RIA publishes the free Digital Atlas of Dungarvan

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) has published the Digital Atlas of Dungarvan as part of National Heritage Week.

It is an interactive map that allows users to explore the urban heritage of the town of Dungarvan in County Waterford and is based on research and cartography carried out for the forthcoming RIA release Irish Historic Towns Atlas, no 30, Dungarvan/Dún Garbhán by John Martin (publication due in October).

Click image for larger view, theme and layer list

Dungarvan has a fascinating built heritage, which includes its fine Anglo-Norman castle and Augustinian abbey in Abbeyside, but, as the digital atlas reveals, the coastal town also has invisible heritage. Examples include the walls that defended Dungarvan in medieval and early modern times now lying beneath the surface, and the former street layout replaced in the early 19th-century by Grattan Square.

Freely available and accessible online, the Digital Atlas of Dungarvan provides layers of historical Ordnance Survey maps that show how the town has changed over time. A specially digitised base map shows the town in 1841, where detailed historical information on some 650 individual sites has been incorporated.

If you have ancestors from the town, you'll be among those wanting to check out these details. Start with the Story Map, which is published alongside the atlas, and shows you how to investigate and enjoy the Digital Atlas of Dungarvan.