Bassett's County Louth is both a directory and a guide to the entire county in 1886. It is one of the most important sources published for late nineteenth century Louth, recording details (addresses and occupations) for around 10,000 people in the county. It contains 421 pages of detailed information, as well as an excellent full colour map.
The book begins with the history, economy, geology and social life of the county. This is followed by a full directory for every town and village, giving the names and details for all office-holders, professionals, merchants and tradesmen, as well as a full alphabetical directory of farmers and other residents not listed by trade. There is a detailed introduction to each town and village, with information about the economy, history, religion, railways, post, and general character of the place. It includes an extended treatment for Drogheda and Dundalk, as well as entries for 51 other towns and villages. The book finishes with an index of places, a list of fairs and markets, and includes many commercial advertisements.
The Royal Commission on Labour commissioned the reports into the conditions of the Agricultural Labourer in the Poor Law Unions of Ireland, which were carried out primarily in the 1890s. The reports mirrored a survey that was carried out in England previous to the Irish reports. The results, particularly for many of the Poor Law Unions in the West of Ireland were shocking. They painted a picture that had changed little since the famine for the agricultural labourer. The report covered the issues of Supply of Labour, the Conditions of Engagement, Wages and Earning, Cottage Accommodation, Gardens, Benefit Societies, Trade Unions, General Relations and General Conditions.
The areas covered in this particular report are the Poor Law Unions of Cookstown (Co. Tyrone), Ballyshannon (Counties Donegal, Fermanagh and Leitrim), Ardee (Counties Louth and Meath), Downpatrick (Co. Down), Clones (Counties Monaghan and Fermanagh), Letterkenny (Co. Donegal), Limavady (Co. Derry), Ballymena (Co. Antrim), Castleblayney (Counties Armagh and Monaghan), Dromore West (Co. Donegal) and Ballymahon (Counties Longford and Westmeath). Because of the geographical spread covered the results vary with Limavady, Downpatrick, Ballymeena and Cookstown classed as good; Ballymahon, Ballyshannon and Dromore West as poor. In some cases the cottages were little more than mud cabins, which may have had up to 8 people living in them. However, this can be contrasted with areas that give very "favourable accounts". Each report is accompanied by detailed statistical returns as well as comments by several of the leading gentlemen of the area. Information was also collected from the labourers themselves, and often their condition is described in some detail, giving their name, address and other personal details. Common themes throughout the reports are the decreasing number of labourers owing to emigration and the lack of winter work. In cases where the conditions were poor much of the blame was placed on the laziness and lack of thrift of the labourers.
This report is fascinating insight into a class of Irish life that was slowly disappearing which is already evident from the evidence supplied. The large area covered makes it particularly interesting, as the differing standards are all too easy to observe. This report offers a vital insight into the social and economic conditions of the country as it approached the 20th century.
The Tempest publishers of Dundalk has been established since 1859, publishing directories of the town, surrounding areas and the county of Louth since 1861. This book was a special edition of their annual directory, to celebrate 50 years of their operation, and consequently it includes a great deal of additional information in 258 pages. Most importantly it includes a 50-year retrospective of Dundalk with 15 articles on that topic, covering issues as diverse as religion, education, sport, railways and what the town might look like in 1959! This is followed by biographies of 124 prominent people from the town and surrounding areas, and portraits are included for 106 of them. The book includes a full business and establishment directory for County Louth and Dundalk town, as well as Ardee, Ballybay, Blackrock, Carlingford, Carrickmacross, Castlebellingham, Collon, Castleblayney, Drogheda, Dunleer, Greenore, Newry and Warrenpoint. It is especially detailed for Dundalk itself, and provides histories and descriptions of that town and the county in general. There is a wealth of statistical information, and the directory lists over 2,000 people. The book also includes 37 full-page plates of illustrations. Many of these are rare or unpublished elsewhere.
In short this is an essential resource for those studying Dundalk and Louth and its people.
This is one of earliest full commercial directories of Ireland, and includes over 220 urban centres throughout the island. Organised by Province, and then town, it lists all the principal office holders, gentry, professionals, tradesmen, hotels, schools, public institutions, churches, and even pubs for each town in Ireland. There is a description of each Province and town as well. This was Pigot's much-expanded second edition (the previous version dated 1820) and is now extremely rare.
This title includes the Introductory sections, and the Dublin & Leinster sections only.
Lewis gives details about every parish, town and village in Ireland, including numbers of inhabitants, the economy, history, topography, religion and parish structures, administration and courts, schools, and much more. He also gives the names of the principal inhabitants (generally landlords, merchants and professionals).
This Dictionary is in four parts:
· Preface & Subscribers
· Volume 1: A-G
· Volume 2: H-Z
· Volume 3: Maps
The Maps are in full colour, making this source one of the most important for research on Ireland.
This superb book includes a full commercial directory for the entire country. Organised by Province, and then town, it lists all the principal office holders, gentry, professionals, trades, hotels, schools, public institutions, churches, and even pubs for each town in Ireland. Slater took over Pigot's important publication of commercial directories of Ireland, and this was the first instalment. It has almost twice as much detail as its predecessor (published in 1824), and is now an extremely rare item.
For those familiar with the study of Irish history and in particular Irish genealogy, directories such as Slater's are a vital research tool. Each town and village contained in the Directory is introduced by its geographical location in relation to its nearest railway station together with population statistics derived from the 1861 Census of Ireland as well as a brief geographical and topographical description. The Directory provides the names and addresses of the principal private residents, together with those engaged in commercial and agricultural activity as well as the presence and location of religious, commercial and public institutions.
This publication reproduces just the Province of Leinster & Dublin city sections of Slater's 1870 Royal National Directory of Ireland. This directory is one of only nine national directories for Ireland published prior to 1900 and an essential research tool for the study of Irish genealogy and history.
This superb book includes a full commercial directory for the entire country. Organised by Province, and then town, it lists all the principal office holders, gentry, professionals, trades, hotels, schools, public institutions, churches, and even pubs for each town in Ireland.
This is the third edition of Slaters, for the year 1881, and contains 1,580 pages of information including a large-scale map of Ireland.
This publication reproduces just the Province of Leinster & Dublin city sections of Slater's 1894 Royal National Directory of Ireland. This directory is one of only nine national directories for Ireland published prior to 1900. Apart from the fulsome coverage given-over to Ireland's four major cities, Slater's also provides information on the principal private and commercial residents (including farmers) of the larger towns and villages. As a fully searchable CD-Rom, the publication of Slater's Royal National Directory of Ireland is an essential research aid that must grace the shelves of anybody interested in the people and institutions of Ireland.
This important book is well known to Irish genealogists. It contains an index to over 40,000 Irish wills, most of which were destroyed in the 1922 explosion at the Public Record Office in Dublin. As a consequence this book is especially important as the only surviving evidence of what did exist at one time. This index gives the name of every person who left a will, their address, rank or occupation and the date of probate. Vicars' based his work on the abstracts to the original wills compiled by Sir William Betham, and is the only index to his voluminous collections of abstracts and extracts in existence.
However, this edition is doubly important because we have included the never-before-published supplement compiled in 1914 to correct errors and omissions in Vicars' work.
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