Nostalgia
Old Maps at Castlebar Library
By Ken Wright Photography
5, Oct 2007 - 08:09

A 200 year old map that was thought to be lost forever. Mayo Library has put on display a set of maps of the Lynch-Blosse Estates which date from the early 1800s and cover an area ranging from Balla to Lough Mask and Lough Carra and extending eastwards beyond Claremorris. This collection of maps was found in Balla Secondary School, formerly Athaville House, by the principal Mr. Patrick Sheridan and prior to that had been considered lost or destroyed for over a century. Mr Sheridan took care of the maps for many years when they could easily have been lost to the state. They were very generously entrusted to Mayo County Library who undertook to conserve them and digitise them in order to make them available over the Internet.

Pictured in Castlebar Library at the launch of the Old Ireland Maps. Front L-R: Deidre Cunningham (Heritage Officer Mayo County Council), Johnny Mee (Chairman Mayo Heritage Forum), Seamus Weir Cathaoirleach Mayo County Council, Joe Beirne Deputy County Manager, Tom Coughlan (Map Finder). Back L-R: Councillor Henry Kenny, Ivor Hamrock (Librarian), Austin Vaughan (County Librarian), Councillor Austin Francis O’Malley, Councillor John McNamara, Marin Doogan (Map Finder). Photo Ken Wright Photography 2007.

A second map which Mayo County Library has conserved and digitised is the beautiful Bald map of Mayo from the 1830s. It is considered to be the finest example of Irish cartography prior to the Ordnance Survey maps. The library has now made these maps available over the Internet which means anyone can study them in their own homes. The library is also running an exhibition of antiquarian maps some, dating from as back as the 16th century, during the week.

Pictured in Castlebar Library at the launch of the Old Ireland Maps: Rainer Kosbi. and Richie Hickey who copied the maps and designed the website with Seamus Weir Cathaoirleach Mayo County Council and Austin Vaughan (County Librarian). Photo Ken Wright Photography 2007.

These and other old maps can be viewed online on the Mayo Maps Online website. To view the maps it is necessary to install a special map viewer plug-in on your computer.

Pictured in Castlebar Library at the launch of the old Ireland maps. Front L-R: Tom Coughlan (Map Finder), Seamus Weir Cathaoirleach Mayo County Council, Marin Doogan (Map Finder), Back L-R: Austin Vaughan (County Librarian), Joe Beirne Deputy County Manager. Photo Ken Wright Photography 2007.