Irish Geneaography
  • Welcome
    • Menu
  • Ingredients
    • Carving up the Landscape - Genealogical Geography >
      • Irish Civil Geography >
        • Provinces & Counties
        • Townlands
      • Irish Poor Law Unions >
        • Irish Poor Law Records
      • Irish Civil Registration Districts
      • Irish Census Geography
    • Main Dishes - Irish Church & Civil Records >
      • Irish Roman Catholic Parishes & Registers
      • Church of Ireland Dioceses & Diocesan Records
      • Church of Ireland Parishes and Registers
      • Irish Will Probate Districts & Records, 1858+
      • Irish Civil Registration Records
      • Public Records in Ireland
    • Kitchen Garden - Irish Land Records >
      • 1798 Claimants & Surrenders
      • Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837 & Tithe Defaulters, 1831
      • Griffith's Valuation, 1847-1864
      • Valuation Revision Books, 1847-1864+
      • Return of Land Owners, 1876
      • Landed Estates Court Rentals, 1850-1880
      • Registry of Deeds (Land Leases, Marriage Settlements & Wills)
      • Irish Land Commission
    • Irish Maps & Gazetteers
    • Historical Directories
    • Irish Newspapers
    • Rules? What rules? Placenames & Boundaries
    • What's That - Glossary and Acronyms >
      • Acronyms
  • Recipes
    • Local Specialities - County Specific Resources >
      • Connaught >
        • Co. Galway >
          • Co. Galway CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Galway RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Leitrim >
          • Co. Leitrim CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Leitrim RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Mayo >
          • Co. Mayo CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Mayo RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Roscommon >
          • Co. Roscommon CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Roscommon RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Sligo >
          • Co. Sligo CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Sligo RoD Townland Indexes
      • Leinster >
        • Co. Carlow >
          • Co. Carlow CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Carlow RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Dublin & City of Dublin >
          • Co. & City of Dublin CoI Parish Records
          • Co. & City of Dublin RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Kildare >
          • Co. Kildare Church of Ireland Parish Records
          • Co. Kildare RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Kilkenny >
          • Co. Kilkenny CoI Parish Records
          • Co. & City of Kilkenny RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Laois (Queens County) >
          • Co. Laois (Queens County) CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Laois (Queens County) RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Longford >
          • Co. Longford CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Longford RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Louth >
          • Co. Louth CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Louth & Drogheda RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Meath >
          • Co. Meath CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Meath RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Offaly (Kings County) >
          • Co. Offaly (Kings County) CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Offaly (Kings County) RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Westmeath >
          • Co. Westmeath CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Westmeath RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Wexford >
          • Co. Wexford CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Wexford RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Wicklow >
          • Co. Wicklow CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Wicklow RoD Townland Indexes
      • Munster >
        • Co. Clare >
          • Co. Clare CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Clare RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Cork >
          • Co. Cork CoI Parish Records
          • Co. & City of Cork RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Kerry >
          • Co. Kerry CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Kerry RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Limerick >
          • Co. Limerick CoI Parish Records
          • Co. & City of Limerick RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Tipperary >
          • Co. Tipperary CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Tipperary RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Waterford >
          • Co. Waterford CoI Parish Records
          • Co. & City of Waterford RoD Townland Indexes
      • Ulster >
        • Co. Antrim >
          • Co. Antrim CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Antrim & City of Belfast RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Armagh >
          • Co. Armagh CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Armagh RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Cavan >
          • Co. Cavan CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Cavan RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Derry >
          • Co. Derry CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Derry & City of Londonderry RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Donegal >
          • Co. Donegal CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Donegal RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Down >
          • Co. Down CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Down RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Fermanagh >
          • Co. Fermanagh CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Fermanagh RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Monaghan >
          • Co. Monaghan CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Monaghan RoD Townland Indexes
        • Co. Tyrone >
          • Co. Tyrone CoI Parish Records
          • Co. Tyrone RoD Townland Indexes
      • Northern Ireland
    • Special Ingredients - Unique Finding Aids >
      • Church of Ireland Parish Records Finder
      • Townland Indexes Timelines of LDS Registry of Deeds microfilms
    • Restaurants - Irish Archives & Libraries >
      • The Registry of Deeds >
        • The Registry of Deeds - History & Future
        • The Registry of Deeds - Visiting the Archive
        • The Registry of Deeds - Online Access
        • The Registry of Deeds - Finding Deeds
        • The Registry of Deeds - Deciphering and Citing a Deed
      • The National Library of Ireland
      • The National Archives of Ireland
      • Dublin City Library and Archives
      • Valuation Office
      • Representative Church Body Library
      • Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
    • Dining Clubs - Irish Societies & Journals
    • Chefs - Irish Genies
    • Foreign Fare - Finding the Irish Abroad >
      • American Pie - USA
      • Empire Builders - Canada
      • Down Under - Australia & New Zealand
      • Settling under the Saltire - Scotland >
        • Scottish History
        • Scottish Geography
        • Scottish Records & Resources
        • Scottish Research Bookshelf
        • Scottish Larder
        • Scottish Tuckbox
      • Fighting in a foreign field >
        • India
        • Europe, Middle East & Africa (WW1)
        • USA
    • Seasonings - Miscellaneous Sources >
      • Methodist Church in Ireland
      • Huguenots in Ireland
      • Medical Practitioners
      • Students, Clergy & Lawyers
      • Schoolbooks and Archive Notes
      • Irish Dog Licences
      • Customs & Excise Officers
    • Kitchen Techniques - Tips & Advice >
      • Wildcard Searching for Placenames
      • Search tips for ScotlandsPeople
      • Searching Scottish Parishes on ScotlandsPeople
      • Searching the NAI Testamentary Index
      • Searching the Inland Revenue Testamentary Indexes
      • Using the Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer
  • Cookbooks
    • Free Websites
    • Subscription / PPV Websites
    • Research Advice Websites & Videos
    • Blogs, Magazines & Forums
    • Bookshelves >
      • Guides & Finding Aids
      • Histories
      • Digital Libraries
      • Bookmarks
  • Links
    • Snacks
    • Store Cupboard
    • Midnight Feasts >
      • Hunting for Irish Births
      • Hunting for Irish Baptisms
      • Hunting for Irish Marriages
      • Hunting for Irish Deaths
      • Hunting for Irish Burials
      • Hunting for Irish Monumental Inscriptions
      • Hunting for Irish Wills
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Irish Poor Law Records
​

