Irish Terminology (Part 1)

Boherbue Sign

Some Irish place-name terms to help you navigate about

Do you plan to go to Ireland? Maybe you just want to visit to see the beautiful landscape and the friendly people. Maybe you are going to do some genealogy. We took a trip a few years ago, and I sure wish I had known some of these terms. So here are some things you should know for your trip you are taking or will take at some point. There is a lot of information, so it will be covered in two blog posts.

Carrick-a-rede

Ireland in the Gaelic period didn't have large settlements and few towns. Basically each tribe had their own “Little Kingdom” with boundaries and they were named after features of the landscape. So the place-names of these kingdoms have words for cows, hills, rocks, river mouths (big and small), etc… Later, after the Normans arrived, they used these existing naming systems for towns and castles. As English began to be used more, the place-names were sometimes anglicized phonetically instead of being translated. Place-names signs today have both Irish and English on them.

Are you going to Ireland?

Common Place-name Terms

Here are a few of the most common parts of place-names you should know.

  • Cow - The number of cows you owned showed how wealthy you were. Irish for cow is "Bo" and in English pronounced like "Boe." Highways are called "Bothair" which means "Cow-ways" and smaller roads are "Boreens." One town is Bothar Bui or Boherbue (Boher-bwee).
  • Hills - You will see many hills in Ireland. "Cnoc," pronounced like Canuck, is Irish for hills. The English is Knock. An example would be Cnoc Ratha or Knockraha.
  • Forts - The Irish name for forts is "Dun" which sounds like "Doon." One town is Dun Geaninin or Dungannon.
  • Rocks - If you have been to Ireland, or even if you haven’t been yet, you will soon learn there are rocks everywhere, "Carraig" pronounced "Carrig" in English is Carrick. If you're in the Belfast area visit the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. Aptly named for going over a very rocky inlet. Also a rocky fort would be called a "Caishel" which sounds like "Cashel." In one case, The Rock of Cashel is where St Patrick preached from. It is a stone church.
Rock of Cashel

So when you’re driving through Ireland and you see the place-names look and see if you can find the hill or rock they are named after. There are a few more place-names that we will go over in the next blog.

Tracy Hall

Tracy is an owner, a genealogy researcher, and author. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree from Grand Canyon University. She has done genealogical research in the U.S., England, and Ireland. She has been actively researching family histories for over 20 years. She loves working with clients, breaking down brick walls, seeing the places where hers and your ancestors lived, learning about their jobs and work, and researching immigration and migration patterns. She is the Holder of the Tree in several of her family lines and has been for decades.