EastWest Mapping

07/07/2025

Customer Feedback
https://eastwestmapping.ie/customer-feedback/
I've often been asked about the map making process and the ins and outs of the business. So I have a book in preparation provisionally titled 'Map Man ~ Irish Maps & Mapping'. I'd like to include a short section on how the public use our detailed mapping: hill navigation, equestrian, mountain biking, angling, gold prospecting, hang gliding, local studies... whatever. So I am looking for some feedback from users, a brief description of how you use our maps and a photo demonstrating if possible. I'm OK for hill navigation testimony but anything else welcomed. Thanks Barry.

Customer Feedback I’ve often been asked about the map making process and the ins and outs of the business. So I have a book in preparation provisionally titled ‘Map Man ~ Irish Maps & Mapping’. I’d like to include a short section on how the public use our detailed mapping: hill navigation, e...

04/07/2025

Donegal MapFund
https://eastwestmapping.ie/product/mapfund/
Our two new Donegal maps: Bluestacks and Derryveagh are with the printer and expected to be available in the next fortnight. I committed to producing these in 2024 following frequent requests for better maps of Donegal. Both sheets will be printed on Polyart waterproof paper at B1 size and retail at €16.00 inc VAT.

These are fine detailed maps to our 25Series standard with 5 metre contours, crag & cliff relief, many local placenames etc. The Derryveagh sheet has the advantage that it covers all the main hills there on one sheet. The Bluestacks sheet depicts some very technical detailed terrain. The location maps here give a guide to coverage of each sheet.

The financial viability of these maps is questionable. There is no public funding for this type of work, even though as things stand, sales of the full print run will yield €12,000+ to Revenue in terms of VAT. When this issue was raised with those requesting better maps, a GoFundMe type solution was suggested. However I'm wary of taking money from the public when the prospect of having finished product is uncertain and many months away.

The project is done now, so I've come up with a pre publication MapFund option for those who would like to support the development of such mapping. If you choose this MapFund option, you will receive both folded and flat unfolded copies of each map, that's 4 maps in total. The folded maps are suited to normal outdoor use, whilst the flat unfolded versions are more suited to wall display. The cost of this MapFund option is €150 and I will have 50 sets only, on a first come first served basis. The flat maps will not be available otherwise and once these 50 sets are gone, that's it!
This will raise c€6,000 after VAT and bank & postage charges are stripped out, which will at least will help something towards the printing bill. The total cost of this project is c€80K, so a lot of maps need to be sold to make that back.

This MapFund option is available now for pre purchase and orders will be sent out when stock is delivered. Just click on the link/ image with this post. Thanks for your support whether through this option or via the standard folded sheet options which will be notified to you in due course.
Thanks Barry.

Pre publication offer & fundraiser for two new detailed Donegal maps: Bluestacks & Derryveagh.

30/06/2025

Official Languages Act 2003 & Placenames
https://eastwestmapping.ie/official-languages-act-2003-placenames/
The Official Languages Act 2003 came into force some twenty two years ago. The principal thrust of the legislation is to oblige the state to provide services, documentation and communications through Irish as well as English, that people in particular in Gaeltacht areas could interface with the state through Irish. I think most citizens would agree that this is entirely proper and laudable.

The final short section of this Act deals with placenames. Readers might recall the hullaballoo over Di**le and Daingean Uí Chúis, the Act sensibly proposes that in Gaeltacht regions only Irish placenames should be used, so the name Di**le would have to go in terms of road signs and OSi maps.

For areas outside the Gaeltacht, the Act states that maps by Ordnance Survey Ireland must use placenames in the Irish language or in the English and Irish languages. The definition of a placename is a name that is recorded on OS maps. That’s all.

Somehow or other since then, this relatively modest & reasonable legislation as regards placenames has seen ‘mission creep’. The placename provisions, according to guidance now apply to all public signage, not just OSi maps. It further dictates that the Irish placename must come first and be no less prominent than the English form. And that where a Placenames Order giving official Irish & English forms as approved by the Minister, these forms must be used on public signage.

