AskAboutIreland.ie: technical problems continue

It was clear from the number of reports I was seeing on online forums and, indeed, receiving in my Inbox, that access and delivery issues with the frequently flaky AskAboutIreland.ie site have escalated over the last few weeks, so I took a dip into it this morning to see for myself.

Wouldn't you know it... It was working perfectly, and I spent a happy half an hour or more nosing into the Griffith's Valuation section, cruising around the historical maps for the Clonakilty to Skibbereen area – including some that may be additions since I last checked out my paternal ancestors – and exploring the details for one or two O'Driscoll households who I keep hoping will one day reveal themselves to be the family of my Great Grandmother, Ellen. The time wasn't wasted. I have a lead to follow up.

But enough of my genealogy fun. A couple of hours later, I saw more complaints on Twitter and when I tried to retrace my steps to the GV maps, I couldn't even get the door open. Just a 'this site can't be reached' notice.

I've spoken to the team that manages the site and it appears the techies are aware of the ongoing problems. It seems they are trying to implement a major upgrade project to the site (to areas other than the Griffiths Valuation collection) but it's causing knock-on problems. Possibly this will mean the upgrade will have to be applied site-wide. At present, there's no time scale for a stable solution.

If I hear any more, I'll let you know.

Official written response, 14 November 2019:

The www.askaboutireland.ie website was developed in 2009 to provide online access to educational, local history, environmental and genealogical content of the Irish public library service. The site is widely used by an audience ranging across primary school children, local historians, environmentalists, tourists, the Diaspora and the general public.

Since its creation, the site has been regularly updated and developed and it is now undergoing a review in order to assess the site performance and existing underlying functionality.

Due to the considerable size of the website, this process will take some time. Users may experience issues in use of the site during this time, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. Following the review, any recommendations arising will be implemented as quickly as possible.