(1) Overview
Repository location
The dataset described in this paper is published in the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI). Since the dataset is a snapshot of the Placenames Database of Ireland (Logainm), links to the Logainm public website and the API documentation are also given here.
Collection DOI: https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.ht259r871
2026 Snapshot DOI: https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.j673fb23q
Website: https://www.logainm.ie/en/ (last accessed: 4 September 2026)
API Documentation: https://docs.gaois.ie/en/data/logainm/v1.1/api (last accessed: 4 September 2026)
Context
Work to produce this dataset was carried out by the authors under the Placenames Database of Ireland (Logainm) project. Logainm is a research project in Dublin City University (DCU), which has been running since 2007 and is funded by the Department of the Gaeltacht,1 Government of Ireland, under the Language Support Schemes. The main goal of the project has been to develop, populate, and maintain the Placenames Database of Ireland, a comprehensive management system for the placenames data, records and research of the Placenames Branch of the Irish State, and to make this data available to the public via the web. Since 2008, the database has been manually searchable via www.logainm.ie, and since 2020, the database has been programmatically queryable via www.logainm.ie/api. The present dataset addresses the gap that previously existed whereby no versioned snapshots of the data were publicly available to download and persistently cite.
(2) Method
The present dataset, Logainm Administrative Names (LAN), is a derivative of the Logainm Placenames Database of Ireland. The Logainm database was developed to succeed the Gazetteer of Ireland (Ordnance Survey Ireland, 1989; Placenames Branch 2007) and to facilitate the preparation of Placenames Orders.2 The database comprises entries for all administrative geographic divisions in Ireland. The categories of administrative division in the Logainm Database are shown schematically in Table 1. The database also includes a smaller number of entries for physical features and minor placenames. LAN comprises only the administrative division categories and does not include physical features or minor placenames.
Table 1
Categories of administrative division in the Logainm Database.
| HISTORIC | CONTEMPORARY | |
|---|---|---|
| province | province | |
| county | county | administrative county | city |
| barony | metropolitan district | borough district | municipal district | |
| civil parish | electoral district | |
| townland | townland | |
The Logainm database conceptual data schema was designed around the principal entity of place, conceptually representing an administrative division or other (minor) feature, with places being named, categorised, geolocated, contextualised, linked, and so on. Individual places can be viewed on www.logainm.ie.
The principal fields populated (or computed in the case of Centrepoint) for all places in the database and displayed on the public website place view are shown in Table 2. The LAN dataset includes these core data fields plus the Irish Name(s) field which will sometimes be empty in the case of townlands in counties where the historical toponymic research is yet to be fully completed by the Placenames Branch, currently Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Meath, Roscommon, Westmeath, and the 6 counties of Northern Ireland which are outside the jurisdiction of the Government of Ireland. Where Irish Name is given, the Irish-language name in the genitive case is also given; this is useful when preceding the name with words like Contae ‘County’, Ceantar Bardasach ‘Municipal District’.
Table 2
Principal Logainm data fields populated or computed for all places.
| DATA FIELD | EXAMPLE DATA VALUE |
|---|---|
| ID | 4718 |
| County | Cavan |
| Category | townland |
| English Name(s) | Dinginavanty |
| Centrepoint | 54.0451, –7.06508 |
| Permalink | https://www.logainm.ie/4718.aspx |
Other data fields may or may not be populated for any given place, sometimes depending on the category of place. These fields include Cluster (related places in Logainm), Glossary (common placename elements and their meanings, e.g. áth ‘ford’), Explanatory note (literal translations and notes on the meanings of the Irish-language placenames), Archival records (images of early Placenames Branch research notes), Historical references (placename citations gathered by the Placenames Branch from various sources), Further information about this place (links to external resources such as Wikipedia), People born here (links to biographies website www.ainm.ie), and Folklore (links to folklore website www.dúchas.ie). These optional fields when populated can be viewed via the Logainm website. The optional fields are not included in LAN, but the data can be retrieved via the Logainm API using the Logainm place identifier (ID), apart from the explanatory notes and historical references. While the explanatory notes and historical references can be consulted via the Logainm website, they are not currently available to download via the API or LAN, and are outside the scope of the Logainm CC BY 4.0 licence. Other added value items, such as the thematic toponymic essays can only be viewed on www.logainm.ie.
The place boundary, shown on the map on www.logainm.ie when available, is derived from Tailte Éireann copyrighted geometry data, obtained under a Public Service Geospatial Licence Agreement. Should boundary data be required, it can be obtained independently via data.gov.ie (Tailte Éireann National Statutory Boundaries datasets) using the Logainm ID or Tailte Éireann ID (where a mapping is available).
