Irish Placenames Origins

Patrick Weston Joyce (1827–1914) published more than thirty books on various aspects of Irish culture. His best-known work was and is The origin and history of Irish names of places (3 vols, Dublin, 1869–70).

Volumes 1 and 2 consist of a series of examinations of the processes by which Gaelic Irish placenames came into existence and the Gaelic language that underlay them. Volume 3 consisted of a dictionary-format listing of more than 9,000 names, each with an explanation of the meanings it incorporated. Volume 3's listing is the basis of the results here.

• A: A and Ah, at the beginning of names and often elsewhere, represent, both in sound and meaning, the Irish ath, a ford.