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Public Records in Ireland
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PictureFirst Report of the DKPRI, 1869
What is the history of public records in Ireland?

Too long for me to recount here!  Seriously, Ireland was once the envy of the Western world in terms of the richness and depth of public records that had been amassed for nearly a thousand years ... until 1922 *sigh*.

The second half of the 19th century saw a particularly vigorous period of Victorian invention with respect to paperwork - witness the colossal output generated by reform of probate law and the inception of civil registration.  However, there was also a concerted effort to gather up lots of historical documents that were previously held in mostly ecclesiastical and legal hands. 

The Public Records (Ireland) Act,1867, created the Public Record Office of Ireland in the Four Courts in Dublin and set out its responsibilities and powers of acquisition.  Every year, the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records in Ireland (DKPRI) was required to submit a report to Parliament describing the work of the year, the first of which appeared in 1869.  


PicturePage from Appendix to 26th Report (click to enlarge)
Why are these reports valuable for genealogy?

They vary hugely in length and scope and, truth be told, do sometimes run to reams of flowery Victorian language of the sort beloved of civil servants.  However, hidden in the pages are detailed accounts of EXACTLY which records were accessioned in particular years.  Perversely, this means that, given so much was lost in 1922, you will be able to understand what you are unlikely to find anywhere in an original form.  You might also be surprised at the paucity of some classes of records that made their way to the PROI - Rosemary ffolliott wrote that some dioceses gave up very few testamentary records for example.  So, whilst we lament the destruction of so many wills, it does rather beg the question as to where those that never made it to the PROI eventually ended up!  Who knows, they may be lurking at the end of an Irish rainbow somewhere!

Where is does get more interesting, is that later reports started to add Appendices that could contain some genealogically interesting indexes.  Having acquired lots of documents, industrious clerks set about making indexes to make the job of locating them easier.  Some of these appendices have been digitised and indexed as online resources.  Principally, the grant books for the Dublin Diocese and the Prerogative Court of Armagh were indexed and appeared as appendices to the 26th & 30th and DKPRI reports.  These mostly list marriage licences/bonds, wills and administrations, dating from the 18th century onwards, despite the year range stated below.

These are the same resources and have been indexed for searching.
  • ​Index to the Grant Books of the Dublin Diocese, 1272-1858  (FMP=£)  Couples listed for bonds and licences, mostly 18th century onwards
  • Dublin, Ireland, Probate Record and Marriage License Index, 1270-1858  (Anc=£)  Same resource on Ancestry​

The same records are available to browse for free via the Internet Archive.
  • Appendix to the 26th Report (Index to Act or Grant Books and Original Wills of the Diocese of Dublin to 1800) 
  • ​Appendix to the 30th Report (Index to Act or Grant Books and Original Wills of the Diocese of Dublin, 1800-1858) 

​You may not learn a great deal from the indexes, as sadly the documents they refer to are long gone, but as this small example illustrates, you will find some names and dates that might help solve a people puzzle somewhere in your tree.  In fact, the alphabetical lists can often reveal a run of possible generations, which is what I think is represented in the Brass entries here, for example.
​
The column headed "Nature of Record" uses codes of which there are many, but the most common are the following.
  • I. = Intestate (therefore a grant of administration would have been made.)
  • W. = Will
  • O.W. = Original Will
  • M.L. = Marriage Licence (be sure to hunt for a church register entry or civil record too, or even a marriage settlement in the Registry of Deeds.)
For a full list of the codes, see this page in the Appendix to the 26th report. The preceding pages also contain more commentary on how the indexes were constructed and from which sources, as they are not in fact limited to just the Diocese of Dublin documents as stated in the collection titles above.

​​Where can I access the reports online?

You can also access digital copies of the whole reports via the Internet Archive.  Yes, there are reams of them, but this set (minus a couple I haven't located yet) represent the history of the Public Record Office of Ireland virtually right up to its cataclysmic destruction.  Work your way through them, checking the description of the contents first, and you may well deepen your understanding of the different types of records.  Remember, the Beyond 2022 project is working hard to recreate some of these resources and it would be good to be able to relate new digital replacements back to the originals.
​
  • First Report of the DKPRI, 1869​​
  • Second Report of the DKPRI, 1870
  • Third Report of the DKPRI, 1871
  • Fourth Report of the DKPRI, 1872
  • Fifth Report of the DKPRI, 1873
  • Sixth Report of the DKPRI, 1874
  • Seventh Report of the DKPRI, 1875
  • Eighth Report of the DKPRI, 1876
  • Ninth Report of the DKPRI, 1877
  • Tenth Report of the DKPRI, 1878
  • Eleventh Report of the DKPRI, 1879
  • Twelfth Report of the DKPRI, 1880
  • Thirteenth Report of the DKPRI, 1881 (not found yet)
  • Fourteenth Report of the DKPRI, 1882
  • Fifteenth Report of the DKPRI, 1883
  • Sixteenth Report of the DKPRI, 1884
  • Seventeenth Report of the DKPRI, 1885
  • Eighteenth Report of the DKPRI, 1886
  • Nineteenth Report of the DKPRI, 1887
  • Twentieth Report of the DKPRI, 1888​
  • Twenty First Report of the DKPRI, 1889​​
  • Twenty Second Report of the DKPRI, 1890
  • Twenty Third Report of the DKPRI, 1891
  • Twenty Fourth Report of the DKPRI, 1892
  • Twenty Fifth Report of the DKPRI, 1893
  • Twenty Sixth Report of the DKPRI, 1894 (not found yet)​
  • Appendix to the 26th Report (Index to Act or Grant Books and Original Wills of the Diocese of Dublin to 1800)​
  • Twenty Seventh Report of the DKPRI, 1895​
  • ​Appendix to the 27th Report (Index to the Calendar of Christ Church Deeds, 1174-1684)
  • Twenty Eighth Report of the DKPRI, 1896
  • Twenty Ninth Report of the DKPRI, 1897
  • Thirtieth Report of the DKPRI, 1898
  • ​Appendix to the 30th Report (Index to Act or Grant Books and Original Wills of the Diocese of Dublin, 1800-1858)​​
  • Thirty First Report of the DKPRI, 1899
  • Thirty Second Report of the DKPRI, 1900
  • Thirty Third Report of the DKPRI, 1901
  • Thirty Fourth Report of the DKPRI, 1902
  • Thirty Fifth Report of the DKPRI, 1903
  • Thirty Sixth Report of the DKPRI, 1904
  • Thirty Seventh Report of the DKPRI, 1905
  • Thirty Eighth Report of the DKPRI, 1906
  • Thirty Ninth Report of the DKPRI, 1907
  • Fortieth Report of the DKPRI, 1908
  • Forty First Report of the DKPRI, 1909
  • Forty Second Report of the DKPRI, 1910 (Publ. 1911)
  • Forty Third Report of the DKPRI, 1911 (Publ. 1912)
  • Forty Fourth Report of the DKPRI, 1912
  • Forty Fifth Report of the DKPRI, 1913
  • Forty Sixth Report of the DKPRI, 1914
  • Forty Seventh Report of the DKPRI, 1915
  • ​Forty Eighth Report of the DKPRI, 1916
  • Forty Ninth Report of the DKPRI, 1917
  • Fiftieth Report of the DKPRI, 1918 (Publ. 1919)
  • Fifty First Report of the DKPRI, 1919
  • ​Fifty Second Report of the DKPRI, 1920
(c) Irish Geneaography - 2022
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