Ireland has been known by many names throughout time. The first name given to the land was Island of Woods, and this name was given
by a warrior of the people of "Nin, son of Bel ".
Three times indeed was the island all one woodland, as the poet says -
"Three times Eire put coverings on her, and three times bareness off her."
The second name was Land at the Limit of the World, and the third name was
Noble Island. In the time of the "Firbolg" it had this name on it.
The fourth name was Eire, and this is from the name of the
queen of the Tuatha De Danann, that is to say Fodhla and
Banbha.
The next name was Inis Fail, the Island of stone, which is
the stone of destiny that the Tuatha De Danann brought with
them. It is a tabu-stone,
for it used to roar under the person fit to be king when
the assembly of the men of the island met at Tara. But it
has not roared from the time of
Conchobor forward, for the false idols of the world when
Christ was born.
The next name was Isle of Mists, and the next was Scotia.
and then Hibernia, and after that Irlanda. This means the
land of Ir, who was the son
of Mile, and he was the first man of that clan to be buried
on the island.
It is said that the Greeks called the land Ogygia, which is
to say the most ancient land, and this is suitable, for it
is a long, long time since it was
first inhabited.