Ireland Church Records

Ireland



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Introduction
Church records are an excellent source of names, dates, relationships, and places. In fact, church records are the primary source for pre-civil registration (pre-1864) Irish research. Church records include records of christenings, marriages, and burials, sometimes giving birth and death dates. These records were kept in bound registers, usually called parish registers. Church records may include other types of records such as religious census returns, emigration lists, and session or vestry minutes.

The following book contains information about the history and records of many Irish religious denominations:


 * Ryan, James G., ed. Irish Church Records. Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland: Flyleaf Press, 1992. (FHL book Ref 941.5 K27rj.)

The following books also have excellent information about church records:


 * Falley, Margaret Dickson. Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research. 2 vols. Evanston, Illinois: Margaret Dickson Falley, 1961-62. (FHL book Ref 941.5 D27f 2 vols.)
 * Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide. 3rd ed. Dublin, Ireland: Gill and Macmillan, 2006. (FHL book Ref 941.5 D27gj 2006.)

Church of Ireland Records
The Church of Ireland was the state church or Established Church in Ireland from 1536. Each parish in Ireland kept its own records of christenings, marriages, and burials. Read more...

Catholic Church Records
Catholic parish registers for most rural areas were not kept until the 1820s or later. Records for urban areas started earlier. Each parish kept its own records. Catholic parish registers mainly include christening and marriage records. Few registers contain death or burial records. Occasionally a register will contain a parish census. Read more...

Presbyterian Records
In 1605 Scottish Presbyterians began a massive migration into Northern Ireland. Congregations were organized at that time, but only a few congregations, mostly in County Antrim, kept early records. Most congregations started keeping records in the early 1800s. Read more...

Methodist Records
In 1746 a Methodist society began in Dublin. The following year, John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism, visited Ireland. John Wesley urged his Irish followers to attend the Church of Ireland. Some followed his counsel; others chose to worship with the Quakers or Presbyterians instead.

At the 1816 Methodist conference in Ireland, the presiding body decided that Methodists should be baptized, be married by, and receive communion from their own ministers rather than from ministers of other churches. This proposed change resulted in a schism within the movement. Those who chose to continue affiliating with the Church of Ireland became known as the Primitive Methodists. The Wesleyan Methodists, the larger of the two groups, started their own church, kept their own records, and set up congregations throughout Ireland. Other splinter groups included the New Connexion and the Primitive Methodist Connexion. In 1878 the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyan Methodists united. The two Connexion groups rejoined the main body in 1932.

Methodist records consist mainly of baptism and marriage records that are similar in content to Church of Ireland records. Occasionally a circuit minute book or vestry book was kept. Since there were few Methodist cemeteries, Methodist death or burial records are rare. Methodists were usually buried in Church of Ireland cemeteries and their burial records kept in Church of Ireland registers.

Locating Methodist Records

Primitive and Wesleyan Methodist records are in local custody. You may obtain information from these records through correspondence with individual ministers. Names, addresses, and jurisdictions of Methodist ministers can be found in the 1992 Minutes of Conference.

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has microfilm copies of Methodist records for several congregations in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. James G. Ryan, ed., Irish Church Records lists the Methodist records held by the office and gives their Public Record Office accession numbers.

The New Connexion and Primitive Methodist Connexion groups were administered from England. Their records were kept by various British circuits (districts presided over by travelling ministers). Consequently, pre-1905 New Connexion records and pre-1910 Primitive Methodist Connexion records are held in the Methodist archive at the following address:

The John Rylands University of Manchester Manchester M13 9PP ENGLAND Internet: http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/

Records for either of the Connexion groups after 1905 and 1910, respectively, are held by individual churches in Ireland.

Smith's Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Ireland (Family History Library book Ref 941.5 D23s) lists Methodist records published in Irish periodicals that are available at the Family History Library.

Other Methodist records available at the Family History Library are listed in the Place Search of the catalog under the following headings:

IRELAND - CHURCH RECORDS

IRELAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - CHURCH RECORDS

Quaker (Society of Friends) Records
In 1654, the Quaker faith (Religious Society of Friends) began in Ireland. Its roots can be found among English soldiers, farmers, and merchants who arrived in Ireland after the English Civil War (1641-1651). These immigrants converted to the new religion from a variety of other nonconforming protestant faiths. By 1750, there were 150 Quaker meetings across Ireland within the provinces of Ulster, Leinster, and Munster. Meetings for prayer could be held in private homes, barns, or warehouses. A dedicated place for Quaker worship is called a “meeting house”. These were only constructed in locations which served a large enough membership to warrant its construction and expense.

The Quaker faith kept its records separate and apart from those collected by the Church of Ireland or the State. As a result, many of its original records exist and are located in the repositories listed in Section 5.7.

