449 



Duns [Opobaoip]. — The River Drus, or Droos, falls into the 

 Bay of Donegal. The Irish name, as written in the Book of Conquests, 

 is opobaoip, which makes Opobaoipe in the Gen., as bun Opobaoipe, 

 the name by which the mouth of this river has been called. The 

 name signifies the Muddy River. It is called Drobaicus in the Book 

 of Armagh, and was blessed by St. Patrick, on which account it 

 abounds in fish. 



Duff [t)ub]. — The River Duff, in the barony of Carbury, county 

 of Sligo, falls into the Bay of Donegal. The name in Irish is t>ub, 

 black, signifying the Black Eiver. It makes Ouibe in the Genitive, as 

 bun t>uibe, which is the name given to the mouth of this river. It is 

 called Niger in the Book of Armagh, and is the boundary between 

 Sligo and Donegal. 



Dtjr. — The Dur, a small river which falls into an inlet of the sea 

 on the coast of Kerry, is called by Ptolemy Ostia flumen Dur ; and 

 the name or word Dup, simply means the water, i. e. the River. 



E. 



Easkey [lapcaig]. — The River Easkey, in the barony of Tireragh, 

 and county of Sligo, issues out of Lough Easkey and falls into the 

 sea below the town of Easkey, to which it gives its name. It is an 

 excellent trout and salmon river, and in Irish is called Gbamn na 

 "hiapcaig, which means the fishful river, derived from iapc, a fish. 



It is stated by the fishermen of that country, that although the 

 salmon swim up to within a few perches of the lake, they never enter 

 it, although there is nothing to hinder them. And the reason they 

 give for this is, that St. Patrick, on his return from Tirawley into 

 Tireragh, and while stepping over the narrow neck of the river at this 

 place, a salmon jumped up and tripped him, and he enjoined that no 

 salmon should ever come up so far again. 



Erne [Samdoip]. — The River Erne issues out of Lough Erne, and 

 flows over the waterfall at Ballyshannon, and into the Bay of Donegal. 

 In O'Clery's Book of Conquests, p. 15, the Irish original name of this 

 river is Samaoip, as Samaoip pop acca 6pp"Rua6, Samaoir on which 

 is Ess Ruadh, and it gives this as one of the nine rivers discovered by 

 Partholan. In the copy of the same work in the Book of Leacan, fol. 273, 

 the name is written Saimtp, and in that of the Book of Bally mote 

 Samaip ; and they all derive it from the name of an island below the 

 cataract, on which Partholan had his residence ; and the island, it 

 states, got its name from that of a lapdog belonging to Partholan' s wife, 

 which Partholan killed with a slap of his hand in a fit of anger, &c. 



The name, however, may be derived from peamaip or pamcup, 

 as written in the Book of Ballymote, which means the trefoil, white 

 clover, Trifolium repens ; and thus the name would signify the river 

 with the trefoil or clover growing in abundance on its banks = the 

 Seamrog or Clover River. 



