Counties in Ireland and Google maps

Tautas

Hi all,

I've been experiencing some problems with Google maps service for a while now and I hope one of you bright people could help me answer the question of why is this happening.


To start with can I ask someone clarify for me how many counties are there in Republic of Ireland? Is it 26 or 33?

Here's what Wikipedia says:
Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, "Home Rule" institutions were created in two divisions of Ireland, 26 counties forming Southern Ireland and six counties forming Northern Ireland. This partition was copperfastened by the 1922 Anglo-Irish Treaty, under which Ireland left the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland rejoining two days later. Southern Ireland, which had never functioned as a separate entity, became the Irish Free State, now the country of Ireland.

But then what are these?
County Fingal
County Dublin City
County Dublin South
County Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
County South Tipperary
County North Tipperary
County Galway City
County Cork City

Here's an explanation on Britannica's website:

county in the province of Leinster, east-central Ireland. The county of Fingal was created in 1994 when County Dublin was split administratively into three separate councils. Area 176 square miles (455 square km). Pop. (2002) 196,413.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1236084/Fingal

The Problem

If we have a look at Google maps we will notice that County Dublin consists of 4 counties which have their boundaries clearly marked out. If I click second mouse button in Dublin City Center (53.348092,-6.280017) and select 'What's here' from dropdown list here's a result displayed:

Queen St, Dublin 7, Co. Dublin City, Ireland

Here's another test in Blackrock (53.308551,-6.196536):

5-13 Booterstown Ave, Stillorgan, Co. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland
Now this looks a bit funny? Should say it is in Blackrock area and not Stillorgan. County Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is another this I would never consider this address in.

And one more in the north of Dublin (53.452104,-6.155047):

Strand St, Malahide, Co. Fingal, Ireland
Hmm... all looks good apart for the County... unless we actually do 33 counties?

Explanations and explorations


Ok, now since we have established an interesting and at least for me unusual behavior I'll expose where this system fails to work properly.

1. If I try to copy any of those addresses and paste back into Google maps to see where they are I run into a bit of a problem:

We were not able to locate the address:
Strand St, Malahide, Co. Fingal, Ireland

The address that Google maps provided me for location just few minutes ago is not found any more... The same happens with most of the other addresses in these 'new' counties. The solution I've found for it is either to remove Co. in front of the county name or to leave out the county all together.

2. Here's another example that you might relate to a bit better:

I try to look up a business address so I could send them an invoice. I search for Ferris Wheel Bike Shop which I know to be in Blackrock. It comes up straight away:

Ferris Wheel Bike Shop‎ - more info »
110 Rock Road, Stillorgan, Co. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland‎ - 01 288 4934‎

The one problem here is the address I am given for this business. I have my doubts that post office will be able to deliver my letter to this address as there is no such street in Stillorgan. I don't know how the county would be treated in the post office either. Therefore the result of such inaccuracies on Google maps system is that businesses that fall into any of these 'new' counties and advertise themselves on Google maps, might actually loose out on potential business opportunities and encounter other problems.

3. I came across a great example how Google maps fails to display a business location on the map. In my opinion whats happening here is that the business information if pulled up by google search engine and placed on the map. Unfortunately because the address in business contact info doesn't have a correspond address on Google maps it gets displaced. The business I look for it Brambles - A cafe in Dundrum Shopping Center. And here's the result:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ferris+Wheel+Bike+Shop&sll=53.309442,-6.187363&sspn=0.06554,0.181789&ie=UTF8&hq=Ferris+Wheel+Bike+Shop&hnear=&ll=53.306878,-6.193371&spn=0.065544,0.181789&z=13&iwloc=A

Google maps places it in Stillorgan. If you click on the icon for more info you are told that the address of this particular business is: Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dublin, Ireland

4. Other systems that are based on Google maps are starting to pick up and reuse those 'new' county names. Once again the county is suggested to be Fingal. This might be a problem for tourists. If one tries to put that address into the GPS device of a rented car he might find the device not being able to find the address.

http://www.nextstop.com/p/gOLHqMd8_h4/



These are just some errors I noticed but you could find hundreds more if wanted. The answer to the question of weather they are actual errors or just discrepancies appearing in the process of updating existing system would be the same as to the question I started the thread with - How many counties are there in Republic of Ireland? What do you think of it? Could this become a problem of much bigger scale in the future when even more services and businesses depend on Google's free services?

