How many quarters make a city?
If, like me, you have an unavoidable attraction with street signs and the like, you can’t have missed the emergence of any number of ‘Quarters’ in our city centres. A quick google search reveals that the central area of Belfast has been divided into seven Quarters (as of 2001):
Cathedral Quarter
Gaeltacht Quarter
Smithfield Market and Library Quarter
Linen Quarter
Market Quarter
Queen’s Quarter
Titanic Quarter
Wikipedia also ‘reliably’ tells us that the Quarters do not evenly divide the city into four parts, and not all of Belfast’s city centre is part of a Quarter, because of course, that would make too much sense for this part of the world. However, for once, this somewhat nonsensical nomenclature isn’t restricted to here, but there is an increasingly ubiquitous presence of such urban subdivisions across cities like those seen in Belfast, not all so recent. Despite its complicated history otherwise, the Old City of Jerusalem is nicely divided into four ‘quarters’ (the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter). The Italians in Rome, not to be outdone boast no less than 35 quarters (quartieri di Roma).
‘Quarters’ are often distinct areas within cities that identify them as administratively, geographically, culturally or historically significant. Each of Paris’ 20 arrondissements are officially divided into 4 quartiers for administrative purposes, but outside these, there are more well known districts named quarters such as the Latin Quarter, so-named from the prevalence of Latin spoken around the Universities there. Other cities have districts named after population groups. Moscow has a German Quarter, New Orleans has a French Quarter and Birmingham has an Irish Quarter (although I suspect there may be more of these elsewhere).
Closer to home then, ‘quarter’ serves a similar purpose. There is an Irish Quarter in the parish of Loughinisland, Co. Down. Nunsquarter in Co. Down might represent a translation from an Irish form, Ceathrú na gCailleach‘quarter of the nuns’, but the Anglo-Norman background to the area means it is also possible that the reverse was the case and that historical forms such as Ballycarrownecalliogh (1605) represents a gaelicisation of an earlier English name.
Other ‘quarter’ names represent structures or features of local significance. Mill Quarter in Co. Antrim is clearly named after a corn-mill that previously existed in the area, whereas Church Quarter on Rathlin Island appears to refer to an ancient church which was known by the names of ‘Seipeal Cooil… and Teampoll Cooil’, and another Church Quarter in Dundonald contains the site of the medieval parish church of Dundonald, marked by the present Church of Ireland church in the middle of the town. This one even appears as The Kirke Quarter (1625), a representation of Scots kirk ‘church’ which is ultimately a borrowing from Old Norse kirkja. Castlequarter in Loughguile (Loch gCaol ‘narrow lake’), Co. Antrim takes its name from a castle named Lisanoure Castle (perhaps Lios an Uabhair ‘fort of the pride’, i.e. ‘prominent fort’), the remains of which stand near the north shore of Loughguile lake in the middle of the townland.
Broom Quarter in Co. Down is likely topographical in origin, deriving from the growth of broom there and Burnquarter in Co. Antrim features another Scots element burn, which has its origins in Old English but then became standard in Scots as the word for ‘stream’ and was introduced here with Scottish settlement in the 17th century.
According to local tradition, Doctor’s Quarter in Co. Armagh owes its origins to Dr. Patrick Donnelly, bishop of Dromore and parish priest of Lislea in Co. Armagh who was said to have been one of only two Roman Catholic bishops remaining in Ireland in 1700 following the Suppression of Popery Act of 1697. Dr Donnelly is reputed to have lived in a hut in an area known consequently as Doctor’s Quarters during the penal days spending part of the year, disguised as a normal peasant and as a wandering minstrel by the name of Feilim Brady, The Bard of Armagh when ministering to his flock.
Despite appearances, Jockeysquarter isn’t the location of Down Royal, but a townland in Co. Antrim recorded as Jocky’s Land in 1780. The English word ‘jockey’ has its origin in Jock, the Scots version of John and apart from its common meaning of ‘horse rider’ it is attested in Ulster Scots in the sense of ‘a small-time horse-dealer; a horse-breaker’, quite possible in Co. Antrim which saw a great influence of Scottish settlers in the 17th century.
More recent ‘quarter’ names include the Titanic Quarter, adopted for an urban waterfront regeneration scheme on the Co. Down side of the River Lagan following a surge in popularity for all things Titanic (possibly helped a little bit by Leo and Kate).
However, not all ‘quarter’ names are so recent, and despite the fact that Ireland was almost totally all Irish speaking until the 17th century, some ‘quarter’ names actually predate this time. The townland of Quarter Cormick in Co. Down is probably a translation of an earlier Irish name Ceathrú Chormaic ‘Cormac’s quarter(land)’, related to a graveyard and church ruins known as Templecormick (Teampall Chormaic ‘Cormac’s church’) located seven miles north-east of the townland. Quarterland, also in Co. Down is clearly An Cheathrú Riabhach ‘the brindled quarter’ , recorded as ‘The quarter of Carrowr[e]gh’ in 1625. Russell’s Quarter is another translation, this time of Ceathrú an Ruiséalaigh ‘Russell’s quarter(land)’ containing An Ruiséalach, a form of the surname Ruiséil ‘Russell’ derived from the common Anglo-French nickname Rousel, for someone with red hair.
