Birth, Death and Marriage in Ireland

In 1864, registration of deaths, births and marriages became compulsory in Ireland for the first time.  Each county has its own original records and copies are kept in Joyce House in Dublin for public use. The records are the responsibility of the various Health Boards and access to the originals is usually at the discretion of  the County Registrars.  They have to take into account the disruption to their own staff, the usually limited amount of space, and the damage that might be caused to the 140 year old books. Fortunately, the records are currently being computerised.  There are no plans to provide public access to the records, but the registrar's office will always accept inquiries and do whatever searches they can within reason and subject to a fee.  They will advise the numbers and addresses of the various County Registrar's offices. Unfortunately, official cemetery records were not kept during the 19th century but some historical societies and some individuals have painstakingly recorded the names in their local graveyards. These will be available at the County Libraries. 

When researching these Irish records, do be aware that sometimes things will not be as you expect them to be.  An ancestor may have been born outside of marriage, a name may have been changed, and it's possible that the birth may have taken place in another Electoral Division. A death is always registered where the death took place and not where the person was living. So, if the person for whose death record you are searching was sent to a hospital outside the electoral area for treatment in his/her last days, the death record will be at that place. Second marriages were not uncommon - remember, you may be dealing with a time when life-expectancy was not what it is now. Many mothers died during child-birth, and fathers died in accidents in an unregulated workplace, through illnesses, etc. However, the majority were born, married, and died peacefully within their own areas and the records should prove fruitful.  

The General Register Office in Dublin is at 8 - 11 Lombard Street, Dublin 2.  The telephone number is 01 6711000.  There you will find (among others):

1.    Registers of all Births registered in the whole of Ireland from 1st January, 1864, to 31 December, 1921, and in Ireland (excluding the six north-eastern counties of Derry, Antrim, Down, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone know as Northern Ireland) from that date.

2.    Registers of all Deaths registered in the whole of Ireland from 1st January, 1864 , to 31st December 1921 , and in Ireland (excluding Northern Ireland ) from that date.

3.    Registers of all Marriages registered in the whole of Ireland from 1st April 1845 , to 31st December 1863 , except those celebrated by the Roman Catholic clergy.

4.    Registers of all Marriages registered in the whole of Ireland from 1st January, 1864 , to 31st December, 1921 , and in Ireland (excluding Northern Ireland ) from that date.

11.  Adopted Children Register – legal adoptions registered in the Republic of Ireland on or after 10th July, 1953 .

5.    Registers of Births at Sea of children, one of whose parents was Irish, registered from 1st January, 1864 , to 31st December, 1921 .  Register of Births at Sea of Children one of whose parents was born in the Republic of Ireland , registered after 1921.

6.    Register of Deaths at Sea of Irish-born persons, registered from 1st January, 1864, to 31st December, 1921, and after 1921 of Irish born persons other than those born in Northern Ireland.

7.    Registers of Births of children of Irish parents, certified by British Consuls abroad, from 1st January, 1864 to 31st December, 1921 .

8.    Registers of Deaths

Application Form for Search of a Census Return from National Archives