Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird

Sruth an Aghaidh an Aird[1] (also recently renamed erroneously as The Devils Chimney) is Ireland’s highest waterfall located on the Dartry Mountains in County Sligo in the northwest of Ireland. Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird is an Irish language name meaning "the stream that flows backwards",[1]) The waterfall is unusual in having no official English name.

Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird
Stream that Flows Backwards
A photo of the waterfall from Glencar Lough
Location in Ireland
LocationCounty Leitrim & County Leitrim, Ireland
Coordinates54.347654°N 8.393123°W / 54.347654; -8.393123
TypePlunge
Total height150 m (490 ft)
Number of drops2

It flows from the mountains' southern side into Glencar Lough. With a height of 150 metres (490 ft), it is higher than Powerscourt Waterfall in Wicklow.[2] The waterfall's name comes from the phenomenon where southerly winds sometimes blow the water backwards up and over the cliff edge. A public hiking trail has been established allowing access close to the base of the falls.[1][3]

The waterfall is a prominent landmark, visible for many miles and marked the ancient boundary of the tuath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh, now the boundary between County Sligo and County Leitrim.

Etymology

Modern translations have translated literally as “stream against the height”, but this is an incorrect translation of a phrase with an idiomatic meaning. The phrase is used in old Irish texts. The EDIL[4] dictionary includes the entry on the river Jordan "mar do ghabh sruth Iordan . . . a n-aghaidh áird i.e. flowed backwards, up-stream"(Take the stream of the Jordan, that flowed backwards). It is an archaic phrase implying both height and to flow backwards.

Name controversy

The name Devils Chimney can be regarded as a nickname as it has no relation to the name of the waterfall, in Irish or its translation in English, which refers to something that flows backwards. Whilst promoted in recent tourist literature as the Devils chimney, this is not a name known to have existed before its appearance on YouTube in December 2015, and has no official or historical standing. As one of the few features in County Sligo to have an Irish name but no English equivalent, this makes it particularly vulnerable to being eclipsed by monoglot renaming by the dominant language.[5][6]

The earliest mention of this name is on the commercial viral video aggregator Newsflare[7] where it was uploaded by DYGM photography on the 7th of December 2015. The video was subsequently uploaded to YouTube on the 8th December 2015[8]

References
  1. "Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird – The Devil's Chimney". Sligo Walks. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. "Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird". World Waterfall Database. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  3. Gallagher, Emma (28 May 2016). "Couple's dream shared". The Sligo Champion. Retrieved 24 November 2017 – via Irish Independent.
  4. "eDIL - Irish Language Dictionary". www.dil.ie.
  5. Hagan, John (15 April 2014). "Disappearing Place Names". Culture Northern Ireland.
  6. Mac Giolla Easpaig, Dónall (2009). "Ireland's heritage of geographical names" (PDF). Wiener Schriften zur Geographie und Kartographie. Vienna. 18: 79–85.
  7. "Waterfall flows upwards in remarkable natural phenomenon" – via www.newsflare.com.
  8. "The Devils Chimney (near Glencar Waterfall) Fail, Wind refusing to let water flow down, only up" – via www.youtube.com.

Further reading
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