Expert reveals Kingdom of Meath originally in Westmeath

John Creedon returned to Westmeath on his latest edition of RTÉ One's Atlas of Ireland, where he chatted to Dr Aengus Finnegan on top of the ancient passage tomb, Lough Crew.

Surrounded by 360 degree views, Dr Finnegan who has been collecting place names from local communities over the last two years, told Creedon how the original Kingdom of Meath lay, surprisingly, in County Westmeath!

"There is this idea originally that there was one Meath, there was the Lordship of Meath, there is even the idea before that there was a province of Meath," explained Dr Finnegan.

"This idea of five provinces is very old, and that comes down to the word 'cúige', meaning a 5th part ... Meath was one of them and it was certainly a very important kingdom at one point," he continued.

"It was originally Mide, meaning middle, and that was the area around Uisneach, so roughly County Westmeath was actually the original Meath, and that might amuse people," he told Creedon.

- The third episode of John Creedon's Atlas of Ireland can be seen on the RTÉ Player, and airs every Sunday night.