Rathdowney Catholic Parish, County Laois, Ireland Genealogy

Guide to Rathdowney Catholic Parish, County Laois ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Parish registers, transcripts, baptism records, marriage records, and burial records.

Maps

 * A map of the Civil Parishes of County Laois is available at the Irish Times site.
 * A map of the Catholic Parishes of County Laois is availiable at the Irish Times site.

Parish Records
For a free guide to parish records available online, see: Irish Ancestors.

Research Help
This Latin Word List will enable you to translate the Latin used in the records.

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.