Note on Irish Records
The following material is
from ireland.com, a website run by the Irish Times.This website has
heaps of good stuff for Irish Genealogy. Their page on Irish Records
expliains why records are incomplete. To look at the website itself go
to http://scripts.ireland.com/ancestor/browse/records/land/dest
Records of many
kinds have been kept in Ireland since the Middle Ages. Unfortunately
fire, carelessness and theft have caused the loss and destruction of
much of this material.
Many records of
the Court of Chancery were lost by fire in 1304. In the mid 1530s,
records maintained in Dublin Castle became so subject to pilfering that
they were moved to the more secure Bermingham Tower, which then became
the main repository of Irish records; unfortunately it burned down in
1758 with the loss of many documents. Other records had already been
lost in 1711 when another fire, this time in the Customs House,
destroyed books belonging to the Surveyor General.
The creation of
the Commission of Public Records in 1810 made provision for the
systematic collation and archiving of national records. The Public
Record Office was opened in 1867 and from then until around 1922, the
Office was the centre for the collection and cataloguing of national
records. Unfortunately, this building suffered devastating damage
during the Civil War in 1922 and many records were destroyed, in
particular the nineteenth century census returns, Church of Ireland
parish records and the enormous collection of original wills. In the
years following this loss, great efforts were made to unearth
substitutes and many of the gaps can now be filled through the use of
secondary material collections - partial transcripts or abstracts,
researchers' notes, census substitutes etc. In 1988, the Public Record
Office was amalgamated with the State Paper Office and renamed the
National Archives of Ireland. In 1992, it moved from its old home in
the grounds of the Four Courts to > new custom-built premises in
Bishop Street.
One further factor
also needs to be borne in mind by any genealogical researcher. Northern
Ireland was established in 1921 and the Irish Free State in 1922. Some
of the records concerning the six counties, which were previously held
in Dublin, were moved to the North - so a researcher may have to follow
such records, although copies of most of the records moved can still be
found in Dublin. Some anomalies do still exist, such as the fact that
the Census Records covering the six counties for 1911 are still covered
by the 100 year rule North of the border but these census records
including the six counties are freely available in the South.
While many people assume that all
Irish records have been lost or destroyed, that is just not the case.
From the point of view of genealogy, the most significant losses from
the 1922 Ireland Public Record Office fire was the 19th-century census
returns, the Church of Ireland parish registers, and the testamentary
collections. Other records not maintained in the PRO have survived,
however, including civil records of births, marriages, and deaths, non
Church of Ireland parish records, property records, and later censuses.
Even for much of the material that was lost, there are abstracts,
transcripts, and fragments of the originals.
Irish Records
The following material is I believe from http://genealogy.about.com , though when I look, I can't
find the material, Again the site itself is recommended for a visit
The four main categories of Irish
records that are relevant to almost everyone doing research on Irish
ancestors include:
Civil Records
State registration of non-Catholic
marriages began in Ireland in 1845.
All births, deaths and marriages have
been registered in Ireland since 1864. The main points of research
access are:
The General Register Office of
Northern Ireland in Belfast
The General Register Office in Dublin
Research in the Belfast Office is
limited by space constraints, and pre-booking up to two weeks in
advance may be necessary. Research in the Dublin Office is allowed on
the indexes only, with the purchase of a photocopy necessary to obtain
further information.
Census Records
Government
censuses were conducted for all of Ireland once each decade from 1821 -
1911. The census records for 1821, 1831, 1841, and 1851 were
largely destroyed in the 1922 fire at the Public Record Office, Dublin,
although some surviving fragments exist. The Irish census records for
1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 were completely destroyed prior to 1922, by
order of the government. Therefore, the earliest surviving
comprehensive census returns are for 1901 and 1911.
Because of this,
the normal rule that census returns should not be available to the
public for 100 years has been suspended in the Republic of Ireland. The
returns for both 1901 and 1911 can be consulted on microfilm in the
National Archives of Ireland. A full microfilm copy of the 1901 census
is also available at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City
and through local Mormon Family History Centers. Indexes, in published
or database form, are available for the 1901 returns of some counties.
Copies of the 1901 returns for the six counties now in Northern Ireland
are available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. In
addition, some of the local heritage centers have computerised
transcripts of the 1901 census returns for their areas.
Church Records
Through the 19th
century about 85% of the population of Ireland were Roman Catholic, 5%
were members of the Church of Ireland, and the remaining 10% consisted
primarily of Presbyterians. Prior to the onset of civil registration in
Ireland in 1864, the records of these churches are virtually the only
sources for family information.
Property Records
Because of the
destruction of 19th-century census returns, surviving land and property
records from the period have become significant for genealogical
research. Two surveys, each covering the entire country of Ireland, are
a rich source for genealogists:
Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1838
Griffith's Primary Valuation,
1848-1864
Heather MacAllister
Acknowlegements:
Thanks to Fred Mitchell who supplied this material.
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page Page last updated - 25 Nov 2005