Nature of Source
The 1766 Religious Census of Ireland was commissioned to establish and record the religious affiliations of the population including Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic. The measures were conducted as the established Protestant Church of Ireland sought to maintain its power and influence. The census also identified Catholic priests active in the area during a period of restrictions imposed by the Penal Laws on Catholic clergy. Together the returns record details of over 50,000 individual names and around 14,000 heads of households.
The returns were arranged by county, barony and parish but generally not by townland. They were submitted by parish ministers often grouped within dioceses and counties rather than townlands.
The original manuscripts were destroyed in the fire at the Public Record Office of Ireland, housed in the Four Courts, during the Civil War in 1922. Fortunately, before the fire, some parts had been transcribed by the Belfast genealogist Tenison Groves and by others. These transcripts now form the only surviving remnants of the census. Some caution is needed when dealing with the returns as Groves’ interpretation of the returns may contain inaccuracies and deciphering his handwriting has proved troublesome.
The surviving records cover various dioceses, including Antrim, Armagh, Cork, Derry (Londonderry), Donegal, Limerick, Louth, Tipperary, Tyrone and Waterford. Whilst the census primarily dealt with Protestants, in certain areas Roman Catholic householders are also recorded. This reflects the patchy way in which local ministers compiled their lists with some recording all denominations in their parishes. Some returns only include total numbers by denomination without names.
Where Found
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
PRONI holds surviving fragments of the Religious Census of Ireland of 1766. These returns mainly cover just over 30 parishes in the province of Ulster and some parishes in what is now the Republic of Ireland.
National Archives of Ireland
The Archives holds fragments and surviving returns of the 1766 Religious Census. The returns are available in the Reading Room and online via partnerships such as the Virtual Records Treasury of Ireland. The records largely cover parishes in Ulster and parts of the Republic of Ireland.
The National Library of Ireland
The Library holds original returns, indexes and transcripts.
Representative Church Body Library
The Library holds transcripts and extracts for various parishes and unions.
Trinity College Library
The Library holdings are mainly manuscript transcripts and abstracts of parish returns for various dioceses.
Period Covered
1766 – 1766
Genealogical Value
- Names of heads of households.
- Residence (townland or parish).
- Religious affiliation (Church of Ireland, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and others).
- Lists of reputed Catholic priests and friars residing in specific parishes.
Further References
Family History Guides
- Adolph, Anthony. Collins Tracing Your Irish Family History: HarperCollins, 2007
- Begley, Donal. Handbook on Irish Genealogy: How to Trace Your Ancestors and Relatives: Heraldic Artists, 1984
- Connell, Gretta. Tracing Your Westmeath Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Corrigan, Mario & Durney, James & Kiely, Karel. Tracing your Kildare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2014
- Davis, Bill. Irish Ancestry – A Beginner’s Guide: FFHS, 2001
- Falley, Margaret Dickson. Irish and Scottish-Irish Ancestral Research: GPC, 1981 (1962)
- Franklin, Margaret. Tracing your Limerick Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Grenham, John. Irish Ancestors, A Pocket Guide to Your Family History: Gill & Macmillan, 2004
- Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: Gill & Macmillan, 2011
- Hamrock, John. Tracing your Roscommon Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2007
- Kinealy, Christine. Tracing Your Irish Roots: Appletree Press, 2009
- McCarthy, Tony. The Irish Roots Guide. Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1991
- McCarthy, Tony & Cadogan, Tim. Tracing Your Cork Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Ancestors in Northern Ireland: A Guide to Ancestry Research in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland: Stationery Office, 1997
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Armagh Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Down Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. How To Trace Your Irish Ancestors: How To Books, 2009
- Maxwell, Ian. Your Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2008
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Northern Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2010
- Meehan, Helen & Duffy, Godfrey. Tracing Your Donegal Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2008
- Mitchell, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Basic Guide to Irish Records for Family History: Clearfield Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Tracing Derry-Londonderry Roots: Clearfield Company, 2014