Like Nunsquarter above, It is difficult to determine with certainty whether Fishquarter in Co. Down was coined initially in Irish or English. The weight of the evidence suggests an Anglo-Norman origin is possible forFishquarter/Fisher Quarter, with Ceathrú an Iascaire emerging as an Irish translation, but the 1650 form Carrownesker a’ Fishertowne adequately represents the bilingual mishmash of the Ards in the 17th century, and any concrete proposals on the linguistic origin of this one are certain to be fishy!
Having significantly underestimated the amount of English ‘quarter’ names, it’s time to investigate another set of ‘quarter’ names that might not be so obvious to the untrained eye (or ear).
We’ve seen a couple already, but the Irish element ceathrú (earlier ceathramha) literally means ‘quarter’ and in the sense of ‘quarterland’ is regarded as a subdivision of a townland, not necessarily representing a quarter in terms of size. For example, translated directly as ‘Quarter’ in Quarter Lenagh, Co. Antrim (c.102 acres), it represents an area which is considerable smaller than a quarter of the townland of Lenagh (c.560 acres) that it subdivides. Instead, it simply represents a small denomination of land which is divided off from the townland of which it originally formed a part. In almost all cases where ceathrú appears it appears in the anglicised form Carrow- (in over 700 townland names across Ireland). Examples include Carrowmore (Ceathrú Mhór ‘big/great quarterland’) in Co. Fermanagh, Carrowbeg (Ceathrú Bheag ‘small quarterland’) in Co. Tyrone, Carrowbane (Ceathrú Bhán ‘white quarterland’) in Co. Down, and Carrowreaghs (Ceathrú Riabhach ‘grey or speckled quarter(land)’) in Cos Derry, Down and Antrim.
Carrowvanny in Co. Down derives from Ceathrú an Mhanaigh ‘quarter(land) of the monk’, which, according to the inquistion of 1662 was a possession of the nearby monastery of Saul. However, the Ordnance Survey Name Book (1834) states that Carrowvanny was a possession of ‘the monastery monsal of Downe’ (i.e. Downpatrick). Carrowgarragh in Fermanagh comes from Cheathrú Charrach ‘stony or barren quarter’ whereas Antrim’s Carrowcrin is best interpreted as Ceathrú Chruinn ‘the round or smooth quarter’. Carrowkeel in Fermanagh is Ceathrú Chaol ‘narrow quarter’ but we are yet to find a Carrowlane (perhaps from Ceathrú Leathan ‘broad quarter’).
Carrowbaghran in Co. Down has previously been proposed to derive from Ceathramh Bachráin ‘quarter of the dried cow dung (used for firing or fuel)’, where bachrán is clearly to be understood as a variant of bóithreán/buarán ‘(dried) cow dung’. More recently understood as Ceathrú Báchrán ‘quarter(land) of bog beans’ (a native plant that forms floating mats providing egg laying sites for adult dragonfly- and yes I had to google that as well). Carrowdressex (Ceathrú Dhreasóg ‘quarter(land) of briers’) first appears in 1768 as Killadresser suggesting that the townland originally went by an alternative name, the first element of which was cill ‘church’, perhaps the site of the church of Cill tSeachlainn ‘St Seachnall’s church, recorded as Ecclesia de Kilschaelyn in 1306. Fermanagh’s Carrownagiltagh comes from Ceathrú na gCoillte ‘quarter of the wood’, and the same form appears as Carrownagilty in Sligo.
Bogbeans [https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/bogbean]
It’s worth mentioning some other forms of ceathrú which can also appear as carriv-, particularly in northern counties.
In Antrim, Ceathrú an Chaisil comes from ‘quarter(land) of the stone ring-fort’, referring to a ‘revetted mound (well preserved) and souterrain’ (Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record). Carrivemurphy (Ceathramh Mhurchadha ‘Murphy’s Quarter’) might feature the personal name Murchad/Murchadh ‘sea-battler’ or the surname Ó Murchadha the most numerous name in Ireland, whereas the townland or Carrive has lost its qualifier somewhere along the way (earlier Ceathrú Uí Adhmhaill ‘Hamill’s quarterland’). In Armagh we find Carrivekeeny (Ceathrú Caonaigh ‘quarter-land of moss’), Carrivemaclone (Ceathrú Mhic Giolla Chomhain ‘McGlone’s quarter-land’) and another lonely Carrive which actually like it comes from Craobh ‘tree’, appearing as Agh[c/e]legnecrew in (1609). Also beware of ‘carrow’ in names like Fermanagh’s Gortnacarrow Gort na Carra ‘field of the weir’ which was originally Coillidh Meacan ‘wood of the parsnips’, a far cry from any quarters. despite appearances.
And for a post where 4 quarters don’t make a whole, let’s not get into those examples where a carrow- isn’t a quarter, that would really be getting carrow-ed away!