IRISH GRAVESTONES
Gravestone inscriptions can be a great source of information for
genealogists and historians.
It was not customary for all the religious dedominations in Ireland to
keep church registers until the middle of the last century. Catholic and
Presbyterian records are poor in this regard.
As civil registration of births and deaths, in Ireland, was not
introduced until 1864, gravestone inscriptions are an alternative method
of tracing ancestors back beyond the middle of the 19th century.
Out of 1,600 church registers, 1,000 were in the Public Record Office in
Dublin, which were destroyed in the Four Courts fire of 1922. This has
caused big problems for those trying to trace their ancestors with the
aid of church records.
The Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead,
Ireland, published journals annually called 'Memorials of the Dead',
from 1888 to 1934. These contained submissions by voluntary
contributors. While these journals have some errors, they cover the
whole of Ireland. Some of them can be inspected in PRONI in Belfast.
A series of booklets entitled 'Gravestone Inscriptions' published by the
Ulster Historical Foundation are most useful and informative. Most
burial grounds in Co. Down are covered and some in Belfast and Co.
Antrim.
A book containing tombstone inscriptions found in Enniskillen Cathedral
graveyard can be inspected at PRONI (Ref. MIC/1/29).