The Methodist Church in Ireland owes its origins largely to John and Charles Wesley who visited Ireland on many occasions, beginning with John Wesley's historic visit in 1747. Although closely linked to British Methodism, the Irish Methodist Church is an autonomous body. The Methodist Church has approximately 130 ministers. The total membership is around 60,000 people, about 90% of whom live in Northern Ireland. also see Irish Genealogy Toolkit
Methodist Church in Ireland
Methodist: Methodism, as a separate denomination, did not emerge until 1816. The earliest baptism registers, therefore, date from then although the majority do not begin until the 1830s. Marriages registers generally only start in 1845. An important record is MIC/429/1. This is a microfilm copy of a large volume of baptism entries dating from 1815 to 1840 for Methodist churches throughout Ireland. This may have been an attempt to compile a central register of baptisms and, although incomplete, the baptisms recorded often pre-date existing individual church baptism registers. There are few Methodist burial registers because most Methodist churches did not have their own burial grounds. Permission to copy must be obtained from the individual Methodist Church. (PRONI ref MIC/1E/ and CI/6) PRONI Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Methodist Historical Society
The Methodist Church in Ireland - Website
Although there have been Methodists in Ireland since the 1740s, for the first 70 years Methodists usually had dual membership as both Methodists and also members of the parish church.
- Between 1747 and 1818 all Methodist records were kept in the Church of Ireland parish registers.
- Between 1818 and 1874 Wesleyan Methodists kept separate registers, most of which are available in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland.
- Primitive Methodist records were still maintained in the Church of Ireland registers as before.
How to trace your Roots back to the 1830's or earlier. Fiona Fitzsimons. Eneclann Methodist Historical Society of Ireland - Website
Methodist Historical Society of Ireland - Website
Location of Records A great number of Methodist baptism and marriage registers are still held by local Methodist churches. A list of addresses, phone numbers and emails of ministers in charge of the various churches may be found at:
http://www.irishmethodist.org/find-church
However an increasing number of records have been transferred to the Archives and Library of the Methodist Historical Society of Ireland (MHSI) at Edgehill College, 9 Lennoxvale, Belfast. The most recent accession has been the major Dublin collection previously held at Christ Church, Sandymount, Dublin. A search for records held at the MHSI archives may be made on line at: http://opac.libraryworld.com/opac/home.php
A large collection of mostly Northern Ireland Methodist records is held on microfilm at PRONI copies of which are also held at the MHSI Archives in Belfast. There is in addition a valuable microfilm copy in PRONI of a transcript originally made in Dublin of almost every Irish Wesleyan baptism recorded between circa 1816 and 1845. There is also a hard copy at the MHSI archives.
Methodist Newsletter 'Round the Churches'
Index of Methodist Churches, Chapels and Preaching houses MHSI Website
Plan your visit - MHSI Methodist Historical Society of Ireland