Quaker Monthly Meetings Quaker records are not kept by parish, but rather by “monthly meetings”. Births, marriages and deaths were recorded at these meetings. Monthly meeting records extend from the late 1600s to the present, with the earliest record from Cork in 1675. Today records exist for 16 Quaker monthly meetings.

In 1860, the Friends agreed abstract their birth, marriage and death records for each monthly meeting. These “monthly meeting registers” were created from the earliest records to 1859. An index, called the “Jones Index”, was later created. It lists if there are birth, marriage or death records for about 2,250 Quaker surnames by the monthly meeting. Those surnames listed in Irish Quaker Registers are listed in Goodbody (1967) and the Jones Index is on film in the Family History Library (film 1559454 item 10).

Quaker Terms and Meeting Maps An explanation of Quaker terms can be found in Harrison (1997) &amp; (2008), and Berry &amp; Berry (1987). Butler (2004) provides a comprehensive overview of all the Quaker meetings in Ireland. It contains detailed maps of all the meetings by province, while Harrison (1997) &amp; (2008) contains a replica of a 1794 Quaker meeting map.

5.1 Birth Records Since the Quaker faith does not believe in baptism, birth records are collected. Monthly meeting birth registers contain records up to 1859. They include the name of the child, date of birth, place of birth, name of parents, parents abode, and the book and page of the original record. One must take care when transcribing the date of the birth, since the Quaker registers record the date as year, month, and day. A collection of Quaker birth records throughout Ireland from 1859 to 1949 is also available.

5.2 Marriage Records Marriages were recorded by monthly meetings, with these events occasionally being recorded in the Provincial or Quarterly Meeting minutes. Monthly meeting marriage registers contain records up to 1859. They include the name, residence, description (occupation), name of parents, parents abode, to whom married, and date of marriage. The book and page of the original record is provided and the date is recorded as year, month, and day. A collection of Quaker marriage records throughout Ireland from 1859 to 1949 is also available.

Each monthly meeting also maintains a collection of marriage certificates. The certificate documents that the ceremony occurred in a public meeting place and describe what efforts were made to publicize the couple’s intention to marry. Quaker marriage certificates also contain a list of witnesses which were present at the ceremony.

5.3 Death Records Death records are collected in the Quaker faith. Monthly meeting death registers contain records up to 1859. They include the name, date of death, parents, age, residence, description (son or daughter of father and mother), date of burial, and the place of burial. The book and page of the original record is provided and dates are recorded as year, month, and day. A collection of Quaker death records throughout Ireland from 1859 to 1949 is also available.

5.4 Quaker Wills Like other Quaker records, wills were kept separate and apart from those required by the State, and avoided being destroyed in the Four Courts fire of 1922. Quaker wills were recorded by the monthly meeting. Eustace &amp; Good body (1957) contains abstracts of 224 Quaker wills, while Goodbody (1967) contains an additional 50 wills. However, the number of records from Ulster is limited.

5.5 Quaker Biographies and Pedigrees In 1997, Harrison authored A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers. In 2008, he produced a significantly expanded second edition which includes short sketches of about 650 Irish Quakers from the founding of the faith up to current times.

Some monthly meetings and some province or quarterly meetings collect ‘family lists’. In 1927, Thomas Henry Webb donated a collection of Irish Quaker pedigrees to the Dublin Friends Historical Library. The 232 surnames are listed in Ryan (2001). The Webb Collection provides detailed family records, but includes only about 10 percent of the Quaker surnames listed in the Jones Index.

5.6 Other Quaker Records

National Meeting or Half-Yearly Meeting

Records of the Quaker National or Half-Yearly Meeting date from 1671. There are also, early lists of sufferings and testimonies against tithes. Province or Quarterly Meeting Records of the provincial or quarterly meetings extend back to 1670 for Leinster, 1674 for Ulster, and 1694 for Munster. Marriages were sometimes recorded within the province or quarterly minute books.

Monthly Meeting Each monthly meeting attempted to create a record of its actions. Minute books were kept for both the men’s and women’s meetings, with most church matters appearing in the men’s meeting minutes.

Certificates of Removal A unique type of Quaker record is the “Certificate of Removal”. Many monthly meetings organized these certificates in a separate register. They served a traveling Quaker much like a passport, and would be presented upon arriving at a new meeting. The certificate noted that the holder was debt free, his or her marital status, and that they were a member in good standing at that monthly meeting. When not organized separately, these certificates were recorded as a part of monthly meeting minutes.

Quaker Suffering Records  Throughout its early history, the Quaker faith has been forced to endure a number of injustices. These included imprisonment, corporal punishment, the paying of fines, and the collection of goods for not tithing to the Church of Ireland. As a result, Quakers began to records the types and severity of these injustices by monthly meetings. Later these were printed in a series of suffering books.

