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
link no longer works
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,
Later, now the link no longer works. 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.
If you have additions or
corrections to this page, please contact
us Bones in the Belfry home page
Page last updated - 2025