placenamesBoynagh
Buíonach
Boynagh lies near Whitewood Lough in northern Meath. Recorded earthworks, a lake settlement revealed by falling water and the history of Boynagh Hill House preserve several distinct layers of its past.
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
- Buíonach · Irish · main form · validated name
- Boynagh · English · main form
Place & story
A substantial ringfort
Boynagh’s recorded ringfort encloses a raised area approximately fifty metres from north to south and forty-six metres across. The archaeological inventory reproduced in the North–South Interconnector assessment describes an earthen bank or scarp with an external ditch. The bank survives best on the north-west side; a possible original entrance lies to the south-east. The record does not establish a precise construction date. [2]
A settlement revealed by the lake
A small crannog in Boynagh came to notice in 1955 when the water level of Whitewood Lough was lowered. The archaeological record describes a barely visible mound about seven metres across. It lists this separately from another crannog in Whitewood townland. The discovery is a reminder that the lake’s settlement history includes remains that were revealed by changing water levels rather than conspicuous buildings on dry land. [2]
Boynagh Hill House
Noel French’s house history identifies Boynagh Hill House as a two-storey thatched residence occupied by William Kellet in 1835 and subsequently by Edward Kellet. Its elevated setting overlooked the lake. A story that it had been a medieval Knights Templar monastery is treated cautiously in that account, which suggests its Gothic windows may have encouraged the association. The documented house history does not establish a medieval monastic foundation. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Meath
- Barony
- Kells Lower
- Civil parish
- Kilmainham
- Coordinates
- 53.84459, -6.81480 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414637 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Boynagh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- North–South Interconnector EIS, Volume 3D, Appendix 14.2: Boynagh records ME005-043 and ME005-045, PDF page 28 · EirGrid, reproducing National Monuments Service archaeological records
- Houses A–D: Boynagh Hill House · Noel French, Meath History Hub
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.