Ireland is full of placenames that seem ordinary until you translate them.

Places called:

"The Hill of the Gallows."

"The Ford of the Dead."

"The Gate of Tears."

"The Hole of Death."

In this episode of Undercover Irish, Eolan Ryng explores the darker side of the Irish landscape — where placenames preserve memories of execution, famine, exile, mythology, colonial violence, and ancient fear.

From the Devil's Bit in Tipperary to the Bridge of Tears in Donegal…

from famine graveyards to the Black Pig's Dyke…

this episode uncovers how Ireland's landscape became a living archive of memory.

Because Irish placenames don't just describe geography.

They remember what happened there.

Featured Places & Themes

  • Bearnán Éile — The Devil's Bit
  • Cnoc na Croiche — Hill of the Gallows
  • Geata na nDeor / Bridge of Tears
  • Famine graveyards & coffin roads
  • Claí na Muice Duibhe — The Black Pig's Dyke
  • Colonial violence & execution landscapes
  • Irish mythology and fear in the landscape
  • Placenames as cultural memory

Themes Explored

  • Irish placenames and folklore
  • Colonialism and memory
  • The Great Famine
  • Execution and public punishment
  • Emigration and exile
  • The supernatural in Irish geography
  • Mythology embedded in landscape
  • The survival of memory through language

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