1783 Lusk, Rush, Skerries & Balbriggan Ireland Road Map | Taylor & Skinner

1783 Taylor & Skinner Lusk, Rush, Skerries and Balbriggan, Ireland Road Map This hand-coloured antique Irish road map, published in 1783, is Map 2 from the second revised edition of Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland. Surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783, it follows the historic road north through Lusk, Rush, Skerries, Balrothery and Balbriggan, before continuing into County Meath towards Gormanston and Julianstown. The engraving shows the road network around Lusk, Rush and Skerries, with numerous connecting roads, estates, country houses and coastal features. The principal route continues north through Balrothery and Balbriggan, closely following the Irish Sea coast. Beyond Balbriggan, the road passes through the Gormanston area and continues towards Julianstown, with the county boundary prominently marked by the inscription “Enter Meath Co.” The engraving preserves several historical place-name spellings. Balrothery appears as “Ballruddery,” while Balbriggan is engraved as “Balbriggen.” Modern spellings are used throughout this product description to make the locations easier to identify. Among the many details shown are turnpikes, churches, barracks, estates, country houses, side roads and coastal features, together with the names of contemporary landowners and properties. The map also includes a mileage table recording the journey from Dublin to Skerries by way of Rush, together with the additional distance from Skerries to Balbriggan. The large engraved county names Dublin Co. and Meath Co., together with the clearly marked county boundary, make this sheet particularly interesting as a record of the historic road network between the two counties. Although this map comes from the 1783 revised second edition, the engraved plate retains its original publication inscription at the lower edge: “Published as the Act directs, 28 July 1778.” This reflects the original issue of the plate before its inclusion in the corrected 1783 edition. Identified as Map 2 in Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland, it forms part of their extensive late-18th-century survey of Ireland’s principal roads.