County Dublin, Ireland Genealogy

Ireland County Dublin

Dublin (called Baile Átha Cliath in Irish) is located on the east coast of Ireland along the Irish Sea and contains the largest city in Ireland, which is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. It is part of the province of Leinster and is divided into four government administrative areas; Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. Its English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning black pool. The county covers 1,869.9 square miles (4,843.2 sq km). Its length is 32 miles from the Kippure Mountain on the south to the River Delvin near Balbriggan. Its breadth is 18 miles from Clonee near Lucan to Howth Head.

In the eighth century, the Vikings establish a settlement here, which developed into an important Viking base. The Irish took over a portion of the area in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf. In 1169, Dublin became the center of the Norman’s activities in Ireland. By 1644, the English controlled most of the country and the population of Dublin was about 60,000. Dublin continued to grow with the arrival of English administrators as well as people from all over Ireland. Huguenot, Jewish and other groups also came to Dublin.

The population was 335,892 in 1821 and grew to 372,773 in 1841. Contrary to the population of most counties, County Dublin’s population increased following the potato famine to 405,147 in 1851. The population generally continued to increase until it was 505,654 in 1926. In 2006, the population was 1,187,176 in total, of which 506,211 were living in the City. The predominant religion in the county is Roman Catholic. In 1891, 77.0% of the population was Roman Catholic followed by the Church of Ireland at 18.6% with 1.8% and 1.0% being Presbyterian and Methodists, respectively. Overtime, the percentage of Roman Catholics increased to 95.8% in 1926 and the Church of Ireland also decreased to 10.6% with 1.3% and 0.8% being Presbyterian and Methodist. In 2006, the percentages were 81.4%, 3.0%, 0.5%, 0.4% for Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and Methodists with 12.2% reporting as being another religion or having no religion.

General County Research Information
Further information about County Dublin is available at:


 * GenUKI
 * FamilySearch.org- click "All Record Collections"
 * FindMyPast.ie
 * GenUKIDublin
 * www.ancestryireland.com/

Archives and Libraries

 * The National Library of Ireland
 * National Archives of Ireland
 * Dublin Heritage and Genealogy Centre

Online resources:


 * Irish Times, also lists all county Heritage Centres' addresses
 * Sword's Heritage and Genealogy Centre(Dublin North)
 * Dun Loughaire (Dublin South Heritage Centre)

Cemeteries
County Dublin has numerous cemeteries within its boundaries. Currently, there are some of them which have published data online. The following web sites provide researchers some options for finding Dublin ancestry in compiled transcriptions of these precious records:

1. Visit the FHL Favorites web sitefor a few sites containing online cemetery inscriptions.

2. Internment.Net has over 30 cemeteries with (free) data available online. See the following ones:


 * Balgriffin Cemetery
 * Ballmadun Cemetery
 * Bohernabreena Cemetery
 * Dardistown Cemetery
 * Deans Grange Cemetery
 * Fingal Cemetery
 * Garristown Cemetery
 * Glasnevin Cemetery
 * Grallagh Cemetery
 * Grangegorman Military Cemetery
 * Kenure Cemetery
 * Kilbarrack Cemetery
 * Kilternan Church of Ireland Cemetery
 * Malahide Castle Graveyard
 * Malahide Cemetery
 * Mount Jerome Cemetery
 * Lusk Old Churchyard
 * Mulhuddart Cemetery
 * Saint Andrew Cemetery
 * Saint Brigid Church of Ireland Churchyard
 * Saint Canice Burial Ground
 * Saint Colmcille Churchyard
 * Saint Fintan Cemetery
 * Saint Macullin Churchyard
 * Saint Maelruain Cemetery
 * Saint Mary Churchyard (Clonsilla)
 * Saint Patrick Cemetery (Donabate)
 * Saint Patrick Holmpatrick Cemetery
 * Saint Margaret Cemetery
 * Saint Margaret Village Cemetery
 * Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery
 * Whitestown Cemetery

