The National Archives of Ireland
The following words of wisdom are based on my own experiences. Please get in touch if you can add to this advice with your own observations.
What is this archive and what might you find there?
The National Archives of Ireland (NAI) are located in Bishop St., not far from St. Patrick's Cathedral. They are in a modern building that dates from 1992, having taken over from the Public Record Office of Ireland previously housed at the Four Courts. Various state and court papers have naturally found their retirement home here including such gems as the surviving 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses.
Of course, sadly, given Ireland's well documented and troubled early 20th century history, there are also many records which should be here but no longer exist having gone up in smoke in 1922 when the Four Courts was engulfed in flames (* sigh * - if there was one thing that we Irish genies wish we could turn back time and change ...)
In fact, spare a thought for Herbert Wood, Assistant Deputy Records Keeper, who published his "Guide to Public Records deposited in the Public Record Office of Ireland" in 1919, only to see it rendered mostly obsolete a mere 3 years later (Sean Murphy has prefaced this version with a very good essay that tells more of Herbert's story.) Having said that, much effort has been put into trying to recreate parts of the collection from alternative sources. In fact, the Irish Genealogical Research Society was founded in London in 1936 for exactly this reason and has built up an unique library of research documents (sadly in storage at the moment as they search for a new home.) However, do check out what they offer online via their website, some of which may only be available to members.
How to find your way to treasure in this archive, in person or remotely?
The NAI recently revamped their introductory pages in Spring 2019, so let me update my text and fix the links that inevitably broke;
The main NAI home page is a bit alarming when you first open it with text boxes flying up from the bottom of the screen - somebody thought this looked good .... Once it all settles down there are some slightly confusing levels for the genealogist to navigate if you want to access everything you did before. There also seems to be quite a lot of repetition with the same information referenced from several different places, which I suppose is better than not at all! Settle down for a good roam around and I'm sure you'll work out your own favourite way to access what you need.
The Researching Family History page has some useful looking advice signposted (in particular the Sources for Family and Local History.) To access their online databases, there is an odd page entitled "Our Genealogy Website" that talks about another Genealogy website! That is because the actual web pages that cover the searchable databases have not been updated to the new corporate style and this is how they have chosen to link to them. Pick the latter of the blue links above you will go straight to the online resources which include the following;
However, don't ignore the other choices on the main NAI home page as it appears that you might need to go via some of the other choices to access things not referenced via the Genealogy pages e.g. Wills post 1922 ... are you keeping up? Check out the Legal Records pages for further information, especially the Guide to Testamentary Records page which has some fairly convoluted instructions for accessing the post 1922 will calendars (there used to be a fairly simple page with hyperlinks to the PDFs for each year ... which you can still access in the same way via Chris Paton's helpful shortcuts.)
The NAI Catalogue has never been a thing of beauty and I confess I've wrestled with it infrequently myself before giving up. You are as usual at the mercy of generations of archivists and their own predilections for cataloguing. The basic search screen is the usual "letterbox Scrabble" affair where you have to sort of know what you're looking for in order to find it! There does not seem to be a facility for browsing the catalogue easily by category, which would be hugely helpful in trying to understand the archiving logic.
As far as I am aware there is no Irish equivalent of Amanda Bevan's, "Tracing your ancestors in the National Archives", which is your guide to the British records held at Kew, London. However, I recently found a Guide to the National Archives of Ireland written from much personal experience on the part of well-known Irish genie, Sean Murphy, so see if he can help you unravel the mysteries of this venerable institution. The NAI site does have some research guides and sources to selected collections, so check left hand panel on this page to see if there is something to help you learn about unfamiliar records.
If you do visit in person, then read their Plan Your Visit page carefully to make sure you are aware of the practicalities of gaining access to the Reading Room etc. There is also a free genealogy service available with an accredited genealogist, which I can't comment on it as I have not taken advantage of it myself.
Having whinged, it's only fair now to give the NAI a huge vote of thanks for the marvellous resources that they have put on-line with some very good source-specific search screens giving access to high quality digitised images for free.
What is this archive and what might you find there?
The National Archives of Ireland (NAI) are located in Bishop St., not far from St. Patrick's Cathedral. They are in a modern building that dates from 1992, having taken over from the Public Record Office of Ireland previously housed at the Four Courts. Various state and court papers have naturally found their retirement home here including such gems as the surviving 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses.
