IRISH ANCESTORS

Many Irish records, in particular census and probate records, have been lost or destroyed (notably in the burning of the Irish Public Record Office in 1922), but the civil registers of births, marriages and deaths were undamaged.

Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in Ireland in 1864. Non-Catholic marriages were recorded from 1845. Registers for all Ireland up to 1921, and for the Republic of Ireland from 1922 to the present are held by the General Register Office of Ireland.

Registers for Northern Ireland, including those before 1922 held by the General Register Office Northern Ireland.

Few Irish census records survive before 1901. The 1901 and 1911 censuses for Ireland can be viewed at The National Archives of Ireland. The 1911 is now available online.

The 1901 census for Northern Ireland (but not 1911) can also be seen at The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

The wills of Irish people dying with property in England, before 1858, may have been proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC). All PCC wills are now available online via DocumentsOnline, The National Archives’ collection of digitised records. The documents can be viewed and downloaded for a fee, or they can be viewed free of charge at The National Archives.

For Northern Irish divorce records, see the Northern Ireland Court Service website.

For more information about tracing Irish ancestors see Irish Genealogy.
 

AT THE SHOW

Exhibitors to visit include:

• Tourism Ireland, who can give you all the information you need about visiting Ireland to discover your roots, and who are supporting the Irish content at the show.
• Eneclann, who will be running research clinics on their stand where you can book a 15 minute slot with a researcher. Click here to find out more.
• Irish Family History Foundation
• National Archives of Ireland
• National Library of Ireland
• Public Record Office Northern Ireland

You can also go to workshops on tracing Irish ancestors on all three days of the show.

• See the workshop programme for more details.
   

Click here to view a floorplan with some of the top show features for people with Irish Ancestors.