The most important websites for researching your Irish Ancestors
Genealogical research in Ireland has a reputation for being next to impossible. There is no denying that the loss of so many records in the destruction of the Public Record Office, Dublin, in 1922 was catastrophe as far as historical and genealogical research is concerned. However, since 1922 the work of archivists to gather historically important records has resulted in a vast amount of material being available for the genealogical researcher to peruse. Also, there are other repositories in Ireland where the collections have survived virtually intact, as well as categories of records now available that were not in the Public Record Office in 1922 and so escaped destruction. Irish research may be difficult, but impossible, it is not. The following websites are invaluable sites for your Irish research.
General Register Office of Ireland (GROI)
This office holds historical records for all of Ireland (all 32 counties) up to 1921, and for the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland from 1922. The online database created by GROI (https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/irish-records-what-is-available/civil-records) is free to access. Search results include an image link with downloadable PDFs of the original register page. If the record that you need is not digitized, a photocopy can be ordered for about $5 for the register entry.
General Register Office of Northern Ireland (GRONI)
After the separation of Ireland in 1922, which established the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the GRONI was established in Belfast to manage civil registrations for birth, marriages, and deaths in Northern Ireland. This archive holds copies of all historical records from the six counties of Northern Ireland from 1921 to date. The online database can be located at https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/go-groni-online. To use this site, you have to purchase credits (about $1 each) before running a search and viewing results. However, viewing basic index results do not cost anything.
RootsIreland
RootsIreland.ie offers a unique database of more than 22 million Irish records. It contains data from 34 county genealogy centers on the island of Ireland. The primary sources on the site are Irish Catholic and other church records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths, which are the most important source for tracing Irish ancestry.
The Irish Family History Foundation has been the coordinating body for a network of county genealogy centers and family history societies for over thirty years. The sources available vary for each county, so please check their Irish Online Sources for details of what is available on the website. Its civil registration records are created from the locally held birth, marriage, and death registers, rather than the copies sent to Dublin. The online database can be located at https://www.rootsireland.ie. Make sure that you check the detailed list of records in the database before you decide to subscribe.
Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
PRONI is the official archive of Northern Ireland. You can download a comprehensive guide to its holdings of records from all religious denominations. The majority of parishes listed are located within the six counties of Northern Ireland, but also some from parishes in the Republic of Ireland, particularly the border counties of Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim, Louth, and Monaghan. www.nidirect.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Guide_to_church_records.pdf.
FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Findmypast, MyHeritage
Each of these websites contains different record sets, and therefore, it is essential to know what they contain before subscribing to them. Keep in mind, FamilySearch is a free user website; therefore, their record sets can be researched at no cost. If you are in the United States, you must subscribe to the International package for Ancestry and Findmypast to obtain Irish records. Always read the explanations of the databases on a site before subscribing, as many record sets can be located for free elsewhere. For example, the Irish census of 1901 and 1911 are free at the National Archives of Ireland. The following is the approximate number of collections held by each website:
FamilySearch.com: Contains twenty-two collections. Search by "Location"
Ancestry.com: Contains over 180 collections. Search by "Catalog"
Findmypast.com: Contains over 240 collections.
MyHeritage.com: Contains 110 collections. Search by "Location"
Ulster Historical Foundation
This pay per view website has a large number of databases available, which include birth/baptismal, marriage, and death records for Antrim and Down. The resources available on this website are small but specific and extremely valuable if they cover an area where your ancestors resided. https://www.ancestryireland.com
National Archives of Ireland
The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.ie) has digitized copies of the 1901 and 1911 census records, as well as the surviving parts of the 1821-1851 censuses (the 1861-1891 census records were destroyed). They also hold:
Tithe Applotment Books Books compiled between 1823 and 1837 by the Church of Ireland to calculate tithes from farmers (urban areas were not included)
Primary (Griffith) Valuation A printed book, published between 1847 and 1864, showing the people to whom land and buildings were leased to and the value of said property
Wills and Testamentary Records The records of wills and testamentary records will include administration papers, schedules of assets, will books, grant books, Betham's Abstracts, inland revenue registers, charitable donations and bequests, and grant book indexes.
Soldiers’ Wills
Ireland-Australia Transportation Records (1791–1853)
Estate Records Estate records can contain many different types of documentation—legal documents about lands, maps or sketch plans of the property, rent rolls, correspondence letters, etc. While the National Archives of Ireland holds quite a few estate records, the National Library of Ireland and in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland hold even larger collections. Some records may be in private hands, while others are still held by estate agents or solicitors
Private Source Records The private collections held within the archives are primarily about members of the wealthy elite. The archives notes that these collections will most likely cover "correspondence, deeds, ledgers, legal records, maps, rentals, tenants’ agreements, testamentary material and valuations"
Parish Records and Marriage Licences Before 1864, churches were the only organization keeping records of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Most original church records will still be with their relevant parishes. The National Archives of Ireland holds some copies of registers and records, however others can be found at other institutions such as the National Library of Ireland or the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland.
Poor Law/Board of Guardian/workhouse Records
Located in Miami, Elizabeth Murray Vargas is a professional genealogist. She specializes U.S South-Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic states, Scotland, Ireland, Spain and the Spanish Caribbean. Â Her passion is immigrant research and tracing families back to their country of origin. Aside from taking private clients, Elizabeth is a ProGenealogist for Ancestry.com and does contract work for Trace.com. Visit her website at www.legacy-quest.com.
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