John Rocque was an English-Hugenot map-maker, surveyor and engraver best known for his 'Map of London', published in 1747. An equally rich and detailed Map of Dublin exists from 1756, 40 extracts from which are published here.

This book is an ancillary publication to the Dublin series from Royal Irish Academy's ‘Irish Historic Towns Atlas’ project. Maps are reproduced with accompanying commentaries and illustrations. Authors Colm Lennon, historian and John Montague, art historian consider the map at the level of individual streets and buildings, revealing particular aspects of Dublin's history and elements of Rocque's artistic cartography. The map extracts and commentaries are accompanied by concise essays offering a sharp new view of the Georgian city.

This book lends itself to casual perusal of the intricate map-work and to more concentrated reading for a greater knowledge of Dublin city, as it existed and as it continues to evolve.