Ireland

Antique maps of Ireland record the island’s geography through periods of dramatic historical transformation, from early Tudor surveys to detailed 19th-century Ordnance Survey mapping. Among the most significant early cartographers are Gerard Mercator, Abraham Ortelius and John Speed, whose maps established lasting European perceptions of Ireland’s four provinces, principal rivers and coastal outline.Later works by cartographers including Herman Moll, Emanuel Bowen and the Irish Ordnance Survey brought increasing accuracy to the depiction of counties, towns, roads and estate boundaries. Maps recording specific provinces — Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster — are frequently sought by collectors with genealogical interests, as they document townlands, parishes and rural landscapes that were central to Irish life before significant emigration changed the country’s demographic character.Original antique maps of Ireland are collected for historical research, family history and decorative purposes. Each example at the Antique Print & Map Room is individually described and condition-noted by specialist staff.