The archives of the Church of Ireland, and particularly parochial
registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials, are a primary source for
genealogists and family historians. Although many registers were
destroyed in the past, especially in the fire in the Public Record
Office of Ireland in 1922, many others have survived in a number of
custodies and are available to researchers.
Survival of Parish Registers
Almost half of the surviving registers were destroyed in 1922 and others
have been lost at earlier periods. However, much of the lost information
survives in transcripts and abstracts. The most recent published listing
of parish registers is Noel Reid (ed) A table of Church of Ireland
parochial records and copies (Irish Family History Society, Naas, 1994).
In addition useful genealogical information may be had from other parish
records especially vestry minute books, churchwardens' account books and
cess applotment books.
Location of Parish Records
The Representative Church Body Library is the Church of Ireland's
principal repository for its archives and manuscripts, and holds records
from some 600 parishes in the Republic of Ireland. Records from a small
number of parishes in the Republic are in the National Archives, and the
remainder are in the custody of local clergy.
In Northern Ireland most parish registers are available in copy form in
the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), while original
parish records are either in the custody of the local clergy or in
PRONI.
Names and addresses of local clergy may be had from the Church of
Ireland Directory, published annually, which is available from the
Religious Education Resource Centre, Holy Trinity Church, Church Avenue,
Rathmines, Dublin 6 and the APCK Bookcentres at 61 Donegal Street,
Belfast, BT1 2QH and St Ann's Church, Dawson Street, Dublin 2.
Access to Parish Records
Access to records in the RCB Library, National Archives and PRONI is
straightforward but it is mutually beneficial if potential researchers
contact the repository in advance to check on opening hours and
conditions of admittance. However, repositories will not usually
undertake genealogical research on behalf of enquirers.
Records in the custody of local clergy may be more difficult to see and
the following procedure is recommended:
Write to the clergyman detailing the information which you need and ask
if he will perform a search. If the clergyman agrees to perform a search
there will be a fee of £5 per hour and it would be prudent to offer some
payment in advance.
Clergy are not required to conduct searches on behalf of researchers,
but they are required to make the registers available to researchers or
their agents: this is a statutory requirement under the terms of the
Constitution of the Church of Ireland, and relevant national archives
and public records legislation in the Republic of Ireland and Northern
Ireland.
If you are making the search yourself you should write to the clergyman
to make an appointment and confirm that appointment by telephone before
travelling. However, many clergy work alone and occasionally pastoral
emergencies may cause the last minute cancellation of your appointment.
The clergy are required to supervise your search and there is a fee of
£5 per hour for this activity.
Reprography
Certified copies of entries in parish registers can be issued by local
clergy or by the certifying officers in the repositories. Certified
copies of entries of all baptisms and burials and marriages before 1845
cost £5 each. The cost of copies from civil marriage registers from 1845
is set by the respective governments and varies from time to time.
Photocopying of parish records is forbidden on all occasions.
Photography from parish records may only be undertaken with the written
permission of the owner of the copyright. Further information on
copyright matters may be had from the RCB Library.
Preparing for Searches
Most Church of Ireland parish registers do not have indexes and there is
no single comprehensive index to all their contents. In general, in
order to prosecute a successful search in parish registers you need a
name, a date and a place name. However, there are a number of ongoing
projects to index genealogical material on a county basis and some of
these projects have included Church of Ireland records: details may be
had from the Irish Family History Society.
The following publications and agencies can help with your preparations:
Donal Begley (ed) Irish genealogy. A record finder (Heraldic Artists,
Dublin, 1981)
John Grenham Tracing your Irish ancestors (Gill & Macmillan, Dublin,
1992)
Maire Mac Conghail & Paul Gorry Tracing Irish ancestors (Harper Collins,
Glasgow, 1997)
Brian Mitchell A new genealogical atlas of Ireland (Genealogical
Publishing Co, Baltimore, 1988)
Raymond Refaussé Handlist of Church of Ireland parish registers in the
Representative Church Body Library (copies of this list, which is
updated regularly, are available from the RCB Library at IR£2.50
including postage)
Association of Professional Genealogists, c/o Genealogical Office, 2
Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Irish Family History Society, PO Box 36, Naas, Co Kildare
Irish Genealogical Research Society, The Irish Club, 82 Eaton Square,
London SW1W 9AL
National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8
Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, 66 Balmoral Avenue, Belfast,
BT9 6NY
Ulster Historical Foundation, Balmoral Buildings, 12 College Square
East, Belfast, BT1 6DD
It may be helpful to visit the Directory of Irish Websites at
http://doras.eircom.net/ and, in particular, the Geneaology Section at
http://doras.eircom.net/Doras.nsf/SelectSubcategory?OpenForm&Category=Ge
nealogy
Other Genealogical Sources in the RCB Library
Apart from Church of Ireland archives, the RCB Library holds a number of
collections with obvious attraction to genealogists. Among the more
important are the biographical succession lists of Church of Ireland
clergy, compiled by J B Leslie; collections of copy wills; extracts from
the destroyed 1766 religious census; and collections of pedigrees.
The staff of the RCB Library will be glad to offer advice on all queries
concerning Church of Ireland archives and manuscripts and related
printed and reference works. It should be stressed, however, that they
will not undertake genealogical research on behalf of readers.
If you have any queries, please contact the RCB Library -
library(a)ireland.anglican.org - in the first instance.