The history of Fermanagh through Ordinance Survey – OS200
4th September 2023
Fermanagh’s historic place-names, townlands, rivers, loughs and maps are being celebrated with a special programme of events through the OS200 Residency Programme at Enniskillen Castle from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 September 2023.
The OS200 residency programme aims to work with communities to gather new information that is held locally about various aspects relating to the Ordnance Survey in their locality, including mapping, placenames, and place-name uses and to share information.
The OS200 team will host free community workshops each morning from 6 – 10 September in Enniskillen Castle. These community workshops will explore different aspects of the Ordnance Survey and how Fermanagh was documented and mapped 200 years ago. The team will also be available in drop-in sessions for visitors each afternoon.
The following workshops are scheduled to take place with the OS200 team:
Wednesday 6 September
Lost Places, Lost Spaces, Enniskillen Castle, 10am-12pm
Public Drop in, Enniskillen Castle 1pm-5pm
Thursday 7 September
The Lough Erne Pilgrim Way, Enniskillen Castle, 10am-12pm
Public Drop in, Enniskillen Castle 1pm-5pm
Friday 8 September
Field Names of Fermanagh, Enniskillen Castle, 10am-12pm
Public Drop in, Enniskillen Castle 2pm-5pm
‘Fermanagh, Place-Names and the Ordnance Survey’ will take place in the Barrack Store at Enniskillen Castle at 1pm.
Saturday 9 September
Townlands of Enniskillen, Enniskillen Castle, 10am -12pm
Public Drop in, Enniskillen Castle 2pm-5pm
Public Lecture – Ireland’s Atlantis: The Lost Islands of Co. Fermanagh will take place at 7pm Fermanagh House.
In addition, an Ordnance Survey themed pub quiz will be held at Charlie’s Bar, Enniskillen from 8pm on Wednesday 6 September 2023 as part of the programme.
The OS200 residency is part of the OS200: Digitally Re-mapping Ireland’s Ordnance Survey Heritage which aims to gather historic Ordnance Survey (OS) maps and texts to form a single freely accessible online resource for academic and public use.
Speaking about the forthcoming residency at Enniskillen Castle, Cllr Thomas O’Reilly, Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council said:
“This is a great opportunity for our residents to feed into this exciting project and ensure the history of Fermanagh is recorded and kept for future generations. We are delighted that the team at OS200 have chosen to hold these workshops within our district.”
Speaking about the work of OS200, Frances Kane from Queen’s University, Belfast said:
“The project team are extremely excited to be coming to Fermanagh to engage with local communities on all aspects of the Ordnance Survey. Not only will we be inviting the public to explore the materials within our new database, but we are looking forward to gathering previously unrecorded stories of Fermanagh and engaging the people of Fermanagh to help us fill in the blanks in the OS sources that were recorded 200 years ago.”
People and community groups can book their choice of events by visiting the Enniskillen Castle website at www.enniskillencastle.co.uk
This event is part of European Heritage Open Days 2023.