Clare Island Survey — Gaelic Plant and Animal Names. 4 13 



state it seems to be considered a distinct species; " It has a nature of its 

 own," I was informed. A famous fairy plant in Ireland, as is shown by- 

 many of its Gaelic names, as ffleinnnje puc& (the Pooka's Fingers) in 

 Kerry, 1Tle6-n&CAn pn!>e (Fairy Thimble) at Omeath, Sit>e«.n, &c. 

 fne&n&cAn, Thimble. — The Clare Island name for the Foxglove flower; the 



name for the whole plant at Cloghmore as in other parts of Ireland. 

 1llilnn,i&c. Zostera marina Linne, Grass Wrack. — Used at Bartra and 

 Belclare, Clew Bay. Dinneen (" Irish Dictionary," p. 483) gives the name 

 1T1il,j;eanA.c, sweet grazing or grass, as used in Achill for a "marine weed 

 with a sweet root." The Clew Bay 1Tlitu)|A6,c is no doubt a variant of 

 this. 

 Tl1in iiiA-|\&. Conium macidatum Linne, Hemlock. — General in Clare Island, 

 also used in Achillbeg. From Iar Connaught I have the form Til mn 5 

 ui&n&, apparently meaning Sea Mane. Threlkeld gives ffltnnitie&]i and 

 Cameron muinmhear. The meaning is obscure, but the second com- 

 ponent is probably the Gaelic word for sea. In Ireland, at least, the 

 plant has a strong affection for seaside stations, 

 tllipnnin T)e6.p5. Mentha hirsuta Hudson, "Water Mint. — Clare Island. 



General in Kerry. 



Tle&ncog. Urtica dioica Lhme\ Nettle. — General in Clare Island and on the 



mainland shores of the bay. as it is almost throughout Gaelic Ireland in 



one or other of its forms. In some parts of Kerry it becomes L&nncog. 



tleancog c&oc, Blind Nyanthogue. Zamium purpurcum Linne, Bed Dead 



Nettle. — Clare Island and Achill Sound ; also in Conneniara. 

 Iloniin. Bellis perennis Linne, Daisy. — Clare Island, Bartra, Achill Sound, 

 Achillbeg, &c. Throughout Ireland, with little variation. No doubt 

 connected with Horn, noonday, and analogous in its origin to the common 

 English name Daisy (Day's-eye). 

 ple^-pjcvn. Heracleum Sphondylium Linne, Cow Parsnep. — Achill Sound. 

 A contraction of 5 win 6. ptea-pjAn, pop-gun, for which the hollow stems 

 are used by boys. 

 1l6.itne&c. Pteris aquilina Linne, Bracken. — A generic name for the ferns, 

 but applied in Clare Island and round Clew Bay, as throughout Gaelic 

 Ireland, to the Fern par excellence, the ubiquitous Bracken. 

 Ilaicne&c m<vo& pu^-6, Fox's Fern. Athyriwm Filix-foemincc Both, Lady 

 Fern. — At Cloghmore. In Kerry this fern is known by the name 

 tl<sicnea.c itii5.td]\6., Dog Fern. 

 Uileoj. Myrica Gale Linne, Bog Myrtle. — General in Clare Island and on 

 Achill Sound. Widespread in Gaelic Ireland in varying dialectic forms, 

 Tleleog (Baylogue) in Kerry, lli-oeog (fiidyogue) in Boscommon, &e. 



