People, Place and Power – The Grand Jury System in Ireland

27 Improved roads made long distance travel easier, prompting the appearance of the travel and transport book. George Taylor and Alexander Skinner’s Maps of the roads of Ireland first appeared in 1778, to be followed in 1786 by William Wilson’s detailed Post-chaise companion (Fig. 10). Less than fifty years after grand juries took over responsibility for roads author, Edward Wakefield, noted that ‘the general improvement of the roads, by means of presentments from the grand jury, has introduced the wheeled car into all the better parts of the country’ and ‘there are few things in Ireland which astonish a stranger more than the magnificence of its many excellent roads’. 24 Despite their many flaws, the grand juries played a major part in improving Ireland’s communications infrastructure, and contributed to a growing sense of place among the population. Fig. 10. Castlebar to Partry, Co. Mayo. Taylor and Skinner’s road atlas (left) and Post-chaise companion account (right).