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I know you've probably all had quite enough daft folklore from this direction. But I've got loads more, loads connected with places in Ireland (and Britanny, and beyond probably). The usual way I track the location down is to put various spellings into the os get-a-map gazetteer, and sooner or later I can match up the story with the place. But what can I do when it comes to Ireland? Do I have to buy a whole set of Irish maps or sit in the library with them?? Is there nothing online I can easily look at? And when the ME gets online, how easy is it to find the locations of French sites??

I'm sorry. But I've got this compulsion. It's like an illness. I have to get it out of my system. I almost wish I felt the same way about cleaning the bathroom and doing the washing up. But I don't.

for Northern Ireland http://www.ehsni.gov.uk/built/mbr/monuments_database/mons.asp for elsewhere some personal collections here http://www.megalithicireland.com/ & http://www.irishmegaliths.org.uk/genius.htm & http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/ . Huge websites list http://www.xs4all.nl/~tbreen/links.html

The book you want to track down via your local library for Irish place name stuff if Irish Names of Places by P.W. Joyce. This is a three volume work and should not to be confused with the tiny Irish Placenames by the same author.

The latter is a new paperback and just contains a selection of names and possible/probable meanings. The original three volume edition has essays about the derivations and discusses a lot more. I've just got hold of a copy of this, so if there's anything I can look up just let me know and I'll see what it says. Sadly, the work was never completed, so there are quite a few gaps in there.