It is often said that we live in an information age. It only takes a tap on a phone or keyboard to access the largest repository of knowledge ever built – regardless of where in the world that knowledge originated. But there is another, much older treasury of information all around us in our daily lives – an invaluable resource that connects us to our heritage and our history.
Ireland’s placenames tell us so much about the country’s history and mythology, its geography and its ecology. They are a living record of the past – one that helps us to understand the world around us and how it once was.
They are filled with words such as ‘rath’ (Ráth Fearnáin/Rathfarnham), ‘dún’ (Dún Chaoin/Dunquin) and ‘lios’ (Lios Ard/Lisard) – words that allow us to glimpse relics of the past, buildings that long ago disappeared or of which only traces remain.
Words like ‘púca’ (Poll an Phúca/Poulaphuca) and ‘sí’ (Cill na Sí/Killashee) tell us about our rich mythological heritage. Words such as ‘coill’ (Coill Áirí/Killary), ‘gort’ (Gort an Choirce/Gortahork) and ‘tulach’ (Tulach Mhór/Tullamore) describe physical features of the landscape.
RM Block
Na focail choitianta / The words you need to know
aill / cliff
- Sampla: An Aill Bhuí / Aillwee
- As Béarla: the yellow cliff
ard / height; high
- Sampla: Ard na Gaoithe / Ardnageehy
- As Béarla: the high place of the wind
áth / ford
- Sampla: Baile Átha Luain / Athlone
- As Béarla: the ford of Luan
baile / townland, town, homestead
- Sampla: An Baile Bocht / Ballybough
- As Béarla: the poor town
béal / approach, mouth, opening
- Sampla: Béal Feirste / Belfast
- As Béarla: approach to the sandbank/Farset river
binn / peak
- Sampla: Binn Ghulbain / Benbulbin
- As Béarla: Gulban’s peak
bóthar / road
- Sampla: Baile an Bhóthair / Booterstown
- As Béarla: town of the road
caisleán / castle
- Sampla: Garraí an Chaisleáin / Garrycastle
- As Béarla: the garden of the castle
carraig / rock
- Sampla: Carraig na Siúire / Carrick-on-Suir
- As Béarla: the rock of the river Suir
cill / church
- Sampla: Cill Dara / Kildare
- As Béarla: the church of the oak
cloch / stone, stone building
- Sampla: Cloch an Phúca / Clopook
- As Béarla: the castle of the púca
cluain / meadow, pasture
- Sampla: Cluain Tarbh / Clontarf
- As Béarla: the pasture of the bulls
cnoc / hill
- Sampla: Cnoc an Chrochaire / Knockcroghery
- As Béarla: the hill of the hangman
coill / wood
- Sampla: Coill Bhó Deirge / Kilboderry
- As Béarla: wood of (the) red cow
doire / oak-wood, grove, thicket
- Sampla: Doire / Derry
- As Béarla: the oak wood
droim / ridge
- Sampla: Droim Shaileach / Drumhillagh
- As Béarla: ridge of the willow tree
dún / fort
- Sampla: Dún Droma / Dundrum
- As Béarla: the fort on the ridge
glas, glaise / stream
- Sampla: Glas Tuathail / Glasthule
- As Béarla: Toole’s stream
gleann / glen
- Sampla: Gleann Abha Buí / Glenaboy
- As Béarla: glen of (the) yellow river
gort / field
- Sampla: Gort na hEorna / Gortnahorna
- As Béarla: the field of the barley
leitir / hillside
- Sampla: Leitir Bric / Letterbrick
- As Béarla: the speckled hillside
loch / lake
- Sampla: Loch Con / Lough Conn
- As Béarla: the lake of the hounds
log / hollow
- Sampla: Log na Coille / Lugnaquilla
- As Béarla: the hollow of the wood
lios / ring-fort, enclosure
- Sampla: Lios Dúin Bhearna / Lisdoonvarna
- As Béarla: the gapped fort
machaire / plain
- Sampla: Machaire Fíolta / Magherafelt
- As Béarla: the plain of Fíolta
muileann / mill
- Sampla: An Muileann gCearr / Mullingar
- As Béarla: the left-handed mill
muc / pig
- Sampla: Mucros / Muckross
- As Béarla: the peninsula of the pigs
ráth / ring-fort
- Sampla: Ráth na gCaorach / Rathnageeragh
- As Béarla: the ringfort of the sheep
tobar / well
- Sampla: Tobar Phádraig / Patrickswell
- As Béarla: the well of St Patrick
For more, see logainm.ie, the official resource that conserves Irish placenames. A ”Logainmneacha na hÉireann” wall poster featuring these words was published by The Irish Times on March 10th, 2026.
