placenamesKnocknacarry
Cnoc na Cora
Knocknacarry’s records connect a nineteenth-century school and village forges with an important geological exposure in the River Dun.
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
- Cnoc na Cora · Irish · main form · validated name
- Knocknacarry · English · main form
Place & story
From a thatched room to a national school
A temporary school opened in a thatched house at Knocknacarry in July 1850 while a permanent building was being prepared. Mary McAfee, a trained teacher from Donegal, taught there before moving to the new girls’ school. The permanent school opened in September 1851 with separate rooms for boys and girls. The Glens of Antrim Historical Society’s study traces the project through Father John Fitzsimmons’s application and contemporary inspectors’ reports. [2]
Lessons for a seafaring district
Joseph Duffy became principal in 1875 and taught subjects extending beyond the ordinary school curriculum, including navigation for Glens sailors. He also collected local placenames for the first Feis in 1904. The school’s records preserve another aspect of rural education: pupils could leave for work or family duties and later return. The old building finally closed when St Ciaran’s School opened on 29 January 1979. [2]
Successive village forges
Patrick McGill operated a forge in Knocknacarry in the nineteenth century. Charles McAuley later moved his smithing business from Cushendall into the premises McGill had vacated. The McAuley family continued working in Knocknacarry until the mid-1950s. Malachy McSparran’s history records a later forge on an adjoining site, whose derelict building survived until 1995, tracing the physical remains of a trade that had served the surrounding farming community. [3]
A geological section in the River Dun
At Knocknacarry Bridge, the River Dun exposes ancient metamorphic rocks of the Glendun Formation. The Earth Science Conservation Review identifies the section as important because otherwise poorly exposed rocks can be examined here. Veins cut through the older layers, while distinctive minerals record the heating associated with a nearby granite intrusion. The bridge thus gives its name to a geological site as well as a river crossing. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Antrim
- Barony
- Glenarm Lower
- Civil parish
- Layd
- Coordinates
- 55.11970, -6.05621 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 62446 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Knocknacarry. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Knocknacarry National School,The Glynns11,1983 · Glens of Antrim Historical Society, archival school research
- Blacksmiths of the Middle Glens and their Families,The Glynns29,2001 · Malachy McSparran, Glens of Antrim Historical Society
- Knocknacarry Bridge,Cushendun,ESCR163 · Earth Science Conservation Review, National Museums Northern Ireland
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-05-26. How this page was prepared.