Probate records are court records dealing with the distribution of a deceased person's estate. Probate records may give the deceased's death date; names, relationships, residences of heirs and guardians; and names of witnesses. Probate actions have been recorded in Ireland since the sixteenth century.

Not every person who died left probate records. Most wills were left by males with property. However, wills often list the names of the deceased's family and friends, so that many more people are listed in probate records than actually left them.

Some types of Irish probate documents are:

• Wills, which deal primarily with real property.
• Testaments, which deal primarily with movable property.
• Codicils, which are signed addenda to wills.
• Letters of administration or admons, which indicate that a person died without leaving a will so the court appointed an administrator to oversee estate distribution.
• Admons with will attached, which are produced when the executor named in the will is unable or unwilling to act as executor.
• Inventories, which list the belongings of the deceased person.
• Grant or act books, which provide day by day accounts of all actions taken in a probate court.
  

For a discussion of probate documents and their availability, see Rosemary ffolliott and Eileen O'Byrne, “Wills and Administrations” in Irish Genealogy: A Record Finder, edited by Donal F. Begley (see the “For Further Reading” section).

Pre-1858 Probate Courts in Ireland

Irish probates were handled by ecclesiastical courts from 1536 to 1858. Twenty-eight diocesan courts, known as consistory courts, existed. The highest court, with authority over all the ecclesiastical courts, was the Prerogative Court of Armagh. If a person had an estate that included property in more than one diocese and was worth more than £5, that person's will should have been proved in the Prerogative Court. The wills of wealthy people were usually proved in the Prerogative Court as well.

For a list of the diocesan courts and the counties over which each had jurisdiction, see:

Camp, Anthony J. Wills and Their Whereabouts. 4th ed. London: Anthony J. Camp, 1974. (FHL book Ref 942 S2wa; computer number 0192121.)

Irish Probates Register. Typescript. Salt Lake City, Utah: Family History Library, 1979. (FHL book Reg. 941.5 P2gs; computer number 0026060.)

Most pre-1858 probate records were destroyed when the Public Record Office in Dublin burned in 1922. Fortunately, prior to the fire, wills and admons had been indexed. Most of the indexes survived the disaster. Microfilm copies of the indexes are available at the Family History Library. They are listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under IRELAND - PROBATE RECORDS - INDEXES.

Some of the indexes have also been printed in:

Phillimore, W. P. W., and Gertrude Thrift, eds. Indexes to Irish Wills. 1909-20. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. (FHL book 941.5 P22i 1970; fiche 6036097 nos. 1-10; computer number 0484497.)

Prerogative wills of Ireland (wills tried in the Prerogative Court) have been indexed in:

Vicars, Sir Arthur, ed. Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810. 1897. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967. (FHL book 941.5 P22v 1967; fiche 6026394; computer number 0173905.)

Most probate index entries give the name and residence of the deceased and the year of the probate. If you find a desired index entry, turn to the following sources to see if a copy of the probate record exists:

• Hayes's Sources. Hayes's volumes contain references to many wills found in various archives and libraries.
• Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Card Index to Wills in the Several Collections Held at the Public Record Office, Belfast 1536-1920. This index was filmed by the Family History Library in 1990. The index lists many wills and other probate records found at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. The index is listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under IRELAND - PROBATE RECORDS - INDEXES. Copies of the wills listed in the index can be obtained from the Public Record Office or can be viewed on microfilm at the Family History Library. The library's copies of the wills are listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under IRELAND - PROBATE RECORDS.
• Ireland, Public Record Office. Testamentary Documents Card Index, Seventeenth to Twentieth Centuries. This card index lists wills and copies of wills that were collected after the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922. These wills and copies of wills are now on file at the National Archives. The 1928 version of the index is published in Public Record Office, Dublin, The Fifty-Sixth Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1931; FHL book 941.5 A5r; film 0990493 item 8 and 0100239 item 4; fiche 6023597-602; computer number 0135706). In 1990, the Family History Library filmed the index. The index is listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under IRELAND - PROBATE RECORDS - INDEXES. Some copies of wills referenced in the index are also on film at the library. These are listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under IRELAND - PROBATE RECORDS.
• Eustace, P. Beryl, ed. vol. 1, 1708-45 and vol. 2, 1746-85; and Eilish Ellis, ed. vol. 3, 1785-1832. Registry of Deeds, Dublin: Abstracts of Wills. Dublin: Stationery Office, 1954-. (FHL book 941.5 P22e; vols. 1 and 2 only are on film 896,887; computer number 0173903.) These volumes contain copies of the wills in the Registry of Deeds.
• Index to many abstracts and copies of wills in the Genealogical Office of Ireland. A copy of this index can be found in P. Beryl Eustace, comp., Index of Will Abstracts in the Genealogical Office, Dublin (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1948; FHL book 941.5 S2eu; film 990,430 item 4; computer number 0173903).
• Indexes and registers held by the Inland Revenue office, London of Irish wills and administrations proved between 1828 and 1879. Commissioners of Inland Revenue, Irish Will Indexes, 1838-79 (FHL film 597,268-72; indexes for 1862-63 are missing; computer number 0361537) records the name of the testator, the name and residence of the executor, the court in which the will was proved, and the folio number of the original will. Commissioners of Inland Revenue, Irish Administration Indexes, 1828-79 (FHL film 597,278-81; indexes for 1830-31 and 1851 are missing; computer number 0361537) gives the name and sometimes residence of the deceased, the name and residence of the administrator, the name of the court where the administration was granted, and the folio number of the original administration. Many of the will and admon registers on which the indexes are based are also available. The registers for the years 1828 to 1839 are summaries of the originals. The registers from 1840 to 1879 are missing. The existing registers contain names and relationships of heirs and often the death date of the deceased. The registers and indexes are on film at the Family History Library. They are listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under IRELAND - PROBATE RECORDS.
• Irish estate duty wills. Irish wills proved in English courts between 1812 and 1857 were subject to an estate duty tax. Abstracts of these wills were kept at the Estate Duty Office in London but have since been transferred to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Abstracts for the years 1812-1820 and part of the list for 1821 no longer exist. Surviving copies begin in 1821 and are alphabetized beginning with the letter k. Filmed copies of the surviving abstracts are available at the Family History Library. They are listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under IRELAND - PROBATE RECORDS.