Thanks,

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

There are 26 counties in the Republic.

However, for administrative purposes, the extra "counties" that you mentioned exist as local authority areas. Fingal (North County Dublin) Dublin City (City centre and most of the Northside of Dublin City) South Dublin, and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown are a 4 way split of County Dublin. For all intents and purposes, its still one county. Same with Cork and Cork City, Galway and Galway City, County Tipperary etc.

the 26 counties of the Republic are


Carlow
Cavan
Clare
Cork
Donegal
Dublin
Galway
Kerry
Kildare
Kilkenny
Laois
Leitrim
Limerick
Longford
Louth
Mayo
Meath
Monaghan
Offaly
Roscommon
Sligo
Tipperary
Waterford
Westmeath
Wexford
Wicklow

Tautas

That's what I thought deccurley.

Would you say that Google has incorrect information in their Google maps system then? If so, how did this happen and what are the effects of such error to businesses and services in Ireland that rely on Google maps? If you think search has been affected try driving directions service!

To get some more perspective try getting driving directions between two various points in Dublin using this example that illustrates Google Maps API directions used by numerous systems online:

http://gmaps-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/gdirections/directions-static.html

Tails142

Do businesses really rely on Google Maps?

Its a silly mistake, even sillier when you consider Google have offices in Dublin so you would think that they'd know the difference between a county and a local authority area.

Area names in Ireland are a mess however, there's a detailed system of townlands and baronys that you need to be aware of to really describe an areas address, more important outside of Dublin where there are no postcodes.

Roll on the national post code system that has been proposed I say!

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Well the way I see it, most poeple here aren't going to be swayed by an address containing South Dublin or Fingal as opposed to just Dublin. Its a small country, and Dublin is a small county, so I wouldn't envision too many problems, although I could be wrong.

I have no idea where Google derived their mapping info from but imo they've over-elaborated on the boundaries, most maps just use the original counties with their boundaries and thats it. Doubt it was an Irish source anyway, judging by the spelling of Westmeath!

They've also been slow to update roads etc, particularly the Galway - Ballinasloe stretch of the M6 which has been open for a month now

tricky D

Since 1898, Tipperary has been divided into 2 Ridings for administration, each with their own county towns: Clonmel and Nenagh. Nevertheless, it's always been the one county. The recent Dublin changes just more of the same.

conolan

Decided to check what Google does for UK cities by comparison. For London, they use Greater London except for Westminster, London and City of London for the central areas. Greater London covers almost all the area inside M25. So they avoid local authority areas as 'counties'.

In Manchester they use 'Greater Manchester' even though that local authority was abolished in 1986.

So it looks like there's a lack of consistency by Google.

By comparison Ordnance Survey (osi.ie) use Dubllin only in addresses, not Fingal etc.
Bing maps just uses Dublin also.
Yahoo maps recognised Dublin postal districts and used County Dublin otherwise.

Victor

Tautas wrote: »

To start with can I ask someone clarify for me how many counties are there in Republic of Ireland? Is it 26 or 33?

26 traditional counties. Deduct Tipperary and Dublin and add South Tipperary, North Tipperary, Fingal, South Dublin (formerly Belgard) and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. However, for most purposes the administrative counties are ignored, but legally, that is what they are called.

The Problem

If we have a look at Google maps we will notice that County Dublin consists of 4 counties which have their boundaries clearly marked out. If I click second mouse button in Dublin City Center (53.348092,-6.280017) and select 'What's here' from dropdown list here's a result displayed:

Queen St, Dublin 7, Co. Dublin City, Ireland

Strictly speaking 3 counties - Dublin City isn't a county. Google or rather whoever created the map for them was lazy, incompetent and/or ill informed.

Here's another test in Blackrock (53.308551,-6.196536):

5-13 Booterstown Ave, Stillorgan, Co. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland
Now this looks a bit funny? Should say it is in Blackrock area and not Stillorgan. County Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is another this I would never consider this address in.

