24 Transactions. 



stances the Britons erected the Devil's Dyke for their pro- 

 tection, sending up at the same time to the Romans the 

 unavailing groans of the Britons. 



Palludius was sent by Pope Celestine as apostle to the 

 Scots of Ireland, and several years afterwards St. Columba 

 came from Ireland and settled at lona, in the Western 

 Hebrides, and Kentigern or Saint Mungo, which last from 

 Wales, in the 6th century re-founded the church of the 

 Strathclyde Britons — the people of this district having, it 

 would seem, relapsed after the death of Ninian — the Cathe- 

 dral of Glasgow becoming its chief seat. The chief seats of 

 the Columban Church being the monasteries of lona and 

 Lindisferne. 



And after all these came St. Augustine, sent by Pope 

 Gregory the Great, who became the great apostle of the Eng- 

 lish. This was not less perhaps than a century and a half 

 after the death of Ninian, the apostle of Galloway. 



On the Meaning of the Names of Places in the 

 Neighbourhood which are of Celtic Origin. By 



M. MORIARTY. 



I have been requested by some of our friends to explain 

 the meaning of the names of places in the neighbourhood 

 which are of Celtic origin, and I proceed to do so now with 

 great pleasure ; but I may observe at the outset, that the 

 present spelling is not always a sure guide to the meaning 

 of the words, although as a general rule it does very well to 

 preserve the sound, and thereby lead to the sense and mean- 

 ing of them ; and when we consider the disuse of the language 

 in the district for centuries back, I think we may be thankful 

 that the spelling has helped to preserve the sound and Bense 

 of the words so well as it does. 



Let us take Traqueer for example. We know by the 

 sound, &c., that Traqueer is Celtic, but among other queer 

 things we find the letter q in the spelling, and we know that 

 there is no letter q in the Gaelic language ; the letter q was 



