Leitrim-Roscommon

I was wondering if anyone can answer this. It seems that townlands aren't used in Ireland today like they were in the past. Are they considered neighborhoods today? I understand that back in the day, they were not towns but rather just surveyed areas of land that could be an acre to hundreds of acres. One interesting thing I noticed was that when I mapquested Mohill and then zoomed way in, it had listed my ancestor's townlands (Drumoghty Beg, Drimna, etc) almost as street names outside of Mohill. Anyone know how towns / neighborhoods are represented today? Thanks!

Mark,

I've seen what Mapquest does - but this is just its way of representing townlands. They are still what they used to be: as you define - areas ranging from a few to a few hundred acres. With the towns and villages of today bigger, the townlands covered by them would be considered neighbourhoods, I suppose, but out in the countryside the townlands remain the standard way of distinguishing places, at least in the Republic. I believe that the introduction of a Postal Code system in the North has led to a loss of local knowledge and even wider knowledge of townland identity. There is talk the Repulic will be introduce Postal codes over the coming years and this could have a similar effect. But as of now, the rural townlands remain intact and in use.

Tom

Ahh..thanks for the info..

I do hope that the postal codes to not go into effect!

I would like to add to the information provided by Tom Coughlan (Leitrim expert and Dublin resident.

Discovery series road maps
Current Ordnance Survey road maps (approx. one inch to the mile), known as the "1:50.000 Discovery Series", includes most townland names but not the townland boundaries. The Discovery Series maps are readily available from specialist map retailers worldwide. They can be purchased on line from www.gould.com.au or www.irishmaps.ie

Your area of interest is on Discovery Series map 33. The grid reference for Drimna townland is 080 030.

For the complete index to the 1:50,000 Discovery Series maps see
http://www.irishmaps.ie/productlistingM.cfm?SeriesID=11

Have you seen the Mohill Civil parish map on the Leitrim-Roscommon website
http://www.leitrim-roscommon.com/MAPS/mohill.html

For more Mohill maps see visit http://www.mohill.com/

Townland definition:
The Townland is the smallest administrative unit of land and varies in size. County Leitrim townlands vary in size from one acre (Crane Island) to 2805 acres (Slievenakilla townland. The average size is 246 acres. It is still the basic address used by rural Irish people for mail and telephone. Each Civil Parish is composed of a number of townlands. A town or village might comprise parts of a number of different townlands. Townlands can come in almost any shape, any size, and with all manner of names (eg. Gaelic, Norman, English, topographical). Note that many townlands in Co Leitrim share the same name. In Australia today we would refer to them as a "sub-division" or "an estate" that had been broken up into varying sized "lots" or "allotments" of land.

The spelling of townlands on the Resource County Leitrim CD is in accordance with the standard spelling listed in the “General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland” based on the Census of Ireland for the year 1851. Currently in Ireland there is much debate about the spelling of townlands. The difficulty stems from the effort to spell townlands as they are pronounced. Often townlands are spelled incorrectly and the only reason that letters are delivered is because the postman knows were people live.

Historic maps
Ordnance Survey Ireland Mapping Archive now allows you to view and purchase the following Historic Maps online:
6 inch mapping series (1:10,560) colour 1837-1842
6 inch mapping series (1:10,560) greyscale 1837-1842
25 inch mapping series (1:2,500) greyscale 1888-1913
http://www.irishhistoricmaps.ie/historic/


John Hunter, Brisbane