This is quite messed up. The boundaries between most neighbourhoods, especially in suburban areas, are ill defined. First off, that area would be known locally as Booterstown. Secondly, in the hierarchy of things, Booterstown would be part of Blackrock. Thirdly, the post office sorting office name is Blackrock, not Stillorgan. So while you can validly call Stillorgan "Blackrock", you can't do it the other way around.

The sorting system for the post office gets around this by having all the variations (including any spelling errors people have used previously) of the address in their database linked to a "proper" version of the address. So it will arrive, although prompt delivery may not be guaranteed.

And one more in the north of Dublin (53.452104,-6.155047):

Strand St, Malahide, Co. Fingal, Ireland
Hmm... all looks good apart for the County... unless we actually do 33 counties?

Very few people actually use the phrase "County Fingal" unless its relating to the actual council or its area of responsibility.

Explanations and explorations


Ok, now since we have established an interesting and at least for me unusual behavior I'll expose where this system fails to work properly.

1. If I try to copy any of those addresses and paste back into Google maps to see where they are I run into a bit of a problem:

We were not able to locate the address:
Strand St, Malahide, Co. Fingal, Ireland

The address that Google maps provided me for location just few minutes ago is not found any more... The same happens with most of the other addresses in these 'new' counties. The solution I've found for it is either to remove Co. in front of the county name or to leave out the county all together.

I wonder if the full stop is the actual problem. Also, note that Google is using the whole address to match the location. There is only one Malahide (despite what the estate agents would say :pac:).

2. Here's another example that you might relate to a bit better:

I try to look up a business address so I could send them an invoice. I search for Ferris Wheel Bike Shop which I know to be in Blackrock. It comes up straight away:

Ferris Wheel Bike Shop‎ - more info »
110 Rock Road, Stillorgan, Co. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland‎ - 01 288 4934‎

The one problem here is the address I am given for this business. I have my doubts that post office will be able to deliver my letter to this address as there is no such street in Stillorgan. I don't know how the county would be treated in the post office either.

As above, the post office doesn't care. That said, there are some Duplicate street names, both in historical and suburban Dublin, e.g. Main Street (about 6), Liffey Street (4), The Mews (dozens), etc.

So if I wrote the address 150 Liffey Street Dublin, the post office doesn't know where it is. However, if I write:

Liffey Street West, Dublin
Liffey Street, Dublin 7
Liffey Street West, Dublin 7

Liffey Street, Chapelizod
Liffey Street, Chapelizod, Dublin
Liffey Street, Dublin 10
Liffey Street, Chapelizod, Dublin 10
Liffey Street, Chapelizod, Dublin 8
Liffey Street, Ballyfermot

Liffey Street Upper, Dublin
Liffey Street Upper, Dublin 1
Liffey Street Lower, Dublin
Liffey Street Lower, Dublin 1
Liffey Street, Dublin 1

Each would go to the appropriate address, except for the last one. With thats its down to the local knowledge that the postman has. Do both streets have 150 buildings? Has post for that person arrived previously with a similar address?

Therefore the result of such inaccuracies on Google maps system is that businesses that fall into any of these 'new' counties and advertise themselves on Google maps, might actually loose out on potential business opportunities and encounter other problems.

Google is only one tool and most address are found. However, Google are reliant on businesses to add their own details and quite often they get the wrong themselves.

3. I came across a great example how Google maps fails to display a business location on the map. In my opinion whats happening here is that the business information if pulled up by google search engine and placed on the map. Unfortunately because the address in business contact info doesn't have a correspond address on Google maps it gets displaced. The business I look for it Brambles - A cafe in Dundrum Shopping Center. And here's the result:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ferris+Wheel+Bike+Shop&sll=53.309442,-6.187363&sspn=0.06554,0.181789&ie=UTF8&hq=Ferris+Wheel+Bike+Shop&hnear=&ll=53.306878,-6.193371&spn=0.065544,0.181789&z=13&iwloc=A

Google maps places it in Stillorgan. If you click on the icon for more info you are told that the address of this particular business is: Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dublin, Ireland

I suspect the problem is by whoever added the cafe, not Google. This is the problem with unverified open source information.

