Hierarchy
county
barony
civil parish
townland
Explanatory note
- English
A number of place-names in South Wexford contain elements which clearly derive from the English dialect formerly spoken in that area and elsewhere within the English Pale (see Introduction) (cf. Dolan & Ó Muirithe, 1996), e.g. MUCHKNOCK (par. Killinick), ROUGHMEAD (par. Drinagh) and YOLETOWN (par. Ballymore). This place-name is another example, containing the element nether “lower”.
The element also occurs in the barony name Nethercross in Dublin, which dates to Middle English, and the townland name Maymore Lower or Nethertown in Donegal, coined by the seventeenth-century planters or their descendants (see logainm.ie).
The minor name mentioned in ‘le Upperhoalt de la Nethertowne’ (1a), contains another Middle English word, holt “wood” (see EDD), which like nether has long fallen out of general use in the local dialect. A further possible example of this word may occur in the evidence for WHITEHOUSE (par. Rosslare).
The Irish form of Nethertown is a translation.
[It has been stated elsewhere that this ‘can either be an English or Norse place-name’ ([details to be added]). However, as English has been the dominant language in south Wexford over the past 800 years — since the early days of the Anglo-Norman colony — the presence in this place-name of the element, nether, which is actually attested in the dialect of English formerly spoken here (see Dolan & Ó Muirithe 1996, 59), cannot be used as an indicator of Norse settlement.]
[Excerpt from Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV: Townland Names of County Wexford, 2016, with additional commentary in square brackets [ ].]
Centrepoint
Historical references
1627 |
le Upperhoalt de le Nethertowne
|
Inq. Lag. Alt: 23 C I
|
1627 |
Nethertownes (Marten Cod)
|
Inq. Lag. Alt: 23 C I
|
1628 |
Nethertownes, le du' N.
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Inq. Lag. Leathanach: 24
|
1641c |
?? Ballyeighteragh (Pat Siggin)
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Wexford Rebel List 1641 Leathanach: 38
|
1641c |
?? Whethertown (John Devereux)
|
Wexford Rebel List 1641 Leathanach: 43
|
1654 |
Nethertowne
|
CS (LG) Leathanach: 306
|
1659 |
Nethertowne
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Cen. Leathanach: 537
|
1659 |
Nether towne
|
Cen. Leathanach: 537
|
1660c |
Nethertowne (Nich Codd)
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BSD (LG) Imleabhar: (CS IX), Leathanach: 89 (306)
|
1712 |
Hethertown (Palliser-Codd)
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CGn. Imleabhar: 13, Leathanach: 35, Uimhir: 4785
|
1712 |
Neithertowns (Codd-Palliser)
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CGn. Imleabhar: 11, Leathanach: 364, Uimhir: 4737
|
1819 |
Nothertown
|
|
1840 |
Baile íochtarach, 'lower town'
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OD:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach (AL): 38
|
1840 |
Nethertown
|
|
1840 |
Nethertown
|
BS:AL Imleabhar: I, Leathanach: 38
|
1840 |
Nethertown
|
CM:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 38
|
1840 |
Nethertown
|
|
1840 |
Nethertown
|
Gill Map:AL (LG) Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 38
|
1840 |
Nethertown
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GJP:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach: 38
|
1840 |
Nethertown
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OD:AL Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach (AL): 38
|
1840 |
Nethertown
|
|
1840 |
Nethertown
|
Walsh, Rev P.:AL (LG) Imleabhar: 1, Leathanach (AL): 38
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Please note: Some of the documentation from the archives of the Placenames Branch is available here. It indicates the range of research contributions undertaken by the Branch on this placename over the years. It may not constitute a complete record, and evidence may not be sequenced on the basis of validity. It is on this basis that this material is made available to the public.
Archival and research material provided on this site may be used, subject to acknowledgement. Issues regarding republication or other permissions or copyright should be addressed to logainm@dcu.ie.
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