placenamesFinding the right townland
Turn a name into a location by checking its county, parish and neighbouring places.
Keep every part of the address
Copy a place name exactly as it appears in the original document before trying modern spellings. Keep any county, parish, district and nearby town with it. Each extra detail helps distinguish records with the same or similar names.
Search from broad to specific
Try the beginning of the name, then narrow the results by county and place type. Search the Irish form as well as the English one when it is known. Check the complete source record rather than accepting the first familiar spelling.
Use the map as a cross-check
Compare a candidate’s recorded location with neighbouring places mentioned in your source. A mapped point can be approximate, and a modern boundary need not describe a historical census area. Treat the map and the written record as evidence to compare.
Sources & starting points
Original guide prepared 25 October 2026. Our approach to sources.
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