Place Names of Ireland

In Ireland, place names have helped to establish Cill identity and are a valuable part of our cultural • Cill – church: Lots heritage. There are over 51,000 townlands in Ireland of place names in and each one has its own name, which provides a clue Ireland begin with to the history of the locality. Over the years, some Cill or Kill. A cill is place names in Ireland were anglicised from their a wood or a forest, original Irish version, for example Baile Bhlainséir but can also refer becomes Blanchardstown in English. to a church. Some examples include Dún – fort: The Irish word for fort features frequently in Killarney, Kildare place names in Ireland with different variations such as and Kilkenny. Don, Dun and Doon. Some examples include Doonbeg, Dún Laoghaire and Dundalk.

Rath/Lis – fort: These words, also meaning fort, are common throughout Ireland and refer to forts built with earthen walls. Some examples include Rathmines, Rathdrum and Lisdoonvarna (this example has ‘lis’ and ‘doon’, both words for fort and translated as ‘fort of the gapped keep’).

Baile – town: The Irish word for town is common with variations Bally and Ballin appearing frequently throughout Ireland. Some examples include Ballinrobe, Ballybunion and Ballyshannon. Carraig – rock: This place name may appear when a town or locality has been built on or near a large rock. Carraig is anglicised as Carrick. Some examples include Carrickmines, Carrickmacross and Carrick-on-Shannon.

Áth • Áth – ford: Lots of towns in Ireland were built next to a shallow part of a river, and a ford is a crossing place on a river. Some examples include Athboy, Athlone and Athenry.

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Letter/Leitir • Letter/Leitir – hillside: This word for hillside appears frequently in Ireland. Some examples include Letterkenny, Lettermore and Letterfrack.

Ard – high or tall: This signifies a high place in Irish, which can mean a physically high place or a place of importance. Some examples include Ardagh, Ardmore and Ardeen.

Clon/Cloon – meadow: This comes from the word for a meadow or pasture in Irish, cluain. Some examples include Clontarf, Clonmel and Clonee.

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