What is a townland, and why does it matter more than a village name in Irish research?
A townland is the smallest division of land in Ireland, and there are just over 61,000 of them in the Placenames Database. In the countryside it works as the address: census returns, civil records, Griffith's Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books were all organised by townland. A village name is weaker evidence. A village can spread across several townlands, share its name with places elsewhere, or be a postal name that never appears in the older records at all. Pin the family to a townland, with its parish and county, and the same family can be followed from one record set to the next and separated from same name neighbours.
Useful pages: The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · The 1926 Census guide · Coming home · Irish around the world · Plan your journey
Sources
- Placenames Database of Ireland: townland, parish and barony records, logainm.ie
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