? (question-mark) represents any individual letter.
The single most important item of information for Irish family
history research is a precise place of origin. The most
important tool in identifying Irish placenames is the 1851 General
Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, parishes and
Baronies of Ireland.
From here you can search the entire Index,
together with street listings from Dublin, Cork and Belfast
cities, more than 65,000 entries in all.
Remember you can search
for a placename either in the whole of Ireland or confine it to a particular county.