National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8, Republic of Ireland
Research guides and articles
- Access: Readers must apply for a free reader's ticket on their first visit, which requires photographic identification.
- Collection: Governmental archives, formed from the amalgamation in 1988 of the Public Record Office of Ireland, founded in 1867, and the State Paper Office, founded in 1702. The Office of Public Works was responsible from 1831 for canals, roads and bridges, harbours and fishery piers, post offices, schools, colleges, lunatic asylums, custom houses and inland revenue buildings, coastguard buildings, constabulary barracks, glebe houses, school teachers' residences, dispensaries and employment exchanges, law courts, official residences, Dublin Castle, the National Museum and National Library. From 1869 the OPW was entrusted with the care of disused churches deemed to be National Monuments, and in 1882 it was constituted the authority for the preservation of National Monuments. That includes a number of castles.
- Catalogues: the default search option for the online catalogue covers all types of record, but search can be narrowed to specific databases such as:
- Archives of the Office of Public Works.
- Index to Ordnance Survey town plans of the 1830s and 1840s.
- Business Records Survey.
https://www.nli.ie/en/intro/how-to-find-us.aspx
Where to Find Us
The National Library is located on Kildare Street in the centre of Dublin.
This map shows the location of the Main Library Building on Kildare Street, the Library building at 2/3 Kildare Street and the National Photographic Archive in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar and the Seamus Heaney - Listen Now Again exhibition. The Library’s administrative headquarters are also located at no. 4 Kildare Street.
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland
The National Library is Ireland's main repository of filmed Catholic parish registers. Other records on deposit at the National Library include newspapers, city and regional directories, estate records, the Householders Index, and Griffith's Primary Valuation. The library's staff does not do commissioned searches. An online database, Sources: a National Library of Ireland database for Irish Research should be searched before visiting the library. info@nli.ie
National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
- Access to the library and archive is by appointment.
- Collection: the Irish Farmers Association Millennium Library and Archive includes a substantial photographic collection, c.1,000 prints and a collection of drawings and watercolours. These include a set of plans, elevations and sections of thatched cottages in Ireland, made by students at the UCD School of Architecture in the 1930s and 1940s.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 66 Balmoral Avenue, Belfast BT9 6NY, N.Ireland
- Collection: PRONI is the official place of deposit for public records in Northern Ireland. The earliest record dates from 1219, with the main concentration of records covering the period 1600 to the present. The official records are from government departments (early 19th-century onwards), courts of law, local authorities and other non-departmental public bodies. Other records have been deposited by private individuals, churches, businesses and institutions.
- Guides and catalogues: publications are listed online.
2 Titanic Boulevard
Belfast BT3 9HQ
Northern Ireland
proni@dcalni.gov.uk
Website
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has a fairly complete collection of church records (all denominations) for all of Northern Ireland as well as some records for the counties of Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan. The office's holdings also include estate papers, gravestone inscriptions, census records, Tithe Applotment books, valuation lists, and other historical and genealogical sources. Some records, or indexes, have been digitized and are searchable on the PRONI website.
NIPR, The National Collection of Northern Ireland Publications
Northern Ireland has no National Library, so NIPR aims to identify, collect, preserve and make available for public consultation, every book, pamphlet, periodical and report published in Northern Ireland since January 2000.
In the absence of a national library for Northern Ireland, NIPR aims to identify, collect and preserve every book, pamphlet, periodical and report published in Northern Ireland since January 2000. Belfast Central Library and the Linen Hall Library, Belfast are the two lead partners in NIPR and dedicated repositories have been set up within these institutions to house the collection.
Belfast Central Library, Royal Avenue, Belfast, County Antrim BT1 1EA, Northern Ireland
Has a collection of rare books, manuscripts and archives relating to Irish history, including a collection of over 400 early Irish maps dating from the sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century, as well as OS maps from the 1830s onwards.