- Mitchell, Brian. NEW Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy Paperback: Clearfield, 2020
- O’Connor, Michael H. Tracing your Kerry Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 1994
- O’Dowd, Peadar. Tracing your Galway Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Ouimette, David. Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide: Ancestry.com, 2005
- Paton, Chris. Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet: A Guide For Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2013
- Prochaska, Alice, Irish History from 1700: A Guide to Sources in the Public Record Office: British Records Association, 1986
- Raymond, Stuart. Irish Family History on the Web: The Family History Partnership, 2007
- Roulston, William. Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600-1800: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2005
- Ryan, James. Irish Records: Sources for Family & Local History: Flyleaf Press, 1997
- Ryan, James & Smith, Brian. Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2009
- Ryan, James. Tracing your Sligo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Smith, Brian. Tracing your Mayo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Smith, Brian & Kennedy, Gerry. Tracing Your Clare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2013
- Stewart, Alan. My Ancestor Was Irish: A Guide to Sources for Family Historians: Society of Genealogists, 2012
Other
- Bradshaw’s Railway Map Great Britain and Ireland 1852: Mapseeker Publishing, 2013
- Connolly, S.J. The Oxford Companion to Irish History: Oxford University Press, 2007
- Coogan, Tim, Pat. The Famine Plot: England’s Role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013
- Dickson, R.J. Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718-1775: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1976
- Grenham, John. The Little Book of Irish Clans and Tartans: Book Sales, 1995
- Robinson, Philip. Plantation of Ulster: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Smith, Paul & Turner, Keith. Railway Atlas of Ireland Then & Now: Ian Allan Publishing, 2014
Websites
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Guide to the 1766 religious census returns.
Irish Genealogy Toolkit
Ireland’s 1766 religious census. This page explores the 1766 Religious Census, the only survey of the population’s faith affiliations authorised on a national level.
Virtual Treasury
1766 Religious Census. The website provides descriptions of the documents within the 1766 Religious Census, along with the historical background. The guide explains the purpose and scope of the census and the surviving materials.
National Archives of Ireland
National Archives Religious Census 1766. A Guide to Surviving Material.
General Ireland Resources
Irish Genealogy
Irish Genealogical Research: Getting Started. The site offers practical advice and guidance for people beginning their journey into Irish family history research with a number of key recommendations.
FamilySearch Learning Center
Getting Started in Irish Genealogy presented by Marie E. Daly. Lecture designed to acquaint beginning genealogist with strategies and sources for getting started in Irish genealogy
John Grenham
Irish Ancestors. The website is dedicated to Irish ancestry and genealogy research. It offers various tools and resources for people interested in tracing their Irish family history. Key features include a surname search and place name search and guides to researching Irish ancestry.
The Irish Times
How to trace your Irish family history: a step-by-step guide, by John Grenham.
Timeline Research Ireland
Tracing Irish Ancestors Online. A free up to date guide by Nicola Morris.
Irish Genealogy
The site provides information about available church records for family history research in Ireland.
Irish Archives Resource
IAR does not hold any collections itself but helps researchers locate archival records and collections in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by entering the name of a person, place or subject. The catalogue includes many organisations, societies, political organisations and businesses.
RASCAL
Research and Special Collections Available Locally. An electronic gateway to research resources in Ireland. You can use this website to search and browse information about the wide range of research and special collections held in libraries, museums and archives across the region.
Fianna Study Group
The site offers a comprehensive resource for individuals researching Irish ancestry including:
- Transcriptions of primary sources including birth, death and marriage records.
- Guides to Irish genealogical research, including basics, frequently asked questions and detailed instructions on searching records and understanding Irish naming patterns.
- Articles and timelines covering Irish history.
- County-specific resources devoted to each county in Ireland.
