Uses of the Round Towers of Ireland, fyc. 21 



stones are called galls, is because it was the Galli that first fixed them in Ireland. Gall, i. e. Frank. 

 Gall then is a name for the nobles of France, so called from gallia, i. e. a candore corporis; for gall 

 [recte ya\a~\ in Greek is lac in Latin ; hence Gallice inasta. Thus also gall is a name for a swan : 

 inde Fer Mumhan dixit: Cochall cos n-gatt, gaimk in bhrain, i. e. the swan's foot is webbed, the 

 raven's fanged. 



" Gall is also a name for a cock, from gattus, so called a galeu capitis, i. e. from the crest of his 

 head." 



This word, gall, is explained rock in all the Irish dictionaries, and its dimi- 

 nutive gallan (corruptly dalldn) is still used all over Munster to denote those 

 pillar-stones, which are so numerous in that province. The word coirthe, by 

 which it is explained in Cormac's Glossary, is still well understood, and always 

 applied to a large standing stone, as to that on Cnoc a choirthe, or, the hill of the 

 pillar-stone, near Jamestown, in the county of Roscommon. The reader will now 

 be able to see the true value of the authority, which General Vallancey, by a 

 garbled quotation, so confidently put forward as a conclusive evidence of the 

 antiquity of the Round Towers, and I need make no further comment upon it. 



General Vallancey next quotes the authority of Dr. O'Brien for the meaning 

 of the word Cuil-ceach, or Cul-kak, " Cuil-ceach, or Cul-kak, corrupte clai- 

 ceach, a round tower ; as Cuilceac Cluana- Umha, the tower or steeple of Cloyne. 

 O'Brien. This word adds he, seems to be corrupted of Clog-theach, that is 

 the bell-house." 



This is another characteristic example of Vallancey's mode of quoting 

 authorities; he first makes O'Brien say, that Cuilceach becomes corruptly 

 Claiceach, and then that the word seems to be corrupted of Clog-theach. But 

 O'Brien does not say that Cuilceach is corruptly Claiceach, nor has he the 

 word Culkak or Claiceach in his book ; neither does he say that Cuilceach 

 seems to be a corruption of Clog-theach, but states positively that it is so. 

 The following are the passages which Vallancey has so misquoted and garbled : 



" CUILCEACH, a steeple ; cuilceach Cluana-umha, Cloyne steeple This word it a corruption of 



Clog-theach. 



" CLOIG-THEACH, a steeple, a belfry ; corrupte, Cuilgtheach." 



Our author next tells us, that another name for the Round Towers is Sibheit, 

 Sithbheit, and Sithbhein, and for this he refers us to O'Brien's and Shaw's 

 Lexicons ; but this quotation is equally false with those I have already exposed, 



