Kernan

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Caorthannán 'rowans'

Discussion

The townland of Kernan is perhaps best known for the lake of the same name within it, but the two names will be dealt with together here. Early 17th-century spellings prefix baile- to the name (e.g. Ballykirinan 1612), and clearly show an extra syllable in Kernan which continued throughout the century. The extra syllable makes carnán 'heap of stones' as suggested by O'Donovan (OSNB 1834) unlikely. Hogan lists a Caislén Caerthennáin in Mayo, where the second element is a derivative of caorthann 'rowan tree', and this word would fit the evidence here (Onom. Goed. 145b). Kernan townland contains the highest ground in the parish, rising at the southern end to 423 feet (OSM xii 140a). The lake in the middle of the townland, Lough Kernan, which is 266 feet high, became notorious in 1641 as the site of a massacre of Protestant settlers, though the exact circumstances are unknown. Phelim McBrinn was alleged to have driven families on to thin ice on the lake, where they all, or all but two, drowned (Wars Co. Down x 85-6, 74). There is also Drumaran Lake in the north of the townland, on the border with the townland of Drumaran. The stream flowing from Kernan Lough down to Drumaran Lake (not shown on the 1:50,000) supported mills in 1834 (OSM xii 140b, 146a).