Ireland Civil Registration

Ireland Wiki Topics
Beginning Research
Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder
Historic Ireland (pre-1922) and Republic of Ireland Wiki Topics
Record Types
Cemeteries Census Church Directories Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Directories Emigration & Immigration Compiled Genealogies Jewish Records Heraldry Land & Property Merchant Seamen	Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Nobility Occupations Online Records Periodicals Poorhouses, Poor Law, Etc. Probate Records Record Loss Religious Records School Records Taxation Websites
Northern Ireland (post-1922) Wiki Topics
Record Types
Cemeteries District Registrars	Census Probate Records
General Wiki Topics
Ireland Cultural Groups
Scots Irish
Ireland Background
Biography Church History Gazetteers History Languages Law and Legislation	Maps Personal Names Social Life & Customs For Further Reading
Ireland Research Resources
Archives & Libraries Societies Family History Centers

Ireland

Civil Registration

Online Resources

• 1864-1921 Ireland Civil Registration Births at Irishgenealogy.ie - index, images
• 1845-1946 Ireland Civil Registration Marriages at Irishgenealogy.ie - index, images
• 1871-1971 Ireland Civil Registration Deaths at Irishgenealogy.ie - index, images
• 1845-1958 Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958 at FamilySearch - index
• 1864-1958 Irish Births 1864-1958 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1845-1958 Irish Marriages 1845-1958 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1864-1958 Irish Deaths 1864-1958 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1864-1958 Ireland, Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1845-1958 Ireland, Civil Registration Marriages Index, 1845-1958 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1864-1958 Ireland, Civil Registration Deaths Index, 1864-1958 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1989-2020 Scotland and Northern Ireland, Death Index, 1989-2020 at Ancestry - index ($)

Historical Background

Before civil registration, Church Records were kept on the island of Ireland to keep track of baptisms, marriages and burials. Protestant records often stretch back to the 18th century, while most Catholic records begin around the time of emancipation in 1829. Ireland was then part of the United Kingdom, where civil registration had been introduced in England in 1837. In 1845 this was begun in Ireland for non-Catholic marriages only, before being extended to births, deaths and marriages for people of all religions in 1864. A unified system of civil registration then operated until the partition of Ireland, after which Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland kept their own records with different formats and information.

A key distinction exists when searching these records between the indexes and the originals. The indexes only have very basic information such as name and year, and reference numbers to locate the originals. The indexes are widely available for free, but the originals have only recently become more accessible.

Information Recorded in Civil Registers

Record Type	Start Date	Record Content
Births	1864	Child’s name Sex Birth date Birthplace Parents' names--including mother’s maiden name Father’s occupation and place of residence Informant’s signature, residence and qualification (often the relationship to the child being registered)
Marriages	1845, Non-Catholic 1864, all religions	Marriage date Marriage place Names of bride and groom Ages--frequently given as “full age” meaning over 21 Occupations Marital statuses Residences at the time of marriage Names and occupations of their fathers, and sometimes whether their fathers were deceased (this is not consistent) Signatures of the bride, groom, and witnesses. Denomination of the church where the marriage was performed Marriages were usually performed in the bride’s parish and were registered by the performing minister, priest or registrar. In the Irish Republic since 1956 both parties’ dates of birth and parents’ full names have been recorded in addition to the future intended town or country in which the couple intend to reside.
Deaths	1864	Name Occupation Age at death Marital status of deceased Date, place and cause of death Duration of illness Signature, qualification, and residence of the informant. For a married or widowed woman a spouse’s name is sometimes recorded. Where a child has died, the child’s occupation is often given as “son or daughter of …”. In the Northern counties, the father’s names of unmarried adult females are often recorded. Since December 2005 in the Irish Republic the deceased’s date and place of birth and parents’ full names are recorded. In Northern Ireland, since 1973 death records have stated the deceased person’s date and place of birth.

Registration Districts

The basis for civil registration in Ireland is the registration district, and all records are arranged by these districts. They usually include many villages, meaning the Index data alone cannot determine the precise place of an event. However the original may mention more specific localities, especially for residences.

The website of John Grenham has a Place Search Feature that gives information about which administrative subdivisions a place is located in, including Registration Districts.

S. Wilson has a registration district search function, by county or district name, which will provide information on the district boundaries, parishes within the district, and adjacent districts with a map.

Ireland, Civil Registration, County/Volume Arrangement. and Ireland, Civil Registration: Additional Information About the Indexes. are useful articles for further information about using indexes and the way records are arranged in FamilySearch films.

1850 Civil Registration Districts

Click to see a larger image.

