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Knowledge Graph for Irish History

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The Knowledge Graph for Irish History is a dynamic research tool that helps you discover information across centuries of Ireland’s past.

Using Linked Open Data technologies, it makes 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.

Start with our newest feature: the 1821 Census Gleanings Map. Explore where rare census material has survived and discover names captured within these records.

A New and Dynamic Way to Explore The Past
Imagine a web of information where every person, place, or institution is part of a bigger story. The Graph lets you follow these threads—revealing how people’s lives and locations were connected, and making it easier to navigate Ireland’s deep history. The Knowledge Graph is constantly expanding as new people and places are added and new connections uncovered. The power of the Knowledge Graph comes from its Semantic Web structure. The Graph can be understood as an information network, where 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. The Knowledge Graph for Irish History draws on curated datasets containing data on people and places. 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. To date, the Knowledge Graph contains over 2.9 million linked data ‘triples’—meaningful statements—concerning people, places, offices, and organizations across Irish history.
Person homepage

People

Explore people in the Knowledge Graph from different eras in Ireland’s past

Explore People
Place homepage

Places

Discover places in Ireland’s history and their links to historical record collections

Explore Places

Virtual Treasury Collections

SPIre
State Papers Ireland, 1660–1715

Discover people tagged in the State Papers Ireland collection, 1660–1715, revealing how Ireland was governed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Conquest 1170 – 1500
Age of Conquest

Discover people tagged in the Virtual Treasury’s collections of medieval materials during the Age of Conquest
Chief Secretary
Chief Secretaries' Papers, 1770–1830

Discover people tagged in the correspondance of the Chief Secretary's Office, 11770–1830
Irish Kings
Irish Kings and English Rulers

Discover people tagged in the medieval diplomatic agreements of Irish kings and English rulers
Debates
The Irish House of Commons

Discover people tagged in Ireland's parliamentary debates, from legislative independence to the Act of Union, 1776-1801
CIRCLE
CIRCLE 2.0

Discover people tagged in the records of the medieval Irish chancery, c.1244 – 1509
Revolution 1760 – 1830
Age of Revolution

Discover people tagged in Ireland's parliamentary records, intelligence reports, and government correspondence during the Age of Revolution
Royal Revenue
Royal Revenue, 1270–1450

Discover people tagged in the records of medieval Ireland's royal revenue, 1270–1450

Knowledge Graph Showcases

VOICES
VOICES
VOICES

The ambitious VOICES project aims to recover the lived experiences of ‘ordinary’, non-elite women in early modern Ireland – voices that were up to now largely ignored or underrepresented in Irish history.
Normans
NAISC-L
Normans

The Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 brought new rulers and feudal society
Dictionary of Irish Biography
DIB
Dictionary of Irish Biography

An authoritative reference work of lives for scholars of Irish history, society and culture
More coming soon
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Map Explorer

Gleanings and Fragments from the Censuses of Ireland, 1813–1891
Census Gleanings
Gleanings and Fragments from the Censuses of Ireland, 1813–1891

Explore our map of townlands, containing links to tens of thousands of names transcribed from Ireland's 1821 Census
1766 Religious Census of Ireland
1766
1766 Religious Census of Ireland

Explore our map of townlands, containing links to tens of thousands of names transcribed from Ireland's 1766 Religious Census
More coming soon
More coming soon

We’re adding more maps soon

More coming soon
More coming soon

We’re adding more maps soon

Randomiser

Click the Button Below to Surface a Random Person or Place From Within the Knowledge Graph

Person Icon Person
Place Icon Place

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Time Period

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Knowledge Graph in Numbers

10,653
Persons
66,771
Places
1.2M
Links to the Linked Open Data cloud
2.9M
Triples
Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland
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