We all want to know where we came from and know more about those that came before us. It is no different in the Irish Society, for genealogy has played a major role for centuries, from manuscripts to the current documents of today. On June 30, 1922 Dublin, Ireland was the scene of bitter fighting and a section of the Four Courts Building was blown up by an explosion. The strong room in the basement of the Public Records Office within the Four Courts Building was the repository of administrative records from 13th century on. While it held valuable records it also stored ammunition and mines that was placed there by the anti-Treaty side in the devastating civil war. When the pro-Treaty forces hit the building with a shell, records were destroyed. There were a few records in the PRO Reading Room that survived, thankfully. Those that questioned the fate of certain legal records received a response from Mr. Churchill. He stated, “Better a State without archives than archives without a State”. At that time, Churchill was wanting to remind others, that such inconveniences and losses were not equivalent with the suffering that must arise to the whole of Ireland if anarchy could not be crushed. The Irish Times wrote an interesting article that goes into detail titled “Ruin of Public Record Office marked loss of great archive”. It was written in June of 2012 giving a 90 year analysis of the event that would be felt by genealogist for centuries to come. It includes excerpts from the book “The Singing Flame” written by Ernie O’Malley. The book covers the period of 1922 -1924 as O’Malley writes of his experiences during the historical events that took place. The book and the article are great reads. Prior to 1922 Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. Wars for centuries had been going on. Finally, in 1801 the Irish Parliament was eradicated and Ireland became a crucial part of the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the establishments of the Acts of Union 1800. Thus, between 1800 to 1922, which is considered an essential period of genealogical interest, two countries had become one. So, the immigration traffic records between the two countries no longer existed since they were one. A person could simply move from one part of the country to another part of the country when one was moving from Ireland communities to Great Britain communities or vice versa, thus making migration connections difficult. When it comes to Irish records, the more you know, the better results you get. Talking to older generations within your family can help you in your search for ancestors. Knowing the location of origin is extremely important to know, unless, your ancestor had a very unusual or unique name. Records prior to 1860 were location-specific. The Luck of the Irish maybe with you in the British census records between 1841 and 1891. They sometimes provided the place of birth, yet most times they would write “Ireland”. Now just as in the United States a lot of Irish families / communities stayed together too. This is where your detective skills would come into play. Examine those that live in the same district. If county of origin is mentioned for neighbors within the same district, check that county of origin for your relatives. Now, that we know that not a lot of records for all of Ireland survived the 1922 explosion, there are many that survived in the smaller communities. This alone explains the importance of knowing the place of origin for your ancestors. The adventure into the genealogy of your Irish ancestors begins with knowing a few details provided by the records found in the United States.
This information can be found in census records, passenger’s lists, naturalizations, church records, obituaries, and civil marriage records. Once you have this information you are well onto your way of finding your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You can begin by searching through Ireland’s civil records, census records, church records, migration records, graveyards, military and police records, and property records for more details about your ancestors. Good Luck!!!!! Here is your starting point: Ireland’s General Register Office (Oifig an Ard-Chláraitheora) is the central repository for births, adoptions, marriages and deaths. Official records for births, marriage and deaths were recorded since 1864 and since 1845 for non-Catholic marriages. Some online databases that are free include: Census Records
Church Records
Catholics Catholic Parish Registers at the National Library of Ireland, images by parish. Quakers Irish Quaker Collection, index.
Migration RecordsRemember since Ireland was part of the United Kingdom between 1800-1922 there are no migration records between them.
GraveyardsMilitary and Police Records
Property RecordsComplementary Databases
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Penny Alvarez-KellerGraduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in Management / Marketing and a degree in Economics / Finance Archives
February 2023
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