North and South of the Border: Parallel Place Name Research in Ireland

Overview & Synopsis

Irish language place-names were largely recorded in non-standardized anglicized spelling, which is variously subject to influences like diverging dialects, and socio-historical change. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, place name research and authority is disconnected. In the Republic of Ireland, Irish is the first official language, reflected in support via a number of statutory bodies. The Placenames Committee within the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Government of Ireland) is the main authority on place names, and advises government on official place names as defined in legislation (Official Languages Act, 2003). The Logainm.ie place names database and Meitheal Logainm.ie community place name collection project, developed by Dublin City University, reflect further Government support for place-name scholarship and usage. Irish has (currently) no similar legal protection in Northern Ireland, and therefore no official requirement for Irish versions of names for administrative or other purposes. Despite this, the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project (NIPNP), based in Queen’s University, Belfast (currently funded by the Northern Ireland Executive, conducts research on the origins of place names. This paper outlines the background and current state of place name research in Ireland in both jurisdictions, and highlights areas of overlap and future all-Ireland collaboration.