1783 Taylor & Skinner Dublin, Slane, Ardee, Duleek, Drogheda, Meath, Louth Ireland Road Map
Published in 1783, this antique road map is Map 40 from the second revised edition of Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783. The engraving records several important routes leading from Dublin through the countryside to the north of the city, including roads towards Slane, Ardee, Duleek and Drogheda.
The original heading begins “ROAD from DUBLIN to SLANE & ARDEE”, identifying one of the principal journeys represented on the sheet. Separate mileage tables also record the routes towards Duleek and Drogheda, together with an alternative road to Drogheda by way of Naul.
Dublin is shown prominently at the foot of the map, with the closely drawn street pattern of the city beside the hand-coloured waterfront. Numerous roads radiate from the city, including those towards Swords, Navan, Leixlip and Blessington.
The principal route leaves Dublin through Glasnevin and Finglas, passing through a landscape of estates, houses and connecting roads. Named properties include Hampstead, Belview, Charter School, Dunville and Stormanstown, illustrating the settled countryside immediately beyond the city.
Further along the road the engraving records Ballyboghill, together with neighbouring estates and roads towards Rush and Naul. Westplestown, Fieldstown, Lispopple and Cookstown are among the additional places identified beside the route.
The road then continues through Kilsallaghan and Greenoge, where several routes converge. Greenoge is particularly important on the sheet because it appears in the mileage tables for the journeys towards Slane, Ardee, Duleek and Drogheda.
A second network of roads shows connections through Chapelmidway and the surrounding countryside. Numerous residences and estates are named, including Catherine’s Grove, Brackenstown, Forrest, Pickertown and New Park.
The mileage tables are an especially interesting feature of Map 40. They provide distances for the road towards Slane and Ardee, for the journey towards Duleek and Drogheda, and for the alternative approach to Drogheda by Naul, demonstrating how Taylor & Skinner documented several possible routes between important towns.
The map also records Phoenix Park, Glasnevin, Finglas and the northern approaches to Dublin, making this sheet particularly useful for anyone researching the historical road network surrounding Dublin and its connections with County Meath and the towns farther north.
As throughout Taylor & Skinner’s survey, numerous named estates, churches, roads and contemporary landowners appear beside the routes, giving the engraving additional interest for Irish local history, genealogy and family-history research.
Identified as Map 40 in Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland, it forms part of their extensive late-18th-century survey of Ireland’s principal roads.