Did you know that the name Ballytruckle - an area of Waterford City is of Viking origin?
Well a new a brand new website launched this Heritage Week can tell you more about the history of the names of towns,villages and townlands across the county.
The site has been launched by Waterford Council's Placenames Committee and includes information for housing developers and children as well as history lovers.
It's one of many events taking place this week to coincide with Heritage Week.
The Chairperson of the Placenames Committee, Liam Suipéil says that there are in excess of 61,000 placenames recorded in Ireland – a fact that is unusual and exceptional when compared with other countries around the world:
“Our placenames are a relationship, a connection or a communication with our ancestors that stretches back over two thousand years. They bring the character, the traits or the significance of an area to the perception of the people, for example, Páirc an Chrócaigh, Sliabh na mBan or Béal na Bláth. The vast majority of these names emanate from the Irish Language and incorporate and relate to stories, history, geography, folklore, genealogy, environment, fairy stories, mythology and so forth. Waterford City and County Council can be proud of its efforts to preserve the placenames in Waterford,” says Liam.
The website can be found at www.deiselogainm.ie
and a short video produced by the committee can be watched here:
