County Offaly, Ireland Genealogy

Guide to County Offaly ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records. Ireland Online Genealogy Records Ask the Community

History
County Offaly, in Ireland was formerly known as King’s County. It is located in the Irish Midlands in the province of Leinster and consists of 771 square miles with its greatest length being 52 miles from the River Ollatrim near Moneygall to the boundary near Edenderry.

Anciently, it was part of the Kingdom of Ui Failghe from which it gets its present name. The British began occupation in the thirteen century, but did not gain control until the sixteen century when it was named King’s County in 1547 in honour of King Philip II of Spain. Its name was changed to Offaly in 1920 and it became part of the Republic of Ireland on its formation in 1921.

In 1821, the population was 131,088. It increased to 146,857 in 1841, but then began to decrease to 52,592 in 1926. In 2006, the population was 70,868. In 1871, 88.8% of the population were Roman Catholic with 9.9% of the Church of Ireland, 0.4% Presbyterians and 0.5% Methodists. In 1926, 92.6% were Roman Catholic with 6.5% Church of Ireland.

General County Research Information
Further information about County Offaly is available at the GenUKI site.

Census

 * 1901 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1911 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Church Records

 * 1623-1866 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1701-1845 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Civil Jurisdictions and Parish Research Information

 * List of County Offaly Civil Parishes
 * List of County Offaly Catholic Parishes

Civil Registration

 * 1845-1913 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1845-1958 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Directories

 * 1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index, images available on Findmypast
 * 1884 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Land and Property

 * 1810-1926 Ireland, Dog Licence Registrations, 1810-1926 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1831 - 1856 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1847-1864 Ireland, Griffith's Valuations, 1847-1864 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Maps

 * 1885 County Map: Courtesy of London Ancestor | Note that during this time period it was known as King's County

Military

 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Probate Records

 * 1595-1858 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Websites

 * County Offaly Website
 * RootsIreland.ie
 * Offaly County Council, Genealogy
 * Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society
 * RootsChat Offaly (Kings) Resources and Help pages. (Free).