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_1Type
stringAddress Line Two
Address Line 2
Property Name
line_2Type
stringPost Town
Property Name
post_townEircode
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 R2AFProperty Name
eircodeType
stringCountry
Full country names (ISO 3166)
Property Name
countryType
stringPossible Values
"Ireland"
Multi-Line Address Format
Ready to print on envelopes and mailers
Address Line One
Address Line 1
Property Name
line_1Type
stringAddress Line Two
Address Line 2
Property Name
line_2Type
stringAddress Line THree
Address Line 3
Property Name
line_3Type
stringAddress Line Four
Address Line 4
Property Name
line_4Type
stringAddress Line Five
Address Line 5
Property Name
line_5Type
stringAddress Line Six
Address Line 6
Property Name
line_6Type
stringAddress Line Seven
Example
Address Line 7
Property Name
line_7Type
stringAddress Line Eight
Address Line 8
Property Name
line_8Type
stringAddress Line Nine
Address Line 9
Property Name
line_9Type
stringPremise 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 CottageProperty Name
building_nameType
stringSub-Building Name
The sub-building refers to an apartment, flat or unit within a building.
Example
Flat 1Property Name
sub_building_nameType
stringBuilding 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
22Property Name
building_numberType
stringBuilding Group
A building group is a collection of buildings with a collective name, located on or near the same thoroughfare.
Example
Marrian TerraceProperty Name
building_groupType
stringOrganisation information
Extract commercial information attached to a property
Organisation
Organisation name
Example
Oak Tree LimitedProperty Name
organisationType
stringDepartment
The department or division within an organisation. If the department element exists, then the organisation must also exist.
Example
Accounts DepartmentProperty Name
departmentType
stringLocality 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 RoadProperty Name
primary_thoroughfareType
stringSecondary 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 RoadProperty Name
secondary_thoroughfareType
stringPrimary 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 EstateProperty Name
primary_localityType
stringSecondary 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
ManorhamiltonProperty Name
secondary_localityType
stringTertiary 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 14Property Name
tertiary_localityType
stringGeospatial information
Rooftop longitude and latitude
Longitude
Property Name
longitudeLatitude
Property Name
latitudeUnique 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_referenceType
stringID
Property Name
idECAF 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_idType
stringDataset
Source of address
Property Name
datasetType
stringMiscellaneous
Country ISO
3 letter country code (ISO 3166-1)
Property Name
country_isoPossible Values
"IRL"
Country ISO 2
2 letter country code (ISO 3166-1)
Property Name
country_iso_2Type
stringPossible Values
"IE"
Language
Address Line 1
Property Name
languageType
string