Irish Civil Registration on FamilySearch.org, Part 1

February 4, 2011 - 3:24pm by BensonEC

FamilySearch.org is a great resource for Irish research. The website includes four databases that index Irish civil registration. These databases include the following:

• Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881
• Ireland Deaths, 1864-1870
• Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898
• Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958

It is helpful to understand a little bit about the source of each database.

• The first three databases were created from actual civil registration (and a few church) records that FamilySearch has in its microfilm collection.
• The last database was created from microfilm copies of the civil registration indexes only, not the complete records as in the case of the first three.

This means that the first three databases can be searched using family relationships, but the last only contains the individuals name with no family relationships. There is significant overlap between the last database and the first three, because the last database is the full index and includes most everything the first three include—only with less information because it is only an index, not the full record.
To access these databases, go to FamilySearch.org. Then, in the “Browse by Location” section on the home page, click Europe, and then click Ireland. Or, to go directly to the databases now, you can click this link: Irish databases.
Good luck exploring the Irish Civil Registration databases on Familysearch.org. In the next article, we will discuss tips for searching the databases.