19 Irish Place Names That Tourists Will Absolutely Love

We’re very proud of our heritage and culture, so we are.

We love our little quirks that no other country understands and genuinely enjoy seeing people struggle with our names. It instils a weird sense of pride in us. 

As it does when we see tourists struggling with our many difficult place names. 

There’s so many out there that can raise a few eyebrows, but we’ve narrowed them down to some of the most confusing.

1. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin

How it’s pronounced: dun leery

We all laughed at that scene in  P.S I Love You when Hilary Swank absolutely butchered the pronunciation of Dun Laoghaire, but in all honesty, can you really blame her?

2. D’Olier Street, Dublin

How it’s pronounced: duh-leer street

I thought this street was pronounced “doll-i-ay” street for a long time. Too long. 

3. Thurles, Tipperary

How it’s pronounced:  thur-less

How anyone is supposed to know that that word is two-syllable is beyond me.

4. Youghal, Cork

How it’s pronounced:  yawl

And when you expect two syllables, you only get one. Utter madness. 

5. Tuam, Galway

How it’s pronounced:  choom

Do not pronounce it how you think it should be, you’re wrong. 

6. Conyngham Road, Dublin

How it’s pronounced:  cunningham road

For some reason, it’s spelt in the most ridiculous way possible, just to confuse us. 

7. Inistioge, Kilkenny

How it’s pronounced: innish-teeg

Tourists love this one, for obvious reasons. 

8. Aungier Street, Dublin

How it’s pronounced: ain-jer

We love the doughnuts, we do not love the confusion around how to say the bloody thing.

9. Dorset Street, Dublin

How it’s pronounced:  dor-sett street

Other variations: door-set street

A bit of a controversial one, but we agree in the office that “dor-sett” is the official pronunciation. 

10. Donaghadee, Down

How it’s pronounced: donna-a-dee

Many get fooled by the seemingly misplaced “h” in the middle of the word, but alas, it’s silent, my friends.