Place Names in Ireland - Names of Counties

Names of Counties

See also: Counties of Ireland and Counties of Northern Ireland

In Irish, the counties are known as contaetha, the singular of which is contae. Irish versions of county names only have official status in the Republic of Ireland.

Most of the counties were named after a town in that county (commonly referred to as a county town); usually an administrative centre. Some of these towns, such as Louth, have declined into small villages or have lost their county town status to other towns.

Counties named after their present or former county towns: Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, and Wicklow. The county of Londonderry is named after the city of Derry, though its county town was Coleraine until 1972 when counties were abolished as administrative units in Northern Ireland and replaced with unitary councils.

Some counties derive their names from ancient Irish túatha, kingdoms or people:

  • Fermanagh, which is derived from Fear Manach meaning "men of Manach".
  • Kerry, which is derived from Ciarraí, which is itself derived from Ciarraighe, meaning "people of Ciar".
  • Laois, which is derived from Uí Laoighis, the name of a túath.
  • Meath, which is derived from Midhe, the name of a former province.
  • Offaly, which is derived from Uí Failghe, the name of a túath.
  • Tyrone, which is derived from Tír Eoghain meaning "land of Owen".
  • Westmeath, which was formerly part of Meath until 1543, is likewise derived from Midhe.

In 1994, County Dublin was abolished as an administrative unit and replaced with three new administrative counties:

  • Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, which is named after the town of Dún Laoghaire (meaning "Laoghaire's stronghold"); and the former barony of Rathdown (Ráth an Dúin in Irish, meaning "ringfort of the stronghold").
  • Fingal, which is derived from the Irish Fine Gall, meaning "foreign tribe", referring to the Norse who invaded and settled the area.
  • South Dublin, which is named after Dublin.

Read more about this topic:  Place Names In Ireland

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