Free Websites
There are lots of free websites to help you with your Irish family history research as the hundreds of links referenced in these pages illustrate. However, it is useful to pick out a few of the major sites that will either furnish you with records to hunt through and/or support you with reference information and finding aids.
The sites listed below are those hosted by institutions, government departments and volunteer organisations. For great research advice offered by other generous individual genies see Research Advice - Websites and Finding Aids.
The sites listed below are those hosted by institutions, government departments and volunteer organisations. For great research advice offered by other generous individual genies see Research Advice - Websites and Finding Aids.
FamilySearch Ireland Research Page
This is probably the best page to familiarise yourself with what this site has to offer for Ireland. There are several indexed collections of records as well as many more unindexed images that you can browse. Free online courses and the extensive Wiki pages will also help you to understand the context for the records as well as equip you with search tips. The list of current indexing projects could also be a way for you to get involved in helping others to gain access to the records in the future.
This is probably the best page to familiarise yourself with what this site has to offer for Ireland. There are several indexed collections of records as well as many more unindexed images that you can browse. Free online courses and the extensive Wiki pages will also help you to understand the context for the records as well as equip you with search tips. The list of current indexing projects could also be a way for you to get involved in helping others to gain access to the records in the future.
Irish Genealogy
This is the Irish Dept. of Tourism, Culture, Arts, the Gaeltacht, Sports & Media (DTCAGSM) site. It has extensive church records for the counties not covered by the Irish Family History Foundation's Roots Ireland site, namely Dublin, Cork, Carlow and Kerry (See my Church of Ireland Parishes and Registers page for more information.)
This is also the only site where you can see images of the birth, marriage and death registers for civil registration records, all for free (See my Irish Civil Registration Records page for more information.)
This is the Irish Dept. of Tourism, Culture, Arts, the Gaeltacht, Sports & Media (DTCAGSM) site. It has extensive church records for the counties not covered by the Irish Family History Foundation's Roots Ireland site, namely Dublin, Cork, Carlow and Kerry (See my Church of Ireland Parishes and Registers page for more information.)
This is also the only site where you can see images of the birth, marriage and death registers for civil registration records, all for free (See my Irish Civil Registration Records page for more information.)
National Archives of Ireland
See my page on the National Archives of Ireland for more information on what is available on this platform.
See my page on the National Archives of Ireland for more information on what is available on this platform.
Ask about Ireland
This site is the best free site for searching Griffith's Valuation (see my page for more information.) There are also a lot of other free resources on this website including a Reading Room of informative articles and an extensive library of e-books.
This site is the best free site for searching Griffith's Valuation (see my page for more information.) There are also a lot of other free resources on this website including a Reading Room of informative articles and an extensive library of e-books.
Irish Genealogy Projects (IGP)
This is a great volunteer based project that gathers together ad-hoc genealogical data from all across Ireland. It is organised by county and there are lots of transcripts and photos donated by local volunteers. The style and quality of the different pages does vary but several adopt helpful standard headings for record categories.
This is a great volunteer based project that gathers together ad-hoc genealogical data from all across Ireland. It is organised by county and there are lots of transcripts and photos donated by local volunteers. The style and quality of the different pages does vary but several adopt helpful standard headings for record categories.
GENUKI - Ireland page
This is a volunteer run site and is a great place to familiarise yourself with lots of geographical information and I encourage you to explore the county pages. There are also lots of links and historical context for records. However, be warned, some of these pages are very sparsely populated and have not been updated for several years.
This is a volunteer run site and is a great place to familiarise yourself with lots of geographical information and I encourage you to explore the county pages. There are also lots of links and historical context for records. However, be warned, some of these pages are very sparsely populated and have not been updated for several years.
Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland
Launched on the anniversary of the destruction of the PROI, which it seeks to recreate in digital form, this is a free website that will eventually contain some very unique treasures. It's early days, so I'm exploring it too but there are indexes that will no doubt grow.
Launched on the anniversary of the destruction of the PROI, which it seeks to recreate in digital form, this is a free website that will eventually contain some very unique treasures. It's early days, so I'm exploring it too but there are indexes that will no doubt grow.
Church of Ireland
This website has loads of genealogical information including a guide to its library in Dublin (RCBL) and it hosts the Anglican Record Project where there is a growing list of transcribed records. See my pages on Church of Ireland Dioceses and Diocesan Records and Church of Ireland Parishes and Registers for more information.
This website has loads of genealogical information including a guide to its library in Dublin (RCBL) and it hosts the Anglican Record Project where there is a growing list of transcribed records. See my pages on Church of Ireland Dioceses and Diocesan Records and Church of Ireland Parishes and Registers for more information.
PRONI
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has some free online records, most notably indexes to Will Calendars and Valuation Revision Books for the NI counties. See my PRONI page for more information.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has some free online records, most notably indexes to Will Calendars and Valuation Revision Books for the NI counties. See my PRONI page for more information.
(c) Irish Geneaography - 2023
