Caisleán an Mhuilinn (Castle of the Mill) may be the original Gaelic place name of Castlewellan.

Another possibility is that the proper Gaelic version of the second element of the place name is Uidhilin, and that it was named after the Irish family who preceded the Magennis clan in that area. They were called in English McQuillan and would have predated the mills by a considerable number of years.

Caiseal is more likely as the first element in the place name than the more formal caisleán in view of the low military strategic importance of the place in antiquity and the absence of an any formal or informal reference to a Norman or post-Norman castle, such as there is nearby at Dundrum.  Caiseal is the Irish word for a stone compound or farmhouse, and is a not-infrequent element in County Down place names.

The Ins, Outs and Whereabouts of Castlewellan
Stories from a small town in Northern Ireland - by Patsy Mullen

CLICK HERE to download the entire book in .pdf (Adobe Reader) format.

Many people today will automatically assume that the name ‘Castlewellan’ is associated with the Annesley Castle situated overlooking the lake in the forest park, but that castle is far too recent. However the place called Castlewellan, Caisleán or Caiseal an Mhuilinn, Caisleán or Caiseal Uidhilin, existed long before the Annesleys came to Ireland. The earlier spellings of the name of the town include Castlewillane, Castlewillan and Castlewilliam. (Some of the older generation still pronounce it Castlewillin [i.e. Caselwillin]).

View entries from the CASTLEWELLAN COURT BOOK  - 1824

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Submitted by: Brigitte Marmion

Submitted by: Brigitte Marmion