The Emerald Isle is full of beautiful place names, but some might require you to catch your breath halfway through.
Irish place names, in both Gaelic Irish and their anglicised versions, are simply beautiful. Often, they refer to the folklore and mythology entrenched in Irish culture. Other times, they serve as beautifully poetic, lyrical descriptions of the places themselves.
However, some are inaccessibly long, leaving locals and visitors alike scratching their heads in bemusement.
Can you imagine the uninitiated trying to get a taxi to one of these places after a few drinks? God knows where you’d end up!
To pre-empt any confusion, we have compiled a list of the ten longest place names in Ireland.
10. Scartnadrinymountain – a County Waterford townland
To kick off our list of the longest place names in Ireland, let us introduce Scartnadrinymountain, which counts on a total of 20 letters to make up its name.
The Irish for this County Waterford townland is much shorter – Barr na Scairte. This translates into English as ‘Top of Dispersal’.
9. Newtownmoneenluggagh – a Kildare tongue-twister
Newtownmoneenluggagh also consists of 20 letters. You’ll find this tongue-twisting townland in County Kildare.
Its Irish name is An Móinín Logach, which means ‘the pitted small bogland’.
8. Carrowkeelanahaglass – ‘quarter of the green ford‘
Another 20-letter name, Carrowkeelanahaglass is found in the beautiful county of Galway. Its Irish name – Ceathramhadh an Áit Ghlais – is even longer than the anglicised version, relying on 23 letters.
It translates into English as ‘quarter of the green ford’.
7. Knockavanniamountain – ‘the hill of milk‘
Back in Waterford, we find Knockavanniamountain. Comprised of 20 letters, this place name denotes an area near Milk Hill.
As such, its Irish name – Sliabh Chnoc an Bhainne – translates as ‘hill of milk’.
6. Cartroncarrowntogher – a Roscommon townland
The County Roscommon townland of Cartroncarrowntogher is small in area. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in name length.
Regrettably, the Irish name for this townland has been lost.
5. Ballywinterrourkewood – one of the longest place names in Ireland
Breaking the 20-letter threshold on our list of the longest place names in Ireland is Ballywinterrourkewood, comprised of 21 letters.
The Irish name for this Limerick townland is Coill Bhaile Mhuintir Ruairc, which in English means ‘the wood of the town of the Rourker clan’.
4. Corragunnagalliaghdoo Island – a bird spotter’s paradise
Corragunnagalliaghdoo Island, in County Mayo, is home to many aquatic birds, making it a bird spotter’s paradise.
In the interest of fairness, we decided to exclude the ‘Island’ part of its name, the inclusion of which would give this townland a total of 27 letters. Without it, it still reaches an impressive 21, making it one of the longest place names in Ireland.
3. Illaungraffanavrankagh – an island off the coast of County Clare
Illaungraffanavrankagh is an island just off the coast of County Clare. This island townland counts on 22 letters to give it its tongue-twisting name.
Much like Roscommon’s Cartroncarrowntogher, the Irish name of the island has unfortunately been lost.
However, the beginning of its anglicised name – ‘Illaun’ – likely derives from the Irish word ‘oileán’, which means ‘island’. This is certainly one of the hardest-to-pronounce Irish place names.
2. Glassillaunvealnacurra – another island townland
Glassillaunvealnacurra in County Galway is yet another island townland on our list. Its anglicised name is 22 letters long.
Eagle-eyed readers will notice the word ‘illaun’ in there. Just like in our previous entry, Illaungraffanavrankagh, this is the etymological clue that Glassillaunvealnacurra is an island.
Its full Irish name – Glas Oileán Bhéal na Cora – is descriptive, denoting Glassillaunvealnacurra as a ‘little green island of the mouth of the weir’.
1. Muckanaghederdauhaulia – try saying that after a few drinks
We remain in the Connacht county of Galway for our top entry on our list of the longest place names in Ireland.
Muckanaghederdauhaulia, with its current anglicised spelling, comprises 22 letters. However, it was spelt with 23 letters in the 1911 census.
Confusingly, it shares its Irish name – Muiceanach idir Dhá Sháile – with another County Galway hamlet. However, this second place has the much shorter anglicised name of Mucknasalia.
The Irish name is again descriptive, meaning ‘pig-shaped marsh between two sea inlets’ – much longer, but much easier to say!
