Paul Tempan

Lecture delivered to CANI, the Classical Association, on Wed 29th Jan, 2020, at the Peter Froggatt Centre, Queen's University Belfast. The topic was Latin/Romance loanwords in early Irish, an area I've been working on for the last couple of years. The principal finding of my research is that there is a small but significant component in the early Irish vocabulary consisting of previously unidentified loanwords from Latin/Romance, and more than half of these have specific links to Old Spanish, suggesting strong early medieval contacts between Ireland and Spain. The words involved are mostly quite common items of lexis, such as adhmad, áit, álainn, bán, odhar, réalta and rince, but there are also some words known principally from place-names, e.g. áth, cairthe/coirthe, ladhar, mothar, sceilg/speilg.

This talk about the Irish element bréadach and the place-names Breda (a townland name and part of the parish name Knockbreda) and Newtownbreda was delivered at Newtownbreda Library on Tuesday Nov 12, 2019.  The presentation covered the landscape of the area, history of the names and comparisons with other instances of bréadach in Irish place-names.  The case was made for a new interpretation of the element referring to rising ground / upland and a derivation was propsed from the Proto-Celtic root brigant-.

A talk on Irish surnames and other surnames used in Ireland: how they came into being, how they work, how they can be categorised and what they mean.  The talk focused mainly on Irish and Scottish Gaelic surnames, but mention was also made of English, Scots, Welsh and Manx names, as well as some from further afield.  This talk was given on Tuesday 5th November, 2019, at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, as part of series of 6 evening talks funded by Foras na Gaeilge and organised organised by Gordon McCoy of Turas.

A talk on Irish place-names given on Tuesday 29th October, 2019, at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, as part of series of 6 evening talks funded by Foras na Gaeilge and organised organised by Gordon McCoy of Turas.
The presentation covered the following topics:
1. The system of Irish administrative units
2. Irish language and other languages which have contributed to the stock of place-names found in Ireland.
3. Logainmneacha Bhéal Feirste — some place-names in and around Belfast
4. A sample of the earliest layer of place-names in Ulster.
5. Resources for researching place-names

A talk on Irish place-names, given as part of "Discover the Irish Language", a day of talks and taster classes - 31st March 2018, organised by Gordon McCoy of Turas at the Skainos Centre, Newtownards Road, Belfast.
1. The system of administrative units
2.    Irish language and other languages which have contributed to the stock of place-names found in Ireland.
3. Logainmneacha Bhéal Feirste — Place-Names in and around Belfast
4. Resources for researching place-names

A talk on Irish surnames and other surnames used in Ireland: how they came into being, how they work, how they can be categorised and what they mean.  The talk focused mainly on Irish and Scottish Gaelic surnames, but mention was also made of English, Scots, Welsh and Manx names, as well as some from further afield.  This talk was given as part of "Discover the Irish Language", a day of talks and taster classes - 31st March 2018, organised by Gordon McCoy of Turas at the Skainos Centre, Newtownards Road, Belfast.

Public Talk at Carryduff Library on Wednesday 21 February, 2018, 6.30pm.
The talk covered local surnames found in Co. Down, mostly of Irish, English and Scottish origin, but mention was also made of Welsh and Manx names, as well as some from further afield.  It dealt not just with origin and meaning, but also structure and typology.  Readers at Carryduff Library had the chance to sign up and request information on their own surname or other names of interest.

An illustrated talk, examining the evidence for Brittonic influence on the early Irish language and specifically on place-names, then discussing some early place-names from Co. Down whose origin cannot be adequately explained as Irish and where Brittonic may offer a solution.  The names discussed included Lambeg (cf. Welsh llan), Bangor, Saintfield (Tavenaghnewin in 1615, cf. W. newyn), Drummiller (3 instances in Co. Down, cf. W. moelfre, often anglicised as 'miller', 'mellor'), Tullycarnet (cf. W. carnedd), Ballymiscaw (cf. W. misgawn), Gortgrib (cf. W. crib), Castlereagh (cf. W. rhiw, Ir. rubha), Braniel (cf. W. broniallt), Galwally (in district Gallouche), Breda (Knockbreda, Newtownbreda, Ir. bréadach, cf. W. braint, 'Brent' names in England < Proto-Celtic *brigant-), Leveroge (cf. W. llifeiriog), Collin (cf. W. cwlen), Sketrick (cf. sgethrog), Dufferin (cf. W. dyffryn) and Drin (dring).  The conclusion is that, with a small percentage of early Irish place-names, a Brittonic origin provides a more satisfactory solution than previous interpretations, not only in terms of phonology but also in terms of the geographical context.  Most of these names involve prosaic topographical descriptions which correspond to the local landscape.

