Placenames Database of Ireland
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Type of site | Database, Education, Language |
|---|---|
| Available in | Irish and English |
| Owner |
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| Created by |
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| URL | https://www.logainm.ie |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | None |
| Launched | October 2008 |
| Current status | Active |
The Placenames Database of Ireland (Irish: Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann), also known as logainm.ie, is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
The website is a public resource primarily aimed at journalists and translators, students and teachers, historians and researchers in genealogy.
Placenames Commission and Placenames Branch
[edit]The Placenames Commission (Irish: an Coimisiún Logainmneacha) was established by the Department of Finance in 1946 to advise Ordnance Survey Ireland and the government of what the Irish name of places should be.[1][2]
Although both the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State and the current constitution adopted in 1937 recognised Irish as the national language, the law in regard to placenames was carried over from the 19th-century UK statutes which established the Ordnance Survey and Griffith's Valuation, under which only an English-language name had official status. Irish-language names were adopted in place of some English-language names after 1920 (e.g. King's County became Laois, and Kells, County Meath became Ceannanus Mór) and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs adopted Irish names, but these were ad-hoc and sometimes inconsistent or disputed by locals or Irish-language scholars.
The Place-Names (Irish Forms) Act 1973 codified the official assignment of Irish names alongside, rather than instead of, English names;[3] in 1975 the first statutory instrument made this act gave official Irish names to post towns.[4] The names chosen were on the advice of the Placenames Branch; some differed from those adopted in previous decades, in some cases causing controversy. Responsibility for place names was transferred from the Department of Finance to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands in 2000.[5] The 1973 Act was replaced by the Official Languages Act 2003 and under its terms, the Placenames Committee continues to advise the Minister prior to the issuing of statutory instruments.
The Placenames Commission ceased on 11 October 2012 and the Placenames Committee (Irish: an Coiste Logainmneacha[6]) took its place on 19 September 2013.[7] The Placenames Branch (Irish: An Brainse Logainmneacha) is a branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, established by the Official Languages Act 2003, which supports the Placenames Commission/Committee in investigating the historical Irish-language names of places.[1]
Awards
[edit]The database website, www.logainm.ie, won the European Language Label in 2010[8] and was category winner at the 2011[citation needed] and 2016[9] Irish eGovernment Awards.
See also
[edit]- Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba, Scottish Gaelic equivalent
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Priority Questions - Placenames Commission". Dáil Éireann debates. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "The Placenames Branch". Government of Ireland. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Place-Names (Irish Forms) Act 1973 (No. 24 of 1973). Enacted on 21 November 1973. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 23 January 2022.
- ^ An tOrdú Logainmneacha (Foirmeacha Gaeilge) (Uimh. 1) (Postbhailte) 1975 (S.I. No. 133 of 1975). Signed on 25 June 1975. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 23 January 2022.
- ^ Place-Names (Irish Forms) (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 413 of 2000). Signed on 13 December 2000. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 23 January 2022.
- ^ "An Coiste Logainmneacha". Placenames Database of Ireland (in Irish). Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ "The Placenames Committee". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ "European Language Label - Award to a project - Details". European Commission. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "Winners 2016". Ireland eGovernment Awards. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
External links
[edit]- Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann, Placenames database of Ireland home page
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