As promised, below is a list of the websites I presented (plus others), and a short synopsis of their relevance. I have not detailed the major subscription sites.
Major Church Records
An Ancestor Network blog with a background to Catholic records is here; Catholic Church Records are available free at www.registers.nli.ie Thisi si ree site from National Library of Ireland with digitized images of all microfilms of Catholic records in the library. This is the vast majority of records. There is no index, but FindMyPast and Ancestry have indexed them.
In addition some Catholic records for Dublin City, Kerry, Carlow and one diocese in West Cork are available free on-line at the Government site www.irishgenealogy.ie . These are parishes that are not available through RootsIreland below.
Roots Ireland. a subscription site with indexed Catholic records from 29 of the 32 counties. Indexing was done from original registers rather than microfilms so is generally regarded as more accurate. Records not indexed or microfilmed (e.g. Kerry, Dublin City and Cork) are available at www.irishgenealogy.ie
Church of Ireland records. A small number of C of I records have been indexed by the Anglican Records Project. Most are not yet on-line. However, a detailed index to the surviving records, and their location is available here.
A small number of Church of Ireland records are also available free on-line at the Government site www.irishgenealogy.ie
Census
All census returns for 1901 and 1911 and remnants from other censuses are available free at: www.Census.nationalarchives.ie
Civil Records.
Records of birth, marriage and death (from 1845 for non-Catholic marriages, and 1864 for all records) are available free at www.irishgenealogy.ie. Records of
General Register Office, (GRO) www.groireland.ie This is the central repository for birth, death and marriage records. Certificates for records not on-line can be obtained here.
Ancestor Network has 2 blogs of relevance to these records: a general guide is here, and a further article outlining issues with missing records is here.
Placenames and Locations
Variations in place-names and family names is a common issue in Irish family history. Ancestor Network has a blog entitled ‘Know your place‘ which outlines the issues and sources of assistance.
There are many aids to finding places and the accepted form of names. Some of these are:
The Core: free searchable index of place names by county, parish etc. It allows finding of places using one part of a name e.g. beginning with, ending in etc.
Irish Genealogical |Research Society. An on-line version (members only) of the classic ‘Index to Townlands and Towns..” which is a standard research guide. It is similar to Seanruad in finding place names using one part of a name e.g. beginning with, ending in etc.
Townlands.ie. Lists the currently accepted name, map of the townland (or parish etc), precise location details, names of surrounding townlands
GeoHive official government agency site: Ordnance Survey Ireland. Finds the map location / overlay with modern or old maps.
www.swilson.info/ aids for finding Church of Ireland and Catholic parishes; Registration Districts; and townlands (including a facility to search by part of the name)
Land Records
Griffith Valuation (or Primary Valuation): This is widely available on subscription sites, but free on www.askaboutireland.ie. This site is run by the Library Council of Ireland and is largely aimed at schools. However, it provides access to Griffith’s Valuation, to many maps, and also to downloads of local histories.
Tithes. The Tithe Applotment Books were compiled between 1823 and 1837 and provide land-holder names and the location of their holding. This is a National Archives of Ireland site.
Landed Estates Database contains information on Irish estates and their owners from 1700, mainly in the Western counties.
Gravestones and Memorials.
Many collections of gravestone inscriptions at local and regional level are published in local history magazines, some are accessible on Roots Ireland (see above). On-line sources include:
www.historicgraves.com; transcripts for 484 cemeteries, mostly in Cork, Limerick and Tipperary.
www.discovereverafter.com; collections from 118 graveyards in Derry, Tyrone and Armagh.
www.irishgraveyards.ie has records from 74 graveyards in Mayo, Galway and Donegal.
Find a grave Gravestone Inscriptions and Photos contributed by volunteers
Other Useful Sites
www.johngrenham.com. (subscription) provides a search facility for family names, based on Griffith Valuation and also links to sources relevant to each location.
Sources. A database of books, manuscripts and articles of historical relevance in global archives. It is useful in locating manuscript sources, pedigrees and other unpublished material.
www.ancestornetwork.com/blog 70+ Blogs and articles on Irish family history, including original material extracted from manuscripts; and articles on a range of sources.
Wills and testamentary records Calendars of Wills and Administrations in the National Archives.
Irish newspaper archives. Digitised collection of Irish newspapers. Indexed and searchable. Subscription-based access.
Ulster Historical Foundation. Specialists in sources from the Ulster (Northern Ireland) counties. Has a searchable database of records, and provides related services and publications.
Ireland Genealogy Projects collection of family history information donated by volunteers
Irish Roots Magazine. A quarterly magazine dedicated to Irish genealogy
Rootsweb. materials donated by volunteers including church and other records
Garda Archives (Police). Contains material on the history of An Garda Siochana from 1922.
Military Archives material related to those involved in 1916 Rising and the War of Independence (1916-1921).
Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC) Publishes older Irish manuscripts and provides free access. These include: Books of Survey and Distribution, Index of Parishes and Townlands from Petty’s Survey of around 1655, Pender’s Census of Ireland circa 1659 etc.
Valuation Office holds the valuation records and maps of properties from 1846 and changes in land occupancy for each holding.
Property Registration Authority of Ireland. Manages (a) Registry of Deeds from 1708; and (b) the Land Registry (records since 1892). Searchable map system to find the current owners.
Historical and Family History Periodicals . A list of local and national journals and periodicals.
https://www.libraryireland.com/ E-books and information
Societies
There are many local history and family history societies in different counties. Below are the main national societies:
Genealogical Society of Ireland. Membership-based: runs genealogy seminars and events on all aspects of Irish genealogy. Publishes the Genealogical Society of Ireland journal.
Irish Family History Society. Membership-based society which runs genealogy seminars and events, and publishes the ‘Irish Family History Journal’.
Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS) . Membership-based society with a unique set of information resources and guides.
Major Archives: home sites of the major archives containing family history information
National Archives of Ireland (NAI) a vast collection of records generated by public bodies (censuses, wills, government records etc).
National Library of Ireland (NLI) a major repository of records generated by non-government organisations or individuals (e.g. books, newspapers, estate papers etc).
Beyond 2022 Project: A project to reconstruct a virtual treasury of the material lost in the PRO fire of 1922.
www.ancestornetwork.ie
Ancestor Network provides genealogy research services, and (through its Flyleaf Press imprint) family history guides for tracing ancestors in various counties.
You can see our book titles here and our genealogy services here.