This was a short 20 minute talk for the students of Belfast Free Spanish Lessons as part of their evening of Saint Patrick's celebrations on Monday 14th March 2016.  The notes for this talk have now been expanded and updated in March 2020 for a longer presentation.

An illustrated talk discussing place-names in the vicinity of Comber in north Down, particularly those which feature on the maps of the Hamilton estate made by Thomas Raven in 1625.  This set of maps, held at the North Down Museum in Bangor, where they have been digitised for display and detailed study, is a valuable resource for local history and place-name research.  This talk developed on an earlier talk given at Dundonald.

An illustrated talk discussing place-names in the vicinity of Dundonald in north Down, particularly those which feature on the maps of the Hamilton estate made by Thomas Raven in 1625.  This set of maps, held at the North Down Museum in Bangor, where they have been digitised for display and detailed study, is a valuable resource for local history and place-name research.

An introduction to Irish placenames, overview of languages involved, townlands and the administrative system, discussion of some important names of the Ards.  Students looked for their own townland on map and looked up origin and meaning in online database: www.placenamesni.org

Topographical place-names have tended to be somewhat neglected in Ireland favour of administrative names such as townlands, parishes and baronies. However, the work of Dr. Margaret Gelling on English topographical names has underlined the importance of detailed examination of the landscape. Four lesser known generic elements referring to the landscape were discussed: lágh, carbad, trosc and mionnán as well as two place-names, Binn Chuilceach/Cuilcagh in Co. Fermanagh and Cnoc Daod/Hungry Hill in Co. Cork. The element lágh (often anglicised as law, e.g. Clonderalaw, Luggala) which Joyce interpreted as ‘a hill', cognate with Anglo-Saxon law (recte hlaw), could be a loan but cannot be cognate as a Celtic equivalent would begin with kl-.  It is, however, is more likely to have the meaning ‘spear’, either literally or figuratively.  Carbad which is often interpreted as ‘chariot’ is often seen to mean ‘boulder’ as the locations are in many cases too wild, mountainous and trackless for chariot-driving to have been possible. Trosc which is interpreted by Joyce as ‘cod’,  a word borrowed from Norse, in fact refers consistently to hills and probably is a more ancient term for a relief feature, perhaps representing tor + the termination –sc. Mionnán which is not found in the north of Ireland means ‘a pinnacle, sea stack, rocky island’ along the west coast of Ireland . Some problematic individual names were discussed: Binn Chuilceach or Cuilcagh Mountain is likely to mean ‘cloaked peak’ (as proposed in HDGP), and in any case can hardly mean 'chalky' (Joyce), an interpretation completely at odds with the local geology (predominantly grey sandstone with some limestone on lower slopes). Cnoc Daod in the Caha Mountains can best be explained as a development from Cnoc Déad, the final element being déad ‘jaw, set of teeth’, perhaps referring to one or more jagged ridges leading to the summit to the summit of Hungry Hill.  It is therefore essential to take local land-forms into account when interpreting topographical place-names, by observing them in the field and/or using map contour detail and photography, if the risk of erroneous 'desk-bound' interpretations is to be kept to a minimum.  Frequently the interpretations resulting from more rigorous observation are more prosaic, less fanciful, but thoroughly rooted in the landscape.

Covered the element tairbeart 'a portage place' in Irish place-names, with comparative material from Scottish place-names.  Why is Tarbert, Co. Kerry, so named, when it is not apparently located on an isthmus?  Also some discussion of the origin and meaning of the term bridewell.  How did a name for a holy well dedicated to a female saint associated primarily with Ireland get attached to a palace in London and then come to Ireland as part of the British penal system? The talk was preceded by a field-trip to Tarbert Island, where access onto the ESB site had been arranged.