PictureClick to enlarge (Original image NAI)
Peter Higginbotham's brilliant website has detailed pages on the Workhouse in Ireland.  Each individual page for a given Poor Law Union usually concludes with what information he has been able to find out regarding the survival, or not, of relevant records, so be sure to consult there first when formulating your research plan.

I also recently stumbled across digital record volumes for selected Irish Poor Law Unions on FamilySearch.  These are not conveniently grouped into one collection I'm afraid and I have found the links listed below only by dint of trial and error when interrogating the catalogue with "Poor Law" as a keyword in the Author field.  None of these digital resources are currently indexed on FamilySearch as far as I know, so you will have to settle in for some hard graft browsing the images, which is what you would be doing in any local archive anyway. 

Another thing to be aware of is that not all of the images are available to browse from the comfort of your own home.  Unfortunately if the camera symbol on the far right of the microfilm listing has a key symbol above it even when you have logged in to your free FamilySearch account, the images are only available to view at either LDS facilities or an affiliate library.  There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why some Poor Law Union records are locked like this yet others are freely accessible?


Each Poor Law Union has variable survival rates for the different sorts of documents associated with it e.g.
  • Admission or Indoor Relief Registers will obviously be the most useful if you are hunting kin who you think might have been admitted but their survival is very patchy.  Outdoor Relief may also have been recorded whereby payments were made to people staying in their own homes.
  • Births & Deaths Registers, again are very scarce.
  • Rate Books will be useful if your ancestors lived in the area and were required to contribute to the costs.
  • Board of Guardians Minute Books appear to be the documents that are most likely to have survived.  These detail the administration of the workhouse and are less likely to be rich in names or details but they still paint a vivid picture of life at the time.  You may find relatives mentioned, perhaps as guardians, workers or suppliers to the workhouse?

