townlands

Townland is the smallest administrative division of land in Ireland. Each townland is a distinct geographic unit used historically for tax assessment, land valuation, and rural administration. Townlands vary widely in size, from less than an acre to several thousand acres, and there are tens of thousands of them across the island—roughly sixty thousand in total. They form a nested geographic system: townlands sit within parishes, which in turn are part of baronies and counties.

Most townlands date from Gaelic land division prior to the modern state, with names often reflecting landscape features, prominent families, or historical settlements. The English term townland is an anglicization of an Irish phrase describing a domain of land associated with a settlement.

Today, townlands remain a fundamental reference in land registration, mapping, and rural addressing in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. They are frequently used in censuses, genealogical research, and local history, because many historical records and maps reference townland names. While boundaries were drawn long ago, they continue to be recognized in official maps and land documents, and changes are typically minor or administrative in nature.

In sum, townlands are a distinctive and enduring feature of Irish geography, illustrating how historical land division shapes modern land ownership, administration, and cultural identity.