placenamesBlackwater
An Poll Gorm
Blackwater developed beside a striking river crossing on the road between Kenmare and Sneem, with salmon fishing and a decorative cottage adding other strands to its history.
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
- An Poll Gorm · Irish · main form
- Blackwater · English · main form
Place & story
A crossing above the rocky river
Daniel Augustus Beaufort visited Blackwater on 28 August 1788 and described a wooded glen, a fast river tumbling over rocks and a lofty bridge linking two sloping roads. The architectural inventory dates the present double-arched rubble-stone bridge to around 1820. Its parapets have stones set on edge, and a pedestrian refuge projects on the southern side. Beaufort’s earlier account records the established crossing before the date assigned to the surviving structure. [2] [3]
Salmon fishing and village fairs
In 1837 Samuel Lewis described a salmon fishery at the river mouth, chiefly owned by the Reverend Denis Mahony of Dromore Castle. He also noted visiting fly-fishers, who then depended on accommodation at Kenmare. Fairs took place in July and December, while monthly petty sessions for the district were held across the parish boundary at Cloverfield in Templenoe. Fishing, trade and local administration all drew people into the river’s small settlement and surrounding district. [4]
Blackwater Cottage
Blackwater Cottage in Derreenafoyle is a nineteenth-century cottage orné, dated to around 1860 by the architectural survey. Its single-storey form has attic accommodation and a projecting open timber porch. Decorative bargeboards, overhanging eaves and lead finials enliven the roofline, while paired and tripled windows have pointed heads. The survey also records timber-lined window reveals and exposed ceiling joists inside. An associated outbuilding and ornamental iron gates complete the small architectural ensemble. [5]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Kerry
- Barony
- Dunkerron South
- Civil parish
- Kilcrohane
- Within
- Derreenafoyle
- Coordinates
- 51.85522, -9.74459
- Logainm ID
- 1415941 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Blackwater. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Rev. Daniel A. Beaufort’s Tour of Kerry 1788, 28 August, page 210 · Daniel Augustus Beaufort, edited by Gerard J. Lyne; CELT, University College Cork
- Blackwater Bridge, inventory 21309202 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Blackwater: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837 · Samuel Lewis; Library Ireland
- Blackwater Cottage, inventory 21309201 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-08-12. How this page was prepared.