Ireland Genealogy Websites

The following is a listing of many Ireland websites useful for family history and genealogy research. It is arranged by record type and information.

Archives and Libraries

 * Clare County Library hosts the best county collection of online Irish family history.
 * Limerick City Archives Digital Collections
 * National Archives of Ireland holds manuscript and microfilm collections &amp; is working to digitize and index the 1901 &amp; 1911 census.
 * Ulster Historical Foundation Contains a lot of useful information and the ability to do a free search on a surname and/or given name. There are more than two million entries in the various databases. A search for the surname Dobb provides reference to 448 sources where the name appears.
 * Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland Formed in 1907, it was made up of the three churches which held the Presbyterian Order in Ireland - the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland - with the object of promoting the knowledge of, and advance public education in, the history of the churches of the Presbyterian Order in Ireland by various means, including the collection and preservation of historic materials and records of these churches.
 * Waterford County Library contains online resources such as death registers 1864-1901, grave memorials, and trade directories from 1824-1910.
 * Irish Genealogical Research Society Library, London

Cemeteries and Burials

 * www.interment.net/ireland
 * www.from-ireland.net- Ireland Gravestone Database
 * www.irishorigins.com
 * www.rootsireland.ie- Gravestone inscriptions
 * www.findagrave.com-
 * www.historicgraves.com - Ireland Graves, photos and inscriptions
 * iancantwell.com Graveyard transcriptions on CD ($) "Brian J.Cantwell's Memorials of the Dead contains transcriptions of c. 67,300 people from 24,400 memorials taken from over 540 graveyards and churches; primarily from Counties Wicklow, Wexford and South Dublin but include published and unpublished work from Counties Clare, Cork, Kildare, Galway and Sligo. The field work, conducted between 1970-91, included all visible legible memorials in graveyards up to 1880 and all interior church memorials."

Census and Census Substitutes

 * National Archives of Ireland- The 1901 and 1911, plus surving fragments from the 1821-1851 returns are available online.
 * www.familysearch.org Surviving census fragments 1821-1851 and the 1841-1851 Census Search Forms. Click here for list of parishes with a surviving census fragment.
 * www.rootsireland.ie- Fragments as early as 1821
 * www.ancestry.com- Fragments of the 1841 &amp; 1851. Compete Ireland censuses 1901-1911. Census Search Forms1841-1851. Censuses for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
 * www.findmypast.ie - Surviving census fragments 1821-1851 and the 1841-1851 Census Search Forms. Complete Censuses 1901-1911. Click Dublin City census extract 1851 (Dr D A Chart’s index of heads of households in Dublin City)
 * www.census-online.com/links/Ireland/

Church Records

 * www.nli.ie (National Library of Ireland) holds 98 percent of the Catholic Parish Registers which now are digitised and available online (at no cost). Visit websites 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 for indexes to these registers.
 * Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915 (Ancestry.com) Ancestry.com has indexed the National Library of Ireland's collection of online Catholic parish registers, with links to images of the original record. There are over 25 million records in this collection, making it an invaluable resource for tracing Catholic ancestors. Find through the link or search Ancestry Card Catalog for Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915.  Be warned that these dates are collective, each individual parish has its own dates of record coverage.
 * www.rootsireland.ie holds an online index to Irish parish registers from nineteen counties.
 * www.irishgenealogy.ie - Includes searchable church records for Dublin City and for the counties of Carlow, Cork and Kerry. Inlcudes Catholic, Anglican, and and some Presbyterian church records. Images are available free online. Familysearch
 * Findmypast.co.uk has published recent Ireland offerings which now makes accessible, numerous additional Irish databases online, and are worth searching.
 * www.familysearch.org Indexes some births/baptisms, 1620-1881; marriages 1619-1898; (Most of the church records do not go into the 1600s-1700s); also includes microfilm copies of church records at the Family History Library. Also indexed and coinciding with the era of church registers-keeping, are the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths commencing in 1864 (and 1845 for Protestant marriages only) up to 1959. Anglican
 * www.Ireland.anglican.org (Representative Church Body Library) holdings of the Church of Ireland church records. Proni Government UK
 * www.proni.gov.uk (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland) has copies of the Church of Ireland church records from the Representative Church Body Library.
 * www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse - Provides information and links to surviving Irish church records. Cyndislist
 * www.cyndislist.com- Links to other websites containing Irish births, marriages, and deaths.
 * www.findmypast.com - Betham Genealogical Abstracts; abstracts of genealogical records collected by Sir William Betham. Useful substitute to records lost in the 1922 Public Record Office fire in Dublin.
 * www.findmypast.com - Crossle Genealogical Abstracts; abstracts of genealogical records collected by Dr. Francis Crossle
 * www.findmypast.com - Thrift Genealogical Abstracts; abstracts of genealogical records collected by Gertrude Thrift. Records include wills, parish registers, freeman lists, and pedigree charts. Records date as far back as the 16th century.

