| Place-name: | Mahago Rig |
| Suggested Meaning: | St. Mahagu’s Rig |
| element | Personal Name: St. Mahagu |
| element | Scots rig ‘ridge’ |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | N/A |
| OS Name Books (1855-57): | Mahago Rig |
| Location: | Ordnance Survey (1894) |
| Other Early Forms |
| Possible early forms Monyhagane (1629), Minnihagan (1658). |
Mahago Rig
The entry in the Ayrshire Ordnance Survey Name Book (1855-57) for Mahago Rig reads-
A ridge of Rough pasture land lying on the eastside of Blackcraig Hill
Monyhagane , Minnihagan
Gaelic moine ‘moss’ + Personal Name: Mahagu
W.J. Watson in Celtic Place-Names of Scotland considers that the place-name Monyhagane (1629) and Minnihagan (1658) seem to be early forms of the place-name Mahago [1].
Mahago Rig, in Cumnock, seems to be Monyhagane, 1629 (Ret), Minnihagan 1658 in which case the spelling should perhaps be –hague, –hagau meaning ‘St. Mahagu’s Moss.’
W.J. Watson , Celtic Place-Names of Scotland, p.200
The elements mony– and minny- are considered to be Gaelic moine ‘moss’ [2] and Watson gives another Ayrshire example, i.e., Minnishant to be ‘the holy (seanta) moss (moine)’ [3].
Prior to discussing Mahago Rig, Watson noted the early form of the place-name of Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire appeared as Lesmahagu three times in King David’s charter of 1144. He goes on to explain that the personal name Mahagu ‘can hardly be other than Mo-Fhecu, later Mo-Fhegu , the reduced affectionate form of the name Fechin of Fobar or Fore‘ and concludes that Lesmahagow is lios Mo-Fhegu ‘my Fechin’s enclosure’, with the first element Gaelic lios ‘enclosure’ [4].
However, the aforementioned place-names Monyhagane (1629) and Minnihagan (1658) are not to be found in the parish of Cumnock ( i.e. original parish of Cumnock comprising the parishes of Old Cumnock and New Cumnock) but instead some 15 miles to the west in the parish of Coylton, Ayrshire.
Watson’s sources read as follows –
- Monyhagane (1629) to Hew de Eglingtoun, Knight of certain annual with the sheriffdom of Air, while Robert de Brus resigned, viz. 50s out of Drumdow, 8s. 4d. out of Stayre, 33s 4d. out of Cars, and 40 s. out of Monyhagane. N.B. Here 1629 refers to the year that an index of charters dating from 1309 – 1413.
- Minnihagan (1658) Dec. 3. 1658 JOHNE MUIR of Auchindraine, heir of Sir John Muir of Auchindraine, his father,- in the 8 merk land of Minnihagan and Keyrmoyne of old extent within King’s Kyle [6].
The Mures of Montyhagne had held these lands since probably the later 13th century [7] –
There is no reason to doubt that the Mures of Monyhagen and Auchindrayne (which last title was only latterly assumed by them) were cadets of the very ancient and honourable Family of Mure of Rowallan. In confirmation of this fact, Sir William Mure of Rowallan, knight, in his History of that House, states, that Andrew Mure of Monyhagen, the first of the family, was either the son or grandson of Sir Gilchrist Mure, who died circa ann. 1280.
Robert Pitcairn Esq., Criminal Trials in Scotland , Volume Third
Monyhage, East Monyhage and Monyhaghen are found on Blaeu Coila Provincia (1654) in the vicinity of Cars Castle which must be Cars in the charter of Robert de Brus above and possibly associated with Keyrmoyne (Keyr’ moss?) in the instrument of 1658. The name appears in Roy’s Map Lowlands (1752-55) as Minnyhagen,
The Land Tax Rolls of the parish of Coylton [Scotlands Places] include the following entries nether monyhagen (1705 & 1708) and Moneyhagen (1759). The name has since disappeared from View
If Monnyhage is St. Mahagu’s Moss then it once was to be found in the parish of Coylton.
Mahago Rig
Personal Name: Mahagu + Scots rig ‘ridge’
On accepting that the Coylton place-names of Monyhagane and Minnihagan are not early forms of the New Cumnock place-name Mahago, then Watson’s offering of ‘St. Mahagu’s Moss’ is truncated to the personal name St. Mahagu, having stripped away the prefixes mony– and minny-.
With no obvious alternative derivation of the place-name mahago then it seems reasonable to accept Watson’s offering of the personal name Mahagu, a reference to St. Mahagu.
The analogy with St. Mahagu’s Moss, i.e. Gaelic moine ‘moss’ + Personal Name: Mahagu would perhaps have been stronger if the New Cumnock name had taken the form Gaelic druim ‘ridge’ + Personal Name: Mahagu, yielding a name ‘Drum Mahagu’?, as opposed to Personal Name: Mahagu + Scots rig ‘ridge’ [8].
As discussed above Watson explained that the personal name Mahagu ‘can hardly be other than Mo-Fhecu, later Mo-Fhegu, the reduced affectionate form of the name Fechin for Fobar or Fore‘. Today the remains of Fore Abbey, County Westmeath, Ireland stand on the site ‘where St. Feichin founded a Christian monastery in the 7th Century‘ [9]. Associated with the surrounding landscape are The Seven Wonders of Fore –
- the monastery in the bog,
- the water that flows uphill
- the tree that won’t burn,
- the water that won’t boil,
- the anchorite in a stone,
- the mill without a race
- the lintel raised by St Feichin’s prayers.
At some point the works of St. Fechan were commemorated on a ridge on the boundary between Ayrshire and Dumfriesshire and named Mahago, the affectionate form Mo-Fhegu. Maybe the water flows uphill on Mahago Rig!
Mahago Rig is an impressive ridge and runs from south-west to north west between the Kello Water and Earlseat Burn on the east and Bottom Burn. Perhaps the water flows uphill here!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
| Maps |
| Reproduced with the Permission of National Library of Scotland |
| https://maps.nls.uk/ |
| Map 1: Ordnance Survey Maps – Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960 (1894) |Mahago Rig |
| Map 2: Joan Blaeu, Joan, Coila Provincia, [or], The province of Kyle (1654) |Monyhage, East Monyhage, Monyhaghen |
| Map 3: Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain – 1945-1971 (1953) |Mahago Rig |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| By Permission of Scotland’s Places |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Books (1855-57) Vol. 49| Mahago Rig |
| References |
| [1] W. J. Watson ‘Celtic Place-Names of Scotland | Mahago Rig p.200 |
| [2] Edward Dwelly | moine |
| [3] W. J. Watson ‘Celtic Place-Names of Scotland’ | Minishant p.200 |
| [4] W. J. Watson ‘Cletic Place-Names of Scotland’ | Lesmahagow pp 196-197 |
| [5] William Robertson, ‘An Index, Drawn Up about the Year 1629: Of Many Records of Charters, Granted by Different Sovereigns of Scotland Between the Years 1309 and 1413’ |Monyhagane |
| [6] Inquisitionum Ad Capellam Domini Regis Retornatarum, Volume 1, Ayr, No. 508 . Johne Muir of Auchindraine | Minnihagan |
| [7] Robert Pitcairn Esq., Criminal Trials in Scotland , Volume Third |Mures of Monyhagen |
| [8] Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. | rig |
| [9] www.ireland.com, Seven Wonders of Fore |
NEW CUMNOCK HISTORY 