3. For an exhaustive list of Dublin City cemeteries, the Dublin Heritage web site is an excellent resource with well over 200 cemeteries listed. Be certain to "Google!" the title of each cemetery, as there may be several of the listed cemeteries with online data available. Hint: Search with the following search-terms:


 * "[Cemetery Title]" - if more than one word in the title, then place the cemetery name in quotation marks
 * "Cemetery" or "graveyard"
 * "graveyard"

Ireland Genealogy Links

Census
Census records for County Mayo were mostly destroyed prior to 1900. However, the following web sites provide researchers with online access to an indexes, some with images, for the following years:

1851 - WorldVitalRecords.com ($) (heads of the household only)

1901 - National Archives of Ireland (free)

1911 - National Archives of Ireland (free)

Church of Ireland
The Representative Church Body Library has many (but not all) surviving Church of Ireland registers from the 1922 Four Courts, Dublin fire. However, some transcript copies are held at:


 * the local parish
 * local archives and libraries
 * Irishgenealogy.ie provides parish register extracts from some of the City of Dublin's Anglican parishes online for free. They update their web site with more data, continually; be certain to check back often.

Presbyterians
The Swords Heritage Centre (Dublin North) and the Dun Laoghaire Genealogy Centre (Dublin South) currently have not posted any Presbyterian register data online. Be sure to check back periodically to determine availability of data.

The vast majority of Ireland's Presbyterian denominational chapel registers have never been centrally archived, and thus are found in various locations. [Regretably, these precious records and the rich local Presbyterian heritage as well as the descendants they represent worldwide, are at risk unless and until such time when these registers are all copied into at least microform or, better--a digitized format.]

To find your ancestors in extant registers, you must conduct exhaustive, thorough studies to determine to which Presbyterian denomination your ancestor belonged; and to then, determine the whereabouts of surviving registers--if any. The most likely places to find and search Presbyterian registers starts with checking the following locations:


 * The local Presbyterian congregation/church (if still in use)
 * For defunct Presbyterian churches (i.e. Scots Presbyterian chapels), visit, write to or, hire a record searcher to check contiguous or sometimes distant Presbyterian chapels for the records. Hint: registers and records of defunct chapels usually were transferred to a nearby operating church
 * Dublin City Library, Pearse Street, and posssibly other town libraries
 * County archives/libraries
 * PRONI (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland)
 * The National Archives, Dublin
 * The National Library of Ireland
 * Civil Registration of Marriages - beginning 1845
 * Irishgenealogy.ie provides church record extracts from Lucan Presbyterian Church online for free. Since they update their web site with more data, continually, be certain to check back often to see if new Presbyterian church records data appears.
 * Try "Google!"-ing the three search terms (words) of [name of] "township/civil parish", "Presbyterian" and i.e. "marriage", etc, for online data.

The Unitarian Church, St Stephen's Green, Dublin, aside from its own registers, holds records relating to almost all of Dublin's now defunct English Presbyterian chapels/congregations, all once resident in Eustace Street, Cook Street (very few pre-1800 records) and Wood Street.

Other:


 * 1) The excellent rootsireland web site for County Dublin currently has no Presbyterian chapel registers data available online. Keep checking back to see if this status changes.
 * 2) The FHL (Family History Library) has but very few transcription copies of Presbyterian chapels. Do a "Place" search in the FHLC (Family History Library Catalog) under the name of the civil parish (if known) in order to find available ones to search. To view a list or see a map showing the civil parishes for Dublin, visit IrishTimes.com.

Methodist
Most of Methodist Church registers of baptisms and marriages are still held locally at the Methodist churches. You must contact the minister office of each chapel, bearing in mind that they may or may not conduct ancestral searches on your behalf.

PRONI (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast) possesses the largest collection of Methodist registers which is mostly available only on microfilm.

The Wesley Historical Society Archives, at Edgehill College, in Belfast has significant record holdings in both microform format of records and hard copy registers. You may initially contact them; however, they will not perform genealogical searches for you. You will likely need to contact a professional researcher or a record agent on your behalf. Here is the contact information for W.H.S.A.:

Edgehill Theological College 9 Lennox Vale Belfast BT9 5BY United Kingdom Tel: 028 9068 5870 Email: archives@irishmethodist.org.