Although difficult to locate, these texts can provide a wealth of information about a Quaker’s location (by parish or townland), occupation, and their relative income (wealth) based on the size of their tithe. A majority of sufferings records were for failing to tithe.


 * Holme, Thomas and Fuller, Abraham. ABrief Relation of Some Part of the Sufferings of the True Christians, the People of God, in scorn called Quakers, in Ireland, for these last Eleven Years, viz, from 1660 until 1671. Dublin. 1672.
 * Stockdale, William. The Great Cry of Oppression: or a brief relation of some part of the sufferings of the people of God in scorn called Quakers, in Ireland, for these eleven years, viz from the beginning of 1671 until the end of 1681. Dublin. 1683.
 * Fuller, Samuel. A Compendious View of Some Extraordinary Sufferings of the People Call’d Quakers. Dublin. 1731.
 * Wight, Thomas and Rutty, John. A History of the Rise and Progress of the People called the Quakers in Ireland 1653-1750. Dublin. 1751.
 * Besse, Joseph. ACollection of the Sufferings of the People called Quakers. London. 1753.

5.7 Locating Quaker Records The Dublin Friends Historical Library was created in 1908. It preserves the books, documents and other artifacts of the Quaker faith. In 2005, the library moved to a state-of-the-art facility in the south Dublin suburb of Rathfarnham.

In its collection are the original records for the national/half-yearly meetings, all the monthly meetings within Leinster and Munster, and these province/quarterly meeting minutes. It also maintains microfilm copies of the Ulster Province/Quarterly Meeting minutes and all of its monthly meetings.

Microfilm copies of the National/Half-Yearly Meetings, all the monthly meeting registers, the province or quarterly meeting minutes, and Quaker vital records from 1859 to 1949 are available at the National Library and National Archives of Ireland, both in Dublin.

Dublin Friends Historical Library Religious Society of Friends in Ireland Quaker House Stocking Lane Rathfarnham Dublin 16 IRELAND (EIRE) Internet: http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/archive/indexarc.htm

Records for the Ulster Province or Quarterly Meeting and all of its monthly meetings are located on the campus of the Quaker School in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Microfilm copies of the Ulster Province or Quarterly Meeting minutes, and the monthly meeting registers within Ulster, are available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast.

Religious Society of Friends Ulster Quarterly Meeting Archives Committee 4 Magheralave Road Lisburn BT28 3BD NORTHERN IRELAND Internet: http://www.quakers-in-ireland.org

5.8 Selected Bibliography  Butler, David M. ''The Quaker Meeting Houses of Ireland. Historical Committee of Friends in Ireland''. Kelso Graphics, Scotland, UK. 2004. Eustace, P. Beryl &amp; Goodbody, Olive C. Quaker Records Dublin - Abstract of Wills. (2 Vols, 1704-1785) Irish Manuscript Commission, Dublin, IRE. 1957. Reprint - Clearfield Company, Baltimore, MD. 1992. Goodbody, Olive C. Guide to Irish Quaker Records 1654-1860, with contribution on Northern Ireland records by B.G. Hutton. Irish Manuscript Commission, Dublin, IRE. 1967. Harrison, Richard S. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers. Four Courts Press'', Dublin, IRE. 1997. Harrison, Richard S. A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers. 2nd Edition. Four Courts Press, Dublin, IRE. 2008. Ryan, James G. Irish Church Records. 2nd Edition. Flyleaf Press, Dublin, IRE. 2001. Wigham, Maurice J. The Irish Quakers – A Short History of the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland. 2nd Edition. Historical Committee of Friends in Ireland, Dublin, IRE. 2003.

Irish Quakers to America Berry, Ellen T. &amp; Berry, David A. Our Quaker Ancestors - Finding Them in Quaker Records. Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD. 1987. Myers, Albert Cook. Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania 1682-1750; With Their Early History in Ireland. Swarthmore, PA. 1902 --- Reprint, Heritage Books, Westminster, MD. 2006 &amp; 2009. Myers, Albert Cook. Quaker Arrivals at Philadelphia, 1682-1750: Being a List of Certificates of Removal Received at Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends. Swarthmore, PA. 1902. --- Reprint, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD. 2007.

Around 1653 Quakers emigrated from England to Ireland. If you are not sure your ancestors were Quakers, consult the list of chief Irish Quaker surnames found in the appendix in:

Harrison, Richard S. A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers. (FHL book 941.5 D36hr.)

