In producing this resource, I have therefore based the data on the best available sources ca 1850 as listed below, however it should be carefully noted that this is simply a snapshot of the perceived status ca 1850-1860 and that no source can be considered to be definitive!

It is not my intention to document the nature of these divisions here, however there are a number of references where more information on this topic can be found, see below.

• Townlands
  The townland boundaries changed over time. Even between the time the original 6" maps were made in the early 19th C and about 20 years later when the 1" maps were produced, many property boundaries had been straightened and no longer followed the old townland boundaries. This caused considerable discussion on whether to redraw them. Should the townlands follow property boundaries? Should they be retained for consistency of statistical data? In addition some of the original surveys were found to be highly inaccurate.

  Passing from Donegal into Derry in 1847, Leach found that all his forebodings were justified. Here the old detail was too rickety to carry the weight of the new, and he was forced to start by sweeping everything off the maps except townland boundaries (which were known to have been more carefully surveyed than the other detail), coastlines, rivers, large lakes, and towns. He then made extensive new surveys based on long lines that ran between such bends and junctions as seemed trustworthy, and was eventually led to alter 1,654 of the Derry townland boundaries.

  ("A Paper Landscape - THE ORDNANCE SURVEY IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND" J. H. ANDREWS, p216)

  The Townland and Parish boundary maps for Northern Ireland shown here are based on the OSNI 1 inch to the mile "Local Government District Maps" series (1974). These appear to be derived from the one inch to the mile maps started in the 1840s and completed between 1856 and 1860 which were in turn (loosely) based on the 6-inch county series of maps of Ireland, first surveyed in the 1830s.

  Many of the boundaries shown on the map (see notes on accuracy below), even in the center of Belfast, can be clearly seen in the lines of rivers, hedge rows, roads etc and so it is reasonably safe to assume (however be careful) that on the whole the boundaries have been reasonably consistent since the 1" survey was made.

• Civil Parishes
  As noted above, which townland was in which parish varied considerably over time. For example, the Bishops often moved richer townlands to poorer parishes to help with finances.

  Parish boundaries follow townlands, however townlands were artificially divided. This is a comment by Griffith:

  "When testifying before the Select Committee on County Cess^*, Griffith was asked whether the boundary of a townland is the boundary of a parish, are the boundaries in any degree commensurate? He responded: 'The boundaries of parishes are always boundaries of townlands; that is to say, one townland cannot be contained in two parishes; it sometimes happens that an estate may lie on both sides of the boundary of a parish, and that the townland in each parish is called by the same name, and is considered to be one townland, but in such cases I have always divided the townland, and added the word upper or lower, east or west, to the original name, to serve to distinguish them. As each parish will be separately assessed, it is necessary that no confusion should arise as to the boundaries of any denomination or division belonging to it, consequently in all cases the boundary of a parish must likewise be the boundary of a townland as far as that parish or the county assessment is concerned.'"

  ("Richard Griffith and His Valuations of Ireland: With an Inventory of the Books of the General Valuation of Rateable Property in Ireland" By James R. Reilly, pp14-15)

  ^*A tax on land occupiers for the construction and repair of roads and other amenities

  The Civil Parish boundaries maps here, are based on the Townland maps above, using two sources to define which townland is in which parish:

  1. The first comprehensive townland list published: "General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland based on the Census of Ireland for the Year 1851". Prepared for the 1851 Census, it was published in 1861 (called the "General Index" hereinafter).
  2. The Griffith Valuation. While this was published in the 1860s the research was certainly carried out in the 1850s and so it was almost certainly based on the same data used to prepare the General Index. However Griffith made changes to the definitions of parishes (ie which townlands were in which parish), possibly to simplify the work for his surveyors. As a result his definitions differ significantly from the General Index in some areas.

     "Griffith for his part remade the boundaries as autocratically as he had made them in the first place, and his initial report to the government was held by the law officers to go beyond the limits allowed in the act of 1834: as well as fitting the new boundaries to changed streams and fences, or to land reclaimed from sea and river (which was what the act permitted), he had been subdividing townlands, changing their names and moving them from one parish to another. Where the old boundary survey proved to have been based on inaccurate information, Griffith replied, such changes fell within the spirit of the act. To resolve the matter, a second act was passed in 1857, allowing boundaries to be changed on the application of the landowners concerned and with the consent of the lord-lieutnant. Whether by accident or design, the new act was so worded as to blame the Ordnance Survey itself; rather than Griffith, for the errors that had been discovered: an undeserved defeat for Colby, though he had not lived to see it, in his long and difficult dealings with the boundary department. From now on, Griffith's review of townland boundaries (but no longer, apparently, of parish boundaries except in so far as these were affected by changes in the townlands) was to be a normal part of the revision process. Individually the resulting changes were small, but the modern view that the Ordnance Survey had the effect of stabilizing the townland pattern of Ireland could certainly do with some qualification. It was even suggested in 1875 that there may have been more changes since the original survey than in any previous period of simlilar length."

