Family Tree Ireland-The Starting Point

As a general rule, genealogical research becomes more difficult the further back in time one venturers in search of information and in this sense Irish genealogical research is no different to anywhere else.


The starting point is usually public documentation such as Census returns and civil registration records, like birth certificates or Church records which can include baptism or marriage records; all of these are invaluable resources in any genealogical study. However, a number of other explorative methods are unique to genealogical research in Ireland.

Griffiths Valuation

An extremely useful aide to genealogical investigation is Griffith’s Valuation, named after Richard Griffith is a detailed survey of Irish towns and rural communities, conducted in the mid nineteenth century and published in 1868.

Similarly, the Tithe Books (tithe is the Irish for a tenth or 10% the rate of tax imposed by the English clergy) which contain the names of Church of Ireland tax defaulters in the early 19th century are an exclusive resource and can be accessed by the public in the National Archives of Ireland.

With regard to the National Archive anyone undertaking genealogical research should be aware of the profound impact on the genealogy of Ireland caused by the fact that many public records were damaged and destroyed in 1922.

The Public Record Office of Ireland was located in the Four Courts, a historic group of buildings housing Ireland’s highest courts situated north of the River Liffey in Dublin’s city centre.

On April 13th 1922, anti-Treaty forces in Ireland Civil War occupied the Four Courts and based themselves in the Public Record Office on account of the fact that it was the most readily defendable building, being the most fortified in the Courts.

Of course in a typically imperfect application of Murphy’s Law the area of the Public Record Office most fortifiable happened to contain the most vital documentation.

After a protracted siege pro treaty forces, under pressure from the British government began heavy bombing of the Four Courts resulting the near total destruction of the Public Record Office. All of the documents housed in the Strong Room were destroyed by fire, most notably the 19th-century census returns, from 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851.

Church of Ireland records, declared public records in the wake of disestablishment in 1871, were also destroyed, as were an extensive library of original wills and a mass of sovereign documentation going back several hundred years.

Amazingly in spite of this genealogical disaster there remains a wealth of information on the Genealogy of Ireland which hopefully will prove sufficient for Irish lineal studies in the future.