Civil Registration

 * www.irishgenealogy.ie Free indexes and images of the Ireland birth, marriage and death certificates beginning 1864. Beginning in 1845 for Protestant marriage records. Not all indexes have images yet.
 * www.familysearch.org Indexes to Ireland Civil Registration 1845-1958
 * Ireland Civil Registration- Guide to birth, marriage, and death certificates in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Also shows what certificates are available at the Family History Library.
 * www.groireland.ie- General Registrar's Office (GRO) for the Republic of Ireland (where original certificates are kept)
 * General Registrar's Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI) - link for ordering copies of certificates and registrations

Court/Criminal Records

 * FamilySearch Record collections-see listing for Ireland Prison Registers, 1790-1924
 * www.findmypast.com- Petty Sessions and Prison Registers
 * Dublin Metropolitan Police Prisoners Books

Directories

 * www.census-online.com/links/Ireland- County links to various Irish directories
 * www.proni.gov.uk- Belfast &amp; Northern Ireland street directories, 1819-1900.
 * www.Irishorigins.com ($) Includes Dublin Directories and Directories of Ireland.
 * www.findmypast.com
 * http://www.swilson.info/dirdb.php Searchable database for location of online Irish directories

Emigration Records /Passenger Lists

 * United States, Famine Irish Passenger Index,1846-1851
 * Boston Pilot Search for Missing Friends 1831-1920, Ancestry ($); Harvard Dataverse (downloads)
 * Ancestry.com (includes Filby's Passenger &amp; Immigration Lists Index and indexes to incoming passenger lists for most U.S. ports; also includes incoming passenger lists, passenger lists for those returning to visit Ireland from 1878-1960, passport applications, naturalization records, border crossing records, ship pictures and descritptions, etc.
 * aad.archives.gov- Ireland Famine Emigrants Online (1846-1851)
 * www.cimorelli.com/ireland/irishpass.htm- Irish Immigrants Database
 * www.johngrenham.com- Ireland passengers lists separated from the Immigrants Transcriber's Guild.
 * www.findmypast.com - Passengers lists of those leaving the British Isles from 1890-1960
 * www.ancestorsonboard.com- Passengers lists of those leaving the British Isles from 1890-1960
 * www.rootsireland.ie- Ireland Passenger Lists (1791-1897)
 * www.irishorigins.com- Passenger lists (1890 &amp; 1891); Transatlantic migration (1858-1870)
 * Passenger-list websites by year (pre-1800 through post-1900)
 * www.immigrantships.net- 13 volumes of passenger lists from all over the world
 * www.ellisisland.org- New York passenger lists from 1892-1956
 * The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.- New York passenger lists pre Ellis Island
 * http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/peterrobinsonindex.shtml Peter Robinson Settlers from Cork to Canada 1823-1825
 * http://findingaids.nationalarchives.ie/index.php?category=18&amp;subcategory=147 Ireland-Australia transportation records (1791-1853)

