placenamesClooney
An Chluanaidh
Clooney near Narin and Portnoo is associated with a small lake whose underwater plants have attracted scientific attention since the 1930s.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- An Chluanaidh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Clooney · English · main form
Place & story
Clooney Lough
Clooney Lough lies between coastal machair and outcrops of limestone or marble. Cilian Roden’s 2002 survey described an oval lake less than 500 metres wide and under two metres deep, with a mainly sandy bed. Its aquatic vegetation includes stoneworts and the slender plant Najas flexilis. The lake forms part of the West of Ardara/Maas Road conservation area. [2]
Praeger’s discovery
Naturalist R. L. Praeger first recorded Najas flexilis here in August 1939, finding washed-up fragments along the eastern shore. Roden’s later survey found scattered plants in clearings among extensive stonewort beds. Their records give Clooney a precise place in the study of this uncommon aquatic species. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Clooney. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- West of Ardara/Maas Road SAC: Najas flexilis supporting document, July 2015 · National Parks and Wildlife Service; includes Cilian Roden survey notes
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.