Place Names

The etymology of Northern Irish place-names is a decidedly complex business.

Gaelic, Norse, Roman, Anglo-Norman and Ulster Scots in origin, the names of Northern Irish villages, towns and cities were originally derived from all sorts of sources - plants, animals, mountains and people - and meant all sorts of things.

Dr Kay Muhr, senior research fellow with the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project (NIPNP) and Chairman of the Ulster Place-Name Society, gave a seminar on the intrepid Mr Bartlett in Washington’s Library of Congress on May 16, as part of the Rediscover NI programme. Read on