How to search

There are three ways to find placenames through this website: you can search for them individually, you can browse the interactive map to look at the places and their names, and you can get lists of placenames according to various criteria. This page describes the first one, that is, the search.

There is a search box on the home page under the map and at the top left of every other page, in the site’s header. Write a placename in that box, in English or in Irish, and click the button next to the box.

Results will appear as clickable pins on the map and as a list in the centre column below the map. You may have to move the map to see all of the results on it. There may be both places and place clusters on the list of results. Place clusters in this database are sets of distinct geographic administrative units that are conceptually the same from the point of view of the ordinary user, e.g. ‘Donegal’ (county, civil parish, townland, town, electoral district).

You can click on any one of the results, on the map or in the list, and more information about the place (or about the place cluster) in question will appear. If you click on a pin on the map, a pop-up box will appear on the map with textual details. You can click on the pop-up box to go to the details page for that place. In cases where there is only one result for your search, you will be brought directly to the details page for that place (or place cluster).

The map is usually displayed at the top of the page, and place details are displayed on the map and below it. In cases where no coordinates are stored in the database for a place, the place details will be displayed without the map. Most places in the database have coordinates. In some cases the coordinates are accurate, in other cases, they are approximations. Approximated coordinates are indicated with a large blue spot under the pin on the map.

You can browse between the distinct places in a place cluster. You will see links to the places contained in the cluster as tabs located below the map and above the place details.

You will see a ‘Permanent link’ at the bottom of the place details. This is a unique permanent link to that particular place in the database and you can share the link with people. There is a unique number at the end of every link. You can find a placename by writing its number in the search box, and by clicking the button next to the box.

Similar names

After searching for something, you will often see a box titled ‘Similar names’ under the search box on the search results page. This is where the search engine gives you a list of names all over the country which are similar (in terms of spelling) to the one you typed in. For example, if you have typed Ballybunion, Ballybunnion will be suggested. This feature is useful if you are not sure how to spell a placename.

Related names

After searching for something, you will often see a box titled ‘Related names’ under the search box on the search results page. This is where the search engine gives you a list of names all over the country which are related to the one you typed in. For example, if you have searched for the English name Lismore, the list of related names will suggest Lismore and Mocollop, Lismore Demesne and Lismore Road. If you search for something like Emmet, Emmet Street will be suggested.