(c) Govt. of Ireland - Click to enlarge If Irish geography is not your strong point, Logainm.ie is a great free resource for tracking down unfamiliar place names (see my Townlands page for more information.)
However, it is only the modern spelling of the name that is indexed for searching. The problem is spellings have never been consistent over the years and there have even been complete name changes between English and Irish variants just confuse us all even more - Parsontown - Birr, I'm looking at you!
Older spellings or name variants were on the site but you had to click through on to another page ("Historical References") for each place name you thought might be relevant to see if you could find what you were looking for.
I suggested to the Irish Government department that runs the website that it would be great if these older variants were also searchable, which they agreed was a good idea. The site has recently been upgraded and whilst my suggestion has not exactly made it into this latest version, there have been some great improvements. I have also been able to work out a way of trying to overcome that issue of hunting with alternative spellings. Read on...
However, it is only the modern spelling of the name that is indexed for searching. The problem is spellings have never been consistent over the years and there have even been complete name changes between English and Irish variants just confuse us all even more - Parsontown - Birr, I'm looking at you!
Older spellings or name variants were on the site but you had to click through on to another page ("Historical References") for each place name you thought might be relevant to see if you could find what you were looking for.
I suggested to the Irish Government department that runs the website that it would be great if these older variants were also searchable, which they agreed was a good idea. The site has recently been upgraded and whilst my suggestion has not exactly made it into this latest version, there have been some great improvements. I have also been able to work out a way of trying to overcome that issue of hunting with alternative spellings. Read on...
(c) Govt. of Ireland - Click to enlarge The historical references have now been placed on the landing page for each modern place name, so you can see straight away when a different spelling may have been in use. Enlarge the screen shot to the right and you will see what I mean.
There are also reference codes on the live pages (not active in this image) that tell you exactly where and when that variant was found to be in use. Click on these to expand the reference and open up new avenues of research. Try cutting and pasting the names of any of those documents into your favourite search engine and you never know what you might find online to keep you well and truly diverted on a rainy afternoon!
Also prominently displayed on this page are the map co-ordinates for the place. Cut and paste these into the relevant field in your favoured family history program and you will have mapped the place quickly and correctly, without having to zoom around a sometimes unhelpful modern map that may struggle with Irish townlands.
There are also reference codes on the live pages (not active in this image) that tell you exactly where and when that variant was found to be in use. Click on these to expand the reference and open up new avenues of research. Try cutting and pasting the names of any of those documents into your favourite search engine and you never know what you might find online to keep you well and truly diverted on a rainy afternoon!
Also prominently displayed on this page are the map co-ordinates for the place. Cut and paste these into the relevant field in your favoured family history program and you will have mapped the place quickly and correctly, without having to zoom around a sometimes unhelpful modern map that may struggle with Irish townlands.
So, here's my new searching hack... by the power of Google (other search engines are available)! Let me explain by way of the example townland in the images above. Some months ago, after much painstaking searching and comparing of old and new maps and eventually landing on the right page on the previous version of Logainm, I had satisfied myself that an 18th century land deed reference to a Co. Wicklow townland called Ballykeroge was in fact referring to modern day Ballyherrig - check the second image above for even more spellings. But how would I have been able to find that out much more easily with the new version of the site?
Because the spelling variants are now on the landing page, search engines will find them. I tried this out by putting "Logainm Ballykeroge Wicklow" into the search bar and lo and behold this is what popped up as the first result!
Because the spelling variants are now on the landing page, search engines will find them. I tried this out by putting "Logainm Ballykeroge Wicklow" into the search bar and lo and behold this is what popped up as the first result!
So, if you're struggling to find a place named in an old document, specifically direct your search to this new updated website with that first search term (Logainm), followed by your place name and ideally a county name (remember there are lots of common place names used across Ireland.) You might not get as first time lucky as I did, but with a bit of experimentation and patience, you might just solve one of those infuriating place puzzles that might be stymieing your research.
Let me know if this works for you or if you come up with other clever tips for making the most of this great resource.
Let me know if this works for you or if you come up with other clever tips for making the most of this great resource.
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