Irish Research
Census
Ireland took censuses every 10 years from 1821-1911. However, few records survived before 1901. A fire in the Dublin Public Records Office in 1922 destroyed many of these records
1901 and 1911 census are available here
For pre-1800 families, indexes and originals of census substitutes are available here
Civil Records
In 1845, the government mandated that all marriages be recorded. However, in practice, only non-Catholic marriages were recorded until full registration was enacted in 1864
Beginning in 1864 all birth, marriages, and deaths were recorded. These Records can be searched through General Register Office of Ireland
An index of Birth records are currently digitized from 1864-1915
An index Death records are currently digized from 1891-1965
An index of Marriage records are digized from 1882-1940
Records for Northern Ireland dated after 1921 can be searched at General Register Office of Northern Ireland
Note: Irish and British history have been intertwined for hundreds of years. Check British military records, immigration records and census records
Irish Surnames
Irish surnames can have many variations. Letters were used interchangeably, prefixes were added and removed and nicknames were often listed
Matheson’s Varities and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland has been digitized and is available online
Note: Many Irish registers were kept in Latin
Traditional Irish Naming patterns are great clues!
First son was named after the father's father
Second son was named after the mother's father
Third son was named after the father
Fourth son was named after the father's eldest brother
Fifth son was name after the father's second-eldest brother
Daughters were often named in a similar pattern
Prioritiing learning the birth order of all chidren, living and deceased
When a child died, his/her name was often used again for the next-born son/daughter
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland was the national faith of Ireland until 1871
The Church’s archives is called Representative Church Body and has published a downloadable directory to parish records
You can request digital images of its records by visiting here
Immigration
During the Irish Potato Famine – 1845 to 1951 – 2.5 millon people emigrated from Ireland. Approximately 650,000 of these immigrants arrived in the New York Harbor through Ellis Island. A large number of immigrants came through the Port of Quebec in Canada
Library and Archives Canada contains several database that may be of help in your immigration research
The Ship’s List contains immigration information for Canada, the United States, Australia and South Africa
Useful Websites
Ancestry recently released 10 million Irish Catholic parish records here
$ Ancestry Ireland focuses on Ulster. Note: Charges are based on a pay-per view basis.
You will need to register to access documents, however registration is free.
Contains Grifith’s Valuation.
$ Emerald Ancestors focuses on Northern Ireland and Ulster
Family Search has an agreement with the National Archives of Ireland that allows duplication of certain records.
Contains a collection of civil registration indexes covering 1845 to 1958, Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881 and Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898
$ Find My Past has the largest collection of Irish family history records online
Landed Estate Court Rentals contains a wealth of information about land tenants
The Irish Petty Sessions contians information of misdemeanors and squabbles among neighbors
Poverty Relief Loans, 1821-1874 focuses on Ireland’s West Coast counties
Also contains dog licenses registers which records of 6 million individuals
General Register Office of Northern Ireland – GRONI launched an on-line database in 2014 for civil registration records for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Londonderry, Fermanagh and Tyrone
Birth records date from 1864 – 100 years ago, marriages from 1864 – 75 years ago and deaths from 1864 to 50 years ago
Registration is free however, you must have at least one credit in your account in order to see search results
Search results only remain in your account for 72 hours
Ireland XO is a reverse genealogy website, the Irish at home researching those who left
Irish Genealogy Contains church records of baptisms, marriages and burials
Contains the only official version of Ireland’s civil registration indexes of births, marriages and deaths
$ Irish Newspapers contains searchable ditigized newspapers from across Ireland
Irish Times Ancestors has a list of existing records and where to access them
Research Wizard analyses what you already know about an ancestor and produces specific recommendations for further research
NLI is planning on posting images of its collection of Catholic Parish Register Microfilm
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Contains records for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone
Contains over 20 million transcriptions of records
Before using the search features, read the FAQs. This system has some quirks!
The Workhouse is a great website to learn about poor law, work houses and poor law records for UK and Ireland