Placenames

Kill = Church

Clon = Meadow

Baile = Town

Dún = Fort

Ey – Viking word for Island

Lambay from lamb-ey meaning Lamb Island

Ireland’s Eye from Erin’s-ey meaning Ireland’s Island

Skerries (Irish: Na Sceirí, meaning “Rocky Islands”)

Dursey from djorrs – ey meaning Bull Island

Donegal

Donegal’s name comes from the Irish Dún na nGall, which means “fort of the foreigners”. This name has taken different forms over the years, including Dunnagall and Dunagall.

Dún an nGall, the fort of the strangers or foreigners, is the name given to Donegal town from which the county gets it’s name. There is some confusion as to who these foreigners were, some believe it refers to the Vikings who were reported to be active in the bay of Donegal in the ninth century. Yet others believe that the strangers referred to are Scottish mercenaries who were brought in by the Irish to fight for them in their local and national battles.

Kenmare

An Neidín, meaning “the little nest” as it is nestled in among the mountains of Kerry.

The name Kenmare means Ceann Mara, meaning “head of the sea”, referring to the head of Kenmare Bay.

Clonakilty

Clonakilty Irish: Cloich na Coillte, meaning “stone (castle) of the woods”

In the 14th century, a ten-mile strip of fallow woodland called Tuath na gCoillte (the land of the woods) divided the land at Clonakilty Bay. Here was a castle called Cloch na gCoillte(meaning the castle of the woods, from ‘cloch’, the Irish for stone or stone building, and ‘coillte’ meaning woods).

Donard

Donard (historically Dunard, from Irish: Dún Ard, meaning “high fort”)

The highest mountain in Wicklow and one of the highest mountains in Ireland, second only to Carrauntoohil in Co. Kerry is Lugnaquilla, which can be accessed near the village of Donard. This mountain has a height of 925 metres.

Poulaphouca

Poll (Hole)an Púca (Ghosts)

Dublin

It seems that the Irish (Baile Áth Cliath) and English (Dublin) have 2 different origins. There were two settlements where the modern city stands. The name Dublin derives from the Irish word Dubhlinn, dubh meaning “black,”, and linn “pool”, referring to a dark tidal pool. This tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle.

Áth Cliath is a place name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery.

Hollywood

Cillín Chaoimhín is the Irish name for Hollywood; its translation being Kevin’s Small Church.

Another, older Irish name is Cnoic Rua, literally meaning Red Hill. This may be a reference to the red berries of holly trees on the hills above the village.

Wicklow

The Irish name for Wicklow is Cill Mhantáin. The story goes that when St. Patrick tried to land his ships in the area, his party was attacked by locals. … After that, the area was called ‘Cill Mhantáin’, meaning ‘church of the toothless one’.

The origin of the place name Wicklow. It is of Viking origin and the segment ‘lo’ means meadow or grassland. It has been put forward that the full name translates as ‘Bay of the Meadows.