26.2 (and then some)

Relocating it’s starting point this year, 2019 saw the relocation of Belfast City Marathon to Stormont (from Storm Mount) which is said to be a borrowing from another Stormont, district in Perthshire in Scotland (Originally the estate was called Mount Pleasant). Turning left runners head down the Newtownards Road, the name of which refers refers to the position of the Newtownards town at the head of the Ards Peninsula. The Beersbridge Road takes runners out of Ballyhackamore (Baile an Chacamair ‘townland of the slob land or mud flat’) and into the neighbouring townland of Ballymacarret (Baile Mhic Gearóid‘MacGarrett’s or MacCarrett’s townland’) onto the Castlereagh Road (An Caisleán Riabhach ‘the grey castle’). Another name for Castlereagh was Castle Clannaboy as it was the stronghold of the O’Neills of Clannaboy (alias Clandeboye) in the second half of the sixteenth century. The right turn onto Montgomery Road takes runners into the townland of Lisnasharragh (Lios na Searrach ‘fort of the foals’) and onto the Woodstock Road via the Cregagh Road (Chreagaigh ‘rocky place’) and on to the Albertbridge Road stopping just short of the Bridge itself (named after Queen Victoria’s grandson, Prince Albert Victor) which collapsed in 1886, killing one person (not a lost runner I’d imagine).

Along the Ravenhill and into the first relay point at Ormeau. named after a house that one stood on the site of the park. Ormeau is of French origin and means ‘elms by the water’ (orme ‘elm’ + eau‘water’). Out of the park at the other side and a sharp right turn onto Ormeau Road and across the River Lagan (Lagán‘ low-lying district’) which takes them out of the parish of Knockbreda which was originally two parishes; Knock (Cnoc ‘hill’) and Breda (Bréadach ‘broken land’), until they were amalgamated in 1658 to form the modern civil parish of Knockbreda. This takes runners into the parish of Shankill (Seanchill‘old church’) which in fact includes almost all of the city of Belfast west of the Lagan in Co. Antrim. A quick skip past City hall, the previous starting point of the race, runners then follow the Donegall Road out of the centre to Boucher which is an occupational surname (from bocher ‘butcher’) that evolved during the medieval era in the French region of Champagne. Away from the madding crowds of the second relay changeover, runners head onto the Lisburn Road, the Lis- part of which might come from may derive from Lisnagarvy (Lios na gCearrbhachfort of the gamesters or gamblers’) but the origin of ‘burn’ remains obscure. The parish of Shankill ends just past Balmoral which is a borrowing from Scotland where it is the name of a residence of the royal family in Aberdeenshire. Balmoral is a hybrid name, deriving from Scottish Gaelic baile ‘homestead’ and mór ‘big, great’  in combination with Brittonic (the P-Celtic language spoken in Scotland before the arrival of Gaelic) ial ‘open space’ and the name Balmoral means ‘farm of the big clearing’. At Finaghy (Fionnachadh ‘the white field’) in the townland of Ballyfinaghy (Baile an Fhionnachaidh ‘townland of the white field’) runners take a right and cross the train tracks just by the Devenish (probably Daimhinis‘ox island’) and head into Andersonstown and while the identity of Mr Anderson is unknown, he was probably of Lowland Scots origin as are the majority of the Andersons of Ulster. We do, however know the identity of Mr Kennedy of Kennedy Waycrossroads which takes runners onto the Falls Road. Hugh Kennedy bought the Lucozade factory in West Belfast in opened it as Curleys in 1981. The Falls Road itself however is a much older name, from the Irish petty kingdom of Tuath na bhFál ‘territory of the enclosures’. Down past the Whiterock Road, named after a limestone quarry on the lower slopes of Black Mountain (also Divis, from Dubhais‘black ridge or peak’), and a left turn at Grosvenor Crossroads (a surname from French gros veneur ‘chief huntsman’) takes runners onto the Springfield Road and across Lanark Way which is probably named after the town of Lanark in Scotland which comes from the Cumbric element Lanerc‘clear space, glade’.

Across the Shankill Road past the site of the medieval parish church (marked by the present Church of Ireland church of St Matthew) which is referenced in the parish name (remember Seanchill ‘old church’) runners head into the north of the city via Twaddell Roundabout. Twaddell is a variant of Tweddle, a locative surname from Tweeddale, the valley of the River Tweed in England. Runners take a right into Ardoyne (Ard Eoin ‘Eoin’s height) and come down Alliance Avenue in the townland of Ballysillan Lower (Baile na Saileán ‘townland of the willow groves/sally groves’) and onto the Oldpark Road in the townland of the same name. This townland extends from the upper lake at the Waterworks to the Horseshoe bend on the Upper Crumlin Road. First documented in 1659, it refers to a deer park enclosed by the English lord deputy Sir Arthur Chichester at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Runners then enter the waterworks where they cross into the townland of Town Parks which stretches to the bottom of the Ormeau Road on the south. The runners then exit the park on the Antrim Road. The original name of Antrim was Aontreibh ‘single house/habitation’, referring to an early monastery, the site of which is a little to the north of the modern town but it was later reinterpreted as Aontroim ‘single ridge’. Down Duncairn Gardens (probably Dún Cairn ‘fort of the cairn’) and onto North Queen Street, Frederick Street and Tomb Street and round past the big fish on the bank of the Lagan runners follow into Lanyon Place. Lanyon place is named after the renowned architect Charles Lanyon who designed the Antrim Coast Road, the Frosses Road, the Palm House at Botanic Gardens, Crumlin Road Gaol and Courthouse and the main building at Queen’s University. Round onto the tow path the runners are nearly home, back up the Ormeau Road and back down the Ravenhill road (and we’re covering old ground here, literally!) the runners turn tight and up the driveway to the finish line.

So there you go, 26.2 miles of place-name tidings in 1000 words, and for those of you planning to take on the challenge next time, perhaps some food for thought for when the jelly babies are all gone.