Intermediate/Advanced Article
Irish Place Names
The biggest challenge for many genealogists tracing ancestors in Ireland are the extreme flexibility of place name spellings. Researchers may discover multiple names in various records for the same place, one Irish, the other English.
Anglicization has altered many original Irish forms. During English rule, Irish names were often adapted to English spelling and pronunciation, sometimes significantly changing their original forms. For instance, the Irish Cobh was historically anglicized as “Queenstown” before reverting to its Irish-derived name in the 20th century.
Irish place names largely derive from the Irish language and reflect geographic features, historical ownership, or notable events. Many names begin with common elements that indicate landscape characteristics. For example, “Bally” comes from baile, meaning town or settlement, as seen in Ballymore or Ballynahinch. “Kil” derives from cill, meaning church, as in Kildare or Kilkenny. “Dun” or “Dún” refers to a fort, such as in Dundalk or Dunmore.
Water-related terms are also frequent. “Lough” or loch means lake, while “Inver” or inbhear indicates a river mouth. “Shannon,” the name of Ireland’s longest river, comes from Sionainn, associated with a figure in Irish mythology. Coastal and island features appear in names like Skerries, from Old Norse sker, meaning rock in the sea, reflecting Viking influence.
Some place names preserve references to families or clans. “O” and “Mac” elements indicate lineage, though they are less common in modern place names than in surnames. However, territorial names sometimes include references to ruling groups or chieftains.
Topographical accuracy is a consistent feature. Names frequently describe physical aspects such as hills (cnoc), valleys (gleann), or plains (magh or maigh). These descriptive elements provided practical identification in a largely rural landscape.
Overall, Irish place names serve as linguistic records, preserving elements of geography, history, and language across centuries. Places may have changed names over time. Here are some examples:
1. Queen’s County, in the province of Leinster was renamed Leix when Ireland became an independent country in 1922. However, Leix appears in various Irish records as being spelled Laois, Laoighis, and is always pronounced “leash” no matter which spelling is used.
2. Donegal is located in the northern part of the Republic of Ireland. This is also the name of a county in the province of Ulster, in Northern Ireland. Donegal is also the name of a townland in the baronies of Tirhugh, Cork, Tipperary and Fermanagh. Donegal is also a town that is located in the baronies of Tirhigh and Babagh, Donegal is also the name of a civil parish in the Barony of Tirhugh. There is no Roman Catholic Parish called Donegal but the Roman Catholic Parish of Tawnawilly includes the civil parish of Donegal.
3. The townland of Killeen. There are 72 Killeen’s listed in the townland index. In order to narrow it down specifically, you must know the county and parish. The townland of Lecarrow has appeared in Catholic and civil records under numerous spellings. The most common seem to be Lecarow, Lecaroe, Lackaroe, and Lackarrow. This same applies throughout the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
None of these examples take into account the possibilities of transcription errors. If a name is written with a different spelling than what would be the common form, that is a variant spelling. If the name written was copied incorrectly, that is a transcription error. The more unfamiliar a word is to the transcriber, the more likely errors are to occur.
Some Irish place names have completely changed over time, or are known by multiple names, one Irish and one British. Bagenalstown located in County Carlow often goes by its Irish name Muinebeag, even in older records where it often appears spelled as Moneybeg. To further confuse the issue, one must also be cognizant of which geographical organization a given name place will belong. The potential candidates include:
1. Barony 9. County
2. Catholic Diocese 10. Electoral District
3. Catholic Parish 11. Geographic Province
4. Catholic Province 12. Poor Law Union
5. Church of Ireland Diocese 13. Town
6. Church of Ireland Parish 14. Townland
7. Church of Ireland Province 15. Miscellaneous District and
8. Civil Parish Regional Names
As an added challenge, place names have come and gone depending on the time period before England dominated the country, or in the earliest parts of Irish history when warlords and chieftains ruled their conquered areas. As one ruler conquered another names would change depending on the whims of the new ruler. The earliest Irish histories may mention names that one will not find in the modern era.
I have compiled multiple study guides on Irish Research in the United States, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland that are available free upon request. I have also listed some additional sources shown below that will provide additional information on this topic.
Bryan L. Mulcahy
Reference-Genealogy Librarian
Fort Myers Regional Library
bmulcahy@leegov.com4/2/2026