Copyright ©2010.

©Ordnance Survey.

1824. British Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, authorised the first Ordnance Survey of Ireland at a scale of 6" (six Inches) to one mile. This Survey was primarily to map all Townland boundaries and record their names.
Lt. Col. Thomas Colby was appointed Survey Director and had under his command, Officers of the Royal Engineers and three companies of Sappers and Miners. His representative in Ireland was Lieutenant Thomas Larcom and the survey started from a base line at Ballykelly, Co. Derry.

In August 1825, the surveyors were already on Divis Mountain, Belfast. In their "Triangulation of Mountains" they were attempting to connect Divis with Knocklayd at Ballycastle, Co. Antrim and Slieve Snaght, Inishowen, Co. Donegal. Their task was made impossible due to poor visibility. In order to solve the problem, Lieutenant Thomas Drummond who was aware that the burning of Calcium Oxide could be observed over great distances, put the theory into practice and on 9th November at Slieve Snaght he was successful. This became known as "Limelight" (or Drummond's light) which also became useful in lighting stages in the entertainment business and hence the meaning of the word, as we know it to day, entered the English language.

1825 - 1830 Richard Griffith had the task of "Delimiting Townland & Parish Boundaries".... Map scale 6" = 1 mile. In 1830 he was asked to establish valuations for them so that an Equitable Tax System could be established. These are known as Griffith's Valuations and were established, 1858, for the Parish of killygarvan.

1830, Townland & Placenames to be Standardised ;
Task given to Dr. John O'Donovan, Professor of Celtic studies at Queen's University Belfast. In the course of his Survey he journeyed through the Barony of Kilmacrennan in September 1835. Among other places, he lodged at Rathmullan which he considered to be the capital of the Fanad peninsula. The September weather was terribly wet and he got soaked every day. He had sympathy for the locals who were having a lot of trouble in saving their harvest. He went to great extremes to get the Placenames right but he experienced much difficulty ; "It was hard to get people to talk and when plied with liquor, they couldn’t be stopped". Before reaching some of his conclusions, he considered Latin & French languages as well as Gaelic Irish.

1835, In November Lieutenant William Lancey of the Royal Engineers aided by Sappers & Miners surveyed the Parish of Killygarvan. His reports to Survey headquarters are testimony to his regard for accuracy and to the genuine concern that he had for both the landscape and it’s people.

1837. Spirit leveling started ;
Datum -- Low Water mark of the Spring tide on 8th. April 1837 at Poolbeg Lighthouse, Dublin, -- completed in 1843.
Datum changed to : mean sea level at Malin Head, Co. Donegal in 1958.

1887,The Re-survey of Ireland in a scale of 1 :2500 (twenty-five inch map) was authorised and was completed in 1913. My granny, Margaret (Boyle) Dohertysaid that the Sappers who carried out this Survey (1902), "Were the nicest fellows who ever came about the area"!

During the course of his Survey, Dr. John O'Donnovan sent quite a lot of interesting letters to his superiors in the Ordnance Survey Office. His letters are preserved in the National Library, Dublin. Book Reference IR 91410/4 (counties Armagh - Donegal).

The following is from the text of one such letter from O'Donnovan, written in Rathmullen September 1835:

"The inhabitants of Fanaid have gotten the name of being a rude people and for that reason the citizens of Rathmullen (which was anciently the capital of Fanaid) deny that they themselves are Fanadmen".

Muc Shamish (incorrectly named by Sappers or Miners - Mac Amish) of which Columbkille according to the prophesymen said, one day when his pure mind was pourtrayed with a foresight of futurity,

" beidh dha ghona air drom na muice" (two guns shall be mounted on the pig’s back)

This prophesy remained unexpoundable ( for prophesies are never understood until after the events, darkly hinted at have actually taken place) until at last a Martello Tower was erected on this pig resembling place called Mucamish, which when the prophesymen saw they immediately pronounced that Mucshamais was the very pig meant by the great prophet of Tir-Connell.

How wonderfully Columb thought of the word for guns, a thousand years before such engines "disgorged their devilish glut" against the castles of his native Tir - Connell, but why not foresee the word as well as the engine" ?