Conlig, County Down
Origin
Ir. An Choinleac ‘the hound-flagstone’
Background
3km S of Bangor
par: Bangor bar: Ards Lower
Conlig is attested in Irish as An Choinleac 'the hound-flagstone'; note its presence in the form Feall na Coinnleice ‘the deception of Conlig’ in an authoritative Irish-language source from Co. Down dating to the middle of the 18th century (O’Neill Funeral Oration 267). As place-names which are a compound of two nouns are unlikely to have been coined after the 6th century (Mac Giolla Easpaig 1981), the name Coinleac clearly belongs to an early stratum of nomenclature. The precise reason for the name Conlig is unclear but the stone which gave the townland its name still survives on Runestone Hill. NISMR notes its situation ‘on a flat plateau of land… overlooking lower ground to the north... 1.87m tall’. It also notes that 'its west face is noticeably straight while the east side is gently curved’, but the . Runestone is 'apparently a new name for the monument’ (NISMR). The townland was noted as a boundary marker between the baronies of Ards and Castlereagh in c. 1655 (Civ. Surv. x §§68, 75). The name Conlig is not very common but there are two other places so called in Co. Down, one in Knockbreda parish not far away (J 3867), and a Conlig Quarter in Inch parish in Lecale (J 4547).
References
McKay, P. (2007): A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names, p. 46; Hannan R. J. (1992): Place-Names of Northern Ireland vol. 2 p. 162; revised KMAdditional Information
T., 1851 Census
Historical name form
| Old Form | Ref. Date | Reference |
|---|---|---|
Conlack | 1625c | Raven Map Clandeboye 9 |
Conlegg | 1655c | Civ. Surv. x $68 |
Couleck | 1659c | Census 1659 94 |
Conlige, half of | 1681 | Ham. Copy Rental 110 |
feall na Coinnleice | 1744 | O'Neill Fun. Oration 267 |
Conlig | 1810 | Wm. Map (OSNB) No. 54 |
Conlig | 1830c | Bnd. Sur. (OSNB) E.54 |
Con-liag "stone of the hounds" | 1834c | J O'D (OSNB) No. 54 |
Choinleac, An | 1989 | GÉ 74 |
An Coinleac "the hound-stone" | 1999 | Dict. Ulst. PN 46 |
Coinleac "hound stone" | 1999 | Cel. Ulst. Tds 21 |
- Barony
- Ards Lower
- Parish
- Bangor
- Parish in 1851
- Bangor
- Townland
- None
- Place name ID
- 6696
- Place name type
- T:V