Ulster Place-Name Society
Annual Report & Statement of Accounts
for the financial period I Septe]nber 2018 - 31 August 2019
Address
Irish & Celtic Studies
Arts, English and Languages
8 University Square
Queen's University
Belf&gt, BT7 INN
E-mail address
townlands.upns@gmail.com
Website:
vnw.ulst¢rplac¢name.org
TRUSTEES
otricers
Chair..
Secretary..
Treasurer-
Michcal O Maillnin
Gordon Mccoy
Donall Mac Donaill
Ex oftficio Members:
Editor of Ainm.. Greg Toner
Institute of Irish Studies (Director): Peter Gray
Placenamcs Branch, Dublin (Director).. padraig O Ctarbhaill
Ordinary Committee
Members
Donall
Baoill
Ruairt O Bléine
CiarfaTh O Duibhin
Fiollnuala CaTson-WilEiams
Public Relations Officer
Pat McKay
Ulster Place-Name Society
Registered Charity
Charity No. NIC- 103003

Main Activities
The objectives of th¢ Ulster Place-Name Society are stated in the constitution:
a) to promote the study of, appreciation of. knowledge of and awareness of place-
names in the area of benefit and to publish a series of publications devoted to the field
of nam¢ studies, Èncluding a journal and a bi-annual newsletter.
b} to carry out research into place-names, promote and support the work of a survey
of place-names in the area of benefit and to ll￿e th¢ r¢suLts of the survey availabl¢
via a series of published volumes and via the internet where appropriate.
Publications
The society published two newsletters during the 2018-2019 fmancial year and these were
distributed to Society members and interested parties (mostly univeTsity libraries) and were
uploaded onto the Society website.
The Society published Volume XIV ofAinpn An November 201 s. It contains articles on the
follo￿￿ng subjects: the place-name elem¢nt Seimdille (by Fiachra MacGabhann)" the place-
name Ardach (by Padraig O Cearbhaill}' the place-name Mag nthimai in ATmagh (by
Micheai o Mainnin); and Conchubhar O ctUal￿0Ch'S identification of an inaugural site of
the Ui Chinnsalaigh kingdotn in Wexford. Reviews of the followRng publications were
published.. Vol l of Fiachra MacGabhann's 10-volume work on the place-namcs of Mayo; Art
Illustrated Guide to the Place-names of Uzster; the two-volume TownlandName.s of Cozlnty
Wexford,. The Placenames ofFlinlshire' and Beatha Ailbh£.' The Life ofs'aini Ailbhe of
Cashel andEmly.
Kay Muhr and Liam O hAisibeil continued with their work on the forthcoming Oxford
UniveTsity Press publication on the family names of Ireland.
Activities
The Your Place and Mine project, which ran from January to March 2019, was initiated by
the Caus¢way Coast and Glens Council as part of their good Telations outreach programme.
This tllvolved Pat McKay, Kay MuhT and Gordon Mccoy giving presenlations on place-
names, maps, folklore and nthterial from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs in Cushendu
Ballycastl¢ and Rathlin. LocaIs corrected or v¢rifi¢d their pronunciations of local place-
names and contributed a great deal of illformation.
An innovative part of the project involved encouraging locals to carry out on-line Tesearch
during the sessions. This approach was us¢d by Gordon in subsequent good relations WOTk in
Banbridge High School and St Patrick's Academy.
Pat McKay continued to provide Irish-language versions of road names and townland names
for Mid-ulster Counctl. He also supplied Irish-language versions of the names of the
townlands of the parish of Dromore in Co. Tyrone for a local signage project.
Gordon received a contract from Belfast City CouncÉl to create a Gaelic Map ofBelfast. This
will map the townlands of Belfast, other Irish place-names in the council arei and sites of
Ulster Place-Name Society
Registered Charity
Charity No. NIC: 103003

