This book describes the geography and early mapping of Offaly (known as King”s County between c. 1560 and 1920) with particular reference to the huge manuscript map of the county made by William Larkin. Larkin”s long-neglected map of King”s County has fortunately been preserved in the National Archives of Ireland. The version reproduced here in atlas form was made in 1809 at the request of the newly formed Bogs Commissioners, and was used to guide their engineers. This book now tells the story of this map and makes it widely available for the first time. Included also are many other early map images, among them extracts from the near-contemporary surveys of the bogs engineers. The result is an exceptional introduction to the Offaly of 200 years ago, the rural world of the generation before the Great Famine.
