, and whether he was one of the mighty Fomorians, or powerful Tuatha de Dananns, or other early colonists of Ireland, will probably, like other historical questions of similar importance, remain secrets for ever. : island of the sons of Adam. When or by whom it was built, or why "antiquity named" it so, we are ignorant. It lies in ruins on the west side of Casla bay, near the shore. Garmna.-Is an island lying between Great Man's Bay and Cassin Bay, mentioned immediately after. Lawroill, Leamcóill, i. e. Elmwood, anglicised Loughil, forms the southern part of the island of Garomna. The ruins of Olither church, in the south-west of this island, are marked on Larkin's map. Letter Melan.-Zeitip Maellain. The island of Lettermullen lies to the west of Garomna; and the castle stands on the north side of the island. It is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, at A.D. 1584, as the residence of Morogh Mac Hugh. Keanngualaim.-Ceann Gualaim, a small island immediately west of Lettermullen. From our author's expression it would appear, that in his time they were united; but in Mackensie's chart and Larkin's map, they appear as separate islands. Ceann Gualaim, sometimes called Gulin head, and not unfrequently Golden head, by such of the natives as speak English. See Nimmo's Piloting Directions, p. 174, for an account of the tides along this coast. Cassin haven.— Cuan Cairin, now generally called Casheen Bay. It lies to the north of Golam Head. |