interest concerning the Irish langua8¢. Pat McKay is the plac¢-names consultant for this
project.
Gordon is also the planner and tour guide for the Gaelic Bus Tour ofEast Belfa9t for Turas,
the Irish-language branch of East Belfast Mission. This tour explores all aspects of Gaelic
heritage in the aro with a particular emphasis on pla¢e-names as they are familiar to locals.
The Society org&llised two public l¢¢tures in Queen's University Belfast. Dr Kevin Murray,
of University College Cork, gave a presentation on Dinnshenchas as an Oth?moYtie Resource
on the 29th of November 2018. Murray is doubtful of th¢ us¢fulness of the diptnseanchas (a
corpus of literature recounting the origins of place-naEnes and traditions) in tem]s of pla¢¢-
names research. He ftnds the greatest contribution of this material to b¢ in t¢m]s of
mythology. On the 23rd of May 2019 RiLhaTd Warner gave a presentation on the description
of Irish places and peoples by Claudius Ptolemy (c 150 AD). Warner's geographical and
archaeological interpretations of the nlaterial differed from the previous analysis of linguists.
Public Benefit
Members of the Society ￿s0 made presentations, as listed below. In particular, many of these
illustrate the public benefit aspect of the Society's work. as stated in the constitution:
The organisation plays a useful role in promoting cross-community understanding by
providing inf0m￿tion on the bistorical infiuence of the various indigenous languages
of U]st¢r in a harmonious and non-contentious Inai]n¢T.
P¢opl¢ from the two n￿1n religio-political traditions in Northen] IT¢land were present at
many of the evellts..
Presenter
Date
Presentation
Venuelorganiser
Lands of Eogain and
Bernician Studies.
Clonmany, Donegal.
Turas ProjecL Skainos
Centre, Belfast
Kay Muhr
1519118
'John Toland and plaG¢-names in
Inishowen,
Pat McKay
1719118
'Place-Names and the Irish
Language,
Kay Muhr
1719118
'tTish Surnam¢s'
Turas Projec¢ Skainos
Centre, Belfast
Lekghinmore House
Hotel, Probus Ball
ena
Sl Mary's and Stranmillis
University Colleges.
Belfast
Gordon M¢Coy
1919118
'The Irish Place-names of
Ball
mena,
Place-iianie workshop for
students involved in 'Education
for Mutual Understanding,
MU
'The Place-names of the Parishes
of Portgl¢none and Tamlaght
O'crilly,
Kay Muhr
2819118
Pat McKay
2019118
Portgl¢none History and
Heritage Group
Ulster Place-Name Society
Registered Charity
Charity No. NIC.. 1031K13

Pat McKay
9110118.
'Place-Names of th¢ Blackwater
Valley,
O'Neill Country
Historical Society,
Benburb
Turas Project, Skainos
Centre Belfast
Sheskburn House,
Ballycastle
Gordon Mccoy
3111118
Gaelic Bus Tour of East Belfast
Kay Muhr, Pat
McKay, Gordon
Mcco
Kay Muhr, Pat
McKay, Gordon
Mcco
Kay MuhT, Pat
McKay, Gordon
Mcco
Gordon Mccoy
2911119
Your Place and Mine
512119
Your Place and Mine
Sheskbum House.
Ballycasde
712119
Your Place and Mine
Glenmona House,
Cushedun
1112119
Gaelic Bus Tour of East Belfast
Turds Project, Skainos
Centre, Belfast
Glenmona House,
Cushendun
Kay Muhr. Pat
McKay, Gordon
2212119
Your Place and Mine
Gordon Mccoy
613119
Plac¢-nam¢s Skills for Schools
BanhrÈdge High and St
Prfltritik's Aoddemy,
Banbridg¢
1313119
Kay Muhr, Pat
McKay, Gordon
Mccoy
913119
Your Place and Mine
Richard B1￿]SOn Centre..
Ratblin Island
Gordon Mccoy
1613/19
Gaelic Bus Tour of East Belfast
Turas Project, Skainos
Centre. Belfast
Maghera Heritage Project.
& Maghera Historical
Socie
er4D
TuTas Project, Skainos
Centre, Belfast
Dept of Anglo-saxon,
Norse and Celtic in
CaKnbTid
Turds Project, SkaTnos
Centre, Belfast
Turas Projc¢t, Skainos
Cenlre, Belfast
Kay MuhT
2813119
'The OTigin of (Magbera)
Townland and other Local Place-
Names,
CJaelic Bus Tour of East Belfast
Gordon M¢Coy
2214119
Kay Muhr
2614119
'The Fullction of Narlles in
Gaelic Sto￿ellIng,
Gordon Mccoy
1516119
Gaelic Bus Tour of East Belfast
Gordon Mccoy
617119
Gaelic Bus Tour of East Belfast
Gordon Mccoy
318119
Gaelic Bus TOUT of East Belfast
TuTas Project, Skainos
Centre, Belfast
Membership
The Society had 68 members at the time of its AGM in 29th November 2019. The majority of
metnbers were individuals living in Northern Ireland, although there were members in
Ulster Place-Name Society
Registered Charity
Charity No. NIC: 103003

