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 Cork and Kerry Place Names Survey
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1. Objects and the organising of the Survey
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2. Place Names Archive collections & Launch of Cork Place Names Archive
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3. Launch of Kerry Place Names
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4. Why collect Placenames?
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5. The type of names collected
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6. Cork City Place Names Survey
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7. General Guide for Collecting and Mapping Placenames
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8. Contact
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1. Objects and the organising of the Survey
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The voluntary Cork Place Names Survey group was established in 1996 by Dr. Éamon Lankford to undertake
the collection and mapping of the minor placename heritage of Co. Cork.
Áitainmneacha Chiarraí / Kerry Place Names was formed in 2000 to conduct a similar
Place Names Survey in Kerry.
The objects were:
1. To organize the countywide collection and
mapping of all kinds of names from oral and documented sources.
2. Create Ireland’s first public Place
Names Archive at Cork County Library and a second County
Place Names Archive at Kerry County Library.
3. Influence the development of a code of Best Practice for the creation of
appropriate placenames by Local Authorities, Planners and Developers.
4. Engage with community groups and educational institutions to have the study
of Irish placenames become part of a conscious effort to preserve local identity and also
become a serious course of study at Third level.
With the objectives clear and the methodology focused entirely on collecting and
mapping placenames the group incorporated a two county Survey team, which had a planning and
day to day management structure. The organising and co-ordination of both surveys was
carried out in Cork city.
The collecting and mapping of placenames from oral sources was a fieldwork initiative
organized townland by townland with the assistance of hundreds of teachers, and a few thousand Primary,
Postprimary students, parents and Third Level students. Community development organizations,
historical societies, farmers, postmen, fishermen. Educational and cultural organizations also participated.
Public information sessions were organized in 34 locations where presentations about the
survey and its methodology was given. This resulted in widespread contacts being made and
practical assistance enlisted throughout the survey area.
The collection and mapping of local placename heritage
initiative received enthusiastic support from the media whenever a local placename survey was to take place.
This support hugely increased the participation of the public in the survey and greatly
assisted the fieldworkers as they travelled about parishes knocking on hundreds of doors
collecting and mapping for posterity some of the placename heritage of their home place.
The majority of the names collected had not been previously recorded nor had there ever been such minute mapping of
placenames in everyday speech over a two county area.
The sourcing of references to Cork and Kerry placenames in historic documentation, maps and folklore collections,
books, journals, newspapers, deeds, census, Ordnance Survey documentation and a considerable
volume of other documentation was undertaken in a number of institutions in Cork,Tralee and Dublin.
The placenames collected and mapped from both oral and documented sources in both
counties were collated into bound volume collections and presented for consultation and research at the
Cork and Kerry County Libraries and now form Ireland’s only public County Place Names Archives.
The placename survey did not set out to provide a translation or a derivation for any name nor could it provide
research services for others.
The survey initiative concentrated its efforts on a systematic,
co-ordinated two county initiative to collect and map the location of as many placenames as possible
within a specific time scale and then deposit whatever was collected in
two public County Place Names Archives. All who participated in the survey or helped in any way with the organizing
of this unique heritage preservation work have done their own community,
their parish and Ireland a great service.
Cork Co. Council and Kerry County Council are the statutory authority to devise
appropriate names for public signage in their respective areas.
Cork City Council is the authority responsible for appropriate placenaming and placename sinage in Cork City.
The Government’s Placename Database of Ireland / www.logainm.ie provides the correct
Irish language forms that should be used on all public signage.
The overwhelming majority of names for places and features in the natural and cultural
landscape of Cork and Kerry and of the rest of Ireland have always been created by individuals and communities
to serve their own particular needs. They are the names in daily speech which for the most part never get
recorded in documentation and consequently will continue to die out if left unrecorded and unmapped.
Houndreds of thousands of these minor placenames have now been collected and mapped for Cork and Kerry.
The voluntary placename group also pursued its object of influencing
Government and Local Authority Policy regarding appropriate placenaming and signage.
While Logainmneacha Chorcaí did not have any input in to the actual day to day implimentation of
Cork Co. Council Policy or the erecting or design of appropriate names for signs,
the Council did afford the voluntary placename group the opportunity to assist with the development of a
Placename Policy for the county. After a number of meetings Cork County Council accepted as Cork County Placename
Policy the entire Logainmneacha Chorcaí proposals for Placenaming Best Practice.
Logainmneacha Chorcaí also pursued its objective of advaning the study of Irish placename heritage in the
community and at academic level. Some forty public lectures on aspects of local names took place;
placename collecting and research workshops were held in a number of locations.
Numerous articles were presented for publication in the media and in journals.
The Survey received considerable Radio and Television coverage and TG4 produced a documentary titled
Ar Thóir Logainmneacha which was based on the work of the survey.
