A place name in Caithness

[Liobhan]

Near the village of Lybster, on the shores of the Firth of Mornay,
there's a cove or skerry (can't tell which) named Ash Geo Mor. The
best I can make of it is geòdha mor, "big rocky cove" but I can't
make out what "Ash" could be.

Does anyone know?

Here it is:

http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=326261&y=936446&z=120&sv=occumster&st=3&tl=Map+of+Occumster,+Highland+[Town]&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map.srf

You have to zoom in one level, and then reposition the map toward the
sea. It's right below Hillhead in Lybster.

Thanks so much!

[rob]

Looking at other names nearby it is likely that we need to look for a
Scandinavian origin. On the 1877 OS map Ash Goe Mòr and Ash Goe Beag
are both shown. www.old-maps.co.uk I've seen nothing that leaps out at
me for a meaning. The books I have on sea names are all west coast and
I can't see anything similar in them. How similar ash is to the
original word depends on how it has changed through Gaelic, Scots and
English mouths.

Buaidh gun robh leat!

Rob

[Fred Riley]

I think Rob's probably right, as Caithness is not traditionally a Gaelic area, historically falling into the area of Norse domination of the North and East (bloody Vikings, come over here, rape our villages, pillage our women...). This was brought into the spotlight not so long back when Caithness council balked at translating their road signs into Gaelic, for that historical reason. Maybe the signs should be translated into old Danish instead... ;-)

Tìoraidh

Fred

2009/7/18 rob <robt...@gmail.com>