Finlan¢ Dezllnark and Australia. Three organisations had coryorate tnembership of the
Society.
Members received a copy of the bi-annual newsletter as soon as it was published. Members
contactable by email also received news of events which may have been of interest to them.
Relationship Ivith otber Organisations
The society is a member of the Federation for Ulster Local Studies (FULS). This is a valuable
relationship, as FULS promotes UPNS events and provides UPNS with details of events
wbich may be of interest to our members. FULS also makes the UPNS aware of legislation
and events Telated to ch&ities and voluntary OTganisations in Northern Ireland.
The UPNS ha5 a close relationship th¢ Northern Ireland Plac¢-Na￿e Project (NIPNP),
the professionaI body established in Queen's University, Belfast. The director of the NtPNP,
Micheal O Mainnin, who is heavily involved in expandirLg the org￿lISatIon,S townland
Tesearch, is ￿s0 the chair of the UPNS. The web8lte of the UPNS www.ulsterplocenapne.org
carries the results of the N]PNP Street and Road Name Project, which provided local
authorities with Irtsh language versions of street and road naJnes. The chair of the UPNS is
also a member of An Coiste Logaintnneacha ('The Place-names Comrnitte¢'), th¢ body
.establisbed by the Department of Culture, Heritage &nd the Gaeltacht to advise the minister
on place-nanes policy.
Ulster Place-Name Society
Reglstered Charity
Charity No. NIC.. 103003

Ulster Place-Name Society
Annual Income and Expenditure Statement for the flnan¢lal year I Sept 2018- 31 August 2019
Income and Expenditure
Income
Expenditure
Income
Subscriptions
Publications (Sales)
Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise12017-181
For2s na Gaeilge
Bank Interest
682.73
353.84
300.00
6(X).00
15.40
Total Income
1951.97
Expenditure
Web Services12015-161
Web Services
loo.00
216.00
22.10
25.50
loo.
Postage & Stationery12017-181
Postage & Stationery
FULS
Meeting Expenditure - May 2018
Ainrn XIV 2Q18
124.60
2977.97
Bank Charge5
Total Expenditure
0.00
3566.17
Net Change
-1614.20
Annual Net Asset Statement
Aug 31. 2016
1839.58
Aug 31. 2017
1095.70
Aug 31. 2018
76.76
Aug 31. 2019
910.12
Ulster Bank CIA
UB Business Reserve
9979.69
9277.55
10201.13
7753.57
Total Cash
11819.27
10373.25
10277.89
8663.69
Change on previous year
-1446.02
-95.36
-1614.20

IFUT
11 Merrlun Square
Dublln 2
Ph.. 016610910
lsecf
ta
Sept. 1st, 2018 to Aug. 31st, 2019
I have examined the books and records of the Ulster Place.Name Society for the year
ended 31st August 2019 and, in my oplnion, the Annual Financial Statement produced is a
true and fair summary of the receipts and payments for the year and of the financial
position at the year-end, and accurately reflects the records of the Charity.
Signed:
Prof. Hugh Gibbons IRetiredl, hu
bbons
C5.tcd.ie
President of IFUT (2008-20101
clo School of CompL¢ter Science and 5tati5tiC5,
Trinlty College,
Dublin 2
Date= 27 November 2019
Conaidhm Eireannach na Muiiiteoiri 011scoile
11 Cearnogmhuirfean
Ath Cliath 2

This report was pre5¢nted to and approved by the membership at the AGM.
Signed Micbeai o Mailln￿ (Ch r)
Date".
Gordon Mccoy (Secretary)
Date..
26 /ii/Lq
Donall Mac Donaill (Treasurer)
Date..
U15ter Place-Name Society
Registered Charity
Charity No. NIC: 103003