Land/Tax Records

 * - Free images of the Ireland Tithe Applotment Books, 1814-1855 are available online. Includes heads of households who owned or rented land that was subject to the tithe.
 * www.ancestry.com- Images and Indexes are available for the Griffiths Valuation as well as a land map. Indexes to Ireland Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837 are also available. Includes heads of households who owned or rented land that was subject to the tithe.
 * www.askaboutireland.ie- Free indexes and images of the Griffiths Primary Valuation, 1848-1864 are available online. Includes heads of households who owned or rented land or a house.
 * www.nationalarchives.ie- Free indexes and images of the Ireland Tithe Applotment books are available online at the National Archives of Ireland website
 * www.proni.gov.uk- Free indexes and images of the Ireland Vaulation Revision books are now available online at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland website.
 * www.findmypast.com - Land Estates Court Rentals. Contain information going back to the 18th century.
 * Ireland Registry of Deeds- Includes indexes and abstracts. May find marriages, wills, business transactions, mortgages, deeds, etc. in the Registry of Deeds dating back to 1708.

Maps, Gazetteers, and Placenames

 * http://www.thecore.com/seanruad is an online version of the index to townlands compiled from the 1851 census.
 * maps.osi.ie/publicviewer Irish historic maps. Ireland's most comprehensive archive of maps from c1839to about 1900. Maps are free to view. The 6" historic maps are 1st edition O.S.I. and date from between 1837 and 1842, and the 25" maps date from around 1890 to 1910.
 * Mayo County Maps (Mayo County Library)
 * www.libraryireland.com/topog- Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. This dates from 1837 and gives historical and statistcal descriptions of Ireland counties, cities, parishes, townlands, and villages.
 * www.genuki.org.uk- Links to maps, gazetteers, etc.
 * Google books: Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland
 * Use Google, Bing or other search engines. E.g. “County Mayo parish map”
 * The Irish Genealogical Research Society has an online version of the index to townlands compiled from the 1901 census.
 * Irish Geneaography - Irish Maps & Gazetteers
 * The Irish Ancestral Research Association

Military Records

 * soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie - National Archives of Ireland. 9,000 soldiers will who fought in the South African war of 1899-1902 and World War I. Includes free images of the wills!
 * www.familysearch.org- click Catalog &gt; Keyword Search &gt; Irish Militia records. Contains vasts amount of Irish Militia records on microfilm which may be available to view at various family history centers.
 * www.irishorigins.com- ($) Militia Attestation Index 1872-1915; Ireland Memorial records 1914-1918; The 1798 Rebellion: Claimants and Surrenders
 * www.findmypast.com- ($) Those who either fought in Irish rebellions or World War I.
 * www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie - 1913-1921.
 * Armed Forces help pages on RootsChat Armed Forces Resources and help pages. (Free).

Miscellaneous

 * www.from-ireland.net- A very useful site. Am amazing number of records are available from all counties. Literally thousands of helpful links and other resources are also detailed. In addition, there are a lot of cultural, folklore, and other information available. A YAHOO! mailing list can be subscribed to and you will have at your fingertips help from the many knowledgeable people on the list.
 * Eddies Extracts- This site contains many Birth, Marriage and Death notices extracted from various early newspapers such as the Belfast Evening Telegraph, The Witness, Banner of Ulster, Northern Whig and Belfast News-Letter. It also has extracts from the Registers of Deceased Seamen and lists the details of over 25,000 Presbyterians who served in the Great War.
 * www.diaspora.ie- Finding the Irish around the world today.
 * Petty Sessions Order Books: 1851-1912: This is the lowest court in the whole country. These records were scanned by FamilySearch and are being put online through findmypast.com. There is no charge to look at the index but there is a charge to view the actual record.
 * Genealogical Society of Ireland

Newspapers

 * www.infowanted.bc.edu- Boston newspaper with information for relatives to track their Irish family members who had immigrated earlier, particulary during the famine period.
 * newspaperarchive.com- Thousands of U.S. newspapers online spanning hundreds of years. Over 120 milllion newspaper pages. May give information on Irish ancestors in America.
 * www.genealogybank.com- Over 6,400 U.S. newspapers now online spanning over 320 years. May give information on Irish ancestors in America.