I do some mapping jobs for public bodies and map artwork was taken to be exempt from this for many years, as it’s not OSi mapping. He who pays the piper calls the tune so of course I comply with the new instructions. But to demonstrate the effects I’ve made up a section of map in compliance for the Dublin Hills. Some notes:

- We can’t argue too much with Barr na Coille, An Baile Breac, Sliabh Chill Mochióg, Tigh an Chnoic and possibly Sliabh Thigh Bródáin.
- I’m not too convinced by Sliabh na Craobhaí (the locals say ‘Crook’ as in Cruach or Cnoc) and Baile Éamainn Duibh.
- I grew up in Dublin and walked the hills. I never heard these following names used at all: Binn Trí Charraig, Binn Dá Charraig, Sruth na gCloch or Baile an Stacaigh. We talked of places called Three Rock and Two Rock etc. Where did this ‘Binn’ notion come from, it’s not even a term much associated with Leinster Irish. Yet these are now THE official names that must take prominent position on any public map sign.
- There’s an abundance of other names on this map whose legal position is unclear, they’re not listed in the Placenames Order for Dublin, some are OS names and some aren’t. Even places like Belarmine & Fairy Castle are in a limbo. In practice, one either has to invent an Irish form for them or omit, delete them – they’re not allowed. I know that sounds ‘mad’ but that’s how it is. IMHO we’ve straying into strange territory as regards placenames.

I have to ask if this is seriously what the Irish public as a whole want and how has it come to this pass. I don’t recall any public consultation, it’s the sort of far reaching implementation that requires public buy in and perhaps an advisory public vote.

Official Languages Act 2003 & Placenames The Official Languages Act 2003 came into force some twenty two years ago. The principal thrust of the legislation is to oblige the state to provide services, documentation and communications through Irish as well as English, that people in particular in Gael...

16/06/2025

Eastern Bens
https://eastwestmapping.ie/eastern-bens/
The Glencoaghan horseshoe walk is a popular but long & tough hill walk in the Twelve Bens or Pins as you prefer. Here’s a bit of a handier route that takes in the Eastern Bens. 14kms in length and c1000m ascent so still a decent hill walk but good progress can be made on the forest tracks. Even so, this is a route for the reasonably experienced as navigation and route finding over rocky ground is required.

You’ll need our classic Connemara Mountains 1:25,000 scale mapping, start at a forest entrance (parking for maybe 4 cars only) on the R344 that traverses the shores of Lough Inagh. The route then takes the forest roads that traverse the plantation on the western shores of the lake. The route follows the skyline of Gareth McCormack’s photo on the cover of our map.

The forest road exits easily onto the moorland where the stream from Coire Bhig could be troublesome to cross if in flood but normally handy. Cross the slopes of blanket bog to reach the steep and rocky spur that leads up to Binn a' Choire Bhig. It’s better to walk the route this direction as it’s easier to pick a route going steeply uphill and in & around the crags.

It's a pretty relentless climb to Binn a' Choire Bhig but after that you’re on the ridge, picking a way up and down. The rocky lump of Binn a' tSaighdiúra is gained where a 19thC Ordnance Survey sapper is said to have fallen to their death. This is followed by Binn Chorr which at 711m is the second highest of the Bens or Pins. You may drop then and regain much of the climb to reach Derryclare Mountain or Binn Doire Chláir. From here the route lies ENE down a long rocky spur and then SE downhill to reach a forest fence and path through to the outgoing forest roads. The descent requires a good bit of route finding down rocky slopes and slabs. A good day out.

Eastern Bens The Glencoaghan horseshoe walk is a popular but long & tough hill walk in the Twelve Bens or Pins as you prefer. Here’s a bit of a handier route that takes in the Eastern Bens. 14kms in length and c1000m ascent so still a decent hill walk but good progress can be made […]

12/06/2025

Derryveagh

https://eastwestmapping.ie/derryveagh/

The location map here shows the coverage of our forthcoming Derryveagh 1:25,000 scale map. Derryveagh strictly as an area seems to apply to the hillslopes and land immediately west of Gartan Loch but is applied to the general run of hills from Gartan and Glenveagh to Sliabh Sneachta.

Errigal is of course the monarch of Dunlewey and the run of hills from Errigal to Muckish in the north forms the challenging route of the annual Joey Glover Memorial Walk, previously called the Highland Way. But which has in more recent times acquired the label of the Seven Sisters.

Lastly the hills east of Loch Barra are called the Glendowan Mountains.

