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Clare Local Studies Project
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Lewis Project
The second project completed by CLASP was the production of a book entitled “County Clare, A History and Topography”. This information was extracted from “A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland” by Samuel Lewis, which was originally published in 1837, and which “ aimed to present every fact of importance tending to illustrate the local history, or convey useful information respecting the past and present state of Ireland (and) to give, in a condensed form , a faithful and impartial description of each place”. Arranged in discrete alphabetical entries, we find accounts of towns and villages, particulars of dioceses and parishes, and short references to coastal and other islands.

This information was compiled by subscribers described as “the most intelligent resident gentlemen in Ireland”.
In some cases what we are told is tantalizingly brief while in other instances one feels that the local correspondent has engaged in a ‘puffing’ exercise to give added importance to his chosen place. The Clare entries in the publication were taken as they appeared in the original, and permit the present-day reader a degree of access to those times immediately before the Famine.

The trainees on the CLASP team began work on this publication in July 1995. They began by diligently sifting through all the parishes, towns and villages in Ireland, from the original publication, and extracting every entry relevant to County Clare. This information was then entered into the computer, and the pains-taking task of proof reading the entire text kept the trainees occupied for some weeks. A comprehensive index was constructed by Maureen Comber, a library staff member CLASP.

The resulting exhibition consisted of 24 display panels containing information extracted from the book, and gave details of historical sites, tourist resorts, industry and agriculture. The exhibition was accompanied by a large map of Clare reproduced from an atlas compiled by Samuel Lewis in 1837. This map was hand-painted, using acrylic paints, on a large canvas measuring eight feet by six feet. The trainees also designed and constructed display frames for the exhibition.

On this project the trainees were divided into groups, each with a separate task to perform. Mary McNamara and Fiona Reddan were responsible for painting the map of Clare, while Fionn Malone and Kieran Murphy worked on the display frames. The remaining trainees produced the text for the exhibition boards and they included Katie Fitzgerald, Jackie Dermody, Michelle Galvin, Michelle Markham, Brid O’ Gorman and Caroline Maloney.

This book received excellent book reviews in national newspapers and magazines, including “Books Ireland” and the “Irish Independent”.

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