The National Library of Ireland Adds
Catholic Parish Registers Back to the 1740s Online
by Dick Eastman on July 8, 2015
The National Library of Ireland in Dublin today (Wednesday) has placed the entire collection of Catholic parish register microfilms held by the National Library of Ireland (NLI) online. Involved are over 370,000 digital images of the microfilm reels on which the parish registers are recorded and which will be accessible free of charge.
These parish register records are considered the single most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the 1901 Census. Dating from the 1740s to the 1880s, they cover 1,086 parishes throughout the island of Ireland, and consist primarily of baptismal and marriage records. The NLI has been working to digitize the microfilms for over three years under what it had described as its most ambitious digitization program to date. . .
The National Library of Ireland in Dublin today (Wednesday) has placed the entire collection of Catholic parish register microfilms held by the National Library of Ireland (NLI) online. Involved are over 370,000 digital images of the microfilm reels on which the parish registers are recorded and which will be accessible free of charge.
These parish register records are considered the single most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the 1901 Census. Dating from the 1740s to the 1880s, they cover 1,086 parishes throughout the island of Ireland, and consist primarily of baptismal and marriage records. The NLI has been working to digitize the microfilms for over three years under what it had described as its most ambitious digitization program to date. . .
The Catholic parish registers have been available on microfilm since the 1970's but this is the first time they have been placed online. Irish descendants no longer have to spend a lot of money to visit the Library in Dublin view these registers.
Getting Started
Visit the Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI
Your research begins with you and your immediate family. Ask questions of family members you think might know a little bit more about your family history. Consult old photographs on which names and dates may be noted, newspaper clippings, old letters, family Bibles as well as family gravestones. Try to establish approximate dates (of births, marriages and deaths) as well as names (forenames and related family names) and places of residence. This information will point the way to relevant records. Religious denomination is also important in determining which records are relevant to your research.
Begin with census records and civil recordsAlthough a census of the Irish population was taken every ten years from 1821 to 1911, the earliest complete surviving Census is for 1901. The 1901 and 1911 Census are both fully searchable online, free of charge on the National Archives website.
State registration of all non-Catholic marriages in Ireland began in 1845. In 1864, civil registration of all births, marriages and deaths commenced. These records are held at the General Register Office in Dublin. An index to records of civil registration in Ireland from 1845 to 1958 is available on the Family Search website.
If you are starting out on the ancestral trail we recommend that you read our information booklet Family History Research Sources rev 2014 (2.82 MB, Adobe PDF), or visit our Genealogy Advisory Service which offers free advice on resources for tracing your family history.
Further information - at http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Visit the Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI
Your research begins with you and your immediate family. Ask questions of family members you think might know a little bit more about your family history. Consult old photographs on which names and dates may be noted, newspaper clippings, old letters, family Bibles as well as family gravestones. Try to establish approximate dates (of births, marriages and deaths) as well as names (forenames and related family names) and places of residence. This information will point the way to relevant records. Religious denomination is also important in determining which records are relevant to your research.
Begin with census records and civil recordsAlthough a census of the Irish population was taken every ten years from 1821 to 1911, the earliest complete surviving Census is for 1901. The 1901 and 1911 Census are both fully searchable online, free of charge on the National Archives website.
State registration of all non-Catholic marriages in Ireland began in 1845. In 1864, civil registration of all births, marriages and deaths commenced. These records are held at the General Register Office in Dublin. An index to records of civil registration in Ireland from 1845 to 1958 is available on the Family Search website.
If you are starting out on the ancestral trail we recommend that you read our information booklet Family History Research Sources rev 2014 (2.82 MB, Adobe PDF), or visit our Genealogy Advisory Service which offers free advice on resources for tracing your family history.
Further information - at http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx