Libraries & Archives
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Libraries & Archives - Republic of Ireland |
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Religious Archives |
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Archives collect and preserve public records
and historical documents. Libraries collect mostly published sources, such as
books, maps, and microfilm. Remember the Family History Library may have
printed or microfilmed copies of the records you need, so check its holdings
before you go abroad.
·
National archives and libraries,
Public libraries and museums,
Religious archives,
Heritage or genealogical centres
an other archives.
National Archives and Libraries
Genealogical
Office. The records of the
Genealogical Office deal mainly with heraldry. The office's holdings include
information extracted from records that were destroyed when the Public Record
Office burned.
The records of the
Genealogical Office are not available to the public. Some of the records,
however, have been microfilmed and these films may be available at other
repositories. The office does not do commissioned research. The office does
provide a consultation service that gives detailed guidance, for a fee, to
people who are doing research on their own families. For more information on the
Genealogical Office, see the chapter by that name in John Grenham, Tracing
Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide
. The address is:
Genealogical Office
2 Kildare Street
Dublin 2
IRELAND (EIRE)
Public Libraries and Museums
Each county and most major
cities in Ireland have a main library. Many of these libraries have a local and
family history collection. These collections may include estate records,
newspapers, gravestone inscriptions, minute books of various local and county
government agencies, poor law records, family pedigrees, and histories. Some
libraries have indexed parts of their collections.
County or specialty museums
may also contain genealogical records, including estate, military, tax, church,
and business or employment records. For addresses of Irish libraries and
museums, see Seamus Helferty and Raymond Refausse, eds., Directory
of Irish Archives.
Heritage or
Genealogical Centres
Local heritage
centres, sometimes called genealogical centres, are a recent development in
Ireland. These centres are currently indexing church records, mainly Catholic
parish registers. Some centres are also indexing Tithe Applotment books,Griffith's Primary Valuation, the 1901 census, and gravestone inscriptions. The centres are
computerizing their indexes.
Centre records are not open
to the public. Centre staff, however, will search their indexes and supply
information for a fee. For more information about the heritage centres, see:
Directory
of Parish Registers Indexed in Ireland. Naas, Ireland: Irish Family History Society, 1992. (FHL book Ref 941.5
K23d; computer number 0660299.) This work provides a county by county list of
centres, including addresses, phone numbers, and descriptions of the records
each centre has indexed.
Other Archives
Other archives also contain
information of genealogical value. Three such archives are described below.
Others are discussed in the books listed under General Guides below.
Valuation
Office. The Valuation
Office holds the Griffith's Primary Valuationrecords and accompanying maps (see the “Taxation” section of this
outline). The office's post-1868 valuation records and maps are of the Republic
of Ireland only. The address is:
Valuation Office
6 Ely Place
Dublin 2
IRELAND (EIRE)
General Guides
Guides to archives and libraries in Ireland and Northern Ireland include:
Foster, Janet, and Julia
Sheppard. British
Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the United Kingdom.
3rd ed. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1995. (FHL book Ref 942 J54f 1995;
microfilm number 763911.) This guide lists the addresses, major records, and
publications of several repositories in Northern Ireland. The guide is indexed
by county and by type of collection.
English
Repositories
Because England ruled Ireland for much of its
history, many records pertaining to the Irish are found in English repositories.
The major English archives that have Irish records are:
Public
Record Office
Ruskin Avenue, Kew
Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU
ENGLAND
British
Library, Department of Western Manuscripts
Great Russell Street
London WCIB 3DG
ENGLAND
British Library, India
Office Library and Records
197 Blackfriars Road
London SEI 8NG
ENGLAND
British
Library, Newspaper Library
Colindale Avenue
London NW9 5HE
ENGLAND
Grenham, John. “Research
Services, Societies and Repositories.” In Tracing Your Irish
Ancestors: The Complete Guide.
(See “For Further Reading.”) This chapter lists the names, addresses, phone
numbers, and hours of various repositories in both the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland.
Helferty, Seamus, and
Raymond Refausse, eds. Directory of Irish Archives.
2nd ed. Blackrock, Ireland: Irish Academic Press, 1993, (FHL book Ref 941.5
A34h, 1993; computer number 0705881.) This book alphabetically lists for both
the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland each repository, its address, its
major record holdings, and any guides to its collections. The book is indexed by
county and by record subject.