On Monday 28 July at 1pm the second in Down libraries Local History at Lunchtime talks takes place in Newcastle Library.  Dr Kay Muhr of Queen’s University will be exploring the origin and meanings of local place names.

The derivation of some of the area’s best known places and landmarks will be revealed By Dr Muhr, who has been involved with the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project for a number of years.

So if you’ve ever wondered why Kilkeel is so called, what Ardglass means, or why Clough is Clough, pop down to the library for enlightenment on Monday 28^th.  To whet your appetite, the answers are revealed:

·      Kilkeel derives from Cill Chaoil ‘church of the narrow place’

·      Ardglass comes from Ard Glas ‘green height’

·      Clough was originally An Chloch ‘the stone (castle)’

Branch Library Manager Corwyn Rogers expects another large audience for the talk:

The interest in local history was obvious from the enthusiasm that greeted our first talk in this series of three.  We are again expecting a big turnout so come early to get a good seat.  And look out for our last talk in the series on 4 August when the topic is the sinking of the Princess Victoria

Everyone is welcome to the talk which is free.