Old age pensions
When the Irish government began to provide old age pensions in 1908, applicants were required to provide proof of their age but most were born before the government began registering births in 1864. Therefore extracts from the 1841 and 1851 censuses were accepted as proof of age. These extracts constitute a small substitute for the lost census. Irish Genealogy can provide additional background information.

Microfilm of the Old Age Pension Census Search Forms are available on microfilm at the Family History Library for the Republic of Ireland. Images for Northern Irelandare also available on microfilm at the Family History Library. A searchable index can be found at National Archives of Ireland.

Records of the Poor

 * Workhouses in Ireland- Gives information regarding the Irish poor and the workhouse life
 * www.workhouses.org.uk- Information on Ireland Poor Law Unions
 * Waterford County Museum- Gives information on the famine in Dungarvan and the poor.
 * The Workhouse Orphans- Information from the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
 * www.vindicator.ca- A local history group's findings on workhouse famine records

Resources
Great websites for information regarding Irish family history and links to genealogical records.


 * Ireland on this wiki
 * www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse
 * www.genuki.org.uk
 * www.johngrenham.com
 * www.cyndislist.com
 * www.irelandgenweb.com
 * www.from-ireland.net
 * http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com  Irish Genealogy Toolkit (free online tutorial with many links)
 * Irish Genealogy News- A blog with rolling reports of new resources and other developments

Repositories

 * www.nationalarchives.ie- National Archives of Ireland; holdings of Censusand other records
 * www.proni.gov.uk- Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
 * www.nil.ie- National Library of Ireland; holdings of the Catholic Church Records on micro-film for most parishes in Ireland
 * www.ireland.anglican.org- Representative Church Body Library (Church of Ireland)
 * www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com- Presbyterian church records
 * www.groireland.ie- General Register's Office for the Republic of Ireland
 * www.nidirect.gov.uk/gro- General Registrar's Office (GRO) for Northern Ireland, online access to to civil birth, marriage and death records as transcripts and images, for Northern Ireland. (pay-website)

Wills/Probate Records

 * www.familysearch.org - Free calendar of wills and administrations, 1858-1920, found in the Historical Record collections for Ireland under the 'Search' function.
 * www.proni.gov.uk Free indexes and wills for the three District Probate Registries of Armagh, Belfast, and Londonderry. Indexes: 1858-1919; part of 1921; 1922-1943. Images of wills: 1858-1900
 * www.proni.gov.uk - Free online indexes to pre-1858 wills; also includes a collection of diocesan will and administration bond indexes.
 * www.origins.net - ($) Index of Irish Wills, 1484-1858; Dublin Wills and Grant Book, 1270-1858; Phillimore &amp; Thrift Index to Irish Wills, 1536-1858; Sir Arthur Vicar's Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810.
 * www.ancestry.com - ($) Indexes to Irish Wills, 1536-1857 (five volumes); Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810; A Guide to Copies and Abstracts of Irish Wills.
 * www.findmypast.com - Index of Irish Wills, 1484-1858.
 * www.findmypast.com - Betham Genealogical Abstracts; abstracts of genealogical records collected by Sir William Betham. Useful substitute to records lost in the 1922 Public Record Office fire in Dublin.
 * www.findmypast.com - Crossle Genealogical Abstracts; abstracts of genealogical records collected by Dr. Francis Crossle
 * www.findmypast.com - Thrift Genealogical Abstracts; abstracts of genealogical records collected by Gertrude Thrift. Records include wills, parish registers, freeman lists, and pedigree charts. Records date as far back as the 16th century.
 * www.nationalarchives.ie - Online Will calendars, 1922-1982 and Instructions for searching the online will calendars; Information on wills and testamentary records held in The National Archives of Ireland.
 * http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1858 - 1920