There are over 12,000 transcripts in this record set, each including an image of the original directory. While the amount of available information varies, most transcripts include the following:
First name(s)
Last name
Year
Town
Images often include additional and more precise information. For example, we learn that Anne Ahern is a dealer at 4 Edward-street in Limerick by looking at the image of the original publication.
This is one of the few trades directories for Limerick, Clare, Tipperary and Kerry ever published and contains 495 pages, and lists 12,158 residents.
The directory begins with a digest of the public bodies and institutions in the city of Limerick. This includes lists of all public officials and is immediately followed by an alphabetical list of the principal merchants, traders, and gentlemen of the city of Limerick and its surrounding areas. This together with the alphabetically arranged classified trades and professions directory makes up just over a third of the publication as a whole. The county section for Limerick records the principal gentlemen, clergy, and traders for fourteen of Limerick's principal towns, namely Abbeyfeale, Adare, Askeaton, Bruff, Castleconnell, Croom, Elton/Hospital, Foynes, Glin, Kilfinane, Kilmallock, Newcastle, Patrick's Well, and Rathkeale.
The portions of the directory relating to Clare, Tipperary, and Kerry are less extensive than the part focusing on Limerick. The Clare portion of the directory covers the principal residents and traders of only five of the county's major towns. Tipperary and Kerry fare a little better, each covering eight towns. Each town included in the directory records the gentry and clergy in the immediate vicinity of the town, as well as the principal traders in the town and its surroundings. In the case of the larger towns, borough officials such as magistrates, corporation members, councillors, and union officials are also included.
The publication of Irish county directories in the nineteenth century was less than comprehensive. William Bassett produced some of the best county directories in Ireland. Unfortunately he only published a small number of volumes and never covered the entire country.
These records were sourced from Eneclann.