Folios and the registry map
Most land in Ireland is registered. Each registered property has a folio, recording who owns it and any burdens on it such as rights of way or charges, and a filed plan showing its extent on the registry map. You can get official copies of both at landdirect.ie for a small fee.
The registry map is drawn on Ordnance Survey mapping. Ownership is usually recorded as freehold, but long leases are registered too (leasehold).
Why the boundary isn't exact
Under the Registration of Title Act 1964, the registry map shows boundaries that are not conclusive: they don't show whether a boundary runs along the middle of a hedge, ditch or wall, or along one side of it, and small differences between the map and the ground are expected. Where the exact line matters, for example a boundary dispute or building close to the edge, a surveyor and solicitor work from the deeds and the ground, and Tailte Éireann has a procedure for agreeing and registering an exact boundary.
Also, only registered land appears. Some land is still unregistered, held under older deeds, and shows as a gap.
One property, several parcels
What you think of as one site is often several registered parcels: a house and a field bought separately, or land in more than one folio. InSite's plot picker lets you select and merge every parcel that makes up the site, and then uses that combined shape for every check that depends on the site's extent.
What it can't tell you
- Who owns the land, or the exact legal boundary. Get the folio and filed plan from landdirect.ie.
- Address searches land on an approximate point (Eircode positions in public geocoders are approximate), so always check the highlighted parcel is the right one before confirming.
Sources
- Tailte Éireann: Cadastral Parcels (freehold and leasehold), tailte.ie
- Registration of Title Act 1964
Last reviewed 2026-10-02.