County Armagh woman, Ciara Connolly has launched the world’s first ever site to turn Townlands into personalised map prints. New website, MyTownland.ie, is encouraging people across Northern Ireland to bring their ancestral homelands to life by designing a personalised townland map online. Borne of a passion for the island of Ireland, it’s history and the things that make the country unique, MyTownland.ie provides a range of styles and personalisation options. Each map functions as a personal cultural artefact, with special meaning and significance for its designer.
From Abertach to Baile Aiblín, Kircubbin to Umgola and everywhere in between, townlands are a vibrant connection between us and our local communities. The place names for the smallest divisions of land in Ireland have always been important for local identity. They may have been threatened by postcodes, Eircodes, road names and house numbers but there’s a growing appreciation of these ancient townlands and a resurgence in their use.
The magic of My Townland began with Ciara Connolly, the founder, from Middletown, County Armagh. Ciaran said, “I remember searching for a townland print, for my granny as a gift, I wanted something unique with meaning and with a story. I thought there has to be a way to let people love and celebrate where they are from. Equally for those that want to display their connection to their Irish ancestry … and that’s where the idea came from. At My Townland, we’re passionate about real people, real memories, and real Ireland. Your townland is a place to be celebrated. Where the rugged Irish landscape meets the warmth of your community, there’s nothing quite like the place you call home.”
It hasn’t always been easy to create a print to share your pride in your local area but now with MyTownland.ie, that’s within reach. My Townland.ie enables you to turn your townland into a meaningful unique map print personalised by you. From a range of map styles and personalisation options available, you can really make your map print your own. OR The maps are produced on premier mould-made art paper, are highly textured with a watercolour feel and are printed in deep blacks and vibrant colours. They come in two sizes:
- 30×40 cm (Portrait) and
- 40×30 cm (Landscape.)
Townlands are uniquely Irish. The place names for the smallest divisions of land in Ireland, they have always been crucial to local identity and there is a growing appreciation of these ancient definitions and a resurgence in their use. Townlands can provide a considerable amount of information about our ancestral homes. Carricklane, for example, is an adaptation of the Irish, ‘An Carraig Leathan,’ or ‘the broad stone,’ which indicates the presence of a broad seam of rock which has always made sinking a spade into the soil a challenge.
Historically important, townlands have lost significance in recent years, with the introduction of postcodes. Together with Open Street Maps, MyTownland.ie has been working to preserve the heritage of these ancient land divisions by mapping and recording each one.