4. Other systems that are based on Google maps are starting to pick up and reuse those 'new' county names. Once again the county is suggested to be Fingal. This might be a problem for tourists. If one tries to put that address into the GPS device of a rented car he might find the device not being able to find the address.

then the GPS system should adapt.

Could this become a problem of much bigger scale in the future when even more services and businesses depend on Google's free services?

We are already there. People know to take information on the internet with a grain of salt.

Don't go to war using google. Don't get medical advice on boards.ie Don't expect mapping to be perfect. By the way, I have this Nigerian friend who needs to move some money ...

Victor

Tautas wrote: »

3. I came across a great example how Google maps fails to display a business location on the map. In my opinion whats happening here is that the business information if pulled up by google search engine and placed on the map. Unfortunately because the address in business contact info doesn't have a correspond address on Google maps it gets displaced. The business I look for it Brambles - A cafe in Dundrum Shopping Center. And here's the result:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ferris+Wheel+Bike+Shop&sll=53.309442,-6.187363&sspn=0.06554,0.181789&ie=UTF8&hq=Ferris+Wheel+Bike+Shop&hnear=&ll=53.306878,-6.193371&spn=0.065544,0.181789&z=13&iwloc=A

Google maps places it in Stillorgan. If you click on the icon for more info you are told that the address of this particular business is: Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dublin, Ireland

You have the wrong link there.

Look for Seven Oaks, near London http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=seven+oaks,&sll=51.282964,0.190887&sspn=0.429484,0.931091&ie=UTF8&radius=20.14&rq=1&ev=zo&hq=seven+oaks,&hnear=&ll=51.282964,0.190887&spn=0.429484,0.931091&t=h&z=9 - you will see that there is a strong cluster of responses around the M25-26 (correct location), but there are some responses as far away as Wales. The system needs to learn to appreciate (but not be hi-jacked by) information inputed by others.

Tautas

Victor,

Thanks for your insight on the issue.

You called those 'certain' counties as administrative counties. Does that mean they are different in some sort of way to the traditional counties?

For a while now I've been observing the impact these small inaccuracies are having on internet and businesses in Ireland. I have to admit those mistakes are getting picked up by more and more services/systems that in one way or another depend on Google maps services.

I was going to the airport the other day and decided to see how much were the apps on my iPhone affected by issues on Google maps. Come across one app that utilizes Google maps to provide its own service. It is called 'Around Me' and what it does is picks up businesses and services based on my location. When I was in the airport it was suggesting my location was 'Swords rd, Fingal'. On my way back I took printscreen while driving past Sandyford as the app was suggesting Bracken Rd which I was on was in Stillorgan (please see image attached). This is the impact such small in a way insignificant errors are having on the internet. There are just so many services that rely or harvest Google maps for data and if that information is incorrect they end up picking it up and spreading even further around.

In addition to that I'd like to give you few more links for Google maps where ads, businesses and locations are being misplaced:

1. Penneys
Dundrum Shopping Centre
Dublin, Ireland
01 2987410
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=dundrum+shopping+centre&sll=53.285486,-6.197577&sspn=0.024732,0.066047&ie=UTF8&hq=dundrum+shopping+centre&hnear=&ll=53.289244,-6.195323&spn=0.012044,0.033023&z=16&iwloc=A&cid=18326557289520806843&gt;

Dundrum shopping center is displayed to be in Stillorgan rather than Dundrum.

2. Dundrum Town Centre
Sandyford Road
16, Ireland
01 2991700
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=dundrum+shopping+centre&sll=53.285486,-6.197577&sspn=0.024732,0.066047&ie=UTF8&hq=dundrum+shopping+centre&hnear=&ll=53.272143,-6.216373&spn=0.02474,0.066047&z=15&iwloc=A&cid=9842242879882075690&gt;

Dundrum Town Centre is suggested to be in Sandyford.

3. Paperhouse Ireland Limited
Unit E4 Three Rock Rd, Sandyford Indstl Est
18, Co. Dublin, Ireland
01 2942226
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shop&sll=53.302659,-6.174724&sspn=0.012041,0.033023&ie=UTF8&radius=0.68&rq=1&ev=p&hq=shop&hnear=&ll=53.302659,-6.174724&spn=0.012041,0.033023&z=16&iwloc=A&cid=11298689901053460061&gt;

Business is displayed in Blackrock even though in the address it says to be in Sandyford industrial estate.