The Linen Hall Library, 17 Donegall Square, North Belfast BT1 5GB, Northern Ireland
An independent library, run as a charitable body, it boasts an unparalleled Irish and Local Studies Collection, notable for early Belfast and Ulster printed books and newspapers. It also holds the archives of the Belfast Charitable Society and Belfast Trades Council.
17 Donegall Square North
Belfast BT1 5GB
NORTHERN IRELAND
info@linenhall.com
Website
The Linen Hall Library has an extensive collection of genealogical and heraldic material. Some of its holdings are duplicated in other repositories such as the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the National Library of Ireland, and the National Archives. Others of its holdings, such as its printed family histories, are unique.
National Museum of Ireland
National Museums of Northern Ireland
- Collections of the Ulster Museum, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Ulster American Folk Park and Armagh County Museum include historic photographs and other topographical images.
- Online database: collections are gradually being digitised, including art and photographs.
Local heritage centers, sometimes called genealogical centers, are working with community, government and private bodies to index records of genealogical value and to create and maintain a database of those records for their county. These centers are indexing church records, the Tithe Applotment books, Griffith's Primary Valuation, the 1901 census, and gravestone inscriptions.
Most centers and their records are not open to the public. Center staff, however, will search their indexes and supply information for a fee. For more information about the heritage centers, see:
- The website of the Irish Historical Foundation at www.rootsireland.ie Provides online access to the centers' indexed records and gives contact information and other details.
College Street
Dublin 2
IRELAND (EIRE)
dutylibrarian@tcd.ie
Website
Among other genealogical and historical records, the Manuscripts Department of Trinity College Library has a collection of medieval manuscripts, the 1798 rebellion papers, and some Church of Ireland parish records for Dublin.
49 Merrion Square,
Dublin 2,
Tel: +353 (1) 439 2424
Fax: +353 (1) 439 2466
registrar@nui.ie
Website
The Library is associated with the main University campus, and has extended archives and archival services.
University Rd,
Belfast BT7 1NN,
United Kingdom
Website
The Library of the Queen's University has extensive archival records relating to the Northern Counties of Ireland. It is also the repository of most religious records that are Protestant in nature.
Block 2
Irish Life Centre
Abbey St Lower
Dublin 1
IRELAND (EIRE)
info@valoff.ie
Website
The Valuation Office holds the Griffith's Primary Valuation records and accompanying maps (see Ireland Taxation). The office's post-1868 valuation records and maps are of the Republic of Ireland only.
National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin 8
Tithe Applotment Books, Wills and Administrations, Surviving pre-1900 census records and transcripts, some Church of Ireland Parish registers, National School records, some Workhouse records, files of trials, inquest files, Prison records, and more.
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Roman Catholic parish registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, Registers of Electors, Griffith's Primary Valuation of Ireland, Tithe Applotment Books, Estate Papers, Newspapers, Reference Material, Printed Books, Pedigrees and other Manuscripts, Directories, maps and more.
General Register Office Research Room, 3rd Floor, Block 7, Irish Life Buildings, Abbey Street, Dublin 1
Civil Births, Marriages and Deaths from 1864 (non-Catholic marriages from 1845) for the entire country up to 1921 and for the Republic of Ireland from 1922-1995. Adopted Children's Register.
Dublin City Library and Archives, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2
Some civil Indeces of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Directories, database of some Dublin Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parish registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, database of Dublin Electoral Registers, Newspapers and more.
Registry of Deeds, King’s Inns, Henrietta Street, Dublin 1
Memorials and Transcripts of Deeds relating to marriage settlements, wills, leases, sales and mortgages from 1708.
Representative Church Body Library, Braemor Park, Churchtown, Dublin 14
Church of Ireland parish registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, Leslie Biographical Index (records of Church of Ireland ministers), Succession Lists (chronological records of clergy arranged by parish), reference materials, Abstracts of Wills (Welply) and more.
Valuation Office, Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1
Revision books for the Republic of Ireland from the middle 1800s to recent times (1980s), maps of townlands.
Valuation Office (valoff.ie)
The Valuation Office is the State property valuation agency.
