Place Names In Ireland
The vast majority of placenames in Ireland are anglicisations of Irish language names; that is, adaptations of the Irish names to English phonology and spelling. However, some names come directly from the English language, and a handful come from Old Norse and Scots. The study of placenames in Ireland unveils features of the country's history and geography, and the development of the Irish language. The name of Ireland itself comes from the Irish name Éire, added to the Germanic word land. In mythology, Éire was an Irish goddess of the land and of sovereignty (see Ériu).
In some cases, the official English or anglicised name is wholly different from the official Irish language name. An example is Dublin. Its name is derived from the Irish dubh linn (meaning "black pool"), but its official Irish name is Baile Átha Cliath (meaning "town of the hurdled ford").
Read more about Place Names In Ireland: Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Names of Provinces, Names of Counties, Names of Streets and Roads
Famous quotes containing the words place, names and/or ireland:
“Like the dead-seeming, cold rocks, I have memories within that came out of the material that went to make me. Time and place have had their say.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“The world is a puzzling place today. All these banks sending us credit cards, with our names on them. Well, we didn’t order any credit cards! We don’t spend what we don’t have. So we just cut them in half and throw them out, just as soon as we open them in the mail. Imagine a bank sending credit cards to two ladies over a hundred years old! What are those folks thinking?”
—Sarah Louise Delany (b. 1889)
“No people can more exactly interpret the inmost meaning of the present situation in Ireland than the American Negro. The scheme is simple. You knock a man down and then have him arrested for assault. You kill a man and then hang the corpse.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)