Derryveagh The location map here shows the coverage of our forthcoming Derryveagh 1:25,000 scale map. Derryveagh strictly as an area seems to apply to the hillslopes and land immediately west of Gartan Loch but is applied to the general run of hills from Gartan and Glenveagh to Sliabh Sneachta. Erri...

09/06/2025

Bluestacks

https://eastwestmapping.ie/bluestacks-2/

The location map here shows the coverage of our forthcoming Bluestacks 1:25,000 scale map. I made several enquiries during fieldwork as to what local people call these hills just north of Donegal town. I found there are a few collective names for various parts.

There is no doubt but that the name Bluestacks is broadly used but usually refers to the central higher part of the hills. Croaghgorm, Bluestack, Cró Ghorm or Cruach Ghorm is the name for the highest top and like Blackstair in Carlow/ Wexford, the name extends to cover a group of adjacent tops.

The name The Croaghs, The Crós or Na Chruacha is also used but properly relates to the valleys and hills on the northern side of the range. This is a Gaeltacht area and has a strong sense of culture & heritage.

Then a band of lower hills just north of Loch Eske are called the Edrigole Hills, whilst the large tract of mountain grazing and hills between Loch Eske and Barnesmore Gap are the Tawnawilly Hills – Tamhnaigh a’ Mhullaigh.

Bluestacks The location map here shows the coverage of our forthcoming Bluestacks 1:25,000 scale map. I made several enquiries during fieldwork as to what local people call these hills just north of Donegal town. I found there are a few collective names for various parts. There is no doubt but that....

04/06/2025

The Three Aghlas
https://eastwestmapping.ie/the-three-aghlas/
The Aghlas are a cluster of three hilltops on the route between Muckish and Errigal. I was curious during fieldwork to see what names are used for them locally. Not least since the 19thC Ordnance Survey fieldworkers referred to what is now called Aghla Beg as Aghla More and vice versa. And of course, there is no name recorded for the middle of the three Aghlas, which is in fact the highest at 602m.

Well I found that the peak which dominates Altan Loch is called Eachla or Aghla More and the one behind is referred to as Aghla Beg. I got no definitive local name for the highest middle Aghla, but local hillwalkers refer to it as Ard Loch na mBreac Beadaí.

Loch na mBreac Beadaí lies at the foot of Aghla Beg, the term ‘breac beadaí’ refers to trout that are tricky to catch. So the name means the Ard or height of Loch na mBreac Beadaí. According to the OS records though this name applies to a smaller hill adjacent to said lake. But it appears to be transferred now by popular use to this, the middle Aghla.

The Three Aghlas The Aghlas are a cluster of three hilltops on the route between Muckish and Errigal. I was curious during fieldwork to see what names are used for them locally. Not least since the 19thC Ordnance Survey fieldworkers referred to what is now called Aghla Beg as Aghla More and vice ver...

27/05/2025

Ard a’ Chrapáin
https://eastwestmapping.ie/ard-a-chrapain/
Google StreetView comes in handy for many purposes but I suspect for placename research is not so common!

So here we have a name, Ard a’ Chrapáin collected about Dunlewey in Donegal and known to be somewhere on the extensive hills to the south, but where exactly? Ideally you’d meet someone who knows where it is and they’d point it out on the ground, so you can locate it on a map. But this is not often possible and describing the location of features from memory can be tricky. Photographs come in very useful here as they can shared in person or by WhatsApp etc and of course the local person will find it far easier to point out things on a photo. Key here is that it was mentioned that this place called Ard a’ Chrapáin was visible from a certain road. Enter Google and switch to StreeView, share the image and yes.. that’s it.

As to the name, ‘crap’ is a common Irish placename word for a ‘lump’ or a ‘bump’ . A ‘crapán’ is a small lump or bump. ‘Ard’ is a height, so Ard a’ Chrapáin means the ‘height of the little bump’ which is exactly how it appears looking up from the houses below. Since there are two ‘bumps’ and one is bigger than the other, so we have Ard a’ Chrapáin Mór and Ard a’ Chrapáin Beag.

This simple relevance and relationship between Irish placenames and the land, the language and us the citizens is precisely why so called ‘minor placenames’ should be recorded and noted where they apply.

