placenamesHow we prepare the atlas
Recorded names, careful matches and visible sources. Our approach is designed to preserve context and make uncertainty clear.
One record, one identity
Every place retains its Logainm identifier. Names are normalised for search by folding accents, punctuation and case; the original spellings remain visible. Places are not merged because they have the same English name.
County membership and recorded parent relationships provide geographic context. A modern administrative area and a historical parish or census district are not automatically treated as equivalent.
Names and meanings
Irish and English names are prepared from the Logainm API. Glossary elements are shown as element translations, with a reminder that they do not establish a complete name meaning.
Editorial paragraphs are original writing with cited evidence. A historical author’s interpretation is identified as such. Uncertain or unresearched full-name meanings are left uncertain.
People, folklore and local memory
Biographical connections specify how a person is associated with a place: birth, residence, work or a documented event. Nearby sites retain their own location.
Folklore sections describe recorded stories, customs and beliefs. Where available, they identify the collector or published version and its date. These traditions are presented as part of a place’s cultural history; historical events and archaeological findings are distinguished from the stories attached to them.
We use original summaries and check reuse rights. Public-domain editions can support new retellings; an archive link alone does not grant permission to reproduce its stories or media.
Maps and census matches
Coordinates are identified as approximate when the source marks them that way. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence, including OpenStreetMap and official mapping data where supplied. A boundary or point is not evidence of historical ownership.
Census summaries are included only where the source match has been verified. Each census year remains separate. An unavailable year or unmatched place is not a zero count, and a surname frequency is not evidence of kinship.
Population charts use published CSO and NISRA statistics. Historical towns, legal boroughs, environs and modern settlements can cover different areas, so each series keeps its own boundary description. A connecting line is used only where the comparison is supported. Historical population-present counts and modern usual-resident counts are also distinguished.
Illustrated landmarks
Our watercolour and ink illustrations are AI-assisted adaptations based on identified reference photographs or historical evidence. The source photographs, authors and licences are credited on the place page.
Where a view reconstructs an earlier period, the caption identifies it as a reconstruction. Illustrative detail may be simplified; the artwork is not a measured architectural record.
Prepared, versioned records
Data is prepared before publication in versioned releases. Each place page links to its name record and gives the retrieval date; source modification dates are included when supplied. Sources can change after retrieval.
Corrections are reviewed against published evidence. If you spot a problem, include the place ID and a source so that we can identify the precise record.