Map 1

Irish place names starting with 'Bally'

Irish place names are predominantly derived from the Irish Gaelic language (Gaelige), reflecting the landscape, history, and culture of the island.

The prefix “Bally” is one of the most common, appearing in over 5,000 place names across Ireland, as per Wikipedia's Place Names in Ireland. Derived from the Gaelic word “baile,” meaning “place,” “town,” or “settlement,” Bally often describes a village or homestead tied to a specific feature, person, or clan. For example, Ballymena (Baile Meánach) translates to “middle place,” while Ballyshannon (Beal Átha Seanaidh) means “mouth of Seanaidh's ford.” During Ireland's Gaelic era, settlements were often named for their founders, landmarks, or functions, and “baile” was a versatile term for any inhabited place. Even after Anglo-Norman and English influences, Bally endured due to its simplicity and cultural resonance. Today, towns like Ballycastle and Ballyvaughan remain vibrant, preserving this Gaelic legacy, as detailed on Logainm.ie. The prevalence of Bally reflects Ireland's rural, community-focused history, making it a hallmark of its identity.

The map has been created by getting the name places that start with "bally" from the webiste Fallingrain. A total of 1,041 places were found and converted to a shapefile using their coordinates. Although “Balli” can be related to the same prefix, for the purpose of the map shown below just the prefix “bally” has been used. Once the data was extracted from the website, it was imported to qGIs to create and edit the map having in mind it was going to be displayed on the website. As a final step, the plugin qgis2web was used to export the map in order to view it interactively on the web without any programming skills.

Before you explore the map, please click on the information "i" icon located at the bottom left corner of the map to get more instructions.