Ard a’ Chrapáin Google StreetView comes in handy for many purposes but I suspect for placename research is not so common! So here we have a name, Ard a’ Chrapáin collected about Dunlewey in Donegal and known to be somewhere on the extensive hills to the south, but where exactly? Ideally you’...

25/05/2025

Tinahely Walking Club having a bite at the Bread & Butter Stone, one of those local features mapped and named on our mapping. Wicklow East 1:25000 scale map for this.

19/05/2025

Errigal
https://eastwestmapping.ie/errigal/
Errigal or Earagail looking resplendent and almost alpine on a fieldwork trip in the recent great weather. This photo is taken from the gap or mám between Errigal and Mackoght/ Mac Uchta/ Wee Errigal. There is a name for this gap but it’s subject to some local debate! As to whether it’s Mám a’ Seantí (gap of the old house) or something like Mám a’ Ceantaoi (gap of the narrow sides or along those lines)!

Errigal Errigal or Earagail looking resplendent and almost alpine on a fieldwork trip in the recent great weather. This photo is taken from the gap or mám between Errigal and Mackoght/ Mac Uchta/ Wee Errigal. There is a name for this gap but it’s subject to some local debate! As to whether it’s...

12/05/2025

Donegal Placenames
https://eastwestmapping.ie/donegal-placenames/
Back from another few days of Donegal fieldwork, this time mostly enquiring after local placenames. I regard it as the duty of my work as a mapmaker to not only attempt to accurately capture the ground detail but also to research the placenames, the labels that we apply to places on the landscape. Ideally these names would all have been gathered already and as a cartographer, I could simply choose which to include for any given map. But that’s not how it is, for some inexplicable reason the state over the many decades since independence has largely ignored this important part of our heritage and culture. For the state, it’s as if the placename record was settled in the 1840s and that all it needs to do is to establish official Irish forms of this small subset of the entirety. It’ll dictate that a particular stream named on the Ordnance Survey mapping should be given a certain name, whilst ignoring the fact that many adjacent streams have names known and used by locals for generations.

Truth to be told, it is often interesting and rewarding to visit local people who know their local placenames. To sit in their kitchens, listening to descriptions and pronunciation, describing names and features, also to be outside with places being pointed out. Whilst enjoyable it is also time consuming and costly work and thus I have to cut my cloth to suit my measure, concentrating on areas that have more relevance to users of our maps.

Pictured here is Pat O’Donnell of Dunlewey feeding his ewes & lambs, a man who has gathered sheep off the northern slopes of Slieve Snaght and the Poisoned Glen for many years. Pat would be typical of the hillfarmers and fishermen who have some of these names still. I got well in excess of 200 placenames last week, a simple example would be this large boulder capped with heather found in the Bluestacks and called Carraig a’ Hata – the rock with a hat.

Donegal Placenames Back from another few days of Donegal fieldwork, this time mostly enquiring after local placenames. I regard it as the duty of my work as a mapmaker to not only attempt to accurately capture the ground detail but also to research the placenames, the labels that we apply to places....

04/05/2025

Kerry Maps
https://eastwestmapping.ie/kerry-maps/
We publish five excellent maps for Co.Kerry at scales of 1:25,000 & 1:20,000

The Reeks 1:20,000
Killarney National Park 1:20,000
Di**le West ~ Brandon 1:25,000
Di**le Central ¬ ~ Beenoskee 1:25,000
Di**le East ~ Slieve Mish 1:25,000

All available in standard paper folded or laminated waterproof folded. Available singly or in various bundles. Additionally we have an excellent 1:40,000 map of the full Di**le peninsula – The Di**le Way.

All available from www.eastwestmapping.ie or variously from the following local stockists:
O’Connors Newsagent, Killarney
Cronin’s Yard, Carrauntoohil
Kenmare Bookshop
Landers Outdoor World Tralee
Castlegregory Tourist Office
Di**le Bookshop

Kerry Maps We publish five excellent maps for Co.Kerry at scales of 1:25,000 & 1:20,000 The Reeks 1:20,000 Killarney National Park 1:20,000 Di**le West ~ Brandon 1:25,000 Di**le Central ­ ~ Beenoskee 1:25,000 Di**le East ~ Slieve Mish 1:25,000 All available in standard paper folded or laminated wat...