What Irish County Names Really Mean: Part 1

Ireland's counties feel ancient — but the county system itself is surprisingly modern.

In this episode of Undercover Irish, we go back before the maps, before English colonisation , and even before Christianity to uncover the real meanings behind Irish county names.

From pagan gods and forgotten tribes to marshes, forests, ridges, and sacred landscapes, many Irish counties preserve fragments of a much older Ireland hidden in plain sight.

In Part 1, we explore the counties whose names come from:

• mythology,
• tribal dynasties,
• landscape and geography,
• and ancient meanings now partly lost to history.

Along the way we uncover:

• why County Armagh is named after a goddess,
• how County Tyrone preserves the legacy of the O'Neills,
• why County Cork is literally named after a swamp,
• how County Mayo may preserve a sacred yew landscape,
• and why nobody fully agrees on what County Limerick originally meant.

Counties featured in Part 1:

• County Armagh
• County Louth
• County Kerry
• County Fermanagh
• County Tyrone
• County Offaly
• County Laois
• County Cavan
• County Clare
• County Cork
• County Galway
• County Leitrim
• County Mayo
• County Monaghan
• County Sligo
• County Meath
• County Westmeath
• County Antrim
• County Tipperary
• County Carlow
• County Limerick

Part 2 will explore:

saints, Vikings, colonial renaming, and the counties with layered Irish and Norse identities.

If you enjoyed the episode, follow Undercover Irish wherever you get your podcasts — and send the episode to someone who's obsessed with their county.