The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #16707 Message #3215439
Posted By: MartinRyan
30-Aug-11 - 05:00 PM
Thread Name: Origins of Carrickfergus
Subject: RE: Help: Origins of Carrickfergus
In modern Irish, the noun "cuan" (genitive "cuain") means harbour
The adjective "ciúin" means quiet.
The pronunciations are quite similar to the non-Irish ear.
On the air - note that Nicholas Carolan of the Irish Traditional Music Archive suspects, at least, that O Riada composed it. He would be well aware of Dominic Behan's connection to the song.
Regards