Boreen

Unpaved boreen on the Beara Peninsula, County Cork.
Paved boreen in Baile Éamon, Spiddal, County Galway.

Boreen or bohereen (Irish: bóithrín, meaning "a little road", pronounced [bɔːˈriːn]) is a country lane, or narrow, frequently unpaved, rural road in Ireland.[1][2][3] "Boreen" also appears sometimes in names of minor urban roads such as Saint Mobhi Bóithrín (Irish: Bóithrín Mobhí), commonly known as Mobhi Boreen in Glasnevin, Dublin.[4][5] To be considered a boreen the road or path should not be wide enough for two cars to pass and in the case of a paved boreen it is desirable to have grass growing in the middle.

In parts of Ulster, a boreen is often called a loanin, an Ulster Scots word.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Boreen. Focail.ie, national database of Irish language terminology. Retrieved: 2016-04-10.
  2. ↑ Boreen. Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977). Retrieved: 2016-04-10.
  3. ↑ boreen, n. Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition, 1989; online version November 2010. Retrieved: 2011-01-04.
  4. ↑ Saint Mobhi Bóithrín at Irish Placenames Database. Retrieved: 2011-01-04.
  5. ↑ Mobhi Boreen on Google Maps. Retrieved: 2011-01-04.

"Bells are booming down the boreens" (from "Ireland with Emily" by Sir John Betjeman,1943)

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