logainm.ie – Placenames Database of Ireland – Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann

Visitors to www.logainm.ie can now listen to sound files that have been added to 1,112 placenames in County Cork. Sound files in Irish and English have been added to the names of the baronies, civil parishes and electoral districts as well as the names of some physical features. The names of the townlands within the Gaeltacht are also included. Sound files are already available for placenames in Counties Waterford, Galway, Donegal, Kerry, Tipperary, Louth, Leitrim, Limerick, Kilkenny, Meath and Wicklow. Áine Uí Chuill from Barr d’Inse/Cúil Aodha did the sound recordings for the placenames in County Cork.

www.logainm.ie is a public website which provides the official Irish-language names of almost 100,000 towns, streets and post offices throughout the country. The placenames website has attracted 4 million hits since its official launch on 1st October 2008. Placenames are most commonly searched for by their English version. The most-searched placename is Dublin, with 1,064 searches, Cork is in second place (661), and Blackrock is third (658). Ballina comes fourth, with 655 searches. The most frequently searched placenames in Co. Cork so far are Cork, with 661 searches, followed by Mallow with 493, Fermoy with 390 and Macroom, with 297 searches.

Students, teachers, journalists, translators and others who need the authoritative Irish form of placenames can find them easily by searching on www.logainm.ie . The site is also of interest to people worldwide who are interested in the heritage, culture and geography of Ireland.

Work on www.logainm.ie is ongoing and more placenames, sound files and new interactive features will be added to the website.

www.logainm.ie is being developed by Fiontar, Dublin City University’s Irish-medium teaching and research unit, in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht Affairs.