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SOCIETY NEWS |
ULSTER PLACE-NAME SOCIETY NEWSLETTERUlster Place-Name
Society Newsletter, Nov. 4th 2011 UPNS
Autumn Lecture / AGM: Pádraig
Ó Riain Professor Emeritus of Early and Medieval Irish of the
University of Cork will speak on the topic ‘You
win some, you lose some: North versus South in A
Dictionary of Irish Saints.’ at 8.00
pm on Thurs. Nov. 24 in the Institute
of Irish Studies, 53-67 University Road, Belfast. All are welcome.
Professor Ó Riain is a leading authority on Irish saints and
place-names and his Dictionary of
Irish Saints has just been published.
The theme follows from Dr Rachel Butter’s talk on Saints &
Placenames in Scotland in May this year. Representatives of the
committee normally take visiting speakers to a very early dinner before
the meeting; if any other members would like to join the group, please
just ask. The lecture will be preceded at 7.00 p.m. by the Society’s
AGM. The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project, QUB: The Project’s website
www.placenames.ni.org based on research 1987-2010 in Queen’s, includes historical
spellings and maps back to the 1830s 6-inch series of all 9,600 townland
names in Northern Ireland, as well as interpretations and discussion
paragraphs for all the Co. Down townlands. It is now at last showing the
correct page references but bibliographical sources by abbreviation
only. Land and Property Services has promised that these source
abbreviations will shortly be linked to the full Northern Ireland
Place-Name Project bibliography (as printed in the PNI book series). Mícheál
Ó Mainnín is the link person. The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project
and Deirdre Flanagan archives are still in ICS QUB. Society’s
Application for Charitable Status (and implications for the
future) The Society’s new constitution was formally approved
at the AGM on 25 Nov. 2010, sent back to NICVA for final approval and
then submitted to the Inland Revenue. Thus from July 20 we now have
charitable status, charity no. XT28985, enabling gift aid on payments
made after November 2010. Many thanks to all those who gave so generously of their time
to enable this to happen. This year’s membership renewal will
invite members to sign up for gift aid from that date i.e. including
this past year’s payment as well. We would ask all members to complete and return the gift aid
form now enclosed so that the Society can reclaim the tax. Under the terms of Charitable Status office bearers can
only serve two terms before the office is rotated, thus both Kay Muhr as
chair and Pat McKay as secretary have to stand down in Nov. 2012. The
treasurer also would like to hand over when his current term ends in
2013. Ainm:
A Journal of Name Studies: Professor Greg Toner has agreed to act as editor of the next
edition of Ainm, and acquired
a grant from Comhaltas Uladh to help fund the journal. However material
was slow be submitted and Ainm XI will
not appear by the end of 2011. Conferences &
lectures.
Pat McKay Rademan Oct 27th,
Kay Muhr Ballymena Museum Nov. 29th.
The International Celtic and Onomastic conferences took place in
late summer 2011 in Maynooth and Barcelona. At Maynooth we heard how
Liam Ó hAisibéil is applying GIS digital mapping to the study of Irish
place-names. In Barcelona Prof. Carole Hough’s Scottish bid to host
the next ICOS was successful, so that it will be held in Glasgow in
2014. The 2012 Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland weekend
will be in Athenry, Galway, from 30th March to April 2nd.
This is always a very friendly conference, and there are special
bursaries for students. Please
let the society know the dates of any local talks on place-names. Both the Scottish
Place-Name Society and the Society
for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland now have newsletters illustrated
in colour: It was suggested to the UPNS committee meeting in May 2010
that our bi-annual Newsletter should be expanded to contain members’
place-name notes and photographs plus reports on the Society’s
lectures (any volunteers?). Launches relating to
place-names:
The Lower Badoney (Tyrone) townland quilt was launched on Oct 28th
by Kay Muhr and Ciarán Ó Doibhlin, retired PP of Gortin. A book of
articles reviewing the importance of Edmund Hogan’s collection of
early Irish place-names, Onomasticon
Goedelicum, is being launched this month by the Irish Texts Society
in Cork. Pat McKay, Kay Muhr UPNS
c/o Irish and Celtic, SLLPA, QUB BT7 1NN (or 436 Ravenhill Rd townlands.upns@gmail.com placenames@qub.ac.uk tel.
028 9049 1113 (chair)
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