GuidedResearch:Ireland Protestant

= Ireland Protestant Guided Research =

Before 1864, church records are the primary source for birth, marriage, and death information. If researching after 1864, see Civil Records.

What religion are you looking for?
Historically, about 10% of Ireland belonged to the Church of Ireland (Anglican Church).
 * Most members were located in, what is today, Northern Ireland.
 * Records usually start in the late 1700s or early 1800s, but some date back to the 1600s.
 * About two-thirds of the records were destroyed in a fire in 1922. However, fragments and transcripts of some of these records exist and can be found online.
 * See Church of Ireland Records and A Guide to Church Records (p. 35-36) for more information.

Online Records

 *  Anglican Record Project  at Church of Ireland (images only) - currently limited but growing
 *  Ireland Church Records  at IrishGenealogy.ie - currently limited but growing
 *  Search All Ireland Records  at RootsIreland.ie ($)

Research Strategy

 * For a list of which parish registers exist and how to find them:  Parish Registers 

Historically, less than 10% of Ireland belonged to the Presbyterian church.
 * Most members were located in, what is today, Northern Ireland.
 * Records start in the 1800s.
 * Most records are not online. Most are available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, or individual congregations.
 * See Ireland Presbyterian Church Records and A Guide to Church Records (p. 37-38) for more information.

Online Records

 *  Ireland Church Records  at IrishGenealogy.ie
 *  Search All Ireland Records  at RootsIreland.ie ($)

Methodist
Historically, about 1% of Ireland was Methodist.
 * Most members were located in, what is today, Northern Ireland.
 * Methodism was introduced to Ireland in the mid-1700s.
 * The majority of records have not been digitized but are mainly in the custody of individual churches and congregations. Records can mainly be obtained through correspondence with individual ministers.
 * See Ireland Methodist Church Records and A Guide to Church Records (p. 36-37) for more information.

Online Records

 *  Search All Ireland Records  at RootsIreland.ie ($)

Research Strategy

 * For a list of which churches existed and how to find them: Index of Irish Methodist Churches, Chapels and Preaching Houses

Society of Friends (Quakers)
Historically, less than 1% of Ireland belonged to the Society of Friends.
 * Most were found in the provinces of Ulster, Leinster, and Munster.
 * Records start in the mid-1600s.
 * See Ireland Quaker Records and A Guide to Church Records (p. 41-42) for more information.

Online Records

 *  Ireland, Society Of Friends (Quaker) Births  at FindMyPast ($)
 *  Ireland, Society Of Friends (Quaker) Marriages  at FindMyPast ($)
 *  Ireland, Society Of Friends (Quaker) Deaths  at FindMyPast ($)
 *  Search All Ireland Records  at RootsIreland.ie ($)

Independent
Historically, less than 1% of Ireland was Independent (also known as Congregationalist).
 * The first Independent church was formed in Ireland in the early 1800s.
 * Because each congregation is independent and autonomous, records are mainly in the custody of individual congregations. Records may be obtained through correspondence with individual ministers.

Baptist
Historically, less than 1% of Ireland was Baptist.
 * The first Baptist churches in Ireland were formed in the mid-1600s.
 * Most Baptist records have not been digitized; records are likely kept by individual churches or in local archives and libraries.
 * See A Guide to Church Records (p. 40-41) for more information.

If record not found, what else you can try:

 * Substitute records
 * Improve searching
 * Why the record may not exist