of the address was obsolete in Northern Ireland. Townland names were not banned, but they were deemed "superfluous information" and people were asked not to include them on addresses. They were to be replaced by house numbers, road names and postcodes. In response the Townlands Campaign emerged to protest against the changes. It was described as a "ground-level community effort". Taking place in the midst of The Troubles, the campaign was a rare example of unity between Catholics and Protestants, nationalists and unionists. Townlands and their names "seem to have been considered as a shared resource and heritage". Those involved in the campaign argued that, in many areas, people still strongly identified with their townlands and that this gave them a sense of belonging. The Royal Mail's changes were seen as a severing of this link. At the time the county councils were the government bodies responsible for validating the change. However, as local government itself was undergoing changes, the Royal Mail's decision was "allowed ... to become law almost by default". County Fermanagh is the only county in Northern Ireland that managed to resist the change completely. Nevertheless, many newer road signs in parts of Northern Ireland now show townland names (see picture). In 2001 the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a motion requesting government departments to make use of townland addresses in correspondence and publications. In the Republic of Ireland townlands continue to be used on addresses. In 2005 the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources announced that a postcode system was to be introduced (see Republic of Ireland postal addresses). The system, known as Eircode, was introduced in 2014, but although more widely used by 2021, townlands remain predominant address identifiers in rural areas. See also Lists of townlands in Ireland by county Footnotes Sources References Further reading External links All island GeoHive Mapviewer: select Data Catalogue>Base Information and Mapping>Historic Map [25 inch (1888-1913) / 6 inch (1837-1842)] for old Ordnance Survey of Ireland maps Logainm.ie (Placenames Database of Ireland) search/browse by parish/barony/county, English and Irish names IreAtlas townland database (John Broderick) searchable database derived from the Index to the 1851 Census Townland indexes to pre-1921 censuses, digitised from command papers: 1861 index (to 1841/1851 censuses); 1871 index, 1881 supplement, 1891 supplement 1901 index, 1911 supplement 1911 Census details (National Archives of Ireland) Arranged by County>DED>Townland>Household Townland data from OpenStreetMap Townlands, Baronies and Civil Parishes are being