Fadó, fadó, there was a legendary man called Cuchulainn who lived in the Cooley Mountains near Dundalk. Once in a while he would visit his lady friend Emer, who lived in Lusk, Co. Dublin. He was brought by his charioteer’s whose name was Laogh. Laogh and Cuchulainn became firm friends. Whenever Laogh and Cuchulainn passed The Ninch (an Inse in Irish), Laogh would say that he loved how it was so peaceful and quiet and he would marvel at the beautiful scenery. He liked the river estuary. He said he would like to be buried there. When Laogh died Cuchulainn made sure he was buried at The Ninch. His tomb looks like a hill. That is how Laytown- the town in which Laogh was buried- got its name.
Interesting facts:
- In 1978 the tumulus was excavated and two remains were found. At the time dating wasn’t very well advanced, so we don’t know how far back these remains date. There is a small sign on the site erected by the OPW.
- The locality name, The Ninch, has come from Irish as most place names in Ireland do.
- It is derived from the Irish for water meadow (an area flooded with water, such as a river estuary at high tide) – An Inis, which over the centuries has become An Inse and thus we have Inse Bay and Colaiste na hInse.
- Therefore Laytown and An Inse have rich historical reasons for the place names, but the Irish and English are not connected.