Caherboshina

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Caherboshina
Cathar Bó Sine

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
52°08′43″N 10°20′16″W / 52.1453, -10.3378

Irish grid reference
Q401030

Statistics

38km/sq

Population ()

Caherboshina (Irish: Cathar Bó Sine) is a townland situated approximately 4 kilometres from Daingean Uí Chúis or Dingle. Its position lies at the almost latitudal centre of Ireland's most westerly land-mass, Corcha Dhuibhne, or the Dingle Peninsula.

1 About
2 The Name
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] About

Caherboshina was a large village before the time of the Great Famine of Ireland in 1847. The village had a population of approximately 80 adults and children living in stone & mortar dwellings. The village itself is less than 2 kilometres in length and is a linear settlement. During and shortly after the famine, the settlement shrunk dramatically and many of the ancient ruins are now lost forever. The village is now home to some 30 people with approximately 12 buildings currently built in the area (more are currently being processed for planning permission).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The Name

Caherboshina is an odd name. Pronounced as it is written in English, like many Anglicised Irish placenames it gives no clue as to its origins. For clues to its meaning, we must examine its Gaelic name - Cathar Bó Sine.

'Cathair' is the Irish word for 'city' or 'large-town'. It appears without its vowel 'i' in the Irish name due to linguistic constraints in the language with regard to opposing vowels. The word 'Cathair' may also be representative of the number 'four' in the Irish language, this word being spelt 'Ceathair'.

'Bó' is the Irish word for 'cow' or 'oxen'.

'Sine' is a word that has differring meanings and could allude to the word 'sinn' which is the collective noun 'us'. The direct translation of the word 'sine' from Irish to English leads us to the word 'nipple' or 'tit' which does not corroborate with any known references to anatomical representations in the village's history. 'Sine' is also a descriptive noun in the Irish language used on occasion to indicate 'the oldest' in terms of age, i.e. the oldest person - 'An Duine is Sine'.

Together, there are 2 popular definitions to the name:

Cathair an Bhó is Sine - The City of the Oldest Cow

Cathair an Bhogha Síne - The City of the Rainbow - 'Bogha Síne' meaning rainbow, a dramatic representation of the lettering.^{[citation needed]}