Featured themes 08/03/2025

More Welshmen, mistranslation, and the surname Wallace
Walshpool / Cloch an Bhreatnaigh ‘the stone structure of An Breatnach’
(see logainm.ie #35529)

Date: 08/03/2025

We continue on the theme of Welsh surnames and other references to early Anglo-Norman colonists from Wales in Irish townland names. Many of you will have noted the frequency of the surname Walsh/Welsh and its Irish version Breatnach (pron. Breathnach) (literally ‘Welshman’, earlier also ‘Welsh-speaker’) in townland names. It is likely that many of the early Welsh-speaking settlers among the Anglo-Normans, regardless of how they were individually designated were likely simply referred to as Breatnach ‘Welshman’ in Irish, which eventually became established as a surname in its own right. (Note that the Welsh naming tradition was almost exclusively patronymic at the time of the early colony in Ireland, i.e., the individual would use their father’s name rather than a family name or surname.)

Irish Breatnach is often found anglicized as Brannagh, Brannaghe or similar in late medieval and early modern official sources, but the ‘translations’ Welsh and Walsh, etc., are also common. On occasion we find both in reference to the same individual. A gentleman named “John Walshe, alias Brenaugh” [Seán Breatnach] of Co. Kilkenny made a submission to the Lord Justice in 1578 (Calendar of State Papers relating to Ireland 1574-1585, p.145). But the submission had to be delivered by a third party, this Seán “not being able to express himself in English”. This is an unambiguous example of the m of the gaelicization of the Anglo-Norman colony in Ireland, even in heavily settled counties such as Kilkenny in the southeastern province of Leinster. (In fact, the evidence provided by townland names alone demonstrates how thoroughly Irish-speaking the extensive colony in Co. Kilkenny had become.)

The significant part played by the Welsh in the initial Anglo-Norman colony in Ireland is reflected in the fact that Walsh – the anglicized version of the surname Breatnach – is now the fourth most numerous of all Irish surnames (E. MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland, p.296). In fact, many English townland names containing the surname Walsh are likely to have been coined in Irish – containing Breatnach – and subsequently translated. We can often see this in the historical record, e.g. Walshtown (logainm.ie #17940) in Co. Galway, whose earliest attestation is ‘Ballenebrenagh’ (1585), reflecting an underlying Baile na mBreatnach ‘the town(land) of Na Breatnaigh (the Walshes; lit. the Welshmen)’; or Walshestown (logainm.ie #31828) in Co. Limerick, first attested as ‘Ballyubretnygh’ [sic] (1452) (Logainmneacha na hÉireann I: Contae Luimnigh, p.12) from Baile an Bhreatnaigh ‘the town(land) of An Breatnach (the person surnamed Walsh; lit. the Welshman)’.

As usual in multilingual historical environments, it can be very difficult to pinpoint the language of coinage of this type of placename. We can occasionally make some reasonable inferences, however. Take for example the two townlands called Walshestown (logainm.ie #54052; #54516) along with Walsheslough (logainm.ie #54358) – originally Walshtown – in the most southerly Wexford barony of Forth. We can be pretty sure that these names were coined in English, the language form which the majority of townland names in that barony derive. Clearly, Walsh need not always be considered to be from an anglicized form of Breatnach. The same applies for other similarly named townlands within the Pale such as Walshestown in Cos. Dublin (logainm.ie #17016) and Kildare (logainm.ie #25909; #25994; #25783). (Note, however, that these English placenames would have been known to the Irish-speaking residents of the Pale in gaelicized form, and not just in that minority of cases where the Irish version happens to creep into the official English records.)

There is, of course, ample direct evidence for the occurrence of Irish (An) Breatnach ‘the person surnamed Walsh; lit. the Welshman’ in townland names throughout the country. Ballinbranhig (logainm.ie #23908) in Co. Kerry is from Baile an Bhreatnaigh ‘the town(land) of An Breatnach’; see also Clonwalsh / Cluain an Bhreatnaigh ‘the pasture of An Breatnach’ (logainm.ie #48352) and Walshesbog / Currach an Bhreatnaigh ‘the marsh of An Breatnach’ (logainm.ie #48394) in Co. Tipperary; and Muingavrannig / Moing an Bhreatnaigh ‘the overgrown swamp/vegetation of An Breatnach’ (logainm.ie #24745) in Co. Kerry. (Knocknabranagh / Cnoc an Bhreatnaigh ‘the hill of An Breatnach’ (logainm.ie #3488) in Co. Carlow is possibly from Cnoc an Bhranair ‘the hill of the fallow land’.)

In Co. Mayo we have Walshpool (logainm.ie #35529), which the late Dr. Fiachra Mac Gabhann showed to be Ceathrú Mhór an Bhreatnaigh ‘the big quarter of An Breatnach’. This was the home of ‘Edmond Boy McWalter Brenagh’ [Éamann Buí mac Ualtair Breatnach (“yellow-haired Éamann Breatnach (Walsh), son of Ualtar”)] (1609). The alias Cloch an Bhreatnaigh ‘the stone structure of An Breatnach’ (‘Cloghbranagh’ (1635)) was incorrectly reinterpreted as *Loch an Bhreatnaigh ‘the lake of An Breatnach’ (‘Lough Brannagh’ (1661)) – due to the existence of a large lake in the north of the townland – whence the mistranslation Walshpool.

