As we research our families with Irish ancestry, there are resources available to assist us. At the start of their Civil War in June 1922, almost all of their archives were destroyed by fire. Therefore, most of the records now held at the National Archives of Ireland are mainly from 19th and 20th century. There are a few that date back to the 13th century.

Ireland is a beautiful country. It has green rolling hills and rivers that are stunning. When the Irish had their potato crops rot and drought became too hard to live with, the Irish began to immigrate in the mid-1800’s. I can just imagine how hard it was for some of them to leave this country of their heritage.

Here are some resources that the National Archives of Ireland has you can check out to aid you in your Genealogy (some are only available in the Reading Room of the National Archives):

• “Indexes of Surnames” in the Primary Valuation and Tithe Applotment Books
• Table showing Surnames with five or more entries in the Birth Indexes of 1890 (Irish Genealogy, a Record Finder, 199-232)
• Testamentary card index and other indexes to wills and administrations
• Indexes to Marriage Licence Bonds
• Indexes to Genealogical abstracts
• Census Returns taken every 10 years from 1821 to 1911. The returns are arranged by county, townland, or in urban areas , by street. The 1901 and 1911 Census Returns are now fully searchable online, free at Census Returns. Some searches that can be done are by religion, occupation, relationship to head of family, literacy status, county or country of origin, Irish language skill, specified illnesses, child survival, and much more. Other census to look at are the Agricultural Census and the Religious Census, and Elphin Census
• Tithe Applotment & Primary Valuation
• Wills & Administrations
• Parochial Records & Marriage Licences
• Penal Transportation Records

For members of the public unable to undertake their research in person, there is the option of employing professional researchers and those who undertake paid searches in the National Archives and elsewhere can be contacted at this Site.

The National Archives of Ireland has put a list together of Irish Genealogy Links that will be of help to you in your research endeavors.

Contact information for the National Archives of Ireland is:

Email: mail @nationalarchives.ie

Website: National Archives of Ireland