A WEBSITE has been launched that shows what Limerick looked like in Cromwellian times.
The 17th Century Down Survey of Ireland, which has been uploaded by the history department in Trinity College, shows the gradual transfer of landownership from Catholics to Protestants 300 years ago.
Drawn by members of Oliver Cromwell’s conquering army between 1656 and 1658, the survey introduced modern mapping techniques to Ireland, creating the first recognisable maps of the country.
It was also the first ever detailed land survey on a national scale anywhere in the world and measured all the estates to be ceded by Catholic landowners.
The maps not only show land boundaries, but also reveal natural features such as bogs, forests and rivers as well as churches, roads and settlements.
