Barr of Bolustymore, County Fermanagh

Background

This name appears to contain internal components of Irish origin, in an English phrasal construction. The element barr ‘top’ probably refers to the component of the name, which is introduced by the English preposition of.

In Bolustymore then, the first element is probably both ‘hut, tent’ which often refers to a monastic hut or cell and can be followed by the name of the saint associated with it. In the current townland, though there is no local tradition to confirm this function of bot, nor is there any record of an ecclesiastical settlement in the townland and here probably means ‘hut’.

In the six counties, the anglicised termination -lusty is restricted to Fermanagh. It is generally accepted that, as a qualifying element, -lusty derives from losaid (gen. losaide). Joyce (ii, 430) notes a genitive variant of losaid appearing as loiste which ‘gives name to all those places now called Lustia and Lusty, both signifying fertile spots’. This form appears to be more representative of the contemporary form which ends in -lusty, although we should also consider lóiste ‘lodge, booth, tent’ or sluggard, lazy person’ (Dinneen).

Another possibility is loiscthe ‘burned/scorched’, which appears in the historical form Bolusky (1834c) associated with the townlands of Bolustymore and Bolustybeg in the same townland.

References

Additional Information

Historical name form

Barony

Magheraboy

Parish

Inishmacsaint

Parish in 1851

Inishmacsaint

Townland

None

Place name ID

7293

Place name type

T