Ireland Directories

Directories are alphabetical lists of names with corresponding addresses. Knowing an individual's address can be very helpful in searching the census records of a large city (see Ireland Census). The information in directories is for the year they are published. Directories for Dublin first appeared in the early eighteenth century and continue today. Provincial (town) directories began somewhat later and have continued only sporadically. Besides names and addresses, directories sometimes include:
 * City maps.
 * Indexes or listings of inhabitants by streets.
 * Addresses of schools, churches, cemeteries, and other institutions.
 * Streets and the civil parishes they are in.

Inclusion or omission in directories of successive years may indicate when a person moved to or left a city, retired, or died. Not everyone was listed in directories, but those who had a trade or were of a higher social status were generally listed.

The following types of directories may be found for areas of Ireland:


 * City, Postal or Commercial directories, which provide alphabetical lists of people.


 * Trade directories, which provide alphabetical lists of trades and professions with the names and sometimes residential addresses of persons engaged in those trades or professions.


 * Court directories, which list government officials and private (upper-class) residents.


 * Law directories, which name judges, lawyers, notaries, and staff of various courts.


 * Telephone directories, which give names, addresses, and telephone numbers of individuals and businesses.


 * Specialty or Professional directories, which were occasionally published for various occupations.


 * Organizational directories, which list addresses of societies, libraries, newspapers, and other organizations.


 * Church directories, which give information about and addresses for church jurisdictions, buildings, and leaders (see Ireland Church Directories).

For a list of Irish directories and a summary of the information contained in each, consult:

Ffolliott, Rosemary, and Donal F. Begley. "Guide to Irish Directories." In Irish Genealogy: A Record Finder

The Family History Library has many Irish directories. These are listed in the Place Search of the catalog under the following headings:

IRELAND - DIRECTORIES

IRELAND, [COUNTY] - DIRECTORIES

IRELAND, [COUNTY], [CITY] - DIRECTORIES

Additional city directories listing major cities in Ireland i.e. Belfast, Dublin, Londonderry (Derry), Cork etc., also cover major cities in England, Scotland and Wales. In some instances, these are not cataloged to include the cities they cover in Ireland. When a published work covers more than one country in the British Isles, it is cataloged under England as the default location to place it in the collection. To identify other possible directories with Ireland material, look in the Place Search portion of the catalog under the following headings:

ENGLAND - DIRECTORIES

Online Databases
Ireland
 * FindMyPast Complete Directory Listing $
 * FindMyPast Leet's Directory 2nd Ed. 1814 $
 * FindMyPast I Slater National Commercial Directory of Ireland 1846 $
 * FindMyPast Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory 1868 $
 * FindMyPast Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland 1870 $
 * FindMyPast Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland 1881 $
 * FindMyPast Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory 1884 $
 * FindMyPast Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland 1894 $
 * FindMyPast Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Irish Section 1894 $
 * Ancestry.com Thom's Official Directory of Ireland 1904 $
 * FindMyPast Thom's Official Directory of Ireland 1910 $

Ireland Provincial Directories

Leinster Province Munster Province Ulster Province
 * FindMyPast Pigot and Co. City of Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory 1824 $
 * FindMyPast Shearman's Directory of Waterford, Kilkenny, and the Southeast 1839 $
 * FindMyPast Shearman's Directory of Waterford, Kilkenny, and the Southeast 1839 $
 * FindMyPast Henry and Coughlan's General Directory of Cork and Munster for 1867 $
 * FindMyPast Guy's Directory of Munster 1893 $
 * FindMyPast James Alexander Henderson the Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory for 1856 $

City, Postal or Commercial Directories

Antrim Clare Cork Down Dublin Fermanagh Kilkenny King's Limerick Louth Sligo Waterford Wexford
 * FindMyPast Matier's Belfast Directory 1835-6 $
 * FindMyPast Henderson's Belfast Directory 1850 $
 * FindMyPast James Alexander Henderson the Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory for 1856 $
 * FindMyPast Ashe's Limerick and Clare Directory 1891-92 $
 * FindMyPast Henry and Coughlan's General Directory of Cork and Munster for 1867 $
 * FindMyPast George Bassett County Down Guide and Directory 1886 $
 * FindMyPast Treble Almanack and Dublin Directory 1783 $
 * Ancestry.com Wilson's 1820 Dublin Directory $
 * From-Ireland.net Wilson's 1820 Dublin Directory
 * FindMyPast Wilson's 1820 Dublin Directory $
 * FindMyPast Pigot and Co. City of Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory 1824 $
 * FindMyPast Post Office Annual Directory and Calendar for 1843 Dublin $
 * FindMyPast Ireland Thom's Directory 1844-1900 $
 * FindMyPast Post Office Annual Directory and Calendar for 1858 $
 * FindMyPast Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory 1868 $
 * FindMyPast Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory 1884 $
 * FindMyPast Macloskie's Directory of Fermanagh 1848 $
 * FindMyPast Shearman's Directory of Waterford, Kilkenny, and the Southeast 1839 $
 * FindMyPast George Bassett Kilkenny City and County Guide and Directory 1884 $
 * FindMyPast King's County Directory 1890 $
 * FindMyPast Ashe's Limerick and Clare Directory 1891-92 $
 * FindMyPast Guy's Limerick Directory 1912 $
 * FindMyPast George Bassett Louth County Guide and Directory 1886 $
 * FindMyPast Sligo Chronicle Almanac and Directory for 1878 $
 * FindMyPast Sligo Independent Newspaper, County Directory, Almanac and Guide 1889 $
 * FindMyPast Shearman's Directory of Waterford, Kilkenny, and the Southeast 1839 $
 * FindMyPast Harvey's Waterford Almanac and Directory for 1866 $
 * FindMyPast George Bassett Wexford County Guide and Directory 1885 $

Specialty or Professional Directories

Medical
 * Ancestry.com UK and Ireland Medical Directories, 1845-1942 $
 * FindMyPast Ireland Medical Directory 1852 $
 * FindMyPast Ireland Medical Directory 1858 $

Trade Directories
 * Ancestry.com Ireland 1931 Trade Directory $
 * FindMyPast Ireland 1931 Trade Directory $
 * Ancestry.com Guinness Business Archive 1824-2002 $

Church Directories


 * Ancestry.com UK Directory of Clergy, Church of Ireland 1897 $