Logainmneacha na hÉireann
Baile Beo
Reclaiming Irish place names
Irish place names were anglicised over centuries. We never restored them. Let's start.
Free • iPhone & Android
As seen on
"Irish placenames dry out when anglicised, like twigs snapped off from a tree."Tim Robinson — Connemara: Listening to the Wind (2006)
Cad atá ann
How it works
Logainmneacha
60,000 Irish place names
Towns and villages across the island — each with its Irish name, meaning, and local history.
Léarscáil
Discover what's around you
Open the app anywhere in Ireland and learn about the history that surrounds you, and the ancient monuments that you pass every day.
Stair
Revive our ancient past
Become immersed in the complex history that gave every town and village its very name.
"Once you realise that 'Mainistir Eimhín' means (Saint) Evin's Monastery, and 'Monasterevin' doesn't mean anything at all, then you start to notice that kind of thing on every road sign."Dave McGinn — Founder, Baile Beo
An aip
See it in your hands
Fúinn
About Baile Beo
Baile Beo is an app for Irish place names — and the histories, meanings, and stories they carry.
Every town, village, and parish in Ireland has an Irish-language name that describes the land: its geography, history, ecology, mythology. Through centuries of colonisation, plantation and anglicisation, those names were pushed aside — distorted, displaced from everyday use, and eventually forgotten by most people who pass through them daily.
The Irish language is experiencing a remarkable revival, and with it a renewed curiosity about what our place names actually mean and where they come from.
Baile Beo is part of that. Whether you're fluent in Irish or a foghlaimeoir, it puts the real names of Ireland back in your hands.
Priontaí
Reclaim your town
Framed prints of Ireland's towns — Irish name, meaning, and history, beautifully typeset.
Ar fáil anois
Baile Beo Órga
For those who want to go deeper into Ireland's place names and the journeys they inspire.
Plan a route and see every monument along the way
Hear the story of every place as you pass through it
Revisit every journey you've taken
Features include
Revisit every journey you've taken — every town & monument you passed.
Plan a trip around the places you want to see, or discover what you'll pass on any drive through Ireland.
Hear the history of towns and monuments narrated aloud as you pass through them on a Journey.
Download your favourites and browse them anywhere, even without signal.
Get a members-only discount on our Irish place name prints.
Download Baile Beo
Free • iPhone & Android