Logainmneacha Chorcaí advanced proposals to University College Cork to have the study of Irish placenames
included in courses offered to Third Level students. Roinn na Gaeilge,
Coláiste na hOllscoile, Corcaigh has now for many years been offering a course in Irish Placename
Studies at Degree level.
The Cork and Kerry county Place Name Archives house the entire collection of data compiled by Éamon Lankford
during the lifetime of the Cork and Kerry Place Name Survey initiative.
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2. Place Names Archive collections & Launch of Cork Place Names Archive
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Cork County Library in Cork city holds 131 volumes of references to Cork placenames compiled since 1976 throughout
Cork County by Dr. Éamon Lankford. The material is arranged according to
Townlands within Civil Parishes and Parishes within the 23 Baronies of Co. Cork including Cork City.
The collection is known as Cartlann Logainmníochta Chorcaí / the Cork Place Names Archive.
The final compilation of material, that for the Barony of Cork including Cork city was edited,
collated and deposited in the Cork Place Names Archive, Cork County Library, Carrigrohane Road, Cork.
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Dr Éamon Lankford, Director and Compiler of the Cork Place Names Survey Archive.
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The Local Studies Units in both the Cork and Kerry County Library
now collectively hold a collection of 186 bound volumes with over
300,000 references to placenames throughout the two counties.
Library staff will be able to attend to enquiries regarding what
the collections contain. The archive is a free public research
resource.
Launch of Cork Place Names Survey Archive
Regarding the establishment of Cartlann Logainmníochta Chorcaí
/ Cork Place Names Survey Archive,The Irish Times of 11/06/2009
noted : "THE PRESIDENT has paid tribute to a Cork toponymist
and his team of researchers on their achievement of compiling
the first mapped archive of placenames for any county in Ireland.
President Mary McAleese said that the work of Dr Eamon Lankford
and the 200-plus researchers who helped compile Logainmneacha
Chorcaí or the Cork Place Names Survey was truly unique and
represented a valuable archive for future generations".
Speaking at the launch of the Cork Place Names
Archive the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese stated:
Click here to see the President's speech
I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Lankford for
his pioneering work over many years, and for his vision in
establishing Logainmneacha Chorcaí – the Cork Place Names Survey,
which forms the basis for this archive. This great initiative grew
out of the early work that Dr. Lankford carried out in Cape Clear
and West Cork. That study emphasised the abundance of local descriptions
and local names for places and features, their general absence from
written records, and the great fragility that the oral transmission of
such local information has in our modern globalised era.
Dr. Lankford understood that what applied in Cape Clear and West
Cork also applied in the rest of the country and so he decided to
make a good and formidable start by tackling the place names of the
entire county of Cork.
In 1996 Logainmneacha Chorcaí – the Cork Place Names Survey was formally
established and has operated since then on a partnership basis, drawing
on the skills and enthusiasm of talented young university graduates and
the expertise and advice of a wide range of people from the educational,
library and local government sectors which has made up an advisory council
of experts. I note also that there has been substantial involvement by FÁS and
the LEADER programme which have provided funding and assistance.
Academically the results are utterly superb. It’s a unique repository. The information
in it is absolutely priceless. But then there is what it does for our own spirit,
and our pride in our people – all that richness, places that will not now be forgotten,
their story held for future generations. They are part of our national story.
This has been, of course, a two way process with over 200 young graduates
gaining research and IT skills and work experience from their involvement
with the project. The result of all this hard work, organisational ability
and academic expertise speaks for itself; a unique repository of priceless
information which is now saved for future generations.
To date your Cork archive containin more than
200,000 references to Cork place-names which will function within the
existing Cork County library network. The establishment of the Cork Place
Names Archive will now surely act as a spur for other counties
to engage in a systematic collection and mapping of their oral and documented
place-name heritage and indeed further, on a national basis. What a great
achievement that will be!
Today is Cork's day and I wish to congratulate all those who have been involved
in this project. Comhghairdeas leis An Roinn Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta;
le Comhairle Contae Chorcaí; leis na scoileanna, na grúpaí pobail agus na bailitheoirí
logainmneacha ar fud an chontae a chuir an tionscadal seo i gcrích. Comhghairdeas libh
ar fad. Tréaslaím an chartlann iontach seo libh.
Survey Secretary Mairead Ní Loingsigh said the names provide a valuable snapshot of a townland,
a community, a parish and ultimately of a county. "The names are not mere fossils, however,
nor are they just the preserve of academics and antiquarians – the majority of them are
living names which serve a current function," she said.
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The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese viewing portion of the Cork Place Names Archive along with Dr.
Éamon Lankford, compiler and Cork County Librarian, Miss Ruth Flanagan.
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L to R: Dr. É. Lankford Director Cork Place Name Survey & Archive,
President of Ireland Mary McAleese, Ruth Flanagan Cork County Librarian,
Dr. Martin McAleese at the formal launch of the Cork Place Names Archive.
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The Cork Place Names Archive includes :
(a) A set of 28 (Wine coloured) volumes for a Transcription of the Ordnance Survey Name Book
1841 for Cork County.
(b) A set of 87 (Blue coloured) volumes to 2008 of references to named places and features from
Co. Cork excluding material being compiled for the Cork City area.
(c)The Cork Placename Sources collection to 2008 held in boxed form includes the original
submissions from the public as well as published and unpublished material relating to
Cork placenames excluding material being compiled for the Cork City area.
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3. Launch of Kerry Place Names Archive 4 June 2010
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Muckross House, Killarney, Co. Kerry was the venue for the launch of Cartlann
Logainmníochta Chiarraí / Kerry Place Names Archive by Mr. Pat Carey, T.D., Minister for Community,
Equality & Gaeltacht Affairs. Speaking of the importance of placenames in the preservation of local
identity and heritage, the Minister said, ‘Many of the placenames give a clear insight into the mindset,
folklore, beliefs and day-to-day life in times of yore. These placenames will not survive unless they are
used by people in their vernacular. The biggest challenge facing all of us is to encourage
people to use them in their own areas.
It would also help if these native names were used in newspapers, magazines and official
documents as often as possible’.
The Local Studies Unit at Kerry County Library, Moyderwell, Tralee, Co. Kerry holds 54 volumes of
placenames compiled during the lifetime of the Kerry Place Names Survey.
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Pat Carey, T.D. Minister for Community, Equality & Gaeltacht Affairs and Dr. Éamon Lankford,
Director Kerry Place Names Survey & Archive at Muckross House gardens prior to the
Launch of the Kerry Place Names Archive.
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At the conclusion of the two county survey a presentation was made to the South West Region Management
of FÁS in recognition of their contribution to training a skilled placename survey
team that brought the Cork and Kerry Place Names Archives to fruition.
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L to R: Ms. Patricia O’ Mahony Assistant Manager Community
Services FÁS South West Region, Donal Kerr Regional Director
FÁS South West Region, Dr. É. Lankford Director Cork & Kerry Place
Names Survey, Seán O’ Sullivan Manager Community Services FÁS
South West Region.
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Placename Sources Collection
Accompaning the bound volumes of the Place Names Survey in both the Cork and Kerry Place Names
Archives is an indexed boxed collection of documentation titled Placenames Sources compiled
during the lifetime of both Place Names Surveys. The Placename Sources Collection for
rural Co. Cork runs to 90 boxes for the Cork Survey while that for the Kerry Place Names Survey is
to be found in 60 archive boxes. The County Library in each county has a complete listing of
what each box contains.
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Some of the archive boxes of documentation titled Kerry Placenames
Sources on view prior to the Launch of the Kerry Place Names Archive.
The Placenames Sources Collection contains the original placename submissions received from the
public, fieldwork notes by the Survey Team and other documentation on which the 54 bound volumes of the
Kerry Place Names Archive are based.
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A selection of volumes from the Kerry Place Names Survey exhibited at Muckross House
prior to the launch of the Kerry Place Names Archive by Pat Carey, T.D., Minister for Community,
Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs.
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4. Why collect placenames?
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Irish placenames are an integral, though often forgotten part of the cultural heritage of Ireland.
They are a valuable source of knowledge of the past, giving meaning to the landscape and
defining the relationship between communities and their physical environment.
The historical and cultural profile of townlands, parishes, counties, urban areas and
even countries can be given greater depth and richness through study of the etymology of placenames.
Much of the thought, folklore, genealogy, religion, daily life and work of those living on
and interacting with their landscape can be appreciated through placenames study.
Placenames can also provide an insight into the climate, flora and fauna of the region studied.
Placenames in Ireland are at the heart of community identity in town and country,
in townland and street.
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5. The type of names collected
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All names in Irish or in English given to manmade and natural features in the Cork and Kerry rural and urban
landscape and the lore attached to such minor names were collected and their location mapped with the
assistance of local communities. Every name has either an oral or documented source.
Names of fields, hills, cliffs, islands, inlets, harbours, wells, streams, rocks, heights, slopes, hollows,
lakes, bogs, caves, laneways, cross-roads, boundaries, house-ruins, roads, streets, pathways, buildings of all kinds,
fishing areas, places of entertainmnent and any other type of placename were included in the survey.
Most farmers have or had names on every field and feature and many of these may now no longer
be used by the community, hence the urgency of recording them
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The Cork Place Names Survey Team recorded 21 placenames at the location covered by the view
shown in the photo.