4. The Hardwood Floor Company
Sandyford Business Estate
23 Spruce Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland
01 294 8836
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shop&sll=53.278674,-6.208949&sspn=0.012047,0.033023&ie=UTF8&radius=0.68&rq=1&ev=p&hq=shop&hnear=&ll=53.278674,-6.208949&spn=0.012047,0.033023&z=16&iwloc=A&cid=7231043528337513018&gt;

A business address is incorrect to one on their website and therefore location is misplaced. It should be Stillorgan Busniess Estate not Sandyford.

I've started this thread on SEO section of this forum hoping to get some attention from people doing SEO for their client's websites. As far as I understand part of SEO is to create as much online presence for businesses as possible. Therefore I would think that placing businesses on Google maps is part of the process... Hasn't anyone else come across this issue? Can anyone try placing a business around the locations where errors are occurring to see it goes in correctly?

Thanks.

Victor

1. Don't get me wrong, could I ask what your background is? Do I detect you aren't Irish and that you are a computer literate, but not a programmer, but not only that?

2. Humans are intelligent. People are stupid.

Tautas wrote: »

1. Penneys
Dundrum Shopping Centre
Dublin, Ireland
01 2987410
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=dundrum+shopping+centre&sll=53.285486,-6.197577&sspn=0.024732,0.066047&ie=UTF8&hq=dundrum+shopping+centre&hnear=&ll=53.289244,-6.195323&spn=0.012044,0.033023&z=16&iwloc=A&cid=18326557289520806843&gt;

Dundrum shopping center is displayed to be in Stillorgan rather than Dundrum.

Where did you get that link from? Its possible that your browser is first going to Stillorgan (do you use the Stillorgan telephone exchange?)

When I got to http://maps.google.com/ and enter "dundrum town centre" I get "Dundrum screen 1.png" (attached). If I re-search, it seems to stay at that. If I zoom out and then re-search I get "Dundrum screen 2.png"

"Dundrum screen 2.png"
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=dundrum+town+centre&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=27.976484,47.460937&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Dundrum+Town+Centre&ll=53.301749,-6.244698&spn=0.082273,0.185394&t=h&z=12&iwloc=A

Note that "37.0625,-95.677068" seems to be the default position of maps.google.com in the centre of the USA.

"Dundrum screen 2.png"
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=dundrum+town+centre&sll=53.286111,-6.241667&sspn=0.019293,0.046349&ie=UTF8&hq=dundrum+town+centre&hnear=Dundrum+Town+Centre,+Ireland&ll=53.286102,-6.241693&spn=0.020576,0.046349&t=h&z=14

However, the new default position is in Dundrum.

Tautas wrote: »

You called those 'certain' counties as administrative counties. Does that mean they are different in some sort of way to the traditional counties?

One is cultural, the other is legal. A little bit like calling your father "Dad", when his ID says Mr. Tautas

3. Paperhouse Ireland Limited
Unit E4 Three Rock Rd, Sandyford Indstl Est
18, Co. Dublin, Ireland
01 2942226
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shop&sll=53.302659,-6.174724&sspn=0.012041,0.033023&ie=UTF8&radius=0.68&rq=1&ev=p&hq=shop&hnear=&ll=53.302659,-6.174724&spn=0.012041,0.033023&z=16&iwloc=A&cid=11298689901053460061&gt;

Business is displayed in Blackrock even though in the address it says to be in Sandyford industrial estate.

That looks like human person error, whether by the company, their website / marketing people , Google or Google's mapping / information provider.

4. The Hardwood Floor Company
Sandyford Business Estate
23 Spruce Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland
01 294 8836
Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=shop&sll=53.278674,-6.208949&sspn=0.012047,0.033023&ie=UTF8&radius=0.68&rq=1&ev=p&hq=shop&hnear=&ll=53.278674,-6.208949&spn=0.012047,0.033023&z=16&iwloc=A&cid=7231043528337513018&gt;

A business address is incorrect to one on their website and therefore location is misplaced. It should be Stillorgan Busniess Estate not Sandyford.

