Eneclann Ltd and Origins.net, in association with the National Library of Ireland, have made The Primary Valuation of Ireland 1847–1864, commonly known as Griffith’s Valuation, available on the web. Between 1847 and 1864 the Valuation Office, under the direction of Richard Griffith, carried out the first systematic valuation of property holdings in Ireland. It contains … Read more
There is a history of over 200 years of public health service in Ireland, and by the early nineteenth century county infirmaries, fever hospitals and public dispensaries had become the most important providers of health services. As can be imagined, the public health service, then as now, was highly political. The dispensaries in particular, and … Read more
The Registry of Deeds, located in the King’s Inns building in the north-west quarter of Dublin city, is one of Ireland’s most remarkable archives, described by one commentator as ‘a most valuable storehouse of history’. The Registry is at once a still-functioning public office for registering property transactions and a repository of centuries-old records of … Read more
Sir, —I am researching the story of fires, firefighting and firefighters in Cork city over the centuries, and I wonder if some among your readers may be able to help me over a few hurdles. During the greater part of the nineteenth century, private fire brigades known as ‘fire engine establishments’ were maintained by … Read more
Few places suffered more severely from a combination of eviction and famine than Kilrush and its surrounding districts in the mid-nineteenth century. Only Skibbereen in south-west Cork and a few other parishes in the west of Ireland are likely to have experienced a comparable degree of human misery. But Kilrush has a further claim on … Read more