Dublin

For the Dublin District, be certain to contact Christ Church, Sandymount, Dublin, which holds a large collection of Methodist Church registers.

For over all help with Dublin Methofist acnestry, your initial enquiries may be made to the Archivist, Wesley Historical Society (WHS), Edgehill College, Belfast.

The rootsireland web site for County Dublin currently does not have any Methodist data online. However, in the future this web site, like other counties, will likely make some Methodist church register data available to researchers online. Keep checking back often.

Roman Catholic
The National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin, is the custodian of all available Roman Catholic parish registers from throughout the country--including County Dublin.

The FHL (Family History Library) has only copy registers for St Bride's Roman Catholic Parish for the City of Dublin. There are but few copy registers for the county of Dublin in its collection. You can identify extant ones listed online at FamilySearch.org. If you know the name of the civil parish in which your Catholic ancestor resided or was from, click "Catalog" and type in the name of the parish and then highlight/click on "Church Records".

Irishgenealogy.ieis a marvelous website which holds numerous Roman Catholic parish register transcripts for many City of Dublin parishes--all at no cost. Eventually, scanned images will become available and connected to the indexed entries, shortly.

Society of Friends
Church registers for The Society of Friends exist and may provide excellent information about Irish Quaker ancestry. Especially for Dublin "Friends" or members, be sure to contact the Dublin Historical Library – officially the Historical Library of Ireland Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends which is located in Quaker House, Dublin. Their manuscript and printed archives collection provide information on most Irish Quakers from the 17th century.

The most important manuscripts are the Minutes to the various Quaker meetings and committees. Many of these have been microfilmed and scanned to computer files, others have been digitally photographed. In addition, the collection contains comprehensive records of births, marriages and deaths. These, from the earliest times up to the mid-19th century, are now searchable on computer database at the above library.

The Family History Library possesses fairly significant microfilm collections of Irish Quaker records and indexes to many Quaker Meeting records. These films may be circulated to any one of its over 4,500 worldwide satellite FHCs (Family History Centers). Visit FamilySearch.org to obtain the location addresses to any of these FHCs for further assistance.

Goodbody, Olive C. "Quaker Inventories". An article of deaths of some Quakers in Co. Kildare, Dublin and Offaly. James Taylor of Dublin 1687, with interest in his dealings with London and Pennsylvania. Samuel Watson of Dublin 1731, inventory with trade to London and Philadelphia. John Stevens of Dublin, 1731, attestation of his hadwriting and inventory. Article The Irish Ancestor, vol.III, no. 1, 1971 pages 52-63, Family History Ref. 941.5 B2i

Useful Church Records Web Sites

 * 1) Family History Library (see the Family History Library Catalog; search under "Dublin, Dublin - Church Records")
 * 2) GenWeb Ireland - has numerous online links to data-rich lists of Dublin County families
 * 3) John Grenham's web site has several helpful links for Dublin names
 * 4) Dublin County Surname Query board is here
 * 5) CMCRP Project (Dublin) - has a few records for the county

Civil Registration

 * 1) FamilySearch.org - Index to 1864 - 1959; Protestant (only) marriages from 1845; Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths in Ireland
 * 2) The General Register Office of Ireland: official government site for ordering copies of births, marriages, and deaths from their address, at reasonable prices. No online ordering is available, yet. However, they may fulfill requests via fax, telephone or by snail-mail.
 * 3) Civil Registration of births marriages and deaths for County Dublin, online, has transcribed some Dublin BMDs, from 1864

Civil Jurisdictions and Parish Research Information
A map of the Civil Parishes of County Dublin is available at Irish Times site.

Civil Registration of Births, Marriages &amp; Deaths
Government-sponored registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1845 (Protestant marriages only) and 1864 (whole population). To find information on the vital events of your irish ancestor, here are some helpful websites for obtaining critical information:

1.FamilySearch.org- has online databases for births, marriages and deaths; click "All Records Collections", then scroll down to and click "Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845 to 1959".

