Bóithrín on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A boreen or bohereen ( ; , meaning 'a little road') is a
A boreen or bohereen ( ; , meaning 'a little road') is a country lane
A country lane is a narrow road in the countryside.
In North America and Australia, the term "lane" also may refer to rear access roads which act as a secondary vehicular network in cities and towns. Some towns and cities in Ireland and the Unit ...
, or narrow, frequently unpaved, rural road in Ireland.
"Boreen" also appears sometimes in names of minor urban roads such as Saint Mobhi Bóithrín (), commonly known as Mobhi Boreen in Glasnevin
Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...
, Dublin. To be considered a boreen the road or path should not be wide enough for two cars to pass and have grass growing in the middle.
Boreens may be private rights of way that are not open for public use.
In parts of Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
, a boreen is often called a ''loanin'', an Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to:
* Ulster Scots people
* Ulster Scots dialect
Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts ...
word.
Etymology
The word "boreen" comes from the Irish word ("little road"), which in turn comes from ("road"). In origin, a ''bóthar'' was a cow path ( means cow), a track the width of two cows, so ''bóithrín'' meant a little cow path. ''Bóthar'' was one of the five types of road identified in medieval Irish legal texts, the others being ''slige'' (on which two chariots could pass), ''rót'' (on which one chariot and two riders could pass), ''lámraite'' (a road connecting two major roads) and ''tógraite'' (a road leading to a forest or a river).See also
* Local roads in the Republic of Ireland *Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from ...
References
Roads in the Republic of Ireland Roads in Northern Ireland Types of roads {{Ireland-road-stub