placenamesBunnahowen
Bun na hAbhna
Bunnahowen lies beside the sheltered inlets at the north-eastern end of Blacksod Bay. Its recorded name and the memories of two local teachers connect the shoreline landscape with the history of surrounding Erris communities.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Bun na hAbhna · Irish · main form · validated name
- Bunnahowen · English · main form
Place & story
The name in nineteenth-century records
Fiachra Mac Gabhann’s study of Erris place names records several early spellings for Bunnahowen. An 1830 source used Bunnahowna, while the 1834 tithe book rendered it Bunehevna. The 1838 Ordnance Survey material contained further variants, including the form Bunnahowen associated with John O’Donovan. The study gives the Irish form Bun na hAbhna. These records trace how the locality’s spoken name was represented in successive written surveys. [2]
Teachers travelling from Bunnahowen
Michael McLoughlin, a native of Bunnahowen, began teaching at Shraigh in January 1891. His wife Margaret later joined him there as an assistant teacher in 1907, after settling in Bunnahowen. Mary Gaughan’s recollections, preserved by the school, describe their journey by mare and trap, later replaced by a covered vehicle. Margaret retired through illness in 1934; Michael continued travelling to the school until his own retirement in 1936. [3]
Saltmarsh at the head of the inlet
The National Parks and Wildlife Service’s saltmarsh survey places Bunnahowen at a sheltered inlet off Trawmore Bay. At low tide the shallow water retreats to expose sand and mud. The survey records saltmarsh concentrated at the inlet’s head and narrow strips along its shores, sometimes adjoining peat banks. Surrounding ground includes blanket bog altered by peat cutting, drainage and agricultural improvement, with wet grassland where drainage is poor. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Bunnahowen. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Logainmneacha Mhaigh Eo 4: Barúntacht Iorrais, Bunnahowen entry, page 86 · Fiachra Mac Gabhann, Coiscéim
- The Master: Michael and Margaret McLoughlin · Mary Gaughan, reproduced from the 1995 school history by Shraigh National School
- Saltmarsh Monitoring Project 2007–2008, Volume 4: Bunnahowen site report · Michael McCorry and Tim Ryle, National Parks and Wildlife Service (2009)
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2012-02-16. How this page was prepared.