Ainmean Charraige is compiling a database of as many historic forms of place and personal names from Carrick. This will enable analysis of their meanings, distribution and character. We believe they will tell us a lot about the history of Carrick. The database already has c.8000 entries and is growing all the time. Interim results will be presented by Colin Mackenzie at the conference: Carrick’s Gaelic Heritage, The Carrick Centre, Maybole 14 Sept 24.
One thing we have noticed already: there seems to have been a significant ‘extinction event’ for the Gaelic version of many Carrick farm-names around the time of the reformation.
This is probably not an accident. As a result we are struggling to identify the locations of quite a few well attested farms that appear then disappear from the record. We would like to ask for help in identifying where these were or indeed are! So we will post a few of the ‘lost farms’ over the following weeks in the hope that someone will know something about them. The first one is:
Lefingmackilmartin. This is recorded in 1465 as a 40 shilling-land in the parish of Kirkmichael-Munterduffy (NRS GD25/1/89). So we know it was in the NE corner of Carrick. The name is probably derived from Gaelic Leth-Pheighinn Mac’Ille Mhàrtainn ‘the half-pennyland of the sons of the servant of (St.) Martin’.
Unfortunately, while there are plenty of peighinn and leth-pheighinn place-names in Carrick, this particular one has vanished.
By way of further clues, the historic forms: Balmartoun (1586), Balmakmartinston (1587), Balmakmartin (1588) Balmakmertein (1618) appear on record (probably somewhere on the border of Maybole and Kirkmichael parishes) before Scotticisation is completed with M’Mertinstoun in 1622. So was Leth-Pheighinn Mac’Ille Mhàrtainn the same place as Baile Mac’Ille Mhàrtainn?
To add to the confusion, right on the southern border of Kirkmichael and Dailly parishes is Glen Martin, presumably Gleann Mhàrtainn, perhaps a shortened version of the name above. This is described in the OSNB as ‘A small rocky glen, with a few scattered trees, some portions very precipitous’.
Any pointers gratefully received!
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