Accessing Ireland Civil Registration Records

Irish civil registration is increasingly becoming available online. However there are different websites and access arrangements for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

• Irishgenealogy.ie For the Republic of Ireland only, the official government website. Originals of births are online for 1864-1919, marriages 1845-1944, and deaths 1871-1969. The remaining records are index only for now, but the originals can be ordered.
• Ireland Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records), 1845-1913 Index of original civil registration for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland including 1864-1913 births, 1845-1870 marriages, and 1864-1870 deaths. These collections are incomplete and a work in progress.
• Ireland Civil Registration Indexes - FamilySearch Historical Records, Indexes only for both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, up to 1958. The database is also on Ancestry and Findmypast

• RootsIreland ($) Limited coverage for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

• GRONI ($) Official government website, Access to both indexes and originals for Northern Ireland, 1922-present. Originals must be ordered with a credit card, and searches of indexes are paid for with credits

• Ireland Births and Baptisms - FamilySearch Historical Records- Part of the IGI, very limited coverage up to 1881.
• Ireland Deaths (FamilySearch Historical  Records) Part of the IGI, very limited coverage up to 1870.
• Ireland Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records Part of the IGI, very limited coverage up to 1898.

Microfilms

Event	FHL or FHC
Births:	(Click link then scroll down)
Republic of Ireland	1864–Mar 1881; 1900-1913; 1930 -1955
Northern Ireland	1864–Mar 1881; 1900-1913;   1922-1959
Marriages: (Protestant only)	(Click link then scroll down)
Republic of Ireland	1845–1863
Northern Ireland	1845-1863
Marriages: (all marriages)	(Click link then scroll down)
Republic of Ireland	1864-1870
Northern Ireland	1864-1870; 1922-1959
Deaths:	(Click link then scroll down)
Republic of Ireland	1864-1870
Northern Ireland	1864-1870; 1922-1959

Research Guides

Videos:

• Ireland Civil Registration
• Irish Civil Registration
• Finding Ancestry in Ireland Civil Registration Records
• Strategies for Using Civil Registration in the British Isles Part 3: Ireland

Books and Articles:

• General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands, Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland, 1851. Dublin: printed by Alexander Thom for the Registrar General of Ireland, 1861. ISBN: 0806310529; FHL book 941.5 X22g. This source lists place names identified in the 1851 census of Ireland and gives their poor law union (civil registration district) and other jurisdictions. Also available online at http://www.thecore.com/seanruad and http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/placenames.
• Handran, George (ed). Townlands in Poor Law Unions. Salem, Massachusetts: Higginson, c1997. ISBN: 0832869937; FHL book 941.5 P32hg. This source identifies civil parishes, as well as townlands, within poor law unions (registration districts). It is not available online.
• Irish Civil Registration - Where Do I Start? (No. 2 in 'Exploring Irish Genealogy' series) by Eileen O'Duill Steven C. ffeary-Smyrl. Published by the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, Dublin, 2000. www.cigo.ie
• Falley, Margaret Dickson. Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research. Evanston, Illinois: privately printed, 1962.
• Grenham, John. “Civil Records” in Tracing your Irish Ancestors, 3rd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2006.
• Ó Dúill, Eileen and Steven C. ffeary-Smyrl, Irish Civil Registration – Where Do I Start?, Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations Exploring Irish Genealogy Series. Dublin, Ireland: Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, 2000. [The definitive guide on the subject.]
• Radford, Dwight A. and Kyle J. Betit. “Civil Registration” in A Genealogists Guide to Discovering Your Irish Ancestors. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2001. [Includes a list of the Superintendent Registrar’s Districts.]

City Hall, Belfast.jpg

Naval Records: Marriage Certificates

These can be used to locate marriages where location is hard to establish. The records cover about 4% of the population.

Record type:

• Transcripts of marriage certificates. Note: A regulation required married officers to submit marriage certificates as a condition of eligibility of their wives for widow's pensions.
• Time period: 1801-1902.

Contents:

• Name of bride and groom
• Date and place of marriage
• Information about naval service (PRO-classes ADM 30/57, ADM 13/70-71 and ADM 13/186-192).

Location: The National Archives
Ruskin Avenue
Richmond, Surrey
TW9 4DU
England

Overseas and Military Civil Registration

For guidance in searching for Irish ancestors who were born, married, or died overseas, please see the "Overseas and Military Civil Registration" section under England Civil Registration.

Additional Information

For more information about the indexes, see Ireland, Civil Registration: Additional Information About the Indexes.

For tips on searching the indexes, go to Tips on Searching the Civil Registration Indexes.

For additional information on death registration records, go to Ireland, Additional Civil Registration Information.

For additional collections available at the Registrar General's Office, go to Ireland, Additional Civil Registration Information.

• Irish Civil Registration - Where Do I Start? (No. 2 in 'Exploring Irish Genealogy' series) by Eileen O'Duill Steven C. ffeary-Smyrl. Published by the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, Dublin, 2000. www.cigo.ie

 

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

International Genealogical Index (FamilySearch) - free

Family History Library