'Ulster townlands in the seventeenth-century sources', by Andrew Kane

The second of our 2025 Talks Programme at the Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum …

The seventeenth century was a time of diligent record keeping, which we can access today to better understand where we have come from. Fundamental to this was the ‘townland’. Lisnagarvey, Mealough, and Ballynadolly are just some local examples in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area, but what is a townland? What was their purpose? Why do they matter? This talk explores these questions by considering the use of the ancient network of Ulster townlands in government documents during the 1600s, showing how they remain relevant to us today.

Andrew Kane is a research consultant for the Ulster Historical Foundation. He is the author of the Town book of Coleraine (2016) and most recently The townland atlas of Ulster (2024), a publication mapping all 16,000 townlands in the nine counties of Ulster. Andrew is a regular speaker on local history topics and has been a contributor to several television and radio programmes at home and abroad. He is a Trustee of North of Ireland Family History Society.

Our talks are free and in person, and take place in the museum’s historic Assembly Room. Booking is required. Doors open at 6.30pm for tea and coffee on arrival, and talks start promptly at 7pm. Please note there is no allocated seating for this event.

For more information or to book, contact museum reception by:

• Calling into museum reception
• T: 028 9266 3377
• E: ilc.reception@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk

Or to book online please visit: Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum event tickets from TicketSource