Ирландские топонимы: история и происхождение названий

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The vast majority of placenames in Ireland are anglicisations of Irish language names; that is, adaptations of the Irish names to English phonology and spelling. However, some names come directly from the English language, and a handful come from Old Norse and Scots. The study of placenames in Ireland unveils features of the country's history and geography and the development of the Irish language. The name of Ireland itself comes from the Irish name Éire, added to the Germanic word land. In mythology, Éire was an Irish goddess of the land and of sovereignty (see Ériu). In some cases, the official English or anglicised name is wholly different from the official Irish language name. An example is Dublin: its name is derived from the Irish dubh linn (meaning "black pool"), but its Irish name is Baile Átha Cliath (meaning "town of the hurdled ford").

After the Norman invasion of Ireland, which began in 1169, Anglo Norman and English language placenames emerged in the areas under Anglo Norman control. Most of these are within the bounds of "The Pale" — the area that stayed under direct English control for the longest, and where English language and culture held sway. It stretched along the east coast from Dundalk in the north to Dalkey in the south. Between 1556 and 1641, during its "conquest of Ireland", the English colonised parts of the country with settlers from Great Britain. This is known as the "Plantations of Ireland". After the 1601 Battle of Kinsale defeat in which the Gaelic aristocracy fled to continental Europe the northern province of Ulster was the most heavily colonised. Those who settled as part of the "Plantation of Ulster" were required to be English speaking made up mostly of Lowland Scots and some northern English. The result is that northeast Ulster also has a great number of English derived placenames. Such placenames often refer to buildings and other manmade features. They often include forms such as town, ton, ville, borough, bury, bridge, mill, castle, abbey, church, etc. However, forms such as hill, mount, mont, wood, bay, brook etc. are not uncommon. Some placenames that seem to come from English are in fact anglicized Irish names modified by folk etymology. Examples include Longford (from ga an Longphort 'the dock'), Upperland (from Áth an Phoirt Leathain meaning "ford of the broad (river) bank") and Forkhill (from Foirceal meaning "trough").

The Lowland Scots who settled during the Plantation of Ulster also contributed to place names in the north of Ireland, particularly in the Ulster Scots areas. The Scots influence can be seen in places such as Burnside (stream), Calheme from 'Cauldhame' (coldhome), Corby Knowe (raven knoll) Glarryford from 'glaurie' (muddy), Gowks Hill (cuckoo) and Loanends (where the lanes end) in County Antrim, Crawtree (crow), Whaup Island (curlew) and Whinny Hill from 'whin' (gorse) in County Down and the frequent elements burn (stream), brae (incline), dyke (a stone or turf wall), gate (a way or path), knowe (knoll), moss (moorland), sheuch or sheugh (a trench or ditch) and vennel (narrow alley). Other Scots elements may be obscured due to their being rendered in Standard English orthography.

Some places in Ireland bear names from beyond Gaelic, Norse or English. One reason for this is because foreign names can be perceived as more fashionable than native ones. Particularly in middle class areas, names of Italian origin have been used because of this perception and many roads (e. g. Vico Road and Sorrento Road in Dalkey) and housing estates have obtained their names in this way. More rarely, this has led to the naming of whole suburbs (e. g. Montenotte and Tivoli in Cork). Portobello, Dublin was named in celebration of the British victory at the 1739 Battle of Porto Bello. Another source of place names is from Anglo Norman. Considering the number of surnames of Norman origin in Ireland, these are surprisingly rare. Nevertheless, some examples do exist, such as the town of Buttevant (from the motto of the Barry family Boutez en Avant) and the village of Brittas (from the Norman French Bretesche, "boarding, planking"). Others exist in portmanteau with words of Irish or English origin, such as Castletownroche, which combines the English Castletown and the French Roche, meaning rock. Most widespread is the term Pallas (from Norman paleis, "boundary fence") which appears in over 20 place names, including the towns Pallasgreen and Pallaskenry. Reeves Castle and the townland of Reeves near Celbridge take their name from Anglo Norman rive, meaning "riverbank." A further source of place names of other origin is places names after religious sites outside Ireland. Examples are Lourdes Road in Dublin and Pic du Jer Park in Cork. The baronies of North Salt and South Salt are derived from Saltus Salmonis, a Latin calque of the town name of Leixlip (from Norse Lax Hlaup, "salmon leap"). Some linguists, including Theo Vennemann, have proposed that the ancient name for Ireland Ivernia or Hibernia is derived from proto Semitic *’i: weriju ("island of copper").

In Northern Ireland, the new recognition of the status of the Irish language does not extend to bilingual roadsigns — it is down to individual district councils to decide to place them. Some towns in Fermanagh and Omagh, Derry City and Strabane, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Moyle, Magherafelt, Newry, Mourne and Down and Cookstown council areas display bilingual names on some welcome signs (e. g. "OMAGH" An Ómaigh). Irish language street signs may be erected at the request of locals, provided there is enough support.

There are four provinces in Ireland, three of which derive their English name from a mixture of their ancient Irish provincial name with the Old Norse term for land/territory/place; staðr. Connacht, sometimes anglicised as Connaught, is derived from the Connachta dynasty, which means "the descendants of Conn". In modern Irish it is called Connachta or Cúige Chonnacht. Munster, derived from Mumhan + Old Norse staðr, meaning "land of Mumha". In modern Irish it is called an Mhumhain or Cúige Mumhan. Leinster, derived from Laighin + Old Norse staðr, meaning "land of the Laighin". In modern Irish it is called Laighin or Cúige Laighean. Ulster, derived from Ulaidh + Old Norse staðr, meaning "land of the Ulaidh". In modern Irish it is called Ulaidh or Cúige Uladh. In Irish the provinces are known as cúigí, the singular of which is cúige. The word cúige originally meant "a fifth", as in one fifth part of Ireland. This is because Meath, as seat of the High King of Ireland, was once a province in its own right, incorporating modern counties Meath, Westmeath and parts of surrounding counties. Meath was later absorbed into Leinster.