Quakers held both weekly and monthly meetings. Births, marriages, and deaths were reported in the monthly meetings. Around 1655 Quakers began keeping records of their meetings. Irish Quaker records are held in two regional Quaker repositories: the Dublin Friends Historical Library and the Religious Society of Friends. The Dublin Friends Historical Library only has records for the Republic of Ireland. The Religious Society of Friends, Ulster Quarterly Meeting mainly has records for Northern Ireland. Both repositories contain minutes of meetings; birth, marriage, and death records; diaries; pedigrees; wills; and other records. The address is:


 * Dublin Friends Historical Library Religious Society of Friends in Ireland Quaker House Stocking Lane Rathfarnham Dublin 16 IRELAND (EIRE) Internet: http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/archive/indexarc.htm


 * Religious Society of Friends Ulster Quarterly Meeting Archives Committee 4 Magheralave Road Lisburn BT28 3BD NORTHERN IRELAND Internet: http://www.quakers-in-ireland.org/

The National Library of Ireland in Dublin and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland have microfilm copies of some Quaker records. The Family History Library also has microfilm copies of some Quaker records. These are listed in the Place Search of the catalog under the following headings:

IRELAND - CHURCH RECORDS

IRELAND, [COUNTY] - CHURCH RECORDS

IRELAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - CHURCH RECORDS

IRELAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH], [TOWN] - CHURCH RECORDS

Jewish Records
Ireland has only a few Jewish synagogues. Jewish records have been deposited in the Irish Jewish Museum. The museum contains records from synagogues and from Jewish communal institutions. These records include registrations of births, marriages, and deaths. For more information about these records, write the museum at the following address:

Irish Jewish Museum 3/4 Walworth Road South Circular Road Dublin 8 IRELAND (EIRE) Internet: http://www.eecs.tufts.edu/~zblocker/ijm/

The Family History Library does not have any Jewish records for Ireland.

Other Churches
Many other denominations have established churches or congregations in Ireland. In the mid-1600s Congregationalists and Baptists first came to Ireland as soldiers under Cromwell. Huguenots, seeking religious freedom, also came in the 1600s. Most Huguenots affiliated themselves with the Church of Ireland or with the Presbyterian Church. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established branches in Ireland by 1850.

Records of other churches are primarily in local custody (except for Latter-day Saint records, which are mainly in Salt Lake City, Utah). Huguenot church records have been published in:

The Publications of the Huguenot Society of London. N.p.: Huguenot Society of London, 18--. (Family History Library book 942.1/L1 B4h.)

Copies of records for other churches can be found at the Family History Library. These are listed in the Place Search of the catalog under:

IRELAND, [COUNTY], [PARISH] - CHURCH RECORDS

Locating Church Records
Church records are in local custody. Many church records have also been filmed or photocopied and the originals or copies stored in repositories.

Hayes's Sources can be used to determine if and where church records were deposited before 1977. Look in the subject indexes of:

Hayes, Richard J. Manuscript Sources for the History of Irish Civilization. (Family History Library book Ref 941.5 A5h.) Look under the headings "Parish Registers" and "Vestry Books" for Church of Ireland records, and look by denomination (Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.) for other churches' records. In the place indexes, look for church records by county and then town, city, or parish.

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has published:

An Irish Genealogical Source: Guide to Church Records. Belfast, Ireland: Ulster Historical Foundation on behalf of PRONI, 1994. (Family History Library book 941.6 K23.) This is a guide to locating church records in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. It also indicates which records are still in local custody.

The descriptive catalog of holdings of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland details that archives' holdings of church records. The Family History Library has a filmed copy of the descriptive catalog. The sections describing church records are found on films 1701904-5; 1701989; 1736433 items 5-9; 1736434 items 1-2.

The appendices in James G. Ryan, ed., Irish Church Records give some names and addresses of church record archives. The appendices also provide details about Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, and Methodist records held in local custody or deposited in national archives.

Local heritage or genealogical centres throughout Ireland are currently indexing church records. To determine if a centre has indexed the records you need, consult:

Irish Family History Society. Directory of Parish Registers Indexed in Ireland. (Family History Library book Ref 941.5 K23dp.)

Additional church records have been indexed since the directory was published. Contact the appropriate centre for more current information and to determine the fees charged for searching and copying index entries.

To see if the church records you need are available at the Family History Library, check the library catalog. To identify transcripts or abstracts of church records found in Irish genealogical periodicals available at the Family History Library, consult Smith's Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Ireland.

Search Strategies
As you or your agent search church records, use the following strategies:


 * Search all parish registers and other available church records of the appropriate locality for the time period you are researching.
 * Search available Church of Ireland records even if your family was not Church of Ireland.
 * Search surrounding localities if you cannot find records in the expected locality.
 * Note all entries, including burials, for the surname you are searching (unless the name is very common).
 * Note gaps or missing pages in the record. You may want to search alternative records for the missing time periods.
 * If you find little or no mention of your family in parish records, search other records.
 * Use the additional information (residence, occupation, etc.) given in parish registers to find other records to search.