Crannog, derivation of the word.—In the Irish Annals, lake-dwellings are called crannogs, derived from the term crann, which signifies a tree. That word, always spelled with a double n, is in Irish generally applied to a tree with foliage and branches, as crann na coille, trees of the wood, but in its primary meaning it refers to some massive object of timber standing erect—as stems of the forest, or a ship’s mast, which is also called crann. The last syllable in crannog, i.e. og, is the terminal form of numerous Irish words; “sometimes it carries the force of a diminutive, but more frequently not. Crannog is no doubt formed in the same manner as cuaróg, the name usually applied to a wild bee’s nest, and derived from the noun cuar, any conical hollow with the diminutive ending og attached thereto. In some country places, the old kind of pulpit or form was called crannóg, and in others crannghail or crannghaoil, a word of somewhat similar meaning. This latter word, too, was the Irish term for a hurdle, and was commonly used for those wicker-chimneys so common formerly in country cottages.”[35]
It is doubtful whether the term crannog was originally applied to the timber framework of which the island was constructed, or to the wooden huts erected on it; though now-a-days it is generally understood to include the whole structure, both island and dwelling. In its topographical sense, the word is applied to wooden lake dwellings, but in another sense the Anglo-Irish employed it to designate a basket, hamper, or measure of a certain size for measuring or gauging grain or corn.[36] G. H. Kinahan states[37] that, although “crannog” is now the generally-accepted appellation for the ancient lake dwellings of Ireland, it is, nevertheless, “a modern term introduced to supply the place of the ancient one, which is unknown or unrecognized.”
Lake dwellings bore in Scotland the same designation. In a document dated 14th April, 1608, directed to State officials, concerning the surrender of some rebellious clans, it is ordered, that “the haill houssis of defence, strongholdis and cranokis in the yllis perteining to thame and their foirsaidis sal be delyveret to his Maiestie,” &c. Although the term crannog is to be found in the Irish Annals, yet in the earliest entries these dwellings are designated simply as Inish, i. e. island: for instance, in an old Irish MS., “The wars of the Gaedhiel with the Gaill,” it is recorded that, in the year 1013, Brian Boru repaired inir locha Gair, i. e. the island of Lough Gur, county Limerick, which is one of the most important as also apparently one of the most ancient Irish lacustrine sites; for, as before stated, remains of the reindeer, the Megaceros Hibernicus, and bear, were found in the lake bed.
Crannog, a common Townland Name.—There are numerous localities throughout Ireland in which the term “crannog” is embodied in the name, and where, consequently, must have been formerly a lake or swamp, with its accompanying artificial island, although in some cases the lake has now disappeared, and the swamp has been drained. In most of the districts in which these islands were found several small lakes are clustered together. In Connaught, near the demesne of Longford, county Sligo, the residence of Sir Malby Crofton, Bart., in a small pond, almost dry in summer, there is an islet, still called by the country people “crannog:” it has bequeathed its name to the townland in which it is situated, i.e. “Lochanacrannog,” signifying the little lake of the crannog.[38] In the parish of Cloonclare, county Leitrim, is a locality called Crannog Island. In Connemara, county Galway, there is an island in Ballinahinch lake which has given name to a parish and to a barony, the word Ballinahinch signifying village of the island. In Ulster there is a townland in county Tyrone called Crannog. In county Donegal, Crannog-boy, or the yellow lake dwelling, was the head quarters of The O’Boyle, a steady supporter of the O’Donnels. In county Antrim, Lough Crannagh, situated over Fair Head, probably derives its name from a small artificial island which lies in the centre of the lake.[39] In Loughmacnean, county Fermanagh, are several artificial islets, one of which is called “Crannog Island.” In Leinster there is a townland in county Kilkenny called Cronoge. In Munster there is a place in the parish of Ardagh, county Limerick, called Coolcranoge, the angle of the lake dwelling. “Crannog Island,” “sunken island,” “drowned island,” “Inish,” or “the island,” are common designations for diminutive artificial islets, showing themselves above water only during summer drought in many lakes throughout the kingdom. There is hardly a large sheet of water to which is not attached a tradition of a frightful outbreak of flood, covering what was formerly “a town;” or which does not possess its legend of an enchanted well, which, consequent upon some affront offered to its guardian spirit, covered the valley, its inhabitants, and houses. May not these traditions be traceable to lingering remembrance of former lacustrine habitations, for Giraldus Cambrensis, writing in the twelfth century, described the tradition that then prevailed in the north of Ireland, of waters having overwhelmed the plains now occupied by Lough Neagh, a locality the most thickly studded with these remains; and the legend has been immortalized by Moore, who thus alludes to it:—
“On Lough Neagh’s banks as the fisherman strays,
When the calm clear eve’s declining,
He sees the round towers of other days
In the waves beneath him shining.”