A design and technology project exploring the unique history, geography and character of Irish townlands.

Posters

In an age of Eircodes and IDs, townlands and their meaning bring warmth and character to our daily lives.
The first output from our Townlands of Ireland project is a first-of-a-kind poster design that presents these land boundaries in a unique and personalised way.

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The design

Two designs, four colour options

Select either standard or customised, and chose from Sailboat, Slate, Rhubarb or Mossy in sizes A3, A2 or A1.
All on high quality 200gsm matte paper stock.

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Thank you!

We'll email you shortly with confirmation and a preview of your poster.

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How to find a townland

We've put a lot of time in our townland finding technology, but it's not perfect. We're making improvements, but there are also some contributing factors outside our control:Missing townlands
A very small portion of the island doesn't yet have (or may not even historically have had) townlands mapped to the sources we are using (OpenStreetMap). According to the project that mapped townlands to OpenStreetMap (the excellent townlands.ie project), some counties aren't at 100% coverage. Since the project seems complete, I'm assuming they've run out of townlands to map, or there's a lack of primary data. We're currently learing how to contribute, and see if there are any gaps we can fill.City centres
There are two townland mapping gaps in Dublin and Cork city centres - see images below.
Limerick city, on the other hand, appears to have near perfect coverage (excluding river of course), Galway too. Images from townlands.ie

So what happens if you enter an eircode for an unmapped area? It will find the nearest townland to that location. This isn't ideal behaviour as we'd prefer to be clear that your address doesn't have a known townland, we'll add that as soon as we can.I don't actually know my townland, can I trust your results
Good question! This stuff is tricky, and we've got a few things happening behind the scenes. 1. we run your eircode past Google mapping API and try match a likely townland name with one in our own database that's close / at the latitude & longitude specified by the Eircode. If there are multiple results, we go with the closest. Given the weird shapes of townlands, this could result in an incorrect result, which is why we let you override it by typing in a townland. "But I don't know my townland!" you exclaim. That's where our next and soon to go live solution will come in. A third option will let you enter an eircode and hit a you-figure-it-out type button. We'll then resolve your Eircode offline after you've ordered your poster, in a more convoluted approach, that combines approaches, assigns them weights, and then selects the best. For the trickiest ones, we'll also flag them for manual review to see if it can be improved upon. If we can't find your townland with certainty, or you simply don't have one :( then we'll let you know and we can go from there.I live in Northern Ireland
Obviously you don't use Eircodes, so for now, you'll need to know or find out what your townland is. We will be adding a search by address method soon specifically for Northern Ireland.

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More about the project

According to townlands.ie (the project that maps Ireland's townlands to OpenStreetMap, 61,119 townlands have been mapped. This figure blew our tiny minds when we first read it, guessing initially that there might be something like 5,000 or 10,000 tops.I've been fascinated with townlands since I learned as a kid that our townland at the time - Brockra, or An Bhrocraigh, meant place of badgers, or badger's den essentially. Then, recently I realised that our current address uses the wrong townland - only by a matter of tens of metres. The correct one is the lovely sounding Raheenglas or An Ráithín Glas, meaning little green rath / fort. Of course, we've now taken that to mean our own little green galvanised shed.Historical boundaries have become less important since the arrival of Eircodes, which hold none of the hints of language, nature, geography and history embedded in townland names.We're hoping this project plays some part to keeping townlands present and relevant. It builds on the incredible work done by townlands.ie, loganim.ie and the OpenStreetMap project.

How it's made

The idea of using a 7 character Eircode to generate a poster map appealed directly to Jack and Erin's interests in art, design and technology. This idea started and was fully designed and developed in our home studio.We spent weeks gathering data from Logainm, Townlands.ie and Openstreemaps and wrote code to combine, filter and enrich this data to suit the project. This includes geographic data structures, placenames in Irish and English. One of the most challenging things was creating a clean and correct relationship database of the hierachy of historical boundaries - townlands inside civil parishes, civil parishes inside baronies, baronies inside counties, counties inside provinces. All ancient yet still imaginary boundaries - human beings are nuts!The next stage was designing an image that could display these boundaries in an elegant way. We set ourselves a challenge of using three colours only, and ended up relying on line weights to do the work of subtly emphasising each boundary in the hierarchy, while still letting the insane 61,119 townlands read clearly.Something that really surprised us was that with just the boundaries, it's possible to see geographic features come through like mountains and urban areas. One of the reasons for this is super interesting. The size of townlands - which have medieval (and earlier) orgins - were based on the quality of the land, so in general, townlands in mountainous and other poor quality land were larger than those in high quality arable land. You can read more about this on wikipedia.Once a design had emerged, we rebuilt it to be composed of vector graphic SVG layers with elements carefully placed and named so that they could be dynamically edited and repositioned using code. In tandem, we built the poster engine - a Python based application that could take a townland ID and then rebuild the poster to a set of rules defined in a YAML spec file, and to a colour and line weight style sheet in another YAML file. It then composites the various layers and rasterises the final vector image to high resolution bitmaps for print.The poster engine is the most expensive part energy-consumption wise, so we're happy to share that it runs in our home on a solar-powered (weather permitting of course) Linux PC. The rest of the technology is cloud-based, but EU based where possible.Let us know if you have any questions or thoughts using the email link below.Thanks!Jack & Erin

