GAZATEERS are dictionaries of place-names.
Gazetteers describe towns and villages; parishes and counties; and rivers,
mountains, and other geographical features. Gazetteers generally list
place-names in alphabetical order.
A gazetteer entry for Ballintoy, for example,
includes the following information:
“Ballintoy, a parish containing a village of the same name, on the north coast of the barony of Carey, and of the county of Antrim, Ulster. . . . This parish is a rectory and a separate benefice in the dio[cese] of Connor. . . . In 1834, the parishioners consisted of 2,122 [Irish] Churchmen, 933 Presbyterians, and 1,064 Roman Catholics” (The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland)
Several difficulties arise in dealing with Irish
place-names. First, Irish place-names often come from the Gaelic or Irish
language, though some have been given English variations. Second, Irish
place-names were sometimes spelled phonetically in family records and documents
in other countries, because many immigrants did not know the accepted spellings.
The phonetic spellings can vary widely from the accepted spellings because
recorders sometimes misunderstood what the immigrants said. Finally, there are
many places in Ireland with the same or similar names. A gazetteer may help you
resolve each of these difficulties.
Lewis, Samuel. Topographical
Dictionary of Ireland. 2 vols. London: S. Lewis and Co., 1837. (FHL
book Ref 941.5 E5, 1837; film 413,528; 496,572 item 3; or 599,557 computer
number 0189535.) This dictionary contains historical and statistical
descriptions of the counties, cities, boroughs, parishes, and corporate and
market towns in Ireland. Later editions of this dictionary are available.
Title
A topographical dictionary of Ireland : comprising the several counties, cities
boroughs, corporate, market and post towns, parishes and villages with
historical and statistical descriptions
Author
Lewis, Samuel, d. 1865 (Main Author)
Format
Books/Monographs With Film
Language
English
Publication
London S. Lewis 1837
Physical
2 v. : ill., coats of arms.
The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland. 10 vols. Dublin: A. Fullarton and Co., 1844. (FHL book Ref 941.5 E5p; film 824,043 items 4-5 to 824,045; fiche 6020358-82 computer number 0112080.) These volumes provide information similar to that in Lewis's dictionary. These volumes also provide historical and statistical comparisons based on information from the 1831 and 1841 censuses - adapted to the new poor-law, franchise, municipal and ecclesiastical arrangements...and presenting the results, in detail of the census of 1841, compared with that of 1831
Title
The Parliamentary gazetteer of Ireland : adapted to the new poor-law, franchise,
municipal and ecclesiastical arrangements...and presenting the results, in
detail of the census of 1841, compared with that of 1831
Format
Books/Monographs With Film
Language
English
Publication
Dublin A. Fullarton 1844
Physical
10 v. : ill., maps
Unfortunately, Irish gazetteers often do not list
townlands, though many place-names in records about Irish people are townlands.
The sources listed below under “Finding Place-Names in the Family History
Library Catalog” may help you locate Irish townlands and identify the parish
and county they are in.
The Family History Library's
gazetteers and other guides to place-names are listed in the Locality Search of
the catalog under the following headings:
IRELAND - GAZETTEERS
IRELAND, [COUNTY] -
GAZETTEERS
Finding Place-Names in the Family History Library Catalog
Irish records may be listed in the catalog under
the country, county, parish, and city or town in which they were kept. Townlands
or other small places are seldom included in a catalog listing. To find the
county under which a parish or city is listed, use the see references
on the first few microfiche of the Locality Search for Ireland. Or type the city
or parish in the Locality Browse screen of the compact disc version of the
catalog. The computer will display the county under which that city or parish is
listed.
Regardless of how a place-name may have been
spelled at various times, Irish places are listed in the Locality Search of the
catalog by the name and spelling that appears in the 1871 census as recorded in
Ireland, Registrar General, Alphabetical
Index to the Townlands and Towns of Ireland (Dublin: Alexander
Thom, 1877; FHL book Ref 941.5 X2ci; film 476,999 item 2; fiche 6020345-53;
computer number 0111923; no circulation to Family History Centers). This index
is arranged alphabetically by the name of the townland, town, village, or place.
A brief entry for each locality includes the locality's county, barony, parish,
poor law union, area in statute acres, and reference for locating it on Ordnance
Survey maps.
Title
Alphabetical index to the townlands and towns of Ireland : showing...the
areas of the townlands, the county, barony, parish, poor law union, and poor law
electoral division in which they are situated...with separate indices of the
parishes, baronies, poor law unions, poor law electoral divisions, dispensary
districts, petty sessions districts, and parliamentary boroughs of Ireland
Author
Ireland. Census Office (Main Author)
Format
Books/Monographs With Film
Language
English
Publication
[Salt Lake City Photocopied by the Genealogical Society of Utah 1978]
Physical
799 p.
Series
All-Ireland heritage microfiche series
Similar place-name indexes based on the 1851 and 1901 censuses exist. The index for 1851 is only available in book format and so may not be available at all Family History Centers. The index for 1901, the General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns of Ireland, is available on microfilm and can be ordered through Family History Centers.
Title
General alphabetical index to the townlands and towns of Ireland
Author
Ireland. Census Office (Main Author)
Format
Books/Monographs With Film
Language
English
Publication
[London H.M.S.O. Office 1901? (Dublin : Alex. Thom])
Physical
ix, [525] leaves.
PLACE NAME Commissions
Gazetteers rarely list property names, though a property name, rather than a town or parish name, may have been handed down within a family as the place where the family originated.
The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project comes under the Department of Celtic Studies at The Queen's University of Belfast. The Institute of Irish Studies at the university has published a Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names (Patrick McKay, 1999) and the first seven volumes of The Place-Names of Northern Ireland (so far covering Down and parts of Antrim and Derry).
The Irish
Place-Names Commission at the Ordnance Survey Office in Dublin may be able to
help you locate a property name when gazetteers fail. The address of the
Place-Names Commission is:
Place-Names Commission
Phoenix Park
Dublin 8
IRELAND (EIRE)