Irish Historic Towns Atlas, no. 25, Ennis - Public talk and official launch

Part of map of The county of Clare, 1787, by Henry Pelham.

The Royal Irish Academy’s Irish Historic Towns Atlas project traces the development of Irish towns through its series of publications. It is part of a wider scheme with similar atlases for over 480 European urban centres. The newly-published Ennis atlas, no. 25 in the IHTA series, traces the growth of the town from its early O’Brien foundation at Clonroad, to the medieval town that developed around the Franciscan friary, to its function as an early modern market and county town through to the twentieth century. Over 15 early maps and old views are presented in colour on A3 sheets with additional thematic maps and illustrations in the accompanying text. An extensive topographical gazetteer documents over 1,200 entries for Ennis and is accompanied by an essay explaining the urban morphological development of the town. Also included is a CD-ROM of the publication where the text is word searchable and the maps and images are in high resolution allowing for detailed examination.

To mark the publication, author and Ennis native Brian Ó Dálaigh will deliver a talk in Ennis on the history and development of the town and present material from the atlas. This talk will take place in the DeValera Public Library, Ennis, on Tuesday 21st August at 7.00 pm. Entry is free and all are welcome.

On Friday 24th August, the Mayor of Ennis Councillor Peter Considine will officially launch the Irish Historic Towns Atlas, no. 25, Ennis at a ceremony in the Civic Room of Ennis Town Council, Drumbiggle Road, Ennis. The ceremony commences at 7.00 pm and will be attended by members of the Royal Irish Academy, local elected representatives, business and community leaders, members of the local press and media, and local historians from throughout Co. Clare. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the reduced rate of €25 (retail €30) at both the public lecture and the launch ceremony.