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Ownership names that are now obsolete, as well as old names that were used before the amalgamation of
fields into larger units were included in the Cork and Kerry Place Names Survey.
New Street names and names which may have been known only to a few people in a family or
those names used only by young people to describe their local areas were regarded as being very important,
as well as the lore attached to such names was gathered whenever the opportunity presented itself.
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6. Cork City Place Names Survey
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The Cork City Place Names Survey was mainly a street by street placename collecting initiative.
Names in Irish and English, obsolete names, slang names, ‘nicknames’, former street names and names
given to all kinds of buildings, old and new were included in the city survey. Examples of names
which fall into the these categories include names like the Black Ash, Cáit Shea’s Lane,
Murphy’s Farm, the Snotty Bridge, The Shaky Bridge, the Boggy Road, Tinker’s Cross, Skiddy's Home
and local names given to pubs, and facilities of all kinds as well as names of places and features
called after people and events, local and national.
The names displayed on all street signs and buildings in the city were recorded and
photographed and many people were interviewed about the lore of these names.
In depth research was conducted into what named buildings were on the same sites down the centuries.
Names were extracted from most Cork City Street maps and from journals, newspapers, deeds, Ordnance
Survey and other state and private documentation.
As the object of creating a public County Place Names Archive in both Cork and Kerry had been
achieved it was decided to bring the voluntary work of the survey to an orderly conclusion.
The further collection and mapping of placenames in both counties is now a challenge for others to pursue.
The methodology for doing so is well proven.
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The National Monument. To the rear from left to right - Sully's (Quay School), Cork Club (now
Bank of Scotland), the Bowfronts on Grand Parade (Sráid an Chapaill bhuí).
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Click on the street image to enlarge it.
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Skiddy's Home on Bob and Joan's Walk, to the rear of former North Infirmary Hospital.
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7. General Guide for Collecting and Mapping Placenames
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The following is a general guide for making a submission of placenames for
inclusion in the Cork or Kerry Place Names Archive.
The important thing is that you NOW record some of the living oral
placename heritage of the place that you know best.
Consult one of the volumes in the Cork and Kerry Place Names
for direction and layout of data.
Arrange to deposit your collection in a public library so that what you
have collected, mapped and saved will be preserved for posterity.
Please note that there would seem to be little merit in spending energy and
time in transcribing or translating names from existing documented sources as
they are unlikely to be lost.
Hundreds of thousands of local names vanish every few years because they do get
written down and almost all never get their location mapped.
Please start collecting NOW your local oral placename heritage from
those who live in your area. The following may be of help.
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Make a list of Cork city placenames and give each name a number 1, 2, 3 etc.
If possible mark the location of the names on a map or on a sketch map of your
own of the area concerned and use the same numbers to identify each name on your list.
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You can also write an account of location details
i.e. address of the named place/feature or give
a description of the named place/feature in
relation to other places and features in the
same locality. Names can only survive in speech
when people know their location.
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State what is named in each name eg. a field, a hill, a building etc.
Provide a description for each named feature or place.
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Add any information as to how the name may have come about. eg. history and local lore etc
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Add information about people who passed on names to you.
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Its important to give an oral or documented source for placenames, if at all possible.
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Post or email your submission of placenames to the Local Studies
Unit at Cork or Kerry, Co. Library.
Be sure to include your name and address & other contact details
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The more information supplied about each name the better.
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Perhaps, you would consider organising others to
start collecting and mapping your local placename
heritage for the purpose of having the material
recorded and kept for posterity in your local library.
If you study and adopt the Cork & Kerry Place Names
Survey methodology for collecting and mapping local
names in your own area you will be doing something
worthwhile for your community.
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Having achieved its objectives Logainmneacha Chorcaí
& Áitainmneacha Chiarraí / Cork and Kerry
Place Names Survey ceased to operate.
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Should anyone at anytime find that they did
not return some Placename Survey Maps and
forms they can forward them to the Cork or
Kerry Co. Library, Local Studies Unit.
* Should individuals, groups, cultural, historical, educational and any organised
voluntary grouping be willing in the local and national interest undertake
in their home area and parishe(s) the systematic collection and
mapping of placenames principly from oral sources advice is available.
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8. Contacts
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The public may at any time in the future submit placename
collections or lists of placenames, mapped or unmapped to
the Local Studies Unit at:
Cork Place Names Archive,
Cork County Library Building,
Cork County Library,
Carrigrohane Road,
Cork,
Ireland,
Email: corkcountylibrary@corkcoco.ie
Web: www.corkcoco.ie/library
Tel: +353 (0) 21 4546499
And
Kerry Place Names Archive,
Kerry County Library,
Moyderwell,
Tralee,
Co. Kerry,
Ireland.
Email: archive@kerrylibrary.ie
Web: www.kerrylibrary.ie
Tel: +353 (0) 66 7121200
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