Knowledge Graph for Irish History

The Knowledge Graph for Irish History is an advanced research tool that leverages Linked Open Data technologies to connect datasets and archival collections. Enter a keyword below to start searching.

Knowledge Graph

The Knowledge Graph for Irish History is a dynamic research tool enabling discovery of information about Ireland’s deep history. The Graph uses Linked Open Data technologies to make connections between datasets and archival collections, both within and beyond the Virtual Record Treasury. The Knowledge Graph for Irish History is a Five Star Linked Open Data resource—the first of this kind to exist for Irish historical research.

Person homepage

People

Explore People in different time periods

Place homepage

Places

Explore Places and Population

A New and Dynamic Way to Explore The Past

The power of the Knowledge Graph comes from its Semantic Web structure. The Graph can be imagined as an information network, in which historical data is organized into categories, classes and relationships. Unlike a conventional database, all data in the Knowledge Graph has a ‘meaning’ that a machine can interpret. In other words, raw information becomes knowledge—and this knowledge can power research and discovery. 

To date, the Knowledge Graph contains over 2.7 million linked data ‘triples’—meaningful statements—concerning people, places, offices, and organizations across Irish history. 

  • Search the Graph here
  • Explore the Graph using our ‘Advanced Tools’ below
  • Learn more about the Knowledge Graph by reading our Research Guide or watching our Demonstration videos below.

Datasets

The Knowledge Graph for Irish History draws on curated datasets containing data on people, places, offices and organizations. Individual people and places mentioned in the Graph are known as ‘entities’. Every entity in the Graph has a unique resource identifier, or URI. The Knowledge Graph is a dynamic resource. As more historical entities are added, the Graph will continue to grow. 

Key datasets in the graph include:

  • Modern Place: over 60,000 modern place-names in a hierarchy of all counties, baronies, parishes and townlands in Ireland generating 1,450,640 triples
  • Early-Modern Place: approximately 44,000 early-modern place-names from seventeenth-century sources, interlinked with modern locations, generating 58,384 triples
  • Dictionary of Irish Biography : over 10,000 persons from the Dictionary of Irish Biography generating 581,596 triples
  • Medieval People: over 2,000 persons from c.1200-1500 generating 76,099 triples

Numbers from Knowledge Graph of Irish History

81,719
Persons
63,987
Present Day Places
60,000
Modern Places
26,825
Early Modern Places
2,825
Medieval Places
72,000
Links to the Linked Open Data cloud
30
Ontology Classes
1.5M
Distinct Resources
6.8M
Triples
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