• Some interesting deleted domains (.ie)

    John’s domain spring cleaning reminded me of one of my favourite “once every while” webpages that I like to visit: Blacknight’s deleted .ie domain list.

    There’s plenty of rubbish on there, but you’re bound to stumble across a few funnies, as well as a few potential gems.

    The current list is pretty long, but a quick scroll through it turned up a few available .ie domains that in my opinion could come in useful to someone, be it for an existing business or an entirely new service.

    I’ve listed some of the better ones I found, along with the application I think it could have – I’ve also pulled up a few of the more bizarre ones too.
    And do bear in mind that the names listed below the fold may not be available by the time you read this – one I picked out was taken just before I published this (also bear in mind that there are countless undiscovered gems available in the world of .ie that don’t appear on any list).

    America.ie / usa.ie

    Both of these addresses would be perfect for the USA’s tourist board, a travel company that offers packages to America or even the US embassy.

    Annalivia.ie

    Assuming it wasn’t there’s already, this domain would be good for Dublin community station Anna Livia FM.

    Appliances.ie

    Obvious uses for this would be an online appliance shop, or appliance repair shop. Or it could be used by an existing company with an awkward name as a shorthand and a great way to remind customers of the service all at once.

    Arcade.ie

    Webgame site, online gaming forums, the next irishgamer.ie (although hopefully more successful) or even just the website of a physical arcade.

    Aviation.ie

    Could be used by a company involved in the aviation sector, or by the Dublin Aviation Authority (or any of Ireland’s other aviation authorities)… maybe even just a plane-spotters community site!

    Banjax.ie

    To me, this would be a great way for a repair company to endear itself to the public. The name is funny, it implies a subtle understanding of Irish humour (and slang) and is easy to remember.
    (While not on this list, banjaxed.ie is also free)

    Blanchardstown.ie / Blackrock.ie

    Both of these could be used by respective local councils to show off the area and encourage people to move there, companies to set up there and even tourists to visit there. The former also has an obvious application for the massive shopping centre in the town.

    Cleaners.ie

    Again, this could be used as a shorthand for a cleaning company to make the address memorable and simple… Rather than getting a domain like ‘Jimmyoreillyshouseholdcleaners.ie’, this would stick in the mind far, far easier.

    Dad.ie

    This one is pretty open to application. Fathers day ideas, a ‘Dads only’ site, whatever… to me it’s such an easily used domain and has such a wide application there’s little reason not to snap it up.

    Failte.ie

    It was once pointed out to me that having the words ‘Ireland’ or ‘Irish’ in a .ie domain is pointless, as the part after the dot should make it obvious where you’re coming from… the fact that your company’s name is in Irish should also help the penny drop, so why aren’t Failte Ireland, the Irish tourism authority, jumping at this domain?

    Faith.ie

    Obvious enough, I suppose. Any religious group could use this one, or it could be a place for unbias discussion and religious debate too.

    Gaelicgames.ie

    Could be taken by the GAA, the GPA, any of the country’s clubs, RTÉ or just a fan of football, hurling, camogie etc. Plenty of applications there for it too – from news to discussion to live coverage (RTÉ could use it for this in the future as it puts more matches online).

    Louth.ie

    I’m not sure if any of the country’s counties still have an available domain name like this – just like blackrock.ie and blanchardstown.ie, there’s plenty of scope for this site to promote the area.

    Meetup.ie

    A FriendsReunited-alike service for Ireland, I guess.

    Menu.ie

    Once I saw this I thought of an online guide to restauraunts in the country. Reviews, directions, booking services and, of course, up to date menus for each place so you can see if it has nice food, if it’s reasonably priced and if it has your favourite wine!

    Myssia.ie / Yourssia.ie

    Surprised neither of these have been snapped up by banks or investment companies trying to lure newly well-off people (and their cash) to their savings options. It could also be used as an independent service which allows customers to compare everything available in one go.

    Peace.ie

    How big is the anti-war movement in Ireland? What about those who want a complete and total end to all violence in Northern Ireland? Seems pretty perfect for any kind of lobby group trying to promote peace.

    Perk.ie

    Just like banjax.ie, this could be used by a company as a cheeky little joke with the customer – something they could smile about… what kind of company? A plastic surgery one, of course!

    Rebel.ie

    Be it their GAA team, their soccer team or the county itself, the term ‘Rebel’ in Ireland is usually synonymous with Cork. Again, pretty open ended application here, from sport to tourism etc..

    Skiing.ie

    With the amount of money flowing around a lot of the country in recent years, it seems like everyone is going on Skiing holidays. Like American.ie / USA.ie, this would be perfect for holiday companies trying to sell skiing packages. With some information on each resort, up to date weather news and advice, tips and tricks it could become a one-stop-shop for anyone considering something different over Winter.

    Teanga.ie

    Any company offering Irish language courses of any description could do well enough with this one. The same applies to Gaelteacht areas, Gaelscoileanna, Irish language enthusiast groups and so on.

    The-Times.ie

    This could either go to The Irish Times (which already has irish-times.ie) or The (UK) Times (which already has thetimes.ie), or it could go to a domain squatter who foresees plenty of mistaken visitors coming along every day.

    Today.ie

    This is in my opinion the best available domain in the entire list (here and on Blacknight). It could be for almost anything… radio station Today FM, a news website, weather, discussion, blog, whatever.

    Utopia.ie

    Another potential shorthand, this time for a luxury hotel or health farm. It doesn’t have to be the name of the actual facility, but if it wants to tell people it has the best service and experience, it could do worse than describing itself as an Utopia.

    And finally…

    Bigals.ie

    If ever there was a domain I wish I knew about before it got deleted…!

    Dunnesstoresbetta-valu.ie

    This screams “idiot squatter” to me. Someone who figured that as Dunnes Stores uses the catchphrase ‘Better Value’, they’d want a domain featuring this, but one that appeals to the txt-gnrtn. I’ll bet this domain got 1 hit during its lifespan, and that was from the owner checking to see if it worked.

    Paintit.ie

    If ever there was an obvious need for a hyphen, this is it. The idea of a painter and decorator having his/her site called ‘Paint It’ isn’t a terrible one, but the way it was registered the owner shouldn’t be surprised to find much of their traffic coming from a Google search for ‘bruised breasts’.

    Hosting366.ie

    Again, another idiot squatter. Or maybe Hosting365 were thinking of changing their name for one of every four years to ensure they still offered full service during a leap?

    Unfortunately, while .ie domains are more awkward to register than .com domains they’re still open to squatters and scumbags, so an domain name that does have potential is under threat from them too… If you do find a good domain which you could put to good use, you might be better to grab it now, even if you have no plans to use it immediately.