How to change maps

To change maps for any location, right-click/long-tap on that visible location. This will open a Location Menu with map suggestions. Or, if available, do the same by clicking/tapping on a marker and using its Marker Menu. Alternatively, use the button at the top right corner of the screen. This will give you a list of all available maps, independent of any specific location. However, a selection there will move the display if too much of the new map lies outside the current area.

How to search

You can search for townlands, towns, civil parishes and DEDs. Use the button at the top left hand corner of the screen, start entering the name and then choose from the resulting list. The map display will change accordingly, and an orange marker will appear. Click/tap on it to get its Marker Menu, which a pop up menu with map suggestions and links for that location. If you want to remove the orange marker, reopen the search window and use the orange 'X" button.

How to use markers

To add or remove markers, use the button at the top right hand corner of the screen, scroll to the end of the list and choose an option under ‘Markers’. Markers contain the first four letters of a placename. Hovering over a marker reveals its complete name. Clicking/tapping on a marker opens its Marker Menu.

Markers can appear bundled together for display and performance reasons. Such clusters, shown as circles, have a number inside which will tell you how many markers they contain. If you hover over a cluster a blue zone will indicate the area covered by the cluster. Clicking/tapping on a cluster usually leads to a zoom-in and will ultimately result in a fanning-out of the contained markers when no further cluster breakup is possible.

How to rotate a map

If a map needs to be rotated, the compass button will appear in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. It allows switching to a map image's original orientation and back to the standard orientation where north is the top of the screen. The latter will make the button disappear should both orientations be the same. There's also a free rotation option but you neeed a keyboard and a mouse for that: while pressing the SHIFT key, scroll the mouse wheel.

How to reuse and share

A map view can be bookmarked or added to your favorites like a web page, allowing you to pick up your work where you left it and create your own pool of starting points. To share a map display, copy what you find in the address bar and paste it as a link into an email, a social media message or a web page design.

Ordnance Survey maps 1842

Between 1829 and 1842, the Ordnance Survey surveyed the whole of Ireland at a scale of six inches to one mile. This first edition was later repeatedly revised on a county-by-county basis. County Clare's 72 sheets of the first edition were published in 1842. You'll find them in the map system as a combined image under ‘Clare 1842 (6" OS)’. The system also contains the accompanying overview map as ‘Clare 1842 (6" OS overview)’. Both will be offered as map suggestions wherever you open a Location Menu inside the county with a right-click/long-tap. Alternatively, look for them in the button's ‘main maps of Clare’ folder.

Down Survey maps 1658-1659

After the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland in the early 1650s, William Petty was appointed to measure and map forfeited, crown and church lands. His survey became known as the Down Survey because the data was not just collected as text and numbers but 'laid down' as maps. In the case of Clare, however, data from the earlier Strafford Survey (1637-38) was available and could be used as part of the map-making process. The map system contains three Down Survey barony maps. They are all listed in the button's ‘Clare 1659 Down Survey’ folder: Bunratty, Corcomroe and Moyarta.

Petty map 1663

William Petty used the Down Survey (see above) as the basis of his atlas of Ireland, ‘Hiberniae Delineatio’, commonly called Petty’s Atlas. It was the first printed atlas of Ireland, engraved sometime in about 1663 but not published until c. 1685. You'll find Petty's map of Clare in the map system under ‘Clare 1663 (Petty)’. It will be offered as a map suggestion wherever you open a Location Menu inside the county with a right-click/long-tap. Alternatively, look for it in the button's ‘main maps of Clare’ folder.

Pelham (Grand Jury) map 1787

Henry Pelham's map for the Grand Jury of County Clare was completed in 1787. The library's copy comprises 14 sheets which were set up separately to allow a better fit with modern maps. Combined, they are available under ‘Clare 1787 (Pelham)’. Wherever you open a Location Menu inside the county with a right-click/long-tap, this map will be one of the suggestions. Alternatively, look for it in the button's ‘main maps of Clare’ folder.

Towns Valuation maps 1847-48

In the middle of the nineteenth century, property in Ireland was surveyed for taxation under the supervision of Sir Richard Griffith. The library has 10 Valuation Town Plan Maps from 1847 and 1848, which all carry his signature (on the original document). You can find these maps in the button's ‘Towns 1847-48 Valuation’ folder: Broadford, Carrigaholt, Clare (town), Cooraclare, Corrofin, Kilkishen, Killaloe, Labasheeda, Newmarket On Fergus and Tulla.

River maps 18th & 19th century

Rivers surveyed in the 18th and 19th centuries sometimes include topographic features and buildings as navigation aids that are less prominent or even missing elsewhere. Eleven such maps can be found in the button's ‘Rivers (and their hinterland)’ folder. They all originate from the archive of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO).

Open Street Map today

Open Street Map provides the modern map image in the system. It covers the entire globe. So, wherever you do a right-click/long-tap to open a Location Menu, ‘Open Street Map today’ will come up as a map suggestion. Alternatively, you can use the entry in the button's ‘main maps of Clare’ folder. Open Street Map is also opened automatically as a background and context whenever you select a map that doesn't cover the entire county. The latter includes Down Survey, Towns Valuation and River maps.