     ("A Paper Landscape - THE ORDNANCE SURVEY IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND" J. H. ANDREWS, p220)

  The data presented here follows the "General Index" which I believe to be to be the more historically correct (ca 1851) of the two sources.

  However, as the Griffith Valuation is extensively used for research, his definitions are of importance and so differences between the two are recorded in the notes, which can be seen in the popup window opened by clicking on the Marker for the district.

  In trying to find a locality or the likely repository of records, it is best to be cautious and assume that the place or information may be different parish to that shown on the map, keeping in mind that often, parishes consisted of widely scattered townlands many miles apart.

  Also remember that the map shows Civil Parishes. For practical purposes, the Church of Ireland Parishes can be considered to be the same as Civil at the same date.

• Roman Catholic Parishes
  In general RC Parishes follow the Civil Parish boundaries, often containing several Civil Parishes.

  In compiling this list I have found that both the maps and names of RC Parishes differ widely between available sources. Care needs to be taken as some sources use the names of Civil Parishes for the RC Parish (especially when the boundaries are identical) and others refer to the Civil Parish where records are likely to be found, not to the RC Parish.

  For consistency I have therefore based the maps and names shown here on Brian Mitchell's carefully researched "A New Genealogical Atlas" (a must buy for Irish researchers - see below for details), which is based on information from Griffth's Valuation. Mitchell observes that the RC Parish boundaries varied considerably and so these maps should be used with extreme caution and adjacent parish records should be included in your searches. For more information, see his introduction for an intersting discussion on RC Parish names.

• Baronies, Poor Law Unions
  The information for these is based on information from a number of sources, in particular: A New Genealogical Atlas, PRONI, Ireland's History in Maps (see below for details) and Wikipedia.

• Councils and Counties
  These boundaries are based on a mixture of Google Earth and the extremely useful website nearby.org.uk.

1. The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland PRONI
   I have not been able to find the source for the PRONI data. Information on the site indicates that it is based on the General Index, however it differs from the General Index in many places and seems to be totally consistent with Griffith.

   This is a very useful site but it must be treated with care as many townlands are missing from the lists; usually only one sub-townland is listed (of the upper / lower / mid etc names) and the lists are almost always truncated from about 'Tu' onwards. In addition some of the townland maps are misleading. If some townlands on a map are not numbered they are probably in adjacent parishes and if the numbering on the map is in order - eg 1, 2 , 3 ... from south to north - it almost certainly bears no relationship to the numbering in the list. The Barony and PLU lists also have omissions. However this is an excellent site and well worth using (with considerable care) despite these issues.

2. Irish Ancestors at "ireland.com" ⁽¹⁾
   A transcription of the General Index. This site contains some gems of information, their navigation makes it difficult to find them, but it is well worth exploring in depth.
3. The IreAtlas Townland Database better known as Sean Ruad ⁽¹⁾
   Another transcription of the General Index. The IreAtlas site contains more information than Irish Ancestors (listing the area, PLU, Barony etc).

   ⁽¹⁾ both sites contain transcription errors, in some cases quite serious, and so cross check both sites.

4. Ireland's History in Maps: Barony Map of Ireland
5. "A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland" 2002 by Brian Mitchell, an excellent source of maps of Irish administrative divisions and a Must Buy for Irish Researchers. Note that this does not include townlands.
6. "Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland", in about 40 volumes. This was prepared 1820-1840 to accompany the 6" survey maps but never published until 1993. The survey was intended to cover all of Ireland but was terminated after they had only completed the northern half. The most detail is for Antrim and Derry, each covered by many volumes, but in some areas the detail is very brief.
7. "A Paper Landscape, The Ordnance Survey in Nineteenth-Century Ireland", J. H. Andrews, 1975. A fascinating history of the survey maps of Ireland.
8. "Richard Griffith and His Valuations of Ireland: With an Inventory of the Books of the General Valuation of Rateable Property in Ireland", James R. Reilly, (2000)
9. Ireland's History in Maps

1. Tyrone
2. Down which follows the General Index
3. Lecale in Down which follows Griffiths. Also contains links for many other Down websites

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Many of the Townlands still follow the ancient boundaries - streams, hedgerows etc. - which can be clearly seen on the map in areas of high resolution satellite imagery. In these areas it is usually easy to see the actual streams, hedgerows and streets forming the boundaries (even in the middle of Belfast) by looking for features to either side of the boundary with the same shape.

The County / Council boundaries are slightly less accurate (+/- 500 meters / yards) except where there are parish maps. There they are the same accuracy as above.

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