When listening to traffic and travel reports on the radio or reading them online, you often hear/see some strange place names. Ireland is full of intriguingly named areas which are sure to raise a smile.
Why such weird names?
Road signposts have two place names written on them – the Irish original and the English-translated version. The English translations are usually written to sound phonetically similar to the original Irish version rather than the actual translation. Or maybe the towns naming committee were just in a funny mood that day.
We recently asked our social media followers for their suggestions for some of the quirkier townlands around the country, and there was a great response. Here are some of the places that were suggested.
- Heavenstown, Wexford (H3) – A glorious place to live.
- Bastardstown, Wexford – A not-so-glorious place to live.
- Horetown, Wexford – Only a 30-minute drive to Bastardstown, coincidentally
- Fannystown, Wexford – Wexford really does like its quirky names.
- Muckanaghederdauhaulia, Galway – They should have thrown more letters at it.
- Muff, Donegal – Always worthy of a mention. For a little something extra, Grainne’s Gap is located not too far away.
- Crazy Corner, Westmeath – A zany place to live.
- Hospital, Limerick – Could get confusing if you’re getting a taxi in the wee hours of the night. “I want to go to hospital, please.”
- Muff Crescent, Nobber, Meath – Surely someone knew what they were doing when this was proposed.
- Cum, Lahardane, Mayo – No comment.
If you are still curious where some of these names come from apart from English translations, read our guide on Where do Ireland’s weirdest place names come from.