The core business of the Office is the provision of accurate, up-to-date valuations of commercial and industrial properties to ratepayers and rating authorities as laid down by statute. The Office also provides a valuation consultancy service to other Government departments, local authorities, health boards and the Revenue Commissioners. Records Ireland
The Church of Ireland
From the period of the Reformation in the sixteenth century until 1870, the Protestant Church of Ireland was an Established Church, a virtual arm of state with civil as well as religious powers and functions. Other records associated with the Church of Ireland include Tithe Applotment Books. For a general account of the records of this Church, see Raymond Refaussé, 'The Archives of the Church of Ireland: an Introduction', Irish Archives Bulletin, 11, 1981, pages 3-11.
Diocesan Records
Under the Public Records (Ireland) Act 1867, the records of the Prerogative and Consistorial or Diocesan Courts of the Church of Ireland were declared to be public records. Almost all of the records deposited were destroyed in 1922. For details of Prerogative and Diocesan Wills and Administrations, see Testamentary Records, and see also Miscellaneous Ecclesiastical Records.
The Prerogative and Consistorial or Diocesan Courts could issue Marriage Licences to those who did not wish to pursue the method of having banns called. The original Marriage Licences and accompanying Bonds were destroyed in 1922, but the Prerogative and Diocesan indexes to the Bonds have survived, and for convenience are shelved with the testamentary indexes (Case 8). The Betham Abstracts contain details of Prerogative Marriage Licences 1629-1801 and of Dublin Diocese Marriage Licences 1660-1824. Abstracts of Killaloe Diocese Licences are held in the Genealogical Office, and of Ossory Diocese Licences in the Representative Church Body Library. From 1845 the state registered Non-Catholic marriages, and from 1864 marriages of all denominations were registered (see General Register Office).
Under the Public Records Act 1867, an amendment of 1875 and the Parochial Records Act 1876, Church of Ireland parish registers of marriages prior to 1845 and of baptisms and burials prior to 1871 were declared to be public records. However, registers could be retained in parochial custody if an adequate place of storage was available. The registers of all but four of the 1,006 parishes deposited in the Public Record Office of Ireland were destroyed in 1922. The registers of 637 parishes in local custody fortuitously survived, and in addition transcripts of or extracts from destroyed registers are available in the case of some other parishes.
While repealing the Acts of 1875 and 1876, the National Archives Act 1986 effectively confirmed the status of Church of Ireland Parish Registers as public records. The National Archives is in the process of completing the making of microfilm copies of surviving Church of Ireland parish registers, but not all of these are yet accessible to the public (see card index of available copies). The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast holds microfilm copies of nearly all surviving registers for the Six Counties. A growing number of surviving original registers is in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin, while others remain in local parochial custody.
The standard, but by no means complete, guide is the National Archives Guide to Parochial Records of the Church of Ireland (typescript), a partly updated version of which is Noel Reid Editor, A Table of Church of Ireland Parochial Records and Copies, Naas 1994. See also Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, An Irish Genealogical Source: Guide to Church Records, Belfast 1974. For further information see Raymond Refaussé, 'Records of the Church of Ireland', in J G Ryan Editor, Irish Church Records, Dublin 1992.
Parochial Returns
In connection with visitations by bishops, clergy not infrequently prepared returns of baptisms, marriages and burials within their parishes for given periods. Most of these Parochial Returns were destroyed in 1922, and only four are now held in the National Archives. For copies of Visitation Returns and other records, see Miscellaneous Ecclesiastical Records.
Vestry Minutes
Vestry Minute Books and other parish records not containing entries of baptisms, marriages and burials were deemed not to be public records. A considerable number of earlier parish registers containing vestry entries were destroyed in 1922, and many other vestry records had been lost before that date. Vestry records also reflect the role of the parish in local government, dealing with repair of roads, poor relief and other matters, and in some cases contain lists of householders liable to pay cess, a parochial tax. Some surviving Vestry Minute Books have been deposited in the Representative Church Body Library and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.