A boreen or bohereen ( ; ga, bóithrín , 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 the United Kingdom, i ...

, or narrow, frequently unpaved, rural road in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. "Boreen" also appears sometimes in names of minor urban roads such as Saint Mobhi Bóithrín ( ga, Bóithrín Mobhí, link=no), 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 t ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. 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. The word "boreen" comes from the Irish word ''bóithrín'', which in turn comes from ''bóthar''. In origin, a ''bóthar'' was a cow path, 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). In parts of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, a boreen is often called a ''loanin'', an Ulster Scots word.

References

Roads in the Republic of Ireland Roads in Northern Ireland {{Ireland-road-stub

See also

References