Paul Tempan
Belfast, Northern Ireland

https://doi.org/10.4467/K7501.45/22.23.18078

Modern Irish sceilg is defined as a ‘steep rock’ or ‘crag’ (Ó Dónaill, 1977). The Old Irish form is sceillec (Dictionary of the Irish Language, 1913–1976). It is rare and now chiefly known through a handful of toponyms but is of considerable importance due to its occurrence in names at two notable early Christian monastic sites, namely Sceilg Mhíchíl (Eng. ‘Skellig Michael’), a rocky island located off the coast of Co. Kerry, and Teampall na Sceilge (Eng. ‘Templenaskellig’) at Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. Both Skellig Michael and Glendalough are believed to have been founded by hermit saints in the 6th century AD.
There is no consensus regarding the etymology of sceilg (Vendryes, 1974). In this paper it will be argued that sceilg is a variant of speilg, another rare element in Irish place names with a complimentary, more northerly distribution, also denoting a rock feature, and that both are loans of Vulgar Latin spelu(n)ca, meaning ‘cave’ (sometimes a hermit’s dwelling) or ‘den’. Irish sceilg, as well as speilg, seems to have undergone a semantic shift, acquiring a more general sense of ‘rock, crag’. An earlier meaning ‘cave, hermitage’, closer to that of Latin spelunca, is only evident at the hermitage sites of Sceilg Mhíchíl and Teampall na Sceilge. In the latter case, the presence of a hermit’s cave, Leaba Chaoimhín (Eng. ‘Saint Kevin’s Bed’), in the immediate vicinity is particularly relevant.

Keywords Irish place-names, Latin loan-words in Irish