Ceann Duimhche / Kilshannig West
Ceann Duimhche (kyoun deeheh) – Head of the Dunes. ‘Head of the Cauldron’ as recorded in August 1841 by John O’Donovan in the Ordnance Survey of Ireland Name Books.
Carraigreacha (korigrachuh) – Rocks.
The Three Grey Stones – On the strand below Ceann Duimhche village. When the stones were visible to the local fishermen, the tide was low enough to examine a net in Scairt.
The Toppy Stone – When the stone was covered, the tide was sufficiently high to go hauling from the strand at Lártrá.
Cloch a’ Bhóthair (cluch uh voh-hir) – The stone of the road. Before the Ceann Duimhche to Kilshannig road was built in 1902, the track was constantly covered with stones, deposited by the sea.
Cuan a’ Scrogáin (koo-un uh scrugawn) – Scraggane Bay.
An Calaithe Mór (un koluhee moo-ur) – The big landing place.
Ceann Duimhche Gap.
Joe Batt’s. Owned by Joe Batt Flynn, the field was used as a football pitch during the 1950’s.
Na Logáin (nuh lugawn) – The hollows. Low-lying fields, often flooded during winter or following a storm tide.
Lártrá (lawr-traw) – The middle of the beach. The beach between the villages of Ceann Duimhche and Kilshannig.
Cloch na Pláighe (cluch nuh plaw) – The stone of the plague. The people were afraid to pass here for fear of contracting the plague which suggests that it was a burial place in the past. In later years, it became a quarry. Each family in Kilshannig had their own marked section which provided stones for building walls.
Ard na Scairte (awrd nuh skairteh) – The height of Scairt.
Lúib na Scairte (loob nuh skairteh) – The loop of Scairt. A curve on the beach at Scairt formed by an outcrop of limestone.
An Chúlóg (un choolohg) – The small nook/recess.
The Sports Field – Owned by publican Thomas O’Connor, it was used as a football field from the late 1920’s until the mid-1940’s.
The Hut – On 5 January 1887, the Irish National League built a ‘hut’ in one day for Thomas O’Connor who had been evicted from his house and farm in Fahamore. The Hut became a popular venue for dances, films and travelling entertainers during the 1930’s and 1940’s, organised by the Ceann Duimhche publican, Thomas O’Connor.
The Hut Field.
An Póinín (un pohneen) – The small pound.
Barra na Duimhche (boruh nuh deeheh) – Top of the Dunes.
Strácaí ’n Tobair (strawkeen tobir) – The narrow fields of the well.
The Thirty Ropes – In the past, land was always measured in spades, ropes and roods. A spade measured 5ft. 3 ins., a rope measured 80 spades and a rood measured 40 ropes. All farmers could tell how many roods and ropes were in every field they had and in their neighbours’ also.
The Roods – An English measurement of land measuring a quarter of an English acre.
An Gallán (un gulawn) – The standing stone. The origins and purpose of the 3.8m standing stone are unclear but it is accepted that galláns marked route ways, boundaries or the burial places of important people. The Kerry Field Club, in 1941, speculated that the stone was used by the inhabitants of Oileán tSeannaigh as a marker towards Binn Ós Gaoith during foggy weather. John Kenny, in the National Folklore Schools Collection 1936-37, recorded that ‘there are priests buried under it’.
The Gallán – Field.
Na Seana-ghoirt (nuh shanuh g*irt) – The old fields. Previously banks of dry sand.
The Klondykes – Fields with high yields somewhat similar to the goldfields of the Klondyke in Alaska.
The Paddocks.
The Clann Clochs (cloun cluch) – Fields.
Na Strácaí Beaga (nuh strawkee byuguh)
– The small narrow fields.
Kilshannig West.
