Irish place names often give you a clue why the town or city was named as it was. For instance take "Ovens" in County Cork. It sounds in English like a misleading name. Actually "Ovens" comes from a shortened version of the Irish word "Uamhanna" (Oovana) meaning Caves, which are in existance in the area. This goes to show that a townlands name can conjure up completly misleading images.
This table shows general terms in Irish and their meanings.
| "Ard" | height or high |
| "Aglish" (Aglish) | means a church |
"Baile"( Balla ) |
meaning town or townland. |
| "Ath"( Ah ) | means a ford in a river or stream |
| "Carraig" ( Carrig ) | meaning a rock |
| "Ballagh" ( Balach) | means a road |
| "Bother" (Boher) | means a road |
| "Cill " ( Kill ) | Means a church |
| "Beag" (Beg ) | small |
| "Clon" (Clon ) | means a piece of fertile ground or a meadow |
| "Caher" ( Caher) | is a circular stone fort |
| "Coill" (Kill ) | a wood |
| "Cliath"(Clee) | a hurdle |
| "Bel"(Bale) | the mouth of something, i.e. an entrance |
| "Dun" (Doon ) | a fortress |
| "Dair" ( Dar ) | an oak tree |
| "Daire " (Derry) | means an oak grove or wood |
| "Dearg" (Derg) | means red in colour |
| "Droichead" ( Drohed ) | a bridge |
| "Druim" (Drum ) i | is a large ridge or long hill |
| "Fada"( Fada) | long |
| "Eas" ( Ass) | is a waterfall |
| "Faill" (Foyle) | a cliff |
| "Fert" (Fert) | a grave or trench |
| "Glas" (Glas) | green in colour |
| "Gleann" (Glen) | a glen or valley |
| "Gort" ( Gort) | a tilled field |
| "Inis" (Inis) | an island |
| "Cnoc" (Knock) | is a hill |
| "Loch" ( Loch) | a lake |
| "Leitir" (Letter) | a wet hill side |
| "Magh" (Mah ) | a plain |
| "Muc"( Muck) | a pig |
| "Mor" ( More) | big or great |
| "Og" (Oge) | little or young |
| "Rath" ( Raw ) | a circular fort |
| "Rinn" (Rinn) | point of land |
| "Sean" (Shan) | old |
| "Sidh" ( Shee) | fairy hill. |
| "Sibhean"( Shee -veen) | small fairy hill |
| "Sliabh" (Sleeve) | a mountain |
| "Sraid"(Sraud) | a street |
| "Teach" (Tee-och) | a house |
| "Tochar"(Togher) | a causeway |
| "Tor" (Tor ) | means a tower |
| "Torc" (Turk) | a boar |
| "Tuaim" (Toom) | burial mound |
| "Tulach" (Tulla) | a little hill |
| "Uaran"(Ooran) | a cold spring |
Here are listed Irish place names and their origins:-
"Adare"- (Ath - Dara) meaning a ford by or with an oak tree
"Aghada" - (Ath -Fhada) means long ford
"Athlone" - (Ath-Luian) means Luain's ford
"Ardfert" - (Ard-Fert) means the high grave or height of the grave
"Ardpatrick"- (Ard- Patrick) St. Patrick's height
"Ballina" - (Bel-an-atha) mouth of the ford
"Boherbue" - (Boher-bue) means yellow road. Also " Boherboy"
"Ballybeg" - ( Baile - Beag) means small town
"Ballinlough" - ( Baile - Loch) means town of the lake
"Caherdaniel"- (Caher - Daniel) meaning Daniel's stone fort
"Cappaghmore"- (Cappagh-Mor) means a large tillage plot
"Clonmel"-(Cluain Meala) meaning the Vale of Honey
"Clonturk" - (Clon-Tuirc) means the boars meadow
"Cork"- (Corcach) means a marsh. The city was built on a marsh and part it is still known as the marsh
"Carrickfergus" - (Carraigh - Fergus) means Fergus's rock
"Cloghermore" - (Clogher - Mor) means large stoney land
"Donaghmore" - (Donagh - Mor) means great or big church
"Derry" - ( Doire) meaning an oak grove or wood
"Down" - (Dun) meaning a fortress
"Drogheda" - ( Droichead - Atha) means bridge of the ford
"Douglas" - (comes from Dubh - Ghlaise ) meaning black stream
"Donegal" - ( Dun - na - nGall) meaning settlement or fort of the Galls, there was a Danish settlement there before the Anglo / Norman invasion
"Dublin" - 1. (Dubh - Linn) means literally black pool, but traditional irish names it 2. (Baile - Atha - Cliath) this means the town of the ford of hurdles.This refers to the ancient artifical ford of hurdles that was built there.
"Druncondra" - (Druim - Condra) meaning Condra's ridge
"Edenderry" - (Eden, meaning a hill brow, and Daire) meaning hill brow of the oak grove "Gleangarriff" - ( Gleann - Garbh) means rough glen
"Innisfallen" - (Inis - Faithlenn) means Faithlenn's island
"Inishturk" - ( Inis - Tuirc) means the boars island
"Kanturk" - ( Ceann - Tuirc) the boars's head or hill
"Kenmare" - (Ceann - Mara) means the head of the sea..where it comes to
"Kildare" - (Cill - Dara) means church of the oak, or near the oak tree
"Killarney" - (Cill - Airne) means church of the Sloes
"Knocknamona"- ( Cnoc - na - Mona) means hill of the bog
"Lismore" - (Lois - Mor) means large earthen fort
"Listowel" - (Lois - Tuathail) means Tuathal's earthen fort
"Mayo" - (Magh - Eo) means plain of the Yews
"Mallow" - (Magh - Ealla) means plain of the Allo...a river
"Moyglass" - (Magh - Gals) means green plain
"Muckross" - ( Muc - Ross) peninsula of the pigs
"Oranmore" - (Uaran - Mor) big or great cold spring
"Parkmore" - (Pairc - Mor) big park or field
"Rathcormack" - (Rath - Cormac) Cormac's fort
"Rathduff" - (Rath - Duibh) black fort
"Skerries" - ( Sceire) meaning sea rocks
"Shandon" - ( Sean - Dun) means old fort
"Slievenamon" - (Sliabh - na - mban) meaning mountain of the women
"Tara" - ( Teamhair) means place on an elevated area
"Tralee" - (Traigh - Li) is Strand of the Lee....a river or stream there
"Tramore" - (Traigh - Mor) Big Strand
"Tullamore" - (Tulach - Mor) means big hill.....also "Tullymore"
"Trim" - ( Ath - Truim) meaning ford of the elder bushes it has now been shortened to just Trim
"Watergrasshill" - ( Cnocan - na - Biolraighe) meaning the little town of the water- cresses
"Youghal" - ( Eoghaill) meaning Yew wood
So now when you see a village or town name, have a look at the Irish of the name and see if you can get the meaning or reason why the place is called what it is.
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