Atlas of Ireland

The need for a national atlas of Ireland has been recognised by members of Irish National Committee for Geography some 40 years prior to publishing of this atlas. The first step into making of the Atlas of Ireland was the creation of the editorial board, which agreed the atlas should cover the whole of the Ireland, though it was recognised that in some cases it might be difficult or impossible. Joseph Pedlow Haughton, a geography professor at Trinity College, took the leadership of the development of the atlas, with initial financial support from the Royal Irish Academy, an academic institution promoting studies in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. During the later stages of development, the project received complete financial backing from the Department of Education of the Republic of Ireland. Successive ministers of Education expressed their personal interest in the project's development, demonstrating a commitment to its success.

In addition to variety of thematic maps, the atlas features a comprehensive six-page general map of Ireland compiled by Philip & Son, along with five street plans of major Irish cities. Over half of the maps are quantitative, primarily derived from statistical data from the 1971 census of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and secondarily from censuses of 1961 and 1966. The remaining half of the maps are qualitative, focusing on the spatial distribution of phenomena. The atlas, comprising of 97 pages (with approx. 250 maps in total), is divided into 14 chapters, covering general reference, geology and geophysics, geomorphology and hydrology, soils, climate, flora and fauna, settlement, population, primary production, manufacturing, tertiary activities, society and culture, the Irish landscape, and ordnance surveymaps.

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