There are several good sources for finding a place name. In compiling censuses during the last century, for instance, indexes of townlands were compiled and have been published. The parishes, baronies, and Poor Law Unions are also listed separately. General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes, and Baronies of Ireland . The Irish Place Names Commission in the Ordnance Survey Office, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8, can usually assist in finding the accepted variant for difficult place-names where the above sources fail.
Maps are available for various periods and areas.
These show the boundaries of the holdings of each of those listed in the survey itself. These are available for all of Ireland from the Ordnance Survey Office , Phoenix Park, Dublin 8, or Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland , Colby House, Stranmillis Court, Belfast, BT9 8BJ, N. Ireland. The archives of the Ordnance Survey are in the National Archives and the index can be searched online through the home page. These mainly contain documents and correspondence generated in the process of map-making. However, information on some landowners is inevitably included.