Ravara (Ráth Bhearach ‘fort of heifers) is ’referred to as Balliravarragh in 1605. The parish of Dromara is also named after heifers: bearach. No ringfort appears to survive.

Despite its appearance, Ahoghill isn't 'a hill for hogs', but a transliteration of Achadh Eochaille ‘field of the yew wood’ (see also Youghal, Cork). However we do have plenty of pig-hills like in Cornamuck (corr na muc), Tullymuck (Tulaigh muc) and Crocknamuck (Cnoc na muc)

9 Sept: Feast Ss Mochta mac Dergain of Druim, Fer Dá Chrích, Dar Erca, Fíalán "the Miraculous", Dímmán & Conall the sage "son of Oengus". "druim"=back, ridge. In c. 2,400 Irish townlands, anglicised drum/drom/drim ( @placenamesni.bsky.social )! 📷Drumlins, Ballymorran, Strangford, Down ©Albert Bridge

Craobh ‘tree, branch’ appears as both ‘creeve’ and ‘crew’. The hill of Craobh Thulcha at Crew, Antrim was the site of two famous battles between the rival peoples of Uí Néill and Ulaid. To emphasise their victory in 1099, the Uí Néill party cut down the sacred tree of the Ulaid.

Had the pleasure today of getting up close and personal with some of John O’Donvan’s handiwork and his edits for the names of Tory Island with an excellent session hosted by the wonderful Crystal Bennes @ria.ie 😍

We are delighted to be partnering with the Andersonstown News with a regular piece on our local place-names. Kicking off with Divis. belfastmedia.com/writing-on-t...

Did you know that the city of Derry was once an island? The area now known as the Bogside was originally underwater. The Foyle flowed round the island, and was first settled as the river diverted. It dried out into marshland: hence the name Bogside.

Writing for the OS memoirs, John O’Donovan comments “what a pit-y that the Irish were so fond of calling places after such pits as the pit of Queen Meve” 😂 @irelandmapped.bsky.social

Rising to 687 metres, Sawel Mountain is the highest peak of the Sperrins, sitting on the border of Counties Derry and Tyrone. The full name of the mountain is Samhail Phite Méabha ‘likeness to Maeve’s vulva’ and is said to be used metaphorically to refer to a hollow on the side of the mountain.

Baile (usually ‘bally’) originally meant ‘place’, later 'a piece of land belonging to an individual or group, but gradually took on wider meanings; land-measure, homestead, home, abode, town, village, place' In medieval texts the word was used to refer to a passage in a book and a part of the body!

Macha ‘pasture’ in Armagh (Ard Mhacha ‘height of Macha’) is the name of a land-goddess who represents sovereignty in the myths of the ancient Ulstermen. Armagh is also where Patrick built his great stone church in 445AD, making Armagh the Ecclesiastical Capital of Ireland.

The super folks at @belfastsociety.org have annihnced this year's lectures. Some absolute stonkers I've marked in to attend, one being @profkdlilley.bsky.social on Oct 8th retracing OS surveyors ( for all of us who live for the OS Memoirs!) Venue: Old Museum,College Sq N.

Dubhais, consisting of dubh (black) and ais (ridge), is the longstanding Irish name of Divis mountain. However, recent reconsideration by the Placenames team of the pronunciation of Divis in English suggests the slender variant Duibhis is much more likely to be the original local name.

An exciting new venture from our friends @profkdlilley.bsky.social and @niscifest.bsky.social on our very own doorstep. Looking forward to the programme of events that they have planned belfastmedia.com/celebrating-...

Notoriously ‘cac’ was also applied as a derogatory nickname to King James II (Séamas an Chaca ‘James of the Excrement’) after his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne 💩

Ballyhackamore (Baile an Chacamair ‘townland of the slob land or mud flat’) featuring cac ‘excrement’ refers to soft mud or slob land. Now inland, its western boundary is the Connswater and it may have bordered on part of Belfast Lough before modern land-reclamation schemes.

Welcome to bluesky to @placenamesni.bsky.social ! xx. Through their website I learnt the meaning of my townland of 'Ballyminstra' outside Ahoghill in Co. Antrim! Baile Mainistreach means ‘townland of the monastery’! Hugely relevant and pleasing to me, as I obviously love early Irish church history!

We are the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project, based in Irish & Celtic Studies at QUB since 1987. Funded by DfC since 2023, we research the origins and meanings of local names and support councils with Irish forms for signage. Explore our searchable corpus at placenamesni.org.

Dia dhaoibh, a chairde! The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project has just landed on Bluesky. We will be sharing stories, history and a few surprises behind our local place-names. Do you have ideas on what type of content you would like to see? Maps, archives or just fun facts? Let us know below 😀