2. To obtain certificates of birth, marriage or death for your ancestor[s], write to or contact the following record office; the cost is €10 (about $13) per certificate:

General Register Office, Government Offices,  Convent Road Roscommon. Tel: +353 (0) 90 6632900  LoCall: 1890 252076   Fax: +353 (0) 90 6632999   Fax: +353 (0) 90 6632988

There are fees for performing particular searches; see their website for further information.

The General Register Office of Ireland: official government site for ordering copies of births, marriages, and deaths from their address, at reasonable prices. No online ordering is available, yet. However, they may fulfill requests via fax, telephone or by snail-mail.

Civil Registration of births marriages and deaths for County Dublin, online, has transcribed some Dublin BMDs, from 1864

Estate Records
Estate records may provide names of households in such records as leases, rents, and mortgages. These ought to be consulted and used when extant, especially when church registers do not exist for the time period being researched. Here are some web sites which hold estate records and some transcriptions of same:


 * FindMyPast
 * Connacht Province Landed Estate Database (online)
 * Freeholders Records - many Irish freeholders

Web Sites for Dublin Genealogy

 * IrishGenealogy.ie - has quickly become the one-stop web site of choice for serious Dublin ancestral seekers


 * Jane Lyons' website for Dublin records online


 * Morris' website for Dublin genealogy ($)


 * John Grenham's Dublin webpage

Book Articles at FHL
Smith, Patrick Montague. The Dexters of Dublin and Annfield Co. Kildare. The article covers the Genealogy of the Dexters of Dublin and Co. Kildare, Annfield, also the Dexters of Dexterville, Co. Tipperary covers years 1709-1940. Article in The Irish Ancestor vol.2, no.1, 1970 pages 31-42. Family History Library 941.5 B2i

De Breffny, Brian. Speranza's Ancestry Elgee - The Maternal Lineage of Oscar Wilde. Article covers genealogy of Elgie/Elgee - the maternal line of Oscar Wilde, son of Sir William Wilde, an eminent Dublin Surgeon, covering Durham, England, and Dublin, and Co. Wexford, years 1655-1918. Article in The Irish Ancestor, vo. IV, no. 2, 1972 pages 94-103 Family History Ref-. 941.5 B2i. Also correction of dates that were supplied in Vol.no.2.1972, Corriegenda 1744-1787, The Irish Ancestor vol.V.no.2.1973 page 127. Family History Library Ref.941.5 B2i v.5-6.

De Breffny, Brian. The Paternal Ancestry of Oscar Wilde. Genealogy of the paternal side of Oscar Wilde covering 1728-1877 Dublin, and Castlereagh, Co. Roscommon. The Irish Ancestor vol.V.no.2.1973, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v5-6.

De Breffny, Brian. The Vereker Family. Genealogy and pictures of Vereker Family. John Varicar or Veracre, yeoman at Co. 1671, family extends over to Cahernarry and Roxborough, Co. Limerick and Dublin. covering years 1671-1905. Article in The Irish Ancestor vol. V.no.2.1973, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v.5-6.

Armytage, Walter contributor.Entries From The Lyons Prayerbook. These entries came from The Lyons Prayerboo, Ledeston which was F.C. Lyon's house. Birth, marriages for Lyon's, some of Dublin, others no place. covers years 1680-1754. The Irish Ancestor page 83. vol.V. no.2.1973 Family History Library 941.5 B2i v5-6.

Conway, O.P.M. Entries From the Family Bible of Joshua Porter Conway. Genealogy of Joshua Porter Conway from a Bible which carries imprint Liverpool, but many interred at Donamore, and some births New Ormond Quay, Dublin 1820-1865, Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol.VI.no.1.1974, page48-49. Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v5-6.

contributor, Ffolliott, Rosemary. James Holme's Family Notebook. Genealogy entries from James Holme's Notebook surnames of Robinson, Holmes, Waring, Jellett, Orr, Neville, Colvill, Jellett covering years 1741-1804, for Dublin and Co. Down. The Irish Ancestor vol.VI.no.2.1974, page 74-79, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v5-6.