We find the plural form Na Breatnaigh (gen. na mBreatnach) ‘the Walshes; lit. the Welshmen’ in Baile na mBreatnach ‘the town(land) of Na Breatnaigh’, the forerunner to Ballybrannagh Lower/Upper (placenamesni.org Ballybrannagh) in Co. Down; Ballybrannagh (placenamesni.org Ballynabrannagh) in Co. Fermanagh; Ballinabranagh (logainm.ie #3215) and Ballynbranagh (logainm.ie #3573) in Co. Carlow; Ballybranagh (logainm.ie #12249) and Ballynabrannagh (logainm.ie #12427) in Co. Cork; Ballybrannagh (logainm.ie #24274) and Ballynabrennagh (logainm.ie # 24757) in Co. Kerry; and Ballinabrannagh (logainm.ie #55489) in Co. Wicklow. We have an unusually full historical record for Kilmorebrannagh / Coill Mhór na mBreatnach ‘the big wood of Na Breatnaigh’ (logainm.ie #25487) in Co. Kildare, clearly reflecting the gaelicized form of this surname in the heart of the Pale (‘i ccoill mhoir na mBrethnach’ (1419)). The townland of Graigue (logainm.ie #47688) in Co. Tipperary was called Gráig na mBreatnach ‘the hamlet of Na Breatnaigh’ in Irish, which reminds us of the English-language coinage Walshgraigue (logainm.ie #53920) in south Co. Wexford. And there were so many Walshes and Welsh settlers in the area around Ballyhale / Baile Héil ‘the town(land) of Howell [Welsh Hwyel]’ (logainm.ie #1412345) in south Co. Kilkenny – now famous for its hurling club – that the nearby mountain range is known as Sliabh Breatnach / Walsh Mountains (logainm.ie #1418629).

Note, however, that Walsh can also derive from Anglo-Norman French le Waleis. This name also literally meant ‘Welshman’, but it was phonetically adapted as Wallace in English and Bailis/Bhailis or An Bailiseach ‘the person with the surname Bailis/Bhailis’ in Irish. It occurs in Irish form in the older name of Scart / An Scairt (logainm.ie #31211) in Co. Limerick, namely Scairt Bhaile an Bhailisigh ‘the thicket of the town(land) of An Bailiseach’, attested as ‘Scarte Ballyn Wallishoe’ (1655), ‘Scartballyvallisha’ (*c.*1660) and ‘Scartballinvallishagh(yett)’ (1684) (see Logainmneacha na hÉireann I: Contae Luimnigh, p.243). The research of our erstwhile colleague Dr. Pádraig Ó Dálaigh on the placenames of Co. Cork has shown that one townland named Walshestown (logainm.ie #11757), along with Walshtown Beg/More (logainm.ie #12573) and Walshtownmore (logainm.ie #12167) were called Baile an Bhailisigh (Beag or Mór) ‘the town(land) of An Bailiseach’. The name le Waleis/Wallace also appears to be the underlying surname in the Irish placename Scarawalsh / Scairbh Bhailis ‘the shallow, ford of Bailis (Wallace)’ (logainm.ie #52147) just north of Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford (see Logainmneacha na hÉireann: Townland Names in Co. Wexford pp.1533-4).

This confusion of the surnames Walsh and Wallace was not just an English development. The Irish versions of the same names, Breatnach and Bhailis, seem to have been somewhat interchangeable, especially when translating from English. Nicholas Walsh is referred to as Nicolás Bhailis dobhí na Easbog rooirrdheirc a Nosruidhe in the introduction to the first Irish-language version of the New Testament in the 16th century he worked on (“Nicolás Bhailis [Walsh] who was Most Reverend Bishop of Ossory” Tiomna Nuadh ár dTighearna agus ár Slánuightheora Íosa Críost, corpas.ie). In 1664, Dubhaltach Mac Firbhisigh translated a 16th-century English-language account of the Walsh family in Ireland written by one Laurence Walsh. We find he uses the surname Bhails/Wails when speaking of individuals but at one point calls the family collectively Na Breathnaigh. He refers to the author of the account variously as Labhrás Wails .i. Breathnach, Labhrás Wailsh [sic] and Labhrás Bhailis nó Breathnach! (See A Lost History of the Walsh Family, 1588, ed. Dr. Nollaig Ó Muraíle, corpas.ie.) A branch of this family was based in Carrickmines / Carraig Mhaighin (#1371587) in southeast Co. Dublin, and the surrounding area was known as Walshes Country into the 17th century at least (‘the parts of the county Dublin, called Walshes and Harrolds countries’ 1604). It appears that the Irish name was Tuath Bhreatnach: speaking of confusion of surnames, we find the Dublin scribe Tadhg Ó Neachtain referring to the area as Tuath Bhranach (i.e., O’Byrnes Country) in 1728!

(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)

More Welshmen, mistranslation, and the surname Wallace Walshpool / Cloch an Bhreatnaigh ‘the stone structure of An Breatnach’ (see logainm.ie #35529)

More Welshmen, mistranslation, and the surname Wallace
Walshpool / Cloch an Bhreatnaigh ‘the stone structure of An Breatnach’
(see logainm.ie #35529)