Historians appeal for help in mystery of Tipperary Old IRA map

Historians have appealed for help in solving the mystery of special markings on an IRA map of Tipperary dating from the War of Independence.

Tipperary County Council Heritage Office was alerted last year to the existence of a map of Tipperary that was apparently part of the intelligence resources of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade.

A local family received the map for safekeeping decades ago and had carefully protected it over the years.

When it was presented to historians and archivists last year they noted special markings, but could not determine what they meant.

Tipperary, like Cork and Dublin, proved to be one of the cauldrons of the War of Independence between 1919 and 1921.

The first shots of the conflict were fired in Tipperary at the Soloheadbeg ambush in 1919, while the Knocklong rescue of Sean Hogan by the 3rd Tipperary Brigade was one of the most daring events of the entire war.

Historians now want to know precisely what the map markings meant, and whether they were directly linked to IRA operations, intelligence resources, escape routes or arms dumps.

The appeal is being conducted as part of the Landscapes of Revolution programme.

The Abarta Heritage group was appointed by the Tipperary Heritage Office to undertake “a public engagement” with the map as part of the Decade of Centenaries (DOC) programme.

Abarta Heritage director Róisín Burke appealed via TippFM for anyone with information about the markings to help them decipher what they signify.

“We want to encourage the public to help us dig a bit more and find out a bit more about what these markings mean,” she said.

Historians believe locals may have knowledge passed down within families about the significance of precise locations marked on the map.

The markings, in different coloured inks, include what appear to be trails and routes together with the specific locations.

DOC said it is clear the map holds significant potential for revealing new insights into the revolutionary landscape of large tracts of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade’s operational area.

As well as gathering new data, it is hoped the project can add to knowledge of what the map depicts, when and why it was created and who created it.