Again lack of attention to detail by a human person. AFAIK the area northwest of Blackthorn Drive is Stillorgan Business Estate, which is under separate ownership to Sandyford Industrial Estate. This raises the separate Irish problem of having streets within estates within areas within areas within areas within places. Adjacent business http://www.welplan.com/

Tautas

Victor,

It was a link I posted elsewhere last week. If I go to it now, dundrum shopping centre is displayed in Dublin 2, right next to stephen's green (see image attached)

I'll investigate it more tomorrow and answer your questions.

Here's another one for you to think about. And its a really good one. See the attachment for where dundrum town centre is placed and this time its not even an ad its a proper location name

Victor

Tautas wrote: »

It was a link I posted elsewhere last week. If I go to it now, dundrum shopping centre is displayed in Dublin 2, right next to stephen's green (see image attached)

Because there is a valid connection - the management company are / were on Fitzwilliam Street. Zoom out and you will see other valid connections, most / all of which are in Dundrum.

http://property.zibb.co.uk/profile/dundrum+town+centre+management+ltd/ie/co+dublin/dublin/2/23124181

Tautas wrote: »

Here's another one for you to think about. And its a really good one. See the attachment for where dundrum town centre is placed and this time its not even an ad its a proper location name

That, I ssupect might be a database aerror as it is positioned at he shops in Sandyford Village.
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=swbgg3ggf38j&scene=29514390&lvl=2&sty=b

---

A similar problem. AA roadwatch have upgraded their traffic alert system. They have an icon at each location. However, if you look at the first image (attached), the icon appears to be pointing off the road and when you zoom in, the icon seems to move from where it was pointing, until you zoom in all they was and realise that it is only 50m from the correct point (the junction of the R115 and R759). So on further examination, the problem is with the programming, which relates to the top of the icon, not the arrow.

Tautas

Victor,

For AA issues I think this is just down to accuracy of either Google maps or people who place the locations. Still they are pretty much where they're supposed to be. 50m here or there - you will still find it.

Bing doesn't seem to share the same problems with Google. They are obviously using different sources for their data. I believe google is using Teleatlas, but I'm not too sure about Bing's sources.

---

I'll continue my saga of errors related to Google maps.

See an image attached displaying search results for 'Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dublin' or alternatively click the link provided below. Earlier this week Digital Media Awards were brought to my attention. I had a look at their website and decided to see where exactly are they held this year. I knew the hotel was in Santry, but Google did surprise me once again. Its suggested three business ads related to the hotel to be in city centre. Now thats just weird... what would happen if I wasn't from around here and just looked up the location on Google maps prior to attending the event? I'd be in quite a shock to learn it is nowhere close to City Hall. It would cost me 20eur in taxi + stress of being late for an important event. This just proves that Google cannot be trusted for business listings on its maps service.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Crowne+Plaza+Hotel,&sll=53.335998,-6.270103&sspn=0.030546,0.090895&ie=UTF8&radius=1.88&rq=1&ev=zi&hq=Crowne+Plaza+Hotel,&hnear=&ll=53.343275,-6.254396&spn=0.030541,0.090895&z=14&iwloc=J

If you will compare these results with ones I mentioned earlier for 'dundrum shopping centre' you will notice that Texaco petrol station in Dundrum is placed exactly in the same place as this hotel. Is there a connection? I'm pretty sure I've seen more odd addresses and businesses placed here. Will need to do some research when I have more time.

Have any of you SEO optimizers come across anything similar?

I was speaking to a friend of mine who just recently got an iPhone 3Gs and was mesmerized of its capabilities. Though while sharing her fascination of new device and apps she told me of a disappointing experience she came across. Once again its a free app called Around Me. The latest version now has a new augmented reality function which allows its users to see places close by while looking through the camera. Google up about how it works as its is really very cool. But the problem my friend described was that most of the places were totally misplaced therefore making the app and its amazing new functionality plain useless. As I explained in my previous post the app pulls data from Google maps which just once again proves the system to have flaws. Weather this is related to the messed up counties in Google maps, I can't answer but it certainly raises a concern about system's reliability...

Tautas

Another interesting case I came across. Try searching 'Dublin 7' - you'll be surprised to learn it is right next to Ranelagh...