The Placenames Database of Ireland ( ga, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar,
Dublin City University
Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Cre ...
in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
The website is a public resource primarily aimed at journalists and translators, students and teachers, historians and researchers in genealogy.
Placenames Commission and Placenames Branch
The Placenames Commission ( ga, an Coimisiún Logainmneacha) was established by the
Department of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Ec ...
in 1946 to advise
Ordnance Survey Ireland
Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI; ga, Suirbhéireacht Ordanáis Éireann) is the national mapping agency of Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean ...
and the government of what the Irish name of places should be.
Although both the 1922
Constitution of the Irish Free State
The Constitution of the Irish Free State ( ga, Bunreacht Shaorstát Eireann) was adopted by Act of Dáil Éireann sitting as a constituent assembly on 25 October 1922. In accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution,current constitution adopted in 1937 recognised Irish as the
national language
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...
, the law in regard to placenames was carried over from the 19th-century UK statutes which established the Ordnance Survey and
Griffith's Valuation
Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868.
Griffith's background
Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examinat ...
, under which only an English-language name had official status. Irish-language names were adopted in place of some English-language names after 1920 (e.g. King's County became Laois, and
Kells, County Meath
Kells (; ) is a town in County Meath, Ireland. The town lies off the M3 motorway, from Navan and from Dublin. Along with other towns in County Meath, it is within the " commuter belt" for Dublin, and had a population of 6,135 as of the 201 ...
became ) and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs adopted Irish names, but these were ad-hoc and sometimes inconsistent or disputed by locals or Irish-language scholars.
The Place-Names (Irish Forms) Act 1973 codified the official assignment of Irish names alongside, rather than instead of, English names; in 1975 the first statutory instrument made this act gave official Irish names to
post town
A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...
s. The names chosen were on the advice of the Placenames Branch; some differed from those adopted in previous decades, in some cases causing controversy. Responsibility for place names was transferred from the Department of Finance to the
Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth ( ga, An Roinn Leanaí, Comhionannais, Míchumais, Lánpháirtíochta agus Óige) is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Children, Equal ...
in 2000. The 1973 Act was replaced by the Official Languages Act 2003 and under its terms, the Placenames Committee continues to advise the Minister prior to the issuing of statutory instruments.
The Placenames Commission ceased on 11 October 2012 and the Placenames Committee ( ga, an Coiste Logainmneacha) took its place on 19 September 2013. The Placenames Branch ( ga, An Brainse Logainmneacha) is a branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, established by the Official Languages Act 2003, which supports the Placenames Commission/Committee in investigating the historical Irish-language names of places.
Awards
The database website, www.logainm.ie, won the European Language Label in 2010 and was category winner at the 2011 and 2016 Irish eGovernment Awards.