1783 Taylor & Skinner Dundalk, Forkhill, Castletown, Castle Roche, Castleblayney Ireland Road Map
Published in 1783, this hand-coloured antique Ireland road map is Map 24 from the second revised edition of Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland. The survey was undertaken in 1777, first published in 1778 and corrected for the 1783 edition.
The engraved heading, “Road from Dublin to Cookstown and to Colerain,” identifies the wider journey represented by this part of the survey. The mileage table records stages through Dundalk, Markethill, Richhill, Charlemont, Stewartstown, Moneymore, Maghera, Garvagh and Coleraine, together with an alternative route through Newtownhamilton, Armagh, Dungannon and Cookstown.
Prominent places and features shown include Dundalk, Forkhill, Castletown, Castle Roche and the Castleblayney road, with the road network extending across Counties Louth and Armagh. Forkhill appears on the engraving in the historic form “Forkill.”
Dundalk is prominently shown beside the coast with roads towards Dublin, Ardee, Newry, Castleblayney and Carrickmacross. Immediately north, the road passes Castletown and follows the local river system through the surrounding countryside.
The central section records the ruins of Ballyrigan Castle and Castle Roche, together with Mount Hill Road, Rochdale Road and other local connections. Further north, Forkhill is shown with its church, nearby glebe lands, estates and roads towards Castleblayney and Newry.
The county boundary is clearly marked as the roads pass from the Dundalk area into County Armagh. Rivers, streams, hills, churches, country houses and named residences provide additional detail throughout the sheet.
The combination of towns, castle ruins, roads and named properties makes this map particularly interesting for County Louth and County Armagh local history, Irish genealogy and family-history research.
Identified as Map 24 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.