Irish Historic Towns Atlas

'Water, Towns and Topography II', the 2026 seminar is convened with the Irish Walled Towns Network, an initiative of
The Heritage Council

Free to attend, booking essential
📆20 May 2026
📍The Royal Irish Academy
🎟️

IHTA seminar 2026: Water, Towns and Topography II - Royal Irish Academy This year’s seminar is convened in association with the Irish Walled Towns Network, an initiative of The Heritage Council and will take place on Wednesday 20 May in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. Free to attend, but booking is essential.

Lives of the winding banks of Erne - Artists and adventurers shaped by Ballyshannon Dr Angela Byrne, Author of Irish Historic Towns Atlas no. 32: Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh (Royal IrishAcademy, 2025), details the historic influence Ballyshannon had on famous lives

If you missed the History Ireland Hedge School on the IHTA of Ballyshannon at the The Allingham Festival, you can catch the recording of it on the History Ireland podcast!

New History Ireland Hedge School Podcast is available now!

Ballyshannon—mapping the old town
(Recorded live on Thur 6 Nov ’25 @ the Allingham Arts Festival)

Ballyshannon may or may not be the ‘oldest town in Ireland’ but it has certainly been the site of human settlement and activity for thousands of years and has been mapped since the late sixteenth century. Now it is the subject of the latest (No. 32) in the Royal Irish Academy’s Irish Historic Towns Atlas series. Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with its editor, Angela Byrne, and Pauric Travers.

www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel and
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266
or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you're in Ballyshannon this evening, pop along to the Abbey Arts Centre at 5pm where Angela Byrne is speaking with Tommy Graham of History Ireland on all things Ballyshannon as part of the The Allingham Festival. All welcome and free to attend.

The atlas will be on sale by A Novel Idea at the venue!

Is Ballyshannon the “Oldest Town in Ireland”?
Don’t ask us but come along to this year’s Hedge School for a genuinely learned discussion.
History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham will be talking to Angela Byrne, author of the recently published Ballyshannon edition of the Royal Irish Academy Irish Historic Towns Atlas Series. Pauric Travers will join them for a fascinating conversation carrying us all back to the earliest days of “The kindly spot, the friendly town.”
Thursday, November 6, 5.00 p.m. Abbey Arts Centre admission free.

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We had two excellent launches for IHTA no. 32 Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh by Angela Byrne in October. The first took place in the Abbey Arts Centre on 9 October where Easkey Britton officially launched the atlas after an illustrated lecture by Angela.

Read more here: https://www.ria.ie/2025/10/10/ihta-ballyshannon-officially-launched/

The second event took place in The Royal Irish Academy on Thursday 30 October. Angela delivered another lecture, which was responded to by David Dickson, MRIA. The event also marked the release of the Digital Atlas of Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh.

Read more on that launch here: https://www.ria.ie/2025/10/31/launch-event-for-ihta-ballyshannon-print-and-digital-resources/

Purchase IHTA Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh here:
https://shop.ria.ie/products/ballyshannon

Access the Digital Atlas of Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh here: https://www.ria.ie/research-programmes/irish-historic-towns-atlas/digital-atlases-gis/digital-atlas-of-ballyshannon/

The atlas was supported by The Royal Irish Academy, Donegal County Council, The Heritage Council, Tailte Éireann, Digital Repository of Ireland, Ballyshannon Regeneration Group

Ahead of the celebration and launch of the Digital Atlas of Ballyshannon, the The Royal Irish Academy and A Novel Idea are giving away a signed copy of IHTA no. 32 Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh by Angela Byrne! Head over to Instagram, like and comment on this post!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQO_hi4CXw4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

#IrishBookWeek | Day 8: Share an Irish Book you discovered at a bookshop event GIVEAWAY: For the final day of Irish Book Week, The Royal Irish Academy and @anovelideas are giving away 1 signed copy of Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh: Irish Historic Towns Atlas, no. 32 by Angela Byrne, published by the Royal Irish Academy. This new volume explores the fascinating history of Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, from its origins as a fording point and O’Donnell stronghold, through its nineteenth-century heyday as a bustling port and market town with international connections, right up to the present day. To enter, simply follow The Royal Irish Academy and A Novel Idea, like this post and tag a fellow book lover in the comments below! Winner announced Friday, 31 October. @publishing_ireland @booksellingireland

Lots to see and learn in Ballyshannon this week!

EXHIBITION LAUNCH TOMORROW THURSDAY 6PM ALL WELCOME Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival delighted to present Exhibition: ‘Mapping Ballyshannon from the Irish Historic Towns Atlas’ Exhibition This exhibition previews the maps, plans, photographs and views that are presented in Irish Historic Towns Atlas no. 32 Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh by Dr Angela Byrne and published by the Royal Irish Academy in association with Donegal County Council in October 2025. It brings together cartographic depictions of Ballyshannon from the late sixteenth onwards to trace the development of the town up to the present day. Bespoke thematic maps visualise aspects of Ballyshannon’s built and hidden heritage. A specially commissioned plan based on Ordnance Survey records maps each individual plot in the mid nineteenth-century town at a scale that allows comparison with almost thirty other towns and cities across Ireland and over 600 internationally. Early topographical views and historic photographs give another perspective on the historic town. A thoroughly researched text accompanies the visual material. Exhibition: ‘Ballyshannon Mall Through Time’ / Mál Bhéal Átha Seanaidh Trí na Blianta This exhibition explores one of Co. Donegal’s most historic streets from its beginnings as a track between the fifteenth-century Ó Domhnaill castle and the harbour, up to 1900. The Mall provides a window into the history of Ballyshannon as a port town with international maritime connections and as the last sight of home for many nineteenth-century emigrants. It is based on research by Dr Angela Byrne for Irish Historic Towns Atlas no. 32 Ballyshannon/Béal Átha Seanaidh published by the Royal Irish Academy in October 2025. The exhibition was produced with the support of Donegal County Council, Culture Ireland and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media through a Donegal Culture & Creativity Award. Tá leagan Gaeilge den taispeántas ar fáil freisin.

📚✨ Now in Stock at A Novel Idea! ✨📚

We’re delighted to have the latest volume of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas in store — Ballyshannon / Béal Átha Seanaidh (No. 32) by Angela Byrne.

A must-have for lovers of Irish history, heritage, and cartography. Perfect for historians, researchers, or anyone with a love for Donegal’s past.

Available now at A Novel Idea — pick up your copy today!