IE Address (ECAF)
Essential Elements
Standard Republic of Ireland Address format as reported by the Eircode ECAF file.
Address Line One
Address Line 1
Property Name
line_1
Type
string
Address Line Two
Address Line 2
Property Name
line_2
Type
string
Post Town
Property Name
post_town
Eircode
The seven character Eircode has an A65 F4E2 format. The Eircode is a mandatory address element. The last line of a Postal Address will contain the Eircode, displayed with a space. e.g. A65 F4E2.
The Eircode is always the last line of a Postal Address generated within the state, e.g. if an address has four lines then the Eircode will be on its own on Address Line 5. For inbound international mail the country name IRELAND should be appended as the last line of the Postal Address.
Example
A65 R2AF
Property Name
eircode
Type
string
Country
Full country names (ISO 3166)
Property Name
country
Type
string
Possible Values
"Ireland"
Multi-Line Address Format
Ready to print on envelopes and mailers
Address Line One
Address Line 1
Property Name
line_1
Type
string
Address Line Two
Address Line 2
Property Name
line_2
Type
string
Address Line THree
Address Line 3
Property Name
line_3
Type
string
Address Line Four
Address Line 4
Property Name
line_4
Type
string
Address Line Five
Address Line 5
Property Name
line_5
Type
string
Address Line Six
Address Line 6
Property Name
line_6
Type
string
Address Line Seven
Example
Address Line 7
Property Name
line_7
Type
string
Address Line Eight
Address Line 8
Property Name
line_8
Type
string
Address Line Nine
Address Line 9
Property Name
line_9
Type
string
Premise Details
Minute datapoints on the type of building and occupancy
Building Name
The name given to the building. Prepended by sub building, if any, when the sub building does not appear on a line to itself. The building name is omitted if it is the same as either the Organisation or Building Group.
Example
Rose Cottage
Property Name
building_name
Type
string
Sub-Building Name
The sub-building refers to an apartment, flat or unit within a building.
Example
Flat 1
Property Name
sub_building_name
Type
string
Building Number
A number associated with the whole building. The building number may have a numeric and an alphanumeric component, which are concatenated e.g. 2A, or alternatively will have a simple building number or a complex building number. The building number always relates to the whole building and not a sub-unit within it. A complex building number may be one of the following:
- Dual. Two number separated by '/' e.g. 63/64 = 63, 64
- Sequence. An odd or even sequence of numbers with lower and upper bound separated by an underscore '_' e.g.
1_5= 1,3,5 and2_6= 2,4,6 - Range. A range of consecutive numbers with lower and upper bound separated by a dash '-' e.g.
63-66= 63, 64, 56, 66 The building number never appears on a line by itself and can prepend Building Group, Primary Thoroughfare or Primary Locality.
Example
22
Property Name
building_number
Type
string
Building Group
A building group is a collection of buildings with a collective name, located on or near the same thoroughfare.
Example
Marrian Terrace
Property Name
building_group
Type
string
Organisation information
Extract commercial information attached to a property
Organisation
Organisation name
Example
Oak Tree Limited
Property Name
organisation
Type
string
Department
The department or division within an organisation. If the department element exists, then the organisation must also exist.
Example
Accounts Department
Property Name
department
Type
string
Locality information
Primary Thoroughfare
The name of the thoroughfare on which premises are located. It may appear on a line by itself or be appended to either a sub building or building number.
Addresses with thoroughfares can sometimes have the thoroughfare excluded where a Building Group exists, such as a Retail Centre or Business Park, and the thoroughfare is not part of the Postal Address.
Example
Griffith Road
Property Name
primary_thoroughfare
Type
string
Secondary Thoroughfare
It is never present without a primary thoroughfare. The primary thoroughfare is dependent on the secondary thoroughfare and appears before the secondary thoroughfare in any address.
Secondary thoroughfare are generally used to assist locating a primary thoroughfare.
Example
Navan Road
Property Name
secondary_thoroughfare
Type
string
Primary Locality
First locality elements which can refer to areas, districts, industrial estates, towns, etc.
The primary locality refers to the specific place the address is.
In urban areas, the primary locality can be required to distinguish between two thoroughfares of the same name in the same district or town. Industrial estates with named thoroughfares are also held as localities. In rural areas the primary locality is generally a townland name.
Example
Cookstown Industrial Estate
Property Name
primary_locality
Type
string
Secondary Locality
Never present without a primary locality. The secondary locality has a wider geographic scope than the primary locality.
It is the secondary locality therefore which differentiates addresses with the same primary locality name within the same county.
Secondary localities are more likely to be required for rural addresses.
Second locality elements which can refer to areas, districts, industrial estates, towns, etc
The secondary locality helps identify where the primary locality is located.
Example
Manorhamilton
Property Name
secondary_locality
Type
string
Tertiary Locality
Also known as the Post Town.
The name of the post town associated with the premises for postal delivery purposes. This includes Dublin Postal Districts "Dublin 1" to "Dublin 24".
The post town is a significant element of the Postal Address, however it is not always populated in an address. The official post office guide, Eolaí an Phoist4, describes post towns in the following manner:
"A provincial postal address may include the name of a town or village several miles distant, with which the addressee has little or no connection, and, in some places, especially if this residence happens to be near a county boundary, the name of the neighbouring county instead of the county in which he actually resides. The explanation is that the main mail despatches have to be sent for more detailed sub division to certain centres known as POST TOWNS, chosen because of their accessibility and convenience."
Example
Dublin 14
Property Name
tertiary_locality
Type
string
Geospatial information
Rooftop longitude and latitude
Longitude
Property Name
longitude
Latitude
Property Name
latitude
Unique Identifiers
ID numbers to consistently and accurately reference property
Address Reference
The address reference is the An Post GeoDirectory address reference identifier used by the Universal Service Provider.
Property Name
address_reference
Type
string
ID
Property Name
id
ECAF ID
The unique identifier in the ECAF is the ecaf_id. This unique identifier allows each address in the ECAF to be uniquely identified. It can also be used as index once the data has been imported into a relational database. This is a numeric field that can store values from 0 to 2,147,483,647. It is represented as a number up to 10 digits long. All other fields in ECAF are alphanumeric.
Property Name
ecaf_id
Type
string
Dataset
Source of address
Property Name
dataset
Type
string
Miscellaneous
Country ISO
3 letter country code (ISO 3166-1)
Property Name
country_iso
Possible Values
"IRL"
Country ISO 2
2 letter country code (ISO 3166-1)
Property Name
country_iso_2
Type
string
Possible Values
"IE"
Language
Address Line 1
Property Name
language
Type
string