I first came across the townland of Roddans when I was driving along the A2 coast road on the Ards Peninsula between the seaside villages of Ballyhalbert and Ballywalter.
South of Ballywalter the townlands go like this: Springvale, Ballyobegan, Roddans, Ballyhemlin and then the townland and village of Ballyhalbert.
On one side of the coast road lies the Irish Sea; the other side is farmland, bounded by hedges and stone walls.
It didn’t take me long to see the usual disagreement over spelling. The official townland name is Rodd-A-ns, but my photos also show Rodd-E-ns and Rodd-I-ns.
This is the road at the heart of the townland, spelled with an E.
And this headstone for the Clingan family of Roddins with an I is in Ballyhalbert graveyard.
What does the name mean? According to the PLACENAMESNI website, the origin may be an Irish word rod meaning “a variety of seaweed thrown up on the sand”.
Only one of my pictures featured seaweed. It also offers distant views of (1) the village of Ballyhalbert, (2) fog coming in from the Irish Sea on a day which had blue sky across the peninsula, and (3) for those with exceptionally good eyesight, seals basking on a rock.
To be honest, I didn’t notice the seals myself until I looked at the image at home, so here is an enlarged version of their rock.
more information
Which county is Roddans in? County Down
Which civil parish is Roddans in? Inishargy (reassigned from St. Andrews alias Ballyhalbert)
Which townlands border Roddans? To the north, Ballyobegan.
To the west, inland, Balliggan.
To the south, Ballyhemlin.
Click here to see a map of the townland on Townlands.IE.
And finally, click here to read more about the townland name on PLACENAMESNI.org.
Townlands of Ulster 
[…] skip straight to this month’s new posts: Roddans, Grey Abbey, Knockinelder, Ratallagh, Kearney, Keentagh, Tara, Cloghy, Rosemount, […]
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Hi Karolyn
My grandparents lived all their lives at 30 The Roddens, Larne.
A ‘rodden’ is a very common Ulster-Scots word: in fact the “alley” out the back of my house is also called ‘the ‘rodden’.
The Ulster-Scots Academy has usefully made available online a searchable dictionary, “The Namely Tongue”, compiled over 30 years by the meticulous James Fenton. I think you’ll appreciate it. This link takes you directly to the entry for ‘rodden’.
The Ards peninsula is very much an Ulster-Scots heartland so you’ll find a lot of Scottish influences in the names there.
Best, L
http://www.ulsterscotsacademy.com/words/hamely-tongue/r/rodden.php
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hi Karolyn. Your blog is so interesting. I grew up in County Down and now live in Hampshire. When I visit my mum, her favourite trip is a drive down the coast, through town lands that appear on your blog. That familiar drive has become more interesting thanks to you!
I have recently discovered that my great grandfather was born in Ballymorran in 1823, so the area now holds a greater fascination. I’m heading over next week, so will have your blog to refer to.
Best wishes and thank you
MH
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Thank you for your lovely comment, Mandy. I hope you have a great trip home next week.
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[…] I’m back in the village of Ballyhalbert again, for its second townland – Ballyhemlin. When I drove across the Ards Peninsula, my first hint of Ballyhemlin’s existence came from this road sign in Roddans townland. […]
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Hi, I’m Dave Parks from Michigan in the USA. I was searching for my County Down ancestors and got lost. I thought they were from Rathfriland or Drumballyroney. Enjoyed the information. Thanks
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