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XML data (deprecated)

NB: Version 1.0 of the Logainm JSON REST application programming interface (API) has now been released. The XML data interface is now deprecated and will be disabled after December 31st, 2020. Users are advised to consult the relevant documentation with a view to switching to the JSON API.

Data from logainm.ie is available in a machine-readable XML format. External parties are welcome to reuse this data to build their own applications or to integrate placename data into existing applications.

This data may be reused under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

How to access the data

Every place information page on logainm.ie has a link at the bottom through which you can obtain an XML version of the data on that page. Or you can send an HTTPS request to a URL like https://www.logainm.ie/xml/1384607 and you will get the same data – you only need to replace the number in the URL with unique identification number of the place you want. Every place in the logainm.ie database has a unique number which is always included in the URL, for example:

  • https://www.logainm.ie/ga/1384607 — information about place number 1384607 in Irish
  • https://www.logainm.ie/en/1384607 — information about place number 1384607 in English
  • https://www.logainm.ie/xml/1384607 — information about place number 1384607 in XML

Understanding the data

Every place is available as a small XML document structured like this:

<place id="1384607” permalink="https://www.logainm.ie/1384607.aspx">
	<source lang="ga">Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann, logainm.ie</source>
	<source lang="en">Placenames Database of Ireland, logainm.ie</source>
	...
</place>

The <place> tag contains the following attributes:

  • @id — the unique identifier of this place.
  • @permalink — a URL where a human reader can find more information about the place. This automatically redirects to the Irish or English version of the place information page.

If you have accidentally requested a place that does not exist, you will get an XML document like this instead:

<place id="534525234” nonexistent="yes"/>

Or (if the place record has been merged into another record in our database):

<place id="534525234” nonexistent="yes” replacedBy="654644348"/>

Within the <place> tag you can find the following tags:

<name>

This tag tells you what the place is called. Most places in Ireland usually have two names, one in Irish and one in English, so you will usually find two <name> tags in every XML document. There are exceptions too, however, and you will occasionally see places with only one or with more than two of these tags. The tag has the following attributes:

  • @lang — ga or en to indicate the language of the name.
  • @wording — the name itself, for example Baile Átha Cliath or Dublin.
  • @genitive — the name in the genitive case, if the name is in Irish. If the name is in English then this attribute is absent.
  • @isMain — yes or no to indicate whether this is the place’s main name in that language. This is only important if the place has more than one name in the same language.
  • @acceptabilityGA and @acceptabilityEN — a short label in Irish and English which indicates the research and approval status of the name, for example ainm deimhnithe/validated name or ainm stairiúil/historical name. See Acceptance notes for an explanation of the labels.

<type>

This tag tells you what category of place this is: city, county, townland etc. See Placename categories for more information. Most places will have exactly one of these tags, but there are exceptions as well. Attributes:

  • @id — a unique identifier of the category, for example CTH.
  • @titleGA and @titleEN — the name title of the category in Irish and English, for example cathair/city.

<isIn>

This tag tells which administrative units (counties, civil parishes etc.) include this place. These are essentially cross-references to other places in the logainm.ie database. Most places have their county, barony, civil parish and either their townland or their electoral division given. Attributes:

  • @typeID, @typeTitleGA and @typeTitleEN — the administrative unit’s category.
  • @placeID, @nameGA and @nameEN — the administrative unit’s names.
  • @permalink — a URL where a human reader can find more information about the place. This automatically redirects to the Irish or English version of the place information page.

<property>

This tag tells you about various properties that the place has. There can be none, one or more of these tags in a place. Attributes:

  • @id — If G, the place is in the Gaeltacht. If TÉ, the place is in Northern Ireland. If PO, the place has or once had a post office.
  • @extent — If all, the property applies to the whole place. If part, the property only applies to some of the place.

<link>

This tag gives a link to an external web page with information on the same place, such as Wikipedia, Geonames and Placenamesni.org. There can be none, one or more of these tags in a place. Attributes:

  • @linkType — A nickname of the website, such as WikipediaEn for the English version of Wikipedia.
  • @linkTarget — The URL.

<owlSameAs>

This tag gives the URI of a Semantic Web resource which refers to the same place. There can be none, one or more of these tags in a place. Attributes:

  • @uri — The URI.

<grid>

Geographical location of the place expressed in terms of Irish Grid. A place usually only has one of these but it can have two if it is a river (beginning and end).

  • @square — The grid square containing the place.
  • @easting — Easting in the square.
  • @northing — Northing in the square.

<geo>

Geographical location of the place expressed in terms of latitude and longitude.

  • @lat and @lon — The latitude and longitude of the place. A place with two pairs of coordinates, such as a river, will additionally have @lat2 and @lon2.
  • @isAccurate — Whether the coordinates are believed to be accurate (“yes”) or inaccurate (“no”). Inaccurate coordinates are those that have been obtained by extrapolation from neighbouring places.