The most critical aspect of Irish research is to ascertain the name of the Townland your ancestors came from - a Townland is an area, usually, of about 300 acres lying within a Civil Parish and which, in turn, is included as part of a Poor Law Union.

The Poor Law Union is synonymous with the GRO Registration District for births, deaths and marriages although it is important to note that these Registration Districts do tend to straddle County borders. It is also important to understand that, whilst a Civil Parish may be the same as a Church of Ireland, it is quite different from a Roman Catholic Parish. Cross-referencing of these is quite a straight forward matter. Presbyterian Congregational districts do not coincide with any of the other boundaries.

Each County also consists of a number of Baronies - a fourteenth-century division based on tribal territories - and many Civil Parishes straddle the borders of these Baronies.

A useful reference work to help you through the above is -

"General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland"- but be aware of possible spelling variations.

The name of the Townland is commonly provided by a birth, death or marriage certificate and Civil Registrations began in 1864 (non-Catholic marriages were registered from 1845). Prior to this date, one has to rely on Church records which sometimes provide the name of the Townland or one of its sub-denominations. And, of course, one does depend on the particular event being recorded ... which is not always the case.

Should you ever visit your ancestral town or village and decide to look at the headstones in the graveyards, it would be as well to keep this in mind. Many people were buried in Church of Ireland graveyards who were not members of that Church and some people continue to bury their relatives at the family plot in the Church of Ireland graveyard. Some of the graveyards at Presbyterian churches are much more recent than the Churches themselves.

You may be lucky enough to get a lead by finding that your Ancestor's parish has been indexed on the IGI (International Genealogical Index) or the Parish may be in the minority of parishes the films of which are permitted to be circulated to LDS Centres. In most case, however, it will be necessary for the Church Register to be read by a researcher in Ireland. If you know which County your ancestor came from, the Genealogical Centre for that County will be worthwhile contacting. Many of these hold databases of entries extracted from the Parish Registers in the County concerned. Their contact details can be found at the National Archives of Ireland - http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy/centres.html.

Research tools that may be available at your local LDS Family History Centre include:

• Birth marriage and death indexes to 1921 (Northern Ireland deaths to 1959);
• 1901 Census films;
• Griffith Valuations (indexes can be viewed on a CD Rom)
• Tithe Applotment Valuation; and
• Cancelled Valuation books for some Counties from 1860-1900 (approx).

You will doubtless be aware that a considerable amount of research documentation - especially Church of Ireland and 1851 Census records - was lost in the 1922 Civil War and that, of course, does impose some constraints. The Censuses for 1861/71/81/91 were officially destroyed but the 1901 and 1911 ones are readily available.

Most people regard themselves as being very fortunate if they are able to carry their Roman Catholic ancestry back before Emancipation in 1829, before which date the keeping of records was prohibited.

Presbyterian Churches were required to keep records of Baptisms and marriages form 1819 whilst many Church of Ireland records go well back into the 1700s.

Web site of interest:

• Family Search (from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)

My research service entails taking your enquiry as far as possible within resources available within New Zealand and then, if the Parish is known or strongly suspected, passing on the searching of Parish Registers to an Agent in Dublin or Belfast. If only the County is known, the further investigation is best carried out by the appropriate Regional Archive - although these do vary considerably from County to County in their capabilities. The Griffith Valuations and Matheson indexes can help in narrowing down the search to a small number of Parishes.

I am also able to arrange for the issue of Baptismal Certificates by the Parish Priest or Minister once the exact Parish has been identified.

Access to all the records noted above is available but please check out page 2 for a supplementary list of records permanently available at or local LDS Library

Miscellaneous Irish Records

1. Townland maps
2. 1831 Census, Co Derry
3. 1901 Census, street indexes for major cities
4. Index to Prerogative Wills
5. Irish migration to NSW - (names; ages; County; Ship name and arrival date)
6. War Office Lists 1899-1907
7. Dublin - List of Electors 1868
8. Convicts and Exiles transported from Ireland 1797-1820 (names and ship name only)
9. Gentlemans and Citizens Almanacks - 1811, 1815, 1829, 1832
10. Thom's Directory of UK and Ireland - 1868, 1877
11. Royal Irish Constabulary index, part II, 1882-1921
12. Abstract of Irish Wills (by Lorna Rossbottom)
13. Poor Law Records of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary (their availability)
14. Index to Irish Wills, 1661-1800
15. Directory of Dublin 1838
16. Dublin City Directory, 1839
17. Fermanagh Directory, 1880
18. Landowners in Ireland (by Province), 1876
19. Co Down Gravestone Inscriptions (by Parish)
20. Parliamentary Gazetteer 1844 - adapted to the new Poor Law, Franchise, Municipal and Ecclesiastical arrangements and completed with special reference to the lines of railroad and canal communication. Includes an excellent historical and geographical description of towns and villages.
21. Birth, death and marriage records, 1866-1963 (Ballincoolig and Mallow, only)
22. Ulster Plantation of Scots 1610
23. Old Age Pension claims (indexes and individual records
24. Vital records of Lower Cumber, Ballinderry and Tamlaght.
25. Presbyterian Church Registers in local custody

Tony Fitzgerald is a professional genealogist based in New Zealand. His research service entails taking your enquiry as far as possible within resources available within New Zealand and then, if the Parish is known or strongly suspected, passing on the searching of Parish Registers to an Agent in Dublin or Belfast. If only the County is known, further investigation is best carried out by the appropriate Regional Archive. The Griffith Valuations and Matheson indexes can help in narrowing down the search to a small number of Parishes. Tony is anxious to help you with your Irish research. His services are described on his web page.