In a message dated 2/26/01 9:04:39 AM Eastern Standard Time, Lynn at [email protected] writes: << until I can get a sense of the proximity of one townland to another in these parishes, I won't know if I'm making the proper connections. >> Lynn, I really do think your best bet would be the Discovery series maps. Although they don't show the townland boundaries, they do list the names on the map in (we hope) the central part of each townland - so it is easy to see which townlands adjoin which townlands (redundant grammar, probably). If you choose to go this way, you will need maps 40, 41, 47, and 48 for sure. There is a slice of St. Feighins parish on map 42 and, if you're a gambling woman, you could save a few bucks and hope that your towns on the 90% of the parish shown on map 41. If there aren't too many townlands, perhaps I could advise you. In any case, I'm appending a "canned" posting regarding buying Discovery series maps. It's long, but it may be of some value. Pete Schermerhorn, in the glorious Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I go to Ireland for three of four weeks each September to photograph and document early Christian sites, other misc. ruins - and scenery, if the weather permits. So I need good maps to ferret-out the sites I read-about in the dozens of books I have (plus those I've read through interlibrary loans). I have the full set of maps for Ireland (there are 89, in total) which I've heavily annotated and marked-up to use as I drive around. Each map is about 26 x 32 inches and, if you lay-out these maps on the floor, you'll have a composite 22 by 32 foot map of Ireland. Here's some information on getting maps for yourself. I bought all of my Discovery maps in Ireland or by mail from Ireland several years ago, before the maps were readily available in the U.S. These maps show all of the rural buildings, driveways, church ruins, standing stones, etc. - scale is 1ΒΌ inches to the mile. But, they cost $8 to $10 each in the U.S., and a full set costs as much as a round trip flight to Shannon from Boston. Here are some URLs for you: http://www.rootsweb.com/~irish/bookstore/discovery_maps.htm This will give you a page (scroll-down a bit) showing map locators, indiv. maps, prices, etc. If you back-up, or re-enter, this URL: http://www.rootsweb.com/~irish/bookstore.htm You'll get the ordering information, etc., from this IGSI group in Minneapolis. I've always gotten my maps directly from Ireland in the past, as I didn't know of the place above. By the way, this webpage for the Disc. maps needs some updating....all of the series of maps are now available. And here are some more Discovery map sites in the U.S.: http://www.netins.net/showcase/travelgenie/irebroch.htm#discovery http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/int/ire-topo.htm#p2 http://www.globecorner.com/ This latter site is the Globe Bookstore in Harvard Square, Cambridge MA, and can be reached at (617) 497-6277 or (800) 358-6013. They usually have all of the maps, but their website is a seriously out-of-date disaster which they hope to completely rebuild soon (former webmaster's gone, "special" in-house system, etc.). If you are in England, you could go to http://www.elstead.co.uk/iredis.htm If you want to contact the OSI in Ireland, it's: http://www.irlgov.ie/osi/Pages/maps/mindex.htm If you are going to Ireland, and choose to wait until you're there to get the maps, the Tourist Bureau shop at Shannon usually has all of the maps in stock - and they will be a couple of dollars-equivalent cheaper there. When these maps were first issued, it was quite easy to find them at larger gasoline stations around the island, but no longer. Apparently most tourists weren't buying them and preferred, instead, to be continually lost as they attempted to travel. So that's about it. The maps are indispensible if you drive around Ireland on back roads as much as I do. Some of them are hardly even "real" roads - just track (also shown on the maps). Regarding the original information for the maps, there appear to have been two sessions of aerial photography used as a basis for the maps. In 1972/3 and in 1993-5. The general land layout in Ireland changes slowly, and I've used even the 70's-derived maps when driving down the road to "count houses" before reaching a site - only remembering to discount the very rare newer house in the areas of Ireland I tend to "inhabit". By the way, I believe that most of the aerial photography for these maps was contracted to the French government !! Regarding the townlands. They are all named on the map, but the borders of the individual townlands are not shown - just the name of the townland, placed (hopefully) more-or-less in the center of the townland area. Knowing the area of the townland (from seanruad, or other sources), you can sort of fit-in the imaginary boundaries - but there's nothing rigorous about this. The average townland size on these maps is about the same as a fingerprint. When I give the coordinates for a townland, I usually mean the name of the townland as shown on the map - even though the actual population-center may be a half-inch away. But, as I'm not sure if said population-center is actually in "that" townland, and not at the edge of another one - I use only the name itself, hoping that the cartographers placed the name properly. The publication of these maps started - as I recall - about 1993 (probably from the earlier flyovers) and was completed in 1998 or so. I know that my set was complete before I went to Ireland in 1999. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Recently, I have seen another source in Ireland mentioned on one of the Irish county lists. It is www.celticlinks.com. In addition to showing the general index map, they also give a brief summary of the towns, etc., to be found on each of the maps. I think it would be another good option to put onto the list when balancing initial cost, shipping charges, shipping time, etc.