Of course, sadly, given Ireland's well documented and troubled early 20th century history, there are also many records which should be here but no longer exist having gone up in smoke in 1922 when the Four Courts was engulfed in flames (* sigh * - if there was one thing that we Irish genies wish we could turn back time and change ...)
In fact, spare a thought for Herbert Wood, Assistant Deputy Records Keeper, who published his "Guide to Public Records deposited in the Public Record Office of Ireland" in 1919, only to see it rendered mostly obsolete a mere 3 years later (Sean Murphy has prefaced this version with a very good essay that tells more of Herbert's story.) Having said that, much effort has been put into trying to recreate parts of the collection from alternative sources. In fact, the Irish Genealogical Research Society was founded in London in 1936 for exactly this reason and has built up an unique library of research documents (sadly in storage at the moment as they search for a new home.) However, do check out what they offer online via their website, some of which may only be available to members.
How to find your way to treasure in this archive, in person or remotely?
The NAI recently revamped their introductory pages in Spring 2019, so let me update my text and fix the links that inevitably broke;
The main NAI home page is a bit alarming when you first open it with text boxes flying up from the bottom of the screen - somebody thought this looked good .... Once it all settles down there are some slightly confusing levels for the genealogist to navigate if you want to access everything you did before. There also seems to be quite a lot of repetition with the same information referenced from several different places, which I suppose is better than not at all! Settle down for a good roam around and I'm sure you'll work out your own favourite way to access what you need.
The Researching Family History page has some useful looking advice signposted (in particular the Sources for Family and Local History.) To access their online databases, there is an odd page entitled "Our Genealogy Website" that talks about another Genealogy website! That is because the actual web pages that cover the searchable databases have not been updated to the new corporate style and this is how they have chosen to link to them. Pick the latter of the blue links above you will go straight to the online resources which include the following;
- 1901 & 1911 Censuses
- 1841 / 1851 Census Search Forms (Proof of age for Old Age Pensions introduced in 1908 for persons aged 70+)
- Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837
- Valuation Office Books, 1824-1856
- Diocesan and Prerogative Wills, 1595-1858
- Will Calendars, 1858-1920
- Will Registers, 1858-1900
- Soldiers Wills from the First World War
- Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage Licence Bonds Indexes, 1623-1866
- Catholic Qualification and Convert Rolls, 1700-1845
- Crew and Shipping Records, 1860-1921
However, don't ignore the other choices on the main NAI home page as it appears that you might need to go via some of the other choices to access things not referenced via the Genealogy pages e.g. Wills post 1922 ... are you keeping up? Check out the Legal Records pages for further information, especially the Guide to Testamentary Records page which has some fairly convoluted instructions for accessing the post 1922 will calendars (there used to be a fairly simple page with hyperlinks to the PDFs for each year ... which you can still access in the same way via Chris Paton's helpful shortcuts.)
The NAI Catalogue has never been a thing of beauty and I confess I've wrestled with it infrequently myself before giving up. You are as usual at the mercy of generations of archivists and their own predilections for cataloguing. The basic search screen is the usual "letterbox Scrabble" affair where you have to sort of know what you're looking for in order to find it! There does not seem to be a facility for browsing the catalogue easily by category, which would be hugely helpful in trying to understand the archiving logic.
As far as I am aware there is no Irish equivalent of Amanda Bevan's, "Tracing your ancestors in the National Archives", which is your guide to the British records held at Kew, London. However, I recently found a Guide to the National Archives of Ireland written from much personal experience on the part of well-known Irish genie, Sean Murphy, so see if he can help you unravel the mysteries of this venerable institution. The NAI site does have some research guides and sources to selected collections, so check left hand panel on this page to see if there is something to help you learn about unfamiliar records.
If you do visit in person, then read their Plan Your Visit page carefully to make sure you are aware of the practicalities of gaining access to the Reading Room etc. There is also a free genealogy service available with an accredited genealogist, which I can't comment on it as I have not taken advantage of it myself.
Having whinged, it's only fair now to give the NAI a huge vote of thanks for the marvellous resources that they have put on-line with some very good source-specific search screens giving access to high quality digitised images for free.
(c) Irish Geneaography - 2023