Steps
To create the LAN dataset, we queried the Logainm API to return all entries in each of the administrative categories, parsed each place, and wrote the relevant data field values to columns in a TSV and an XLSX file, one place per line. The script we wrote to implement this process can be found and inspected via a permalink on GitHub.3
The output of this process amounted to 68362 places (of which 54232 have an established Irish-language name), i.e. 4 provinces, 32 counties, 3 administrative counties (Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, South Dublin), 3 [administrative] cities (Cork, Dublin, Galway), 5 [other] cities (Belfast, Derry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford), 345 baronies, 2 metropolitan districts (Limerick City, Waterford City), 4 borough districts (Clonmel, Drogheda, Sligo, Wexford), 94 municipal districts, 790 towns, 2558 civil parishes, 3454 electoral districts and 61061 townlands.
Quality control
The data included in LAN is the result of in-depth research by experts in the Placenames Branch and further editorial checks are carried out by researchers in DCU as the data is published on Logainm. All Irish-language names established by the Placenames Branch and published on Logainm are considered official administrative names. These names are then reviewed on a county by county basis by the Placenames Committee and the public. Following that process, a Placenames Order is enacted by the Minister for the Gaeltacht rendering the names part of the legal nomenclature. When Irish-language placenames are included in a Placenames Order, they are labelled ‘validated’ in Logainm. Both validated and unvalidated (i.e. official but not yet legal) placenames are included in LAN.
The Logainm Administrative Names (LAN) dataset constitutes a snapshot of the administrative toponyms in the Logainm database. Since the Placenames Branch work on the Irish-language administrative names in the Logainm database is ongoing, further versioned snapshots will be taken annually and added as separate additional objects within the same collection in the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI).
(3) Dataset Description
Repository name
Digital Repository of Ireland https://repository.dri.ie/
Object name
Logainm Administrative Names
Format names and versions
Tab-Separated Values (TSV) and Excel (XLSX) formats.
Creation dates
2026-06-23 to 2026-06-29
Dataset creators
Brian Ó Raghallaigh: Conceptualization; Data curation; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Project administration; Methodology; Software; Supervision; Validation; Writing – original draft, Gearóid Ó Cleircín: Funding acquisition; Investigation; Project administration; Writing – review & editing, Úna Bhreathnach: Funding acquisition; Investigation; Project administration; Writing – review & editing (Dublin City University).
Language
The placenames in the dataset are in English and Irish. The metadata labels are in English.
License
CC BY 4.0
Publication date
2026-08-25
(4) Reuse Potential
The toponymic data contained in the Logainm Placenames Database of Ireland is inherently valuable as it constitutes the authoritative source for official Irish-language administrative placenames, Irish being the first official language of Ireland. The English-language placenames are also the official forms, but should a discrepancy arise between Logainm and Tailte Éireann data in terms of the English-language names, Tailte Éireann is the authoritative source.
The data will be of use to legislators, lawyers, translators, academics, educators, students, journalists, and so on. The names themselves, apart from being practically useful, will be of interest to academics interested in toponymy, history, geography, politics and linguistics. The dataset will also be useful to developers and designers building place(name)-based products such as apps, maps, prints and other merchandise.
In terms of use cases, specifically in an academic context, we envisage that the dataset will allow toponymic researchers to look at (1) Irish placename element composition and distribution, (2) Irish placename structure and grammar, and (3) the anglicisation and re-gaelicisation of Irish placenames, among other things, at a national level. In addition, given that the Logainm Placenames Database of Ireland has, over time, become the de facto controlled vocabulary for Irish places, its object names and identifiers are commonly used in other datasets to identify place objects. As a result, this dataset could be useful to researchers working across academic and governmental datasets, and seeking to map place objects and references onto each other, particularly where the Irish-language name of a place comes into play.
While the data was previously and continues to be searchable via www.logainm.ie and queryable via the Logainm API, this is the first time a persistent snapshot has been created, deposited in a certified trustworthy digital repository, and made available for download.
Notes
[2] The statutory instruments, as provided for in the Official Languages Act 2003, through which the Minister for the Gaeltacht declares official Irish-language placenames.
[3] https://github.com/oraghalb/logainm-api-tools/blob/5b9f8818c87e653e8b6a025bbbf2c2245705dfe5/logainm_api_get_all_administrative_names.py (last accessed: 4 September 2026).
AI Declaration
No GenAI tools were used in any way at any stage in the drafting of this manuscript or in the creation of the dataset.
Acknowledgements
Dr Caoilfhionn Nic Pháidín, Dónall Mac Giolla Easpaig, Dr Pádraig Ó Cearbhaill, Dr Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich, Dr Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill, Dr Michal Měchura, Ronan Doherty, Mairéad Nic Lochlainn, Diarmaid Ó Maoileoin, Kevin Long.
Author Contributions
Brian Ó Raghallaigh: Conceptualization; Data curation; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Project administration; Methodology; Software; Supervision; Validation; Writing – original draft.
Gearóid Ó Cleircín: Funding acquisition; Investigation; Project administration; Writing – review & editing.
Úna Bhreathnach: Funding acquisition; Investigation; Project administration; Writing – review & editing.