National Archives of Ireland

Donegal, Ireland Photo by Ainars Djatlevskis on Unsplash

​One of my dreams is to have the time, money, and luxury of researching in person at the National Archives of Ireland. Wouldn’t it be fun to have that opportunity? While that is not something that I can do today, the National Archives of Ireland has created a genealogy site that has many online records to explore. Let’s look.

​To access the Genealogy site, go to the main page of the National Archives of Ireland and choose the box titled “Genealogy.” There are several options including general research information, what is available in person and access to free advice. You can also access the 1901 and 1910 census records. You may want to check out the Research Guide which provides context and overview on what records are available for a particular timeframe and whether they have been digitized. As much as we love diving in and searching through digital records, this extra step could be a time saver.
 
If you are going to search the online digital records, I found that starting here was easiest as the list of records and links were readily available on this page. You have access to search Tithe Records, church records, wills, and other documents from one handy location. Try a few of the links and see if you can find anything on your family. As with most genealogy research, if you know the town, village, or townland where your ancestor came from, you’ll have a better chance of finding relevant records.
 
I hope that you enjoy exploring the digital access of the National Archives of Ireland. And who knows maybe some day we’ll visit in person! Have fun researching!