Crew, County Antrim
Origin
Ir. Craobh Thulcha ‘branching tree of the knoll’
Background
The townland of Crew contains in the south-east Crew Hill (200m), the highest point in the parish of Glenavy, approximately three miles south-east of Glenavy village. The wide view from ‘the Crew-hill’ was described in 1814: ‘Lough Neagh, Loughbeg, Ram’s Island, Shane’s Castle, Langford Lodge; part of the counties of Derry, Tyrone, Armagh, Monaghan, Louth, Antrim and Down; also the towns of Moira, Dungannon, Charlemont, Stewartstown, Lurgan and Hillsborough’ (Shaw Mason’s Par. Sur. ii 235). The hill of Craeb Telcha (modernised as Craobh Thulcha) was the site of two famous battles between the rival peoples of Uí Néill and Ulaid in AD 1003 and 1099. Both times the Ulaid were defeated, and in 1099, to emphasise their conquest, the Uí Néill party cut down the sacred tree which grew the on the hill (AFM). The Ulaid later, in AD 1111, felled the trees at the Uí Néill inauguration site of Tullaghoge across Lough Neagh, near Cookstown (AFM). In the section Names of Townlands in the Parochial Survey, Crew was explained as Crubh, ‘the form of a horse’s hoof’ (Shaw Mason’s Par. Sur. ii 273), but this is clearly wrong, given the information above. The place-name has been studied in detail by Deirdre Flanagan (1970). The old Irish spelling Craeb Telcha was also mentioned in an itinerary to significant places in an early Ulster cycle tale called Immaccallam in dá Thuarad, ‘Colloquy of the two Sages’, which describes the debate at Navan Fort /Emain Macha between two poets Néde and Ferchertne over who should be the chief poet of Ireland after Néde's father's death.(Stokes 1905, 10 $5). References on maps of the plantation period to Knockcruhollogh ‘hill of Cru-hollogh’ establish the link between the Irish name and Crew Hill, which was still locally believed to be the inauguration site for the ‘Kings of Ulster’ (Flanagan 1970, 29-32). The townland of Crew Park in the neighbouring parish of Ballinderry borders the townland of Crew on the west and appears to be named from it.
(LNP 30)
References
Kay MuhrAdditional Information
Historical name form
Old Form | Ref. Date | Reference |
---|---|---|
Cath Craoibe Telchu | 1002 | Chron. Scot. 240 |
~Craoibhe tulcha, cath | 1003 | AFM ii 750 |
~Craibe Telcha, cath | 1004 | AU (Mac Airt) 432 |
ag Craoibh tulcha | 1099 | AFM ii 962 |
ig Croibh thelcha... tescait croibh thelcha | 1099 | ALC i 84 |
~Craibh Tealcha, tescait | 1099 | AU (Mac Airt) 534 |
~Craobh Tulcha, tescait | 1099 | AFM ii 962 |
~Craoibhe Tealcha, iar mbuain | 1099 | AFM ii 962 |
~i Craibh Telcha | 1099 | AU (Mac Airt) 534 |
Brian hi cCraoibh Tulcha 7 Ulaidh aga bhiatadh ann | 1100c | Cogadh GG 136 (cf AD 1005 |
cath Craibhe Tulcha | 1100c | Cogadh GG 134 |
~co Craibh Telcha | 1148 | AFM ii 1086 |
Cath Craíbe Telcha | 1160c | LL iv 794 =183a57 |
Cath Craíbe Tilcha | 1160c | LL i 98 (26 a 11) |
cath na Craibe | 1160c | LL iii 502 =131b22 |
for Craib Telcha. for Mag nErcaite. for Banna | 1160c | LL iv 815 =186a IT |
Knockcruhollogh (drawing of single-peaked hill) | 1590 | Jobson Map (DF) check DF to Job |
K:Crewhollage (drawing of 2-peaked hill) | 1602c | Bartlett Map (Greenwich) DF 1590c < Grch |
Knockcruhollogh | 1610 | Speed's Ulster |
Ballycrewe | 1625 | Inq. Ult. (Antrim) Car.I $1 |
Crew | 1659c | Census 1659 6 |
Crow | 1672c | Hib. Del. Antrim |
Crew | 1780 | Lendrick Map |
Lá Craoibhe Tulcha | 17th? | LCABuidhe 154 |
go Craoibh Tulcha; Aodh Craoibhe Tulcha | 17th? | LCABuidhe 26 |
~Craobh ""a wide branching tree"" | 1832c | J O'D (OSNB) A24 |
~""Craebh signifies either a branch or a large wide | 1869 | Joyce i 501 |
- Barony
- Massereene Upper
- Parish
- Glenavy
- Parish in 1851
- Glenavy
- Townland
- None
- Place name ID
- 6170
- Place name type
- T