Contributed by Robinson, Rev. J.K. Margaret Gallagher's Notebook. Births and Deaths of Gallagher from a notebook, mainly Dublin, covers years 1790-1880. The Irish Ancestor, vol. VII. no.2. 1975, page 87, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v7-8.

Contributed by Melnick, Louis D. Entries from Elizabeth Mettrick's Family Bible. BMD of Warren and Mettrick Family covering years 1695-1758 of Dublin. The Irish Ancestor. Vol.VIII, no.1.1976 page1-3 Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v7-8.

Contributed by Crookshank, Anne. Entries From the Family Bible of Alexander and Esther Crookshank. Genealogy of Crookshank from the Family Bible originally given by William Kennedy of the City of Londonderry to his daughter Esther 1763, who in turn gave to her son Charles H. Crookshank 1810. Years covered 1768-1893. Article in The Irish Ancestor, Vol.IX, no.1.1977, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v9.

Moorhouse, B-Ann. A Moorhouse Family of Dublin, Carlow and Kildare. Pictures and genealogy of Moorehouse Family in Ireland,,Dublin, Carlow, Kildare and small amount in Worcester, Massachusetts, and New York. covering years 1672-1945. Article in The irish Ancestor vol.IX, no.1.1977 pages 15-18, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v9.

De Breffny, Brian. Roundwood and the Sharps. Written history of the house - Roundwood, and Genealogy of the Sharps, both of Tetbury Goucestershire and Dublin. covering years 1642-1859. Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol.IX, no.2.1977, pages 59-67, Family History Library Salt Lake City Ref. 941.5, vol. 9.

contributed by Davidson, Norris. Entries From the Cathrew Family Bible. Genealogy from the Cathrew Family Bible of James Cathrew who married Elinor Graves 19 Nov. 1803. Entries cover 1803-1918, article in The Irish Ancestor, vol.Xno.1.1978, pages 13-15, Family History Library Salt Lake City Ref. 941.5 B2i v.10-11

De Breffny, Brian. The Pembertons of Dublin. Pictures and Genealogy of Pemberton and descendants from the Pemberton Family Bible covering years 1731-1932. Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol. XI. no. 1. 1979, page 14-27, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v10-11

Strutt, Hon. Guy. Did Richard Castle, the Palladian Architect, Have Family Connections in Ireland. Discussion and suggestion that Richard Cassel (or Castle) the Palladian arcitect who came to Ireland in 1728, was not the only member of his family to leave Germany for Ireland. covers mainly 1750. The Irish Ancestor, vol. Xi. no. 2. 1979, pages 119-120. Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i vol10-11.

Maps
To view a list or to see a map showing the civil parishes for Dublin, visit IrishTimes.com, here.

Also visit the FHLFavorites.com web site which has several additional links to Irish maps, including the Dublin region and county.

Newspapers
Here is the largest newspaper archives for Dublin area newspapers, available online: http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/

Also, visit www.FHLFavorites.com - scroll down to "Ireland - General - Newspapers" and also "Ireland - Dublin - Newspapers" to view those links to additional online newspapers offerings.

Ffolliott, Rosemary. "Some Connecting Links between Ireland and the New World From Old Newspapers". Article contains alphabetical listings of births, marriages and deaths in the Munster Newspapers covering U.S.A, Canada, West Indies and England, covering years 1765-1826 Article found in The Irish Ancestor. vol. 2 no. 1. 1970 pages 62-69, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i

Occupations
Trade directories exist for Dublin which are outstanding in the information they provide. The information in these annual publications pertained mostly to those in professional, manufacturing, and corporate groups. For example Peter Wilson's Wilson's Directories from 1751to 1837 and, Samuel and John Watson's Gentleman's and Citizen's Almanack from 1729 to 1844 are among the best such directories available.

Freemen of the City of Dublin were licenced to 'ply' their trade in the city. Records exist for these which are ancient in origin, going back as far as the year 1225 AD. The records are held at the Dublin City Library.

