Ireland
Most resources on this page relate to Ireland only. Please remember to consult the Britain page where some of the material will also be relevant.
There are many useful resources for tracing your Irish ancestors in the Genealogy Centre on the 1st floor. The key to finding them is our catalogue which you can explore by searching under keyword. Try searching under the name of a location and/or the type of source. These are just a few examples of the type of searches you can do:
- Roscommon
- Ireland census
- Northern Ireland directories
Key Resources
Findmypast Ireland
This eresource includes Irish prison records, will indexes, directories, cemetery transcriptions, land records and more.
Irish Newspaper Archives
Search over 20 newspapers from all over Ireland with the earliest dating from 1763.
Handbooks
The following guides to tracing your Irish ancestry are available in the Genealogy Centre on the 1st floor:
Tracing Irish ancestors
Tracing your Irish ancestors: the complete guide
Collins tracing your Irish family history
A genealogists guide to discovering your Irish ancestors: how to find and record your unique heritage
How to trace your Irish ancestors: an essential guide to researching and documenting the family histories of Ireland’s people
Finding your Irish ancestors : a beginner's guide
Finding your Irish ancestors : unique aspects of Irish genealogy
Help! My ancestors Irish and I'm stuck!!!
An introduction to Irish research : Irish ancestry : a beginner's guide
Archives and Libraries
National Archives of Ireland
The National Archives of Ireland, located in Dublin, has a wealth of material of use to family historians. The website includes the:
Census of Ireland 1901/1911
Both the 1901 census and 1911 census for Ireland have been digitised and are freely available.
Ireland-Australia transportation database
This database is an online index to Irish convict transportation registers and convict petitions. Some registers were destroyed by fire so the records are not complete. You can find further information about the convicts by noting the reference number and consulting the microfilm collection Archives relating to the transportation of convicts from Ireland to Australia in the Genealogy Centre on the 1st floor.
The website of the National Library of Ireland in Dublin includes some family history guides, an online catalogue and a large collection of digitised photographs.Websites
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is located in Belfast. Online content includes the Ulster Covenant, street directories 1819-1900, freeholders records and will calendars. In addition, there are online guides and their catalogue has recently been added to the site.
Websites
Use our SLWA Family History Bookmarks to find websites for Ireland recommended by the Family History Subject Specialists. Simply click on any heading of interest e.g. ireland-emigration to see a list of websites relating to this topic. The larger the tag, the more websites appear on the list.
GENUKI
Ireland
This is the Ireland section of the GENUKI: UK
& Ireland Genealogy
website. It has pages for each county as well as information for the
whole of Ireland.
This is the Ireland section of the
WorldGenWeb site. It has pages for each county, links to other websites,
message boards and mailing lists.
Cyndi’s
List – Ireland & Northern Ireland
This is the
Ireland and Northern Ireland section of Cyndi’s list with an extensive
collection of links.
Irish Ancestors
This website is produced by the Irish Times newspaper. Some information is free and some can be viewed on a pay-per-view basis. Free information includes a surname dictionary, surname histories, place name database taken from the 1851 General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, parishes and baronies of Ireland, and passenger lists. There are also pages for each county and lots of links.
A Guide to Irish Genealogical Research
This site has lots of information for those researching Irish ancestry including Irish history, timeline, maps, pages for each county and lots of links.
Societies
Irish Family History Foundation
This website has records of births, marriages and deaths for many Irish counties which can be downloaded for a fee.
Genealogical Society of Ireland
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Irish Genealogical Society International - U.S. based
North of Ireland Family History Society
A more detailed list of societies can be found on the Irish Ancestors website.
Journals
Irish roots
The Irish link: the Irish family history magazine, Australia & New Zealand
Irish genealogist [Irish Genealogical Research Society]
Irish Genealogical Research Society newsletter
Page last updated: Monday 3 December 2012