- Emigration and migration help including passenger lists, ship records and resources for tracing Irish ancestors who moved to the USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
Irish Genealogical Research Society
The Society, founded in 1936, is dedicated to promoting the study of Irish genealogy and preserving genealogical materials, particularly those compiled before the loss of many documents in the 1922 Public Record Office fire in Dublin. The Society manages an extensive reference library of printed and manuscript genealogical materials, considered the most important private collection of Irish genealogical resources globally. Details on how to access these materials are available on their website, along with specifics about their contents. The society offers guidance to family historians through its publications and various other resources.
Online Historical Population Reports
Histpop. University of Essex. The collection provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937 including official reports, legislation and essays on the censuses including statistical analysis. The documents on the site include indexes to parishes, townships and places used in the official reports.
Findmypast
Ireland Census Reports. Learn about the community in which your ancestor lived with census reports detailing population and area statistics from the latter half of the 19th century up to the early 20th century. The reports provide statistical details regarding the number of inhabitants in a given townland. The statistical details are broken down by gender, age, or other similar categories.
Findmypast
Ireland Statistical Surveys. Search these surveys from the early 1800s to learn about the history, customs, politics, and industries of these 10 counties: Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, King’s (Offaly), Leitrim, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, and Tyrone. Discover what pre-famine life looked like for your ancestor.
Ireland Reaching Out
Irish Land Divisions Made Easy. Feeling a bit lost when it comes to navigating Irish maps and records? In our exploration of Irish family history, it’s crucial to understand the lay of the land, and our volunteers are here to help! This guide will help you figure out where to begin your search, connect Irish records to maps, and ultimately find your way ‘home’.
Townland Resources
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Index of Townlands, 1901. The site offers access to the Index of Townlands from 1901. The index, published in 1904 by the Commissioners of Census, was created as an aid in processing the returns for the 1901 census of Ireland. The index provides an alphabetical listing of townlands and towns in Ireland, along with various administrative divisions such as parishes and electoral divisions.
Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer
Tailte Éireann (formerly Ordnance Survey Ireland). The service allows users to view historical and townland boundaries and features for the island of Ireland on interactive maps. Enables fast search and pinpointing of particular Irish townlands, names and boundary features.
The IreAtlas
Townland database. Search of the IreAtlas Townland database. The results of a county or townland search show all the townlands within the requested county together with the barony and parish.
nidirect
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. In this section you can access lists of townlands arranged in the following different ways by county, by parish, within the estates of major landowners and alphabetically.
Irish Homelands
The website offers a tool for exploring Irish townlands. Users can access a detailed list of townlands and search by parish or county if you’re unsure of the townland name.
John Grenham
Irish Placenames. 1851 General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, parishes and Baronies of Ireland. Search the entire Index, together with street listings from Dublin, Cork and Belfast cities, more than 65,000 entries in all.
Irish Genealogy
Family Research 2016: Placenames. This article explains and explores how townlands and parishes got their names with links to useful resources.
Online Databases
Virtual Treasury
1766 Religious Census. The site offers a searchable database of material related to the 1766 Religious Census. It includes digitised originals that survived the 1922 fire, transcripts, extracts and parish numerical abstracts from many parts of Ireland. The collection is searchable by names and parishes.
Ulster Historical Foundation
1766 Religious Census. Covering Parishes across the Province of Ulster.
Ancestry
Ireland 1766 Religious Census.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Name Search: Datasets include:
- 1740 Protestant Householders Census. Surviving fragments of census of Protestant heads of households relating to the Hearth Tax returns in 1740 in parts of counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Donegal, Londonderry, and Tyrone.
- 1766 Religious Census Returns Listing of heads of households of Protestant and Roman Catholic families in over 30 parishes in Ulster and other parts of Ireland.
- 1775 Dissenters’ Petitions. Petitions from Protestant dissenters (mainly Presbyterians and Roman Catholics) seeking legal rights from discriminations under Penal Laws.
Bill Macafee
Search a database containing 3,427 names from Co. Londonderry and North Antrim.
CD Roms
N/A
