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When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The article deals with the culture and heritage of ancient Celts by analyzing the toponyms of Celtic origin in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, as well as in the places where the Irish diaspora is present.
In accordance with the set goal, the article considers the cultural component in the meaning of linguistic units and the classifi cation of toponyms and their use in diff erent parts of the island. By the example of the analysis of the meaning of Celtic toponyms functioning in modern Ireland and Northern Ireland, it is shown that Celtic national heritage has not been lost. The study of toponyms allows us to penetrate into the worldview of the ancient people whose culture infl uenced and shaped the descendants of Celts.
Key words: Celtic languages, place name, toponymy, Ireland, the Irish language, semantics. Unlike England, modern Ireland has relatively few place names of Norse origin, a fact that is surprising when one considers the Vikings' enormous impact on Irish history.
Of the Norse names that do survive in Ireland, almost all are totally secular in meaning. It is my contention that, though few if any of these names have survived in Ireland, medieval Irish sources occasionally mention places whose names clearly reveal the practice of Norse heathenism in Ireland. An introduction to the Gaelic languages, some rudiments of grammar and an overview of old naming customs as a aide to understanding the meaning of Gaelic family names from Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