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FAQs

Can I order multiple posters in one shipment?

Yes, you can now do this. Shipping costs don't increase for additional prints. Keep in mind if you are buying these as gifts, that multiple prints will come in one poster tube. While in theory you can use our cart to order as many posters as you like, it probably won't be very convenient for you. So, if you'd like many customised posters, you can email us a list of eircodes, separated with commas and we'll do the rest!

Are you shipping internationally?

Yes, we are now shipping to all of EU, UK, Australia, Canada and US. Framed posters are shipping to Ireland only at the moment.

Do you have any other colour options?

Since our posters are individually generated per order, in theory, any colour combination is possible. But colour is quite tricky with this design. We're open to ideas, so let us know if you've a three colour palette you'd like to see.

How about other sizes like A4 or A0?

A4 is too small for the detail in the design to read. As for A0, go big or go home as they say. It's currently not an option, but let us know if you'd like one.

Do you have a framing option?

Yes, we currently have four framing options, but these are currently for orders to Ireland only.

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Let us know if you have any questions that don't have answers in the FAQ, we'll reply as soon as possible.

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Thank you

We'll get back to you as soon as possible.

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Refunds & Returns Policy

Refund & Returns PolicyLast updated: 4th November 2025Custom-Made ProductsAll of our posters are custom-made to your specifications after you place your order. As each poster is produced specifically for you, we cannot accept returns or offer refunds for change of mind.When We Will Provide a RefundWe will provide a full refund or replacement if:
- The poster arrives damaged during shipping
- There is a printing defect (e.g., poor print quality, incorrect colours)
- We send the wrong poster (wrong townland, wrong size)
- The poster significantly differs from what you orderedHow to Request a RefundIf you believe your poster qualifies for a refund:
1. Contact us within 14 days of receiving your order
2. Provide your order number and photos showing the problem
3. We will review your case and respond within 3 business daysIf approved, we will offer either:
- A full refund to your original payment method
- A replacement poster at no additional cost
Refunds are typically processed within 5-7 business days.What We Cannot RefundWe cannot offer refunds for:
- Change of mind after ordering
- Minor variations in colour due to different screen displays
- Posters where the townland location was confirmed by you before purchase
- Posters that have been damaged after deliveryYour Statutory RightsThis policy does not affect your statutory rights under Irish or EU consumer law. If you believe we are in breach of these rights, please contact us to discuss.Contact UsIf you have questions about our refund policy, please use our contact form.

Shipping & Delivery Policy

Shipping & Delivery PolicyLast updated: 4th November 2025Processing TimeOrders are typically processed within 2-3 business days. You will receive an email confirmation when your order is sent to our printer.Delivery TimesIreland:
- Standard Shipping (€5): 3-5 business days after processing
- Express Shipping (€10): 1-2 business days after processingDelivery times are estimates and may vary during busy periods or due to circumstances beyond our control.Delivery AddressPlease ensure your delivery address is correct when placing your order. We cannot be held responsible for orders delivered to an incorrect address provided by you.If you need to change your delivery address, contact us immediately. We can only make changes before the order has been sent to our printer.Customs & DutiesFor orders outside Ireland, you may be responsible for customs duties and import taxes. These charges are not included in our prices and are the responsibility of the recipient.Lost or Damaged ParcelsIf your parcel is lost or arrives damaged:
1. Contact us within 7 days with your order number
2. For damaged items, provide photos of the packaging and poster
3. We will work with the courier to resolve the issueWe may require you to sign a declaration form for lost parcels.If you have questions about our delivery policy, please use our contact form.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 4th November 2025IntroductionTownlands of Ireland ("we", "our", "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you use our website and services.This policy applies to customers in Ireland, the EU, and internationally.Information We CollectWhen you place an order, we collect:
- Your name and email address
- Delivery address
- Payment information (processed securely by Stripe - we do not store card details)
- Order details (poster type, size, townland selected)
- IP address and browser information for fraud preventionHow We Use Your InformationWe use your information to:
- Process and fulfil your order
- Send you order confirmations and updates
- Communicate with you about your order
- Improve our website and services
- Comply with legal obligationsLegal Basis for Processing (GDPR)We process your data under the following legal bases:
- Contract performance: to fulfil your order
- Legal obligation: to maintain records for tax purposes
- Legitimate interests: to prevent fraud and improve our servicesWho We Share Your Data WithWe share your information only with:
- Stripe: for payment processing
- Our printing partner: to fulfil your order
- Shipping couriers: to deliver your order
- Supabase: our database provider (EU servers)We do not sell your data to third parties.Data RetentionWe retain your order information for 7 years to comply with Irish tax law. Poster images and previews are automatically deleted after 7 days.You can request deletion of your data at any time, subject to our legal obligations.Your Rights (GDPR)You have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Correct inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your data
- Object to processing
- Request data portability
- Withdraw consent
- Lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission (Ireland)To exercise these rights, contact us.SecurityWe use industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including:
- Encrypted connections (HTTPS)
- Secure payment processing via Stripe
- Access controls on our systems
- Regular security updatesCookiesWe use essential cookies to process your order. We do not use tracking or advertising cookies.International TransfersYour data is stored on servers in the EU. If we need to transfer data outside the EU, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.Children's PrivacyOur services are not intended for anyone under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from children.Changes to This PolicyWe may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top indicates when changes were last made.

