placenamesThe Salmon Leap
Eas Craoibhe
The Salmon Leap at the Cutts links the River Bann’s fisheries with Coleraine’s development and the archaeological landscape of nearby Mountsandel.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Eas Craoibhe · Irish · main form · validated name
- The Salmon Leap · English · main form
Place & story
A valuable fishery
The Salmon Leap, also known as the Cutts, was one of the Bann’s important fishing places. Coleraine Museum’s Causeway Salmon project describes the fisheries as an inducement offered to the London companies during the Plantation of Ulster. The Honourable The Irish Society, based at the Cutts, received Bann fishing rights. The river’s natural resources consequently became bound up with the establishment and financing of the new town. [2]
Traps and fast water
The museum identifies the traps at the Cutts, alongside the Cranagh draft net, among the most productive local fisheries. Waterfalls and faster, oxygenated flows attracted salmon to particular stretches of the otherwise slow Lower Bann. Alterations changed these places over time, but fishing remained closely associated with their river conditions. The Salmon Leap’s name thus identifies a working fishery as well as a river feature. [2]
The neighbouring Mountsandel landscape
Nearby Mountsandel Wood contains evidence of one of Ireland’s earliest known human settlements. The Department for Communities records flint tools and camps associated with fishing at the natural weir. The separate earthwork fort overlooking the river is thought to have Anglo-Norman origins, with possible later modification. A woodland route descends towards the Bann near the Cutts, connecting these different periods of occupation in the same riverside landscape. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — The Salmon Leap. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Causeway Salmon Trail: the Bann and the Cutts · Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Museum Services
- Mountsandel Fort, LDY007:020 · Department for Communities
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-03-13. How this page was prepared.