 |
Ros
Davies' Co.
Down, Northern Ireland
Family History Research Site © Rosalind Davies 2001 Permission granted to reprint research for non-profit use only |
 |
Welcome to Place Names of Co. Down, Ireland
over 7,000 places listed
These pages include all reference to any geographical
or man made feature I could find in my resources.
They are mainly townlands unless otherwise stated
e.g. farm, river, village, mountain.
Use the alphabetical guide to find a place name
Click here to see which towns & townlands are in each Poor Law Union
Click here for a translation of the various parts of Irish place names e.g. Kilmore = kil (church) more ( big) or big church
Townland names probably came into use
in connection with the periodic distribution of tribe lands under Brehon laws,
as the laws of ancient Ireland were called. The habits of the people then
were mainly pastoral and settled individual possession of land was not the
rule. All the lands belonged to the tribe and its subdivisions called clans.
By a practice known as Gavelkind, the tribal lands were liable to distribution
every second or third year. (GAA CS p476)