# Baile Beo — Reclaiming Irish place names

> Reclaiming Irish place names (iPhone/iPad app by David McGinn.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/baile-beo/id6756707230 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [David McGinn](https://appshunter.io/developer/1533426564)
- Category: Lifestyle, Education
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 55 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-04-15
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/baile-beo/id6756707230/reviews.md

## What is Baile Beo?

Irish place names were anglicised over centuries. 'Mainistir Eimhín' became 'Monasterevin'. Tír an Iúir became 'Terenure'. Cionn tSáile became 'Kinsale'. Thousands of names stripped of meaning, replaced with English inventions that carry nothing. We never restored them.

Baile Beo does.

Across Ireland, towns, villages, and landscapes have long had a local identity. These names described the land itself — its geography, history, ecology, mythology, characters, and memories. Through colonisation and anglicisation, mirroring the decline of the Irish language itself, these logainmneacha (place names) were largely pushed aside and forgotten by most people who pass through them every day.

The Irish language is experiencing a remarkable revival. With it comes a growing movement of people reclaiming the names that were taken — learning what they mean, where they come from, and what they say about the land beneath them.

Baile Beo is built for that.

FEATURES

• Journey Mode — turn it on and discover the history of every town you drive through, in real time. Ancient names, myths, monasteries, and stories stretching back thousands of years.
• 60,000 Irish place names alongside their English forms
• Name meanings and origins, rooted in history and geography
• Detailed place histories — from early legend to recorded history
• Ancient monuments — ring forts, round towers, megalithic tombs, crannógs
• Explore by map or by county
• Save favourite places and build your own collection

WHY BAILE BEO?

Irish place names are more than arbitrary labels — they are records of how people understood their locality and the land. Mainistir Eimhín means 'Saint Evin's Monastery'. Cnoc na Cásca means 'the hill of Easter'. Leaca na Nóiníní means 'the hillside abounding in daisies'. Every name carries a world.

Whether you're fluent in Irish or a foghlaimeoir, Baile Beo puts the real names of Ireland back in your hands.

Every town has a story.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4.8 — 2026-08-25

What's New in v1.4.8 :
• Thumbnail photos next to towns and monuments throughout the app, instead of generic icons
• Adjust your search radius (1-5km) for Monuments, Route Planner, and Journey Mode
• Baile Beo Órga (coming soon) improvements: better offline experience, promo codes
• Fixed a few UI bugs

### 1.4.7 — 2026-08-24

Baile Beo Órga (Premium) features including route planner, offline access, and more

### 1.4.6 — 2026-08-12

• New: Collections — curated groups of places, like castles, holy wells & historic sites, right on your home screen
• Discover: filter monuments by category
• Journey History: delete or rename a saved journey
• Journey Mode: monument cards now lead with the name and a clear Town/Monument badge
• Profile: Visited list shows your 5 most recent, with a link to view all
• Fixed: pronunciation playback getting stuck on the pause icon
• Visual polish across place cards and the map

### 1.4.5 — 2026-08-01

New in 1.4.5:
-----------------
• Partner credit badges on place pages, tap to view their profile
• Smarter search: unpublished places show up first instead of "no results"
• Improvements to Route Planner Órga feature
• Improvements to Offline Access Órga feature
• "Location unverified" note for places with uncertain accuracy
• Colour-coded map markers for towns vs monuments
• Journey Mode minor changes

### 1.4.4 — 2026-07-19

Changes in version 1.4.4

1. Suggest edits to place names and locations — Propose a corrected meaning, a corrected map location, or an alternative name for any town or monument, right from its detail screen. Submissions are reviewed before appearing publicly.
2. Record and share Irish pronunciations — Record yourself saying a place name's Irish name and submit it for approval; once approved, everyone sees a play button next to the name instead of the record prompt.
3. Control who can see your profile — A new "Public profile" toggle in Edit Profile lets you keep your profile and check-ins out of the Community feed.

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## More apps by David McGinn

- [Poem Shuffle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poem-shuffle/id6670728612)
- [Poetic Voices](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poetic-voices/id6752438739)

All apps by David McGinn: https://appshunter.io/developer/1533426564

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*