Search Help

Simple Search
If you have a general subject in mind (like "Ashford" or "fishing"), just type the word in the Search box and click the "Search" button. Its not hard!

Advanced Search
If you know exactly what you're looking for, you can get better results by entering more specific information into the Search box. This isn't very hard either, but it does mean that you have to use a few symbols (called "Boolean operators").

There are three symbols you can use to make your search more effective:

"+" (i.e the "plus" sign)
Use the plus sign (+) to get only search results that include all the words you used. For example, entering "bray + pubs" would give results that contain the word "bray" and the word "pubs" (make sure you include a space between the first word and the + symbol).

"-" (i.e the "minus" sign)
Use the minus sign (-) before a word if you don't want it found in the search results. For example, "Avoca - Ballykissangle" lists pages containing the word "Avoca" but not the word "Ballykissangle" (again, make sure you include a space between the first word and the - symbol).

Double-Quotes (" ")
If you enter quotes (" ") around a phrase, a name or any other string of words that you are looking for, the results will then list pages containing the entire phrase. For example, "mountains walk" returns listings where the words "mountains" and "walk" appear together, either in the title or on the page itself.

Boolean Operators:
You can also make your search more effective by using boolean operators. Don't be put off by the techie name - these are dead easy to use. The main boolean operators are AND, AND NOT,OR and brackets. Keep in mind that they must be entered in ALL CAPS with a space before and after.

• Enter AND to require that all words are found in all of the search results. For example, to find pages that contain the word arklow, the word computers and the word shop, enter arklow AND computers AND shop.
• Enter AND NOT to require that the word not be found in the search results. For example, to find documents that contain the word Accommodation but not the word Hotel, enter Accommodation AND NOT Hotel.
• Enter OR to require that search results contain pages with at least one of the words joined by OR. For example, to find pages that contain the word Accommodation or the word Hotel, enter Accommodation OR Hotel.
• Enter brackets ( ) to group portions of Boolean queries together for more complicated queries. For example, to find documents that contain the word computers and either the word Shop or the word Course, enter computers AND (Shop OR Course). If you reach this stage you'll have no problem finding what you want