The Fairy Glen (Rostrevor)

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fairy glen down

That authoritative guide to fairy life (!) Wikipedia includes the following sentence: The village [of Rostrevor in the County Down] has 2 rivers, the Ghan and the [F]airy Glen so named because many fairies are suspected of living along the banks of the river.’ Note that Gaelic had largely died out in County Down by the nineteenth century. There need be no surprise then that the place-name is in English. However, the earliest date we have been able to find for ‘Fairy Glen’ is 1901. Fairy Glen was a typical Victorian name sometimes transplanted on an area with fairy traditions, but more often associated with beautiful areas: it should also be noted that this area was planted with trees in the mid nineteenth century. Perhaps the naming came when the trees had reached maturity in the later nineteenth century? Above the Fairy Glen there is a house called Fairy Hill: it is unlikely that these two names were given independently.

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