Sources and Abbreviations

Interpretation of the information in the Ordnance Survey Field Name Books

The 'field name books' were prepared according to townland and civil parish. The civil parish was the equivalent of the Church of Ireland parish and was used for official purposes because, prior to 1871, the Church of Ireland was the state or 'established' church.

Sources and Abbreviations

At the beginning of each parish or townland description, versions of the name are given from various sources. Generally, they are abbreviated.

A.F.M./Four Masters: The Annals of the Four Masters, compiled by four Franciscans in Donegal in 1632-'36.

B.S.S.M./B.S.S.: boundary survey sketch map (prepared during the survey).

County map/Edgeworth map: map of the county prepared by William Edgeworth and published in 1814.

Down Survey: the survey done under the direction of Sir William Petty, 1655-'59, to identify land for confiscation. Parish and barony maps were prepared to accompany the survey.

Educ. Report 1826/H. of C. Educ. Report: Second report of the Commissioners of Inquiry on Education in Ireland (1826), which listed the locations of schools.

Inq. Temp. Jac. I/Car. 1/Gul. & Mary: Chancery Inquisitions were authorised by the Court of Chancery. They described the extent of property held either by a deceased person whose lands were to revert to the crown, or one whose lands had been confiscated. They were common prior to the widespread use of maps. The inquisitions were mainly in Latin, and dated by reference to the year of the reign of the monarch. 'Jac. I' refers to James I (1603-1625), 'Car. I' to Charles I (1625-1649) and 'Gul. & Mary' to William III (1689-1702) and Mary II (1689-1694).

J. O'D.: John O'Donovan (1806-1861), antiquarian and Gaelic scholar, who contributed so much to the Ordnance Survey.

Ph.: parish.

Td.: townland.

Trig. stn.: trigonometrical station.

Also referred to in descriptions

Chain and link: units of measurement. A chain equalled 66 feet or 100 links. A link equalled 7.92 inches.

County cess: tax levied on property occupiers by the Grand Jury and used to fund the payment of county officials and the building and maintenance of infrastructure including roads.

Mearing/Mereing: a boundary between properties or townlands.