placenamesRathernan
Ráth Eirnín
Lewis described settled ground enclosed by the surrounding bog.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Ráth Eirnín · Irish · main form
- Rathernan · English · main form
Place & story
An inland island in the bog
Rathernan and neighbouring Kilmeague formed what Samuel Lewis called the Isle of Allen in 1837: ground surrounded by the Bog of Allen, rather than an island in a lake. Writing under Rathernon, he identified the Hill of Allen as the parish’s main landscape feature and placed Ballyteigue Castle’s ruins on its northern border. His description records a historical relationship between the parish, the bog and the hill; it does not establish the extent of surviving bog today. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Rathernan. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Rathernon, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-10-29. How this page was prepared.