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Translation of Irish Village name

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  • 30-10-2019 12:49am
    #1
    Deagol
    Registered Users Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭


    Hi all, moving to a new village soon and I'm keen to understand what the Irish name means. I've tried a few translators but I'm getting contradictory results and the most plausible one seems to be a very strange name for a village.

    The Irish is: Fíoch Rua - In English is 'Connolly' but pretty sure that's not a translation!

    Anyone able to help?


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    #2
    saabsaab
    Registered Users Posts: 7,768 ✭✭✭saabsaab


    Could be fioch as a word for a land and rua for red = red land ? Maybe the soil is red in colour there? Often names describe some feature of the place. Perhaps someone acquainted with the area would know what it might describe.


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    #3
    twowheelsonly
    Registered Users Posts: 2,268 ✭✭✭twowheelsonly


    What's the English name ? Can often work backwards from there...


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    #4
    qwertyuiopa
    Registered Users Posts: 37 ✭qwertyuiopa


    A 'fíodhach' is a wooded area, so it could well mean 'the red wood'


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    #5
    Deagol
    Registered Users Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭Deagol


    Thanks for the suggestions - both look much better than what I had figured (red rage..but it just didn't sound likely)!

    I'll ask locally to see if there's anyone who knows. I do know the ground in the front garden is pretty red so might be that - but I'll take a look at older OS maps and see if there's anything about woodland.


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    #6
    Deagol
    Registered Users Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭Deagol


    If anyone is interested.... based on the suggestions here, I was able to approach the search from the other side and I found the answer!

    Clare county libraries; James Frost's history of Clare records Feighroe (anglicization) as meaning 'red wood'.

    Again, thanks to all!


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    #7
    Insect Overlord
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,858 Mod ✭✭✭✭Insect Overlord


    Glad to see that one worked out!

    Logainm.ie is great for this kind of query as well.

    https://www.logainm.ie/ga/129116?s=Connolly


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