Terms of Service

Last updated: 4th November 2025Agreement to TermsBy placing an order with Townlands of Ireland, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use our services.Our ServicesWe provide custom-made posters featuring Irish townlands. Each poster is produced specifically for you based on the details you provide.Placing an OrderWhen you place an order:
1. You confirm that you are at least 18 years old
2. You confirm that the information you provide is accurate
3. You understand that orders are custom-made and cannot be cancelled once processing begins
4. You accept responsibility for selecting the correct townland and confirming your choicePricing and Payment
- All prices are in Euro (€) unless otherwise stated
- Prices include VAT where applicable
- Payment is processed securely by Stripe
- We reserve the right to change prices at any time, but this will not affect orders already placedTownland SelectionYou are responsible for confirming that the townland you select is correct. We provide tools to help you find your townland, but we cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.Once you confirm your townland selection and complete payment, we cannot accept returns or refunds based on selecting the wrong townland.Intellectual PropertyThe maps and designs used in our posters are based on publicly available geographic data. The final poster design and presentation is our intellectual property.When you purchase a poster:
- You receive the physical poster for personal use
- You do not acquire rights to reproduce or resell the design
- You may not use the poster for commercial purposes without our permissionLimitation of LiabilityTo the extent permitted by law:
- We are not liable for delays caused by circumstances beyond our control
- We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses
- Our total liability is limited to the amount you paid for your orderThis does not affect your statutory rights under Irish or EU consumer law.Geographic Data AccuracyOur posters are based on geographic data from OpenStreetMap and other public sources. While we strive for accuracy:
- Boundaries may not reflect the most current information
- There may be variations due to different data sources
- Townland boundaries can be subject to historical interpretationCancellationsWe can only cancel orders before they have been sent to our printer (typically within 2-3 hours of ordering). Contact us immediately if you need to cancel.Once an order is in production, it cannot be cancelled.Changes to TermsWe may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance of the new terms.Governing LawThese terms are governed by Irish law. Any disputes will be subject to the jurisdiction of Irish courts.However, if you are a consumer in another EU country, you may also have rights under your local consumer protection laws.SeverabilityIf any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.Contact Us

High-resolution samples

It's hard to get a feel for a poster design on a webpage, especially one that relies on the detail of fine lines and text. So here are two printable A3 samples for you to download and print if you'd like.

The first sample is the standard poster in the slate colour scheme. A clean, uncluttered layout draws attention to the boundaries of the 61,119 townlands. A3 at 300dpi. Feel free to download and print (12 MB PNG).

The second sample is of our customised poster, which is regenerated to a specified townland. Since there are over 61,000 townlands, most of these posters will end up being unique. This particular one is of a favourite townland name of ours in Co. Laois called Ballyhuppahane (pronounced bally-huppa-hawn), or originally Baile Shopacháin in Irish. According to logainm, this roughly translates to the home or town of the wispy or unkempt man. Unless you happen to live in Ballyhuppahane, this might not be of interest, but it should give you a sense of what the custom poster adds. A3 at 300dpi. Feel free to download and print (12 MB PNG).

Tab on an image to download

Our posters are printed on 200gsm
(74lb US) matte art paper using a 12 colour giclée print process. We ship to EU, UK, US, Canada and Australia. Visit out shop here.