Irish Websites links

Thanks to Family Tree University for pulling these together in a course they are now advertising. And then thanks to me for looking up each URL and making each link live for you - a slightly more complicated task than you'd think!! I'm such a good girl!! haha AND I am very suprised at how many of the links included in their ad did not work, which meant that I had to go online, search, and then include the proper link. Hmmmmm, me thinks this would not be a good selling feature. Anyway, here ya go. Now we all have them. And just so you know, I can think of several other sites not included here so don't be afraid to just play around, try Google searches, and who knows what new things you'll discover!!


Find Your Ancestors in Irish Records

There are numerous helpful Irish websites. Perhaps you have used some not mentioned here. These are some of the ones that Irish Research 201 instructor Sharon Carmack thinks are most useful. Although the sites with databases are generally subscription sites, they usually let you search their indexes for free. To get beyond the index, though, you’ll usually have to subscribe or pay a “per view” fee.

One avenue to explore is individual county sites, which have free access to some abstracted records for their county. For example, the Leitrim-Roscommon site has abstracts of the 1901 census for counties Leitrim, Roscommon and a few others. They’re working on other counties, so be sure to take a look.

1. All Irish http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/index.html
This site is exactly what it says it is: links to other sites relating to UK and Ireland genealogy.

2. Northern Ireland GenWeb Project http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nirwgw/?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
Here you’ll find Listservs, plus some record abstracts for Northern Ireland counties of interest. As with all GenWeb projects, each county is volunteer driven, so content varies.

3. Ireland GenWebProject http://www.irelandgenweb.com/
This site is also run by volunteers and has a mailing list. From the site, you can click on links to individual counties to see what records are available for each county, along with some abstracts available online.

4. Ancestry.com http://search.ancestry.com/Places/Europe/Ireland/Default.aspx%20?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
With a subscription to this site’s World Deluxe membership (or by using it at a library that subscribes), you can search its UK and Irish databases, which includes some census abstracts, gravestone inscriptions, early marriage abstracts, some Irish passenger lists, military records, land and tax records (such as Griffith’s Valuation, the Tithe Applotment Books, and the Irish Flax Grower’s Lists of 1796), newspapers, directories, and more. When you log on to Ancestry, scroll down to “Browse by Location,” then click on UK and Ireland, and then Ireland. As of this emailing, you can search the 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses for free.

5. GENUKI: Ireland http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/
This non-commercial, volunteer-driven web site is meant to be a “ virtual reference library.” The link here takes you to the Ireland page, then click on your county of interest. But don’t neglect to scroll down the whole Ireland page, as there are many other links besides county pages.

6. Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
You can find a fully searchable exact reproduction of every printed edition of The Irish Times from 1859-the present in The Irish Times Digital Archive. You can search the index, but unless you are a subscriber, however, you won’t be able to view the newspaper. You can purchase a one-day (24 hour) subscription.

7. Ireland’s Historical Mapping Archive http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,591271,743300,0,10
Search maps from 1829-1913, but there is a fee to search them.

8. The Ireland Story http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/index.htm?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
You’ll find not only history capsules here, but information on geography and maps.

9. IrishOrigins.com (also known as Origins.net) http://www.irishorigins.com/
Here you’ll find Griffith’s Primary Valuation of Ireland records and maps, the Tithe Defaulters List, Irish Wills Index (1484-1858), the 1851 Dublin City Census, Irish Royal Garrison Artillery Records, and Irish Origins Library, all accessible via a free Irish name search. From there, you’ll have to pay a fee to view the records or abstracts.

10. Ireland Genealogy http://www.ireland-genealogy.com/?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
This site has transcriptions of Old Age Pension Forms, which can act as a census substitute. The handwritten originals are at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. These forms give essential information from the 1841 and 1851 censuses for Northern Ireland and County Donegal. To view a record, there is a fee.

11. Find My Past http://www.findmypast.ie/%20?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
Find My Past has more than 5 million records available with more on the way. According to the site, “these include the largest collection of Irish land records and the most extensive collection of directories, wills, obituaries, gravestone inscriptions and marriages available anywhere online.” They also have births/baptisms and death/burial records, as well as censuses and substitutes. They have an annual subscription fee or a “ pay-as-you-go” option.

12. Ulster Historical Foundation http://www.ancestryireland.com/?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
The Ulster Historical Foundation is a subscription, or pay-per-view option, site that offers many sources for tracing Irish and Scotch-Irish ancestors. The site has online databases of over two million records, and genealogy and history books.

13. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) http://www.proni.gov.uk/?et_mid=719613&rid=239005133
Although this site doesn’t have a lot of databases yet, they are all free, and more are coming. If you have ancestors from the Northern Ireland counties, you’ll want to check out the Freeholders Records and Will Calendars, and articles about doing family history in Northern Ireland.


Cheers,
Pat