Ireland has a thing about long place names, and you will find plenty of tricky ones dotted around the country; here are a few of the longest place names in Ireland to look out for.
Ask anyone who has ever visited Ireland, and they will tell you that Irish place names are hard to decipher at the best of times, but did you know that Ireland has some of the most ridiculously long place names around?
This is because each place in Ireland traditionally had its original Irish name. Still, over the years, many anglicized versions have come about, leading to some terrible tongue twisters none of us want to risk butchering.
So, if you weren’t familiar with these already, let us unveil the ten longest place names in Ireland, some of which will utterly surprise you.
10. Newtownmoneenluggagh, Co. Kildare – one of the longest place names in Ireland
One of the longest place names in Ireland is located in County Kildare in the province of Leinster. While not all names in that region are quite as hard to tackle as Newtownmoneenluggagh, we know we will avoid trying to pronounce it at all costs.
9. Cartroncarrowntogher, Co. Roscommon – a lengthy name in the midlands
One of the biggest tongue twisters is Cartroncarrowtogher, located in County Roscommon, most likely one of the longest names in that region. Although the original Irish version of this place name is unknown, it must have been quite challenging.
8. Ballywinterrourkewood, Co. Limerick – one of Limerick’s longest town names
This may have many letters, but this has to be one of the simplest place names on our list since it is made up of words which are pretty straightforward to get your head around.
The original version, Coill Bhaile Mhuintir Ruairc, may imply that it is a snowy place. However, it translates as ‘the wood of the town of the Rourker clan’.
7. Knockavanniamountain, Co. Waterford – one of the trickiest names in Waterford
If you find yourself in the southeast of Ireland, you may come across a couple of tough place names throughout County Waterford, and this is one to watch out for.
This town translates as ‘hill of milk’ or ‘milk hill mountain’, which would have started as Sliabh Chnoc an Bhainne.
6. Carrowkeelanahaglass, Co. Galway – quite the mouthful
Galway has plenty of crazy-sounding placenames, which is one of them, although we have to admit we have heard crazier.
The Irish version of this name is Ceathrú Chaol an Atha Ghlais, which translates as a narrow green marshland by a stream and has been altered over the years to leave us with this result.
5. Scartnadrinymountain, Co. Waterford – a natural tongue twister
If you thought all the longest placenames in Ireland were in the Gaeltacht regions or on the west coast, then you would be mistaken because this insanely long place name is from a town in County Waterford, Ireland’s southeast coast. This tongue twister translates as ‘Top of Dispersal’.
4. Corragunnagalliaghdoo Island, Co. Mayo – try saying this after a few pints
This island in County Mayo translates as ‘the small rock of the cormorants’, yet there is no way you would guess this from the name we see today.
This may be an aquatic bird haven, but at least the birds don’t need to know how to pronounce this mouthful.
3. Glassillaunvealnacurra, Co. Galway – yet another difficult Galway place name
One of the longest place names in Ireland is Glassillaunvealnacurra, which in Irish is Glas Oileán Bhéal na Cora. Still, like many of the placenames in Ireland, they have been anglicized, which is the result – an extremely long name that many will find hard to pronounce.
2. Illaungraffanavrankagh, Co. Clare – located in the Burren
Does it seem that the longer the placename and the harder it is to pronounce, the better? Or is this just an Irish thing? Well, here we have Illaungraffanavrankagh, located in The Burren, County Clare, and probably the locals don’t even know what to say.
1. Muckanaghederdauhaulia, Co. Galway – could this be the longest name?
This mouthful is the name of a town in County Galway, but God forbid you ever need to ask for directions to get here.
With a whopping 22 letters, this is one of the longest placenames in Ireland and hilariously translates as a pig-shaped hill in-between two seas
So, next time you head to one of these counties, keep an eye open for these places, which are said to be some of the longest place names in Ireland.
