Craigogantlet, County Down

Background

(usually Craigantlet)

6km NW of Newtownards

par: Newtownards bar: Castlereagh Lower

The majority of the historical spellings of this place-name contain an o which suggests that the final element represents Ó gCaoindealbháin ‘of the descendants of Caoindealbhán’, the initial c of Caoindealbhán being eclipsed due to the preceding genitive plural, Ó, earlier, Ua ‘descendant, grandson’.  Woulfe (1923, 451) states that the bearers of the surname Ó Caoindealbháin were chiefs of Cinél Laoghaire near Trim in Co. Meath.  He claims that they descend from Caoindealbhán who died in 925 AD, a descendant of Laoghaire, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages.  The surname is usually anglicized (O)Kennellan, Quinlan, etc. The majority of the spellings suggest that the first element was originally carraig ‘rock’, as opposed to creig ‘crag, rocky eminence’; the first instance of creig does not appear until 1675.  The official spelling of this townland name Craigogantlet. However, the form Craigantlet, is in common use.  

References

McKay, P. (2007): A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names, p. 48; Hannan R. J. (1992): Place-Names of Northern Ireland vol. 2 p. 226

Additional Information

Often spelt Craigantlet

Historical name form

Old Form	Ref. Date	Reference
Ballicarigogandolane	1605	Inq. Ult. (Down) $2 Jac. I
Ballicarrigoganedelane	1605	CPR Jas I 73a
Carrickogandolan	1605	Inq. Ult. (Down) $2 Jac. I
Carrigomantalan	1615	Terrier (Reeves) 51
Carrigownantalan, Capella de	1615	Terrier (O'Laverty) 326
Carivguntela	1622	Ulster Visit. Reeves 49
Ballecarigogautelen	1623	Ham. Copy Inq. [1623] xxxiv
Carrickgagantelon	1623	Ham. Copy Inq. [1623] xliv
Carrigogantelan	1627	CPR Chas I 229
Ballycorrigogantilan	1636	Inq. Ult. (Down) $75 Car. I
Ballycarregogancelan	1650c	Inq. Ult. (Down) $109 Car. I
Carregogaltelan	1650c	Inq. Ult. (Down) $109 Car. I
Carrickgantelan	1659c	Census 1659 94
Carrigogantelan als Cregogantlett	1675	Montgomery MSS 268 n.35
Craigogantlet	1810	Wm. Map (OSNB) E 32
Craigagantlet	1830c	Bnd. Sur. (OSNB) E 32
Creag Ua gCaindealbhan "O'Ganndolan's town"	1834c	J O'D (OSNB) E 32
Carraig Ó gCaoindealbháin "Ó Caoindealbhán''s rock"	1999	Dict. Ulst. PN 48

Barony

Castlereagh Lower

Parish

Newtownards

Parish in 1851

Newtownards

Townland

None

Place name ID

6700

Place name type

T