The key to finding a record in the Family History Library is the Family History Library Catalog. The catalog describes and provides call numbers for each of the library's holdings. The catalog is available on microfiche and on compact disc at the Family History Library and at Family History Centers.

The Family History Library Catalog on microfiche is divided into four major sections:

• Locality
• Surname
• Subject
• Author/Title

The Family History Library Catalog on compact disc has four types of searches:

• Locality Search
• Surname Search
• Film Number Search
• Computer Number Search

To find the call numbers of the records described in this outline, you will most often use the Locality Search on microfiche or compact disc. As mentioned, the section headings in this outline, such as “Church Records,” are the same as the subjects you would search in the microfiche edition and as the topics you would type into the computer in the compact disc edition of the Family History Library Catalog.

The Locality Search list records by the area they cover and according to their record type or subject.

To find sources in the Locality section of the catalog, you would look for:

• The place your ancestor lived, such as:

  GREAT BRITAIN (kingdom)IRELAND (country)IRELAND, CLARE (country, county)IRELAND, CLARE, QUIN (country, county, parish)
  

• Then the record type you want, such as:

  GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDSIRELAND - CENSUSIRELAND, CLARE - GENEALOGYIRELAND, CLARE, QUIN - CHURCH RECORDS
  

The record type (or subject) may be further subdivided, for example:

[LOCALITY] - GENEALOGY - HANDBOOKS AND MANUALS[LOCALITY] - CENSUS - 1901 - INDEXES

If you need more information about using the Family History Library Catalog, a short video program, written instructions, and reference librarians are available to assist you at the Family History Library and at Family History Centers.

To find Irish records or other sources not separately listed in the Family History Library Catalog, use Smith's Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Ireland. This includes a subject index to items that are not listed individually in the catalog but which are found in periodicals, books, and films in the library's collection. The index is available in manuscript form at the Family History Library (FHL Call No. 941.5 D23s 30 volumes) and on microfiche (FHL microfiche 6110527).

Records Selection Table: Ireland

RECORDS SELECTION TABLE: IRELAND

The table below can help you decide which type of Irish records to search. Similar types of records in the country to which your ancestor immigrated may provide the information you need.Column 1 lists the types of information you may need.Column 2 lists the sections of this outline that discuss the records that are most likely to have the information you need.Column 3 lists other sections that may be useful.The section headings used in columns 2 and 3 are the same headings as those used in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog.Records containing previous research (biography, genealogy, history, nobility, periodicals, and societies) may be helpful for most types of information. These have not been repeatedly listed unless they are especially helpful for the information you need.

1. If You Need	2. Look First In	3. Then Search
Age	Census, Church Records, Civil Registration	Cemeteries, Military Records
Birth date	Church Records, Civil Registration	Cemeteries, Military Records, Newspapers, Occupations
Birthplace	Church Records, Civil Registration	Census, Newspapers, Military Records, Occupations
Boundaries of parishes, districts, and counties	Gazetteers	History, Maps
Coats of arms	Heraldry
Death	Cemeteries, Church Records, Civil Registration, Newspapers	Court Records, Probate Records, Land and Property
Historical background	Genealogy, History	Church History
Emigration date	Emigration and Immigration	Church Records, Naturalization and Citizenship
Language helps	Language and Languages
Living relatives	Civil Registration, Directories	Newspapers, Periodicals, Societies
Maiden name	Church Records, Civil Registration	Newspapers
Marriage	Church Records, Civil Registration	Biography, Genealogy, Newspapers, Nobility
Occupation	Census, Church Records, Civil Registration, Directories, Occupations, Probate Records	Court Records; Poorhouses, Poor Law, Etc.
Parents, children, and other family members	Census, Church Records, Civil Registration, Probate Records	Land and Property; Poorhouses, Poor Law, Etc.; Schools
Physical description	Court Records, Military Records	Biography, Newspapers, Occupations
Place-finding aids	Gazetteers, Maps	Directories, History, Land and Property, Periodicals, Taxation
Places of residence	Census, Church Records, Directories	Land and Property, Names (Personal)
Place of residence when you know only the county	Civil Registration, Directories, Land and Property, Probate Records, Taxation	Church Records
Previous research (compiled genealogy)	Biography, Genealogy, Societies	Nobility, Periodicals
Record-finding aids	Archives and Libraries, Genealogy	Periodicals, Societies
Religion	Biography, Church Records, Civil Registration	Census, Cemeteries, Genealogy, History
Understanding names	Names (Personal)

Map of Ireland

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