Free to browse online at FamilySearch;

Balrothery Poor Law Union  Co. Dublin
Dublin North Poor Law Union  City of Dublin
​Dublin South Poor Law Union  City of Dublin
Dunshaughlin Poor Law Union  Cos. Meath & Dublin
Kells Poor Law Union  Cos. Cavan, Meath & Westmeath
​Navan Poor Law Union  Co. Meath
Oldcastle Poor Law Union  Cos. Meath, Westmeath​ & Cavan
Rathdown Poor Law Union  Cos. Dublin & Wicklow
Trim Poor Law Union  Co. Meath



​Only available to browse at LDS or affiliate libraries;
​
​Ballycastle Poor Law Union  Co. Antrim
Ballymena Poor Law Union  Co. Antrim
​Ballymoney Poor Law Union  Cos. Antrim & (London)Derry
Belfast Poor Law Union - Cos. Antrim & Down  Cos. Antrim & Down​
​Downpatrick Poor Law Union  Co. Down
Enniskillen Poor Law Union  Cos. Fermanagh, Cavan & Tyrone
Granard Poor Law Union  Cos. Longford & Cavan
​Larne Poor Law Union  Co. Antrim
Lowtherstown Poor Law Union  Cos. Fermanagh, Tyrone​ & Donegal
​Mohill Poor Law Union  Co. Leitrim
​Nenagh Poor Law Union  Co. Tipperary
Strabane Poor Law Union  Cos. Donegal & Tyrone
​Thurles Poor Law Union  Co. Tipperary
FindMyPast (FMP) also has a range of Irish workhouse records, some indexed, others available to browse.  The cataloguing of these resources leads with county names but for some it's not immediately apparent until you delve deeper into each collection at what level the records are being presented - Poor Law Union (PLU) or County of the same name?  Therefore, as ever, check the source specific query page for a more detailed description of what exactly is included in the collection, and crucially what is not.  

  • Clare Poor Law Union Board of Guardian Minute Books  (FMP=£)  Only 4 PLUs for Co. Clare included with some very big gaps. c.401k
  • Donegal Workhouses Registers & Minute Books  (FMP=£)  8 PLUs for Co. Donegal with a wide range of documents for 1840-1922. c.433k
  • Dublin Workhouses Admission & Discharge Registers, 1840-1919  (FMP=£)  Dublin North & South City unions + Rathdown. c.1.5m
  • Dublin Poor Law Unions Board of Guardians Minute Books  (FMP=£) Dublin North & South City unions, Rathdown & Balrothery. c.892k
  • Galway Poor Law Union records  (FMP=£)  7 out of 10 PLUs for Co. Galway (but not Galway PLU!) included.  c.188k
  • Sligo Workhouse Admission & Discharge Registers, 1848-1859  (FMP=£)  Sligo PLU only, with gap 1850-1853. c9k
  • Waterford Poor Law Union Board of Guardian Minute Books  (FMP=£)  Waterford PLU only. c432k
Some county archives have also invested in digitising and publishing some of the poor law records deposited with them (check the relevant archive website for any others that can only be accessed in person on site.)  Remember, Poor Law Unions do not all fit neatly inside county boundaries so be sure to check neighbouring county archives for deposited records too.

Here are those I've found online so far;

Clare County Archives - transcripts to browse
  • Ennistymon Union Minute Books, 1839 - 1850   (FindMyPast have a longer indexed run, 1839-1924)
  • Kilrush Union Minute Books 1849   (FindMyPast have a longer indexed run, 1848-1923)
Wexford County Archive - free (huge!) PDF files to download & browse
  • Enniscorthy Union Minute Books, 1840-1890
  • Gorey Union Minute Books, 1840-1881
  • New Ross Union Minute Books, 1844-1878
  • Wexford Union Minute Books, 1840-1922
Wicklow County Archives - free PDF files to download and browse
  • Rathdrum Workhouse Admission & Discharge Registers, 1842-1914
  • Shillelagh Workhouse Admission & Discharge Registers, 1842-1918

*** More to follow
PictureLoan Ledger (c) TNA (Click to enlarge)
​Irish Loan Funds were another type of financial help in the form of very localised lending which had actually been a feature of the Irish economy from much earlier in the 18th century.  These were very small interest free loans for "the industrious poor" paid out from the rather strangely entitled Irish Reproductive Loan Fund i.e. seed money.  They were guaranteed by friends and neighbours, so you might find relatives involved as a recipient and/or a guarantor.  

The original records ended up at the National Archives in Kew, London and they have made their way onto both of the main commercial platforms, albeit curiously covering different time periods.
  • Ireland, Poverty Relief Loans, 1821-1874 (FMP=£) c.691k indexed records with images
  • Ireland, Sustainability Loan Fund, 1812-1868  (Anc=£) c.645k indexed records with images

The records are mostly for before 1850 and are very limited geographically - check the collection description on each of the search pages very carefully before you start searching.  

Read Up...  Irish Poor Law Unions​
(c) Irish Geneaography - 2022
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.