Ireland Civil Registration

Introduction
Before civil registration, Church Records were kept on the island of Ireland to keep track of baptisms, marriages and burials. Protestant records often stretch back to the 18th century, while most Catholic records begin around the time of emancipation in 1829. Ireland was then part of the United Kingdom, where civil registration had been introduced in England in 1837. In 1845 this was begun in Ireland for non-Catholic marriages only, before being extended to births, deaths and marriages for people of all religions in 1864. A unified system of civil registration then operated until the partition of Ireland, after which Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland kept their own records with different formats and information.

A key distinction exists when searching these records between the indexes and the originals. The indexes only have very basic information such as name and year, and reference numbers to locate the originals. The indexes are widely available for free, but the originals have only recently become more accessible.

Administrative Information
The basis for civil registration in Ireland is the registration district, and all records are arranged by these districts. They usually include many villages, meaning the Index data alone cannot determine the precise place of an event. However the original may mention more specific localities, especially for residences.

The website of John Grenham has a Place Search Feature that gives information about which administrative subdivisions a place is located in, including Registration Districts

Ireland, Civil Registration, County/Volume Arrangement. and Ireland, Civil Registration: Additional Information About the Indexes. are useful articles for further information about using indexes and the way records are arranged in FamilySearch films.

Accessing Ireland Civil Registration Records
Irish civil registration is increasingly becoming available online. However there are different websites and access arrangements for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
 * Ireland Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records), 1845-1913 Index and images of Ireland civil registration including 1864-1913 births, 1845-1870 marriages, and 1864-1870 deaths. These collections are incomplete and a work in progress. Both index searches and the images can now be viewed at IrishGenealogy.ie (free). Available original records in part (i.e. up to 1870 for marriages and deaths, and to 1881 and from 1900-1913; and from 1930 to 1955 may be viewed but only at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (see also table below). Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
 * Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes (FamilySearch Historical Records), Indexes only for both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, up to 1958. The database is also on Ancestry and FindMyPast
 * Irishgenealogy.ie For the Republic of Ireland only, the official government website. Originals of births are online for 1864-1916, marriages 1870-1941 and deaths 1878-1966. The remaining records are index only, but the originals can be ordered.


 * RootsIreland ($) Limited coverage for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.


 * GRONI ($) Official government website, Access to both indexes and originals for Northern Ireland, 1922-present. Originals must be ordered with a credit card, and searches of indexes are paid for with credits
 * Ireland BMDs 1864-present, visit: Health Service Executive website; certificate cost is €20 each.


 * Ireland Births (FamilySearch Historical Records)- very limited coverage up to 1881.
 * Ireland Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records) Part of the IGI, very limited coverage up to 1870 on microfilm only.
 * Ireland Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records) Part of the IGI, very limited coverage up to 1898 on microfilm only.

Indexes, of the originals in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland cannot now be accessed on FamilySearch. Also Original records on microfilm can only be viewed at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, or certain regional Family History Centers, or, visit IrishGenealogy.ie and access searchable indexes and view images of original records for free.

Books and Tutorials
Handran, George (ed). Townlands in Poor Law Unions. Salem, Massachusetts: Higginson, c1997. ISBN: 0832869937; FHL book 941.5 P32hg. This source identifies civil parishes, as well as townlands, within poor law unions (registration districts). It is not available online. General Alphbetical Index to the Townlands, Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland, 1851. Dublin: printed by Alexander Thom for the Registrar General of Ireland, 1861. ISBN: 0806310529; FHL book 941.5 X22g. This source lists place names identified in the 1851 census of Ireland and gives their poor law union (civil registration district) and other jurisdictions. Also available online at http://www.thecore.com/seanruad and http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/placenames.


 * Irish Civil Registration - Where Do I Start? (No. 2 in 'Exploring Irish Genealogy' series) by Eileen O'Duill Steven C. ffeary-Smyrl. Published by the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, Dublin, 2000. www.cigo.ie
 * Falley, Margaret Dickson. Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research. Evanston, Illinois: privately printed, 1962.
 * Grenham, John. “Civil Records” in Tracing your Irish Ancestors, 3rd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2006.
 * Ó Dúill, Eileen and Steven C. ffeary-Smyrl, Irish Civil Registraion – Where Do I Start?, Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations Exploring Irish Genealogy Series. Dublin, Ireland: Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, 2000. [The definitive guide on the subject.]
 * Radford, Dwight A. and Kyle J. Betit. “Civil Registration” in A Genealogists Guide to Discovering Your Irish Ancestors. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2001. [Includes a list of the Superintendent Registrar’s Districts.]

The following FamilySearch Tutorials cover the topic of Ireland Civil Registration
 * Ireland Beginning Research Series: Civil Registration
 * Ireland Civil Registration
 * Finding Ancestry in Ireland Civil Registration Records



Naval Records: Marriage Certificates
Research use: Used to locate marriages where location is hard to establish.

Record type: Contents:
 * Transcripts of marriage certificates. Note:  A regulation required married officers to submit marriage certificates as a condition of eligibility of their wives for widow's pensions.
 * Time period: 1801-1902.
 * Name of bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Information about navel service (PRO-classes Adm. 30/57, Adm 13/70-71 and Adm. 13/186-192).

Location: Population coverage: 4 %.
 * The National Archives
 * Ruskin Avenue
 * Richmond, Surrey
 * TW9 4DU,
 * England

Reliability: Good.

Accessibility: Through a researcher or a professional genealogist.

Additional Information
For more information about the indexes, see Ireland, Civil Registration: Additional Information About the Indexes.

For tips on searching the indexes, go to Tips on Searching the Civil Registration Indexes.

For additional information on death registration records, go to Ireland, Additional Civil Registration Information.

For additional collections available at the Registrar General's Office, go to Ireland, Additional Civil Registration Information.


 * Irish Civil Registration - Where Do I Start? (No. 2 in 'Exploring Irish Genealogy' series) by Eileen O'Duill Steven C. ffeary-Smyrl. Published by the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, Dublin, 2000. www.cigo.ie