Principal Irish Genealogical Sources:
In general, Irish genealogical sources fall into four main categories:-
1) Civil or Government records of birth, death and marriage -
- Indexes from the commencement dates until 1958 are available on www.familysearch.org
- Photocopies of certificates available from: General Register Office Research Room, Floor 3, Block 7, Irish Life Centre, L.Abbey St, Dublin 1.
- General Register Office – now at Convent Road, Roscommon, Co. Roscommon.
Civil Registration of births, deaths and Roman Catholic marriages in Ireland commenced in 1864. Civil Registration of marriages, other than Roman Catholic, commenced in 1845.
2)Church records of baptism and marriage –
- RC Parish registers available at the National Library of Ireland, Kildare St, D.2. (From staring dates until c 1880 for most registers – c 1900 for occasional registers)
- Some Church of Ireland registers of baptism, marriage and burial available on microfilm at the National Archives.
- Many Church of Ireland registers available at the Representative Church Body Library, Braemor Park, Churchtown, Dublin. 14.
In general, Church records of baptism and marriage pre-date civil records. While the majority of Roman Catholic Church registers date from the early to mid-1800s, some registers date from the middle of the 18th century, with a few exceptions dating from the late 17th century. Only a small percentage of Roman Catholic Parish registers contain funeral or burial entries.
Registers of the Anglican Church of Ireland suffered a great deal of destruction in a fire in Dublin in 1922. However, not all Church of Ireland registers up to that time have perished. Most of those that have survived are held in Dublin or in Belfast, while some are still held in the custody of the local parish. These registers usually contain records of baptism, marriage and burial.
Presbyterian Registers for Ireland pertain mainly to parishes in the northern part of the country. The majority of extant registers are held in Belfast.
3)Census returns
- 1911 Census returns available on-line www.nationalarchives.ie
- 1901 Census available at the National Archives – currently being digitised and will appear on the web shortly.
- Fragments of 19th century census returns available at the National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin. 8. (Check Tracing Your Irish Ancestors by John Grenham (County sections) for available census fragments. )
- Census search forms (applications for pensions) available at the National Archives.
For a variety of reasons, there is a great scarcity of census material for the 19th century. While there are some remnants of 19th century census available for some counties, the only complete census at present available to the public, are those of 1901 and 911.
4) Land/Property records:
- Griffith’s Primary Valuation of tenements - (1848 – 1864)
www.askaboutireland.ie
Also available on microfiche at the National Archives and National Library of Ireland. - Cancelled valuation books + maps available at the Valuation Office, Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street, D.1.
- Surveyors Notebooks (House books, Field books etc, Boundary Sketch maps and OS Registers) – available at the National Archives.
- Tithe Applotment Books (1823 – 1837) available at the National Archives and National Library.
- Householders’ Index – joint index to Griffith’s & Tithes – available on open shelves at the National Archives and National Library.
Griffith’s Primary Valuation of Tenements:
The absence of complete census returns for the 19th century renders the land/property record known as Griffith’s Primary valuation of tenements an extremely useful genealogical source. Griffith’s Primary valuation of tenements was published between the years 1848 and 1864 and essentially, records occupiers and lessors of land/property in that time-frame. There are a number of useful indices to this record.
Valuation Office Records:
Cancelled land books, which are based on Griffith’s Primary Valuation of Tenements, are available to researchers at the Valuation Office in Dublin. These land books document all changes of occupancy of a particular holding, and are therefore most useful to the family historian. Changes noted therein give a good indication of the date of emigration or death of the various occupiers of a property.
Tithe Applotment Books:
The Composition Act of 1823 specified that tithes due to the established Church of Ireland, which had hitherto been payable in kind should now be paid in money. As a result, it was necessary to carry out a valuation of the entire country, civil parish by civil parish, to determine how much would be payable by each landholder. This was done over the ensuing fifteen years, up to the abolition of tithes in 1838. Not surprisingly, tithes were greatly resented by those who were not members of the Church of Ireland, and all the more because the tax was not payable on all land. Because of resistance, and the many exemptions to the payment of tithes, these books, though useful to the family researcher, are not as comprehensive as Griffith’s Primary Valuation of Tenements.
While there are many further miscellaneous genealogical sources available for research, the above records are most relevant for the majority of those pursuing Irish genealogical research.
Dublin City Library and Archives: Formerly the Gilbert Library – Pearse Street, Dublin. 2.
This source is very good for Dublin city and county sources – 1901 and 1911 census returns, a limited church registers data base, data base of voters’ lists for Dublin from late 1930s to early 1960s, newspapers, large range of Dublin City Directories from the late 1700s to the present time.
Misc. Sources
National Library also holds many additional sources including newspapers, directories, printed sources. Wills and testamentary material available at the Naitonal Archives.
Registry of Deeds, Henrietta Street, Dublin. 1. - Registered deeds from 1708
County Library and local Libraries – house much genealogical material and sources for local history studies.
Territorial Divisions in Ireland:
As one of the ultimate aims of the family research is, to locate an ancestor’s precise place of origin, it is important to have some understanding of territorial divisions in Ireland. When Ireland was divided in 1922, six counties in the north east of the country remained under British rule, while the remaining 26 counties transferred to Irish rule.
The smallest geographical unit within a county is the townland. Normally, a townland can consist of a few hundred acres. This unit is still used, and is particularly relevant to rural dwellers. The next largest territorial division with a county is the civil parish, which bears the same name and boundaries as the Church of Ireland parishes. The Roman Catholic parish is usually a larger unit than the civil parish and generally, bears a different name. The barony is the largest unit within a county, and, like the civil parish, is no longer in use as a territorial division. Just to add a little further confusion to the complicated system of territorial divisions in Ireland, one should also be aware of Registration Districts that are used for civil registration purposes. The Registration Districts are based on the old Poor Law Unions that were set up in the late 1830s to deal with the increasing levels of poverty throughout the country.