Ireland Civil Registration Indexes 1845-1958 now online

Geoff Rasmussen

28 Jan 2009

This news makes me wish I had more Irish ancestors.

This past weekend, FamilySearch published a new database containing an index of Ireland civil registration including:

Births (1864-1958)
Marriages (1845-1958)
Deaths (1864-1958)

Searching the database is simple. Just enter the name, select the life event (birth/christening, marriage, death/burial), enter a year and place and click the Search button. While the results are not linked to actual images of the certificates, they do provide clues (such as estimated birth year, age at death for a death record index) so you can order the actual certificate.

Once you have obtained the index information from the database, you will want to look at the original record. FamilySearch's new Research Wiki explains how to do this. Click here for the article.

To search this new database, click here.

Thanks to the 150,000+ FamilySearch Indexing volunteers who made this new database possible. This was actually one of the first record groups I helped with when I became a FamilySearch Indexing volunteer. To view a list of current and future projects, or to volunteer, click here.

How to cite this database using Legacy Family Tree's SourceWriter

If you find new information from this database, also be sure to add the citation in Legacy. Follow these steps:

After adding the new information into the individual's information screen, click on the Source icon.
Click on the Add a New Source button if you haven't previously added this database to your master source list. If you have already created this source, just click on the Cite a Master Source button and proceed.
Because this is an online database, select this template: "Add a Generic Source here > Online database" and click Go to Step 2 (see image below).
Fill in the source details (see image below).

The citation is now formatted using the genealogy industry standards as explained in Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence Explained.

Sample from step 3 above. Click to enlarge:

Sample from step 4 above. Click to enlarge:

Comments (7)

Just having this online is fantastic. To be able to find likely ancestors’ birth registration entries so that you can order certificates without having to actually go over to Ireland is great. Well done volunteers.
Those of us in England and Wales are used to this system of course. In the same way as I know absolutely nothing about how to search for and get hold of say a Canadian birth register entry and certificate it must seem a bit alien to those over the sea.
My family history friends with Irish ancestors now have a fighting chance of finding as many ancestors without leaving the house as the rest of us. Many many thankyous on their behalf.

Hi fellow Researchers:
The Indexing of the Irish Records going on line is a great Tribute to all the Volunteers, myself included.
Unfortunately you will not find Exact Dates for Births – Marriage or Deaths. For anyone only the Vol; Number and the Page; number which you need to get a copy of the Actual Certificate.
If you enter the Name of a Relitive and when they got Married, take down the Year & the Quarter, The Volume No, and The Page No.
Then enter the Name of the other person, and if the detailes are the same , then you have a HIT. You then use this information to get a copy of the Actual Marriage Cert. Which will have all the rest of information on it.
That is how it works.

This is a great resource. I’ve spent many many weeks at my local Family History Library looking at the Irish BMD Indices on microfilm. What a relief to have it online. A heartfelt Thanks to all the volunteers.

Got all exited about Irish research, until I tried one family for the parents marriage and 15 children. On the marriage I got nothing for him and 2 possibles for her. It gives only the year, not the exact date. It does not even give the spouses name. on the children I got 4 possibles. Once again no exact date and no parents name so there is nothing to prove it is the right individual. As far as I am concerned this is next to a complete waste of time.

I was delighted – I found the deaths for my two grand uncles that I never knew what happened to, and confirmed various dates for marriages and births and deaths. Some records are not there – perhaps there are more to come?

This is just brilliant stuff from Familysearch once again!
To think I paid quite a lot of money last year for a couple of dozen of these records.
This will break the money-grabbing stranglehold the Irish Heritage people have enjoyed with Irish records.
We should all be very grateful to the generous volunteers.

I am frustrated by the search. I used the larger search and entered a bride and a groom and chose Marriages and “Exact, Close & Partial” matches. Instead of restricting the search to Marriages, it gave me all record types — 188 pages of them.

J
jacqui

16 years ago

Just having this online is fantastic. To be able to find likely ancestors’ birth registration entries so that you can order certificates without having to actually go over to Ireland is great. Well done volunteers.
Those of us in England and Wales are used to this system of course. In the same way as I know absolutely nothing about how to search for and get hold of say a Canadian birth register entry and certificate it must seem a bit alien to those over the sea.
My family history friends with Irish ancestors now have a fighting chance of finding as many ancestors without leaving the house as the rest of us. Many many thankyous on their behalf.
AL
Alan Long

16 years ago

Hi fellow Researchers:
The Indexing of the Irish Records going on line is a great Tribute to all the Volunteers, myself included.
Unfortunately you will not find Exact Dates for Births – Marriage or Deaths. For anyone only the Vol; Number and the Page; number which you need to get a copy of the Actual Certificate.
If you enter the Name of a Relitive and when they got Married, take down the Year & the Quarter, The Volume No, and The Page No.
Then enter the Name of the other person, and if the detailes are the same , then you have a HIT. You then use this information to get a copy of the Actual Marriage Cert. Which will have all the rest of information on it.
That is how it works.
JB
JM Barber

16 years ago

This is a great resource. I’ve spent many many weeks at my local Family History Library looking at the Irish BMD Indices on microfilm. What a relief to have it online. A heartfelt Thanks to all the volunteers.
LR
Larry Rodgers

16 years ago

Got all exited about Irish research, until I tried one family for the parents marriage and 15 children. On the marriage I got nothing for him and 2 possibles for her. It gives only the year, not the exact date. It does not even give the spouses name. on the children I got 4 possibles. Once again no exact date and no parents name so there is nothing to prove it is the right individual. As far as I am concerned this is next to a complete waste of time.
MM
Marion McCall

16 years ago

I was delighted – I found the deaths for my two grand uncles that I never knew what happened to, and confirmed various dates for marriages and births and deaths. Some records are not there – perhaps there are more to come?
S
Seumas

16 years ago

This is just brilliant stuff from Familysearch once again!
To think I paid quite a lot of money last year for a couple of dozen of these records.
This will break the money-grabbing stranglehold the Irish Heritage people have enjoyed with Irish records.
We should all be very grateful to the generous volunteers.
WJ
Wesley Johnston

16 years ago

I am frustrated by the search. I used the larger search and entered a bride and a groom and chose Marriages and “Exact, Close & Partial” matches. Instead of restricting the search to Marriages, it gave me all record types — 188 pages of them.