Additionally, there are records for "Citizens" of Dublin City which extend back even further in time, beginning as early as the year 1192 AD. These are also housed at the Dublin City Library. The excellent record holdings of this library can be viewed or consulted by contacting:

Dublin City Archives 138 - 144 Pearse Street Dublin 2 IRELAND

Tel: +353 - 1 - 6744999 Fax: +353 - 1 - 6744881 E-mail: cityarchives@dublincity.ie

An article entitled "An Alphabetical Listing of Freemen of the City of Dublin" was published that covers the years January 1774-January 1824.

This listing is available in Rosemary Ffolliott's Periodical: The IRISH ANCESTOR Volume 15 and 133 pages. It gives, name, date, corporation (occupation) and how admitted. Check local major archival, research libraries or university libraries for availability. The Family History Library has this periodical in its Irish collection.

An article by Olive C. Goodbody, called Inventories of Five Dublin Quaker Merchants in the Late Seventeenth Century, identifies some of the wills and deeds and Inventories of William Barnard, John Inglefield of Dublin, John Johnston of Chapelizod, Co. Dublin, Isachar Wilcocks of Dublin, Josephine Deane of Meath St. Dublin. Covers years 1684-1695. See The Irish Ancestor, vol X. no.1. 1978. pages 38-48, Family History Library book Ref. 941.5 B2i vol.10-11.

De Breffny, Brian. "Businessmen Who Issued Tokens in Ireland 1653-1679". Due to an acute shortage of small change after the death of Charles 1, tradesmen, innkeepers and some local authorities began minting their own substitutes in the form of private tokens. This list of 800 names, gives occupation and place. Article in the Irish Ancestor, vol.X. no.1. 1978, pages 51-60. Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i vol.10-11

Place-Names
Here are two important place-name aids/tools for locating your Irish place and its parish jurisdiction[s]:


 * 1) List of All Townlands, Towns and Townships in County Dublin. - under the County, click "Dublin"; then click "Submit" to view a complete alphabetical listing of all townlands, towns and townships and the parishes in which they reside
 * 2) Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel A. Lewis; at LibraryIreland.com - provides a rich 1837 historical perspective of each Ireland parish and large township; great for determining which churches existed in each parish--Church of Ireland and Nonconformist

Probates
Abstracts of Wills. Collection of Will Abstracts, gathered from many sources.

Includes James Henry Armstrong of 11 Harrington St. Dublin 3 Oct. 1849, Lieut. Col. William Armstrong, 1837, John Ball Barrister at law, City of Dublin, dated 12 July 1807,William Thomas Barlow of Grenville St. Dublin, dated 4 June 1851, Jane Batt of City of Dublin, widow, dated 30 Dec. 1795, Anthony Lawrence, M.D. City of Dublin dated 10 Jul. 1800, Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol. VI no.1.1974pages 53-63, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v5-6.

Next Article Includes Samuel Garre of Ranelogh, 1 Jan. 1837. Article found in The Irish Ancestor, vol.II, no. 2, 1970 pages 117-127, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i.

Also Anne St. John of Dublin - Will proved Prerogative 10 Dec. 1790, Henry Steamer of Latoon, Colonel of Horse, Will 8 Aug. 1762, The Irish Ancestor, vol. VIII, no.1, 1976, page 51, and 52, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i vol.7-8.

FindMyPast.ie - has will indexes Act or Grant books from 1220 A.D. to 1858

Societies
Family history societies often publish helpful journals, transcripts, compiled genealogies and host helpful websites. They may have ongoing projects to transcribe records and create indexes. Most societies publish queries in their journals and maintain lists of members’ research interests that may be helpful to you. You may want to join one of these societies, reap the benefits of their expertise and resources or support its efforts. "Members' Interests" are usually published which cite those county surnames which are being pursued and researched by researchers from around the world. Visit a large university library, a major archive or research library to determine availability of a family history or genealogical society's quarterly journal.

Web Sites
To view a helpful list of Dublin web sites, visit FHLFavorites.info for some great sites.