Civil Registration, Death (Ireland)

Nature of Source

Introduction
The civil registration process of births, marriages, and deaths in Ireland began in 1845 following the Marriages (Ireland) Act of 1844. Initially the Act only covered non-Catholic marriages (Presbyterian) by banns or licence. Marriages between one Presbyterian and one Roman Catholic were also covered by the Act. Quakers and Jews were exempt from the Act with marriages held to be legal. From January 1864, it became compulsory to register all births, marriages, and deaths with local registrars following the Births and Deaths Registration (Ireland) Act and the Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act.

Structure of Civil Registration Records

• Indexes: Up until the end of 1877, the indexes of civil registered births were organised alphabetically by year. From 1878 onwards, each year was divided into quarters, making it easier to locate specific entries.
• Registration Districts: The registration districts were based on the divisions of poor law unions. Local districts would forward their returns to the GRO in Dublin and Belfast.

The General Register Office, based in Roscommon, County Roscommon, is responsible for civil registration of births, marriages, deaths and adoptions in Ireland. It serves as the central repository for these records.

Historical Coverage
The General Register Office (GRO) for Ireland was established in 1845 and holds civil birth, marriage and death records for all of Ireland up to and including 1921. After this date, the GRO manages records for the Republic of Ireland while the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) oversees records for Northern Ireland. Both offices maintain registers for adopted children starting from 1931, as well as records for births and deaths at sea and British consulate registrations abroad. GRONI also holds war death records from 1939 to 1948.

Accessing GRO Records
The registration process worked as follows:

1. Local registrars collected birth registrations in pre-printed volumes.
2. When a volume was full, it was passed to the Superintendent Registrar.
3. The Superintendent made a copy and sent it to the General Register Office while keeping the original.

The indexes up to present day are open to public inspection and searching at the General Register Office search room in Dublin with the option of purchasing a copy from the register entry. Certified copies of certificates are obtainable directly from the GRO office in Roscommon or from the registrar in any registrar’s district. Application forms for obtaining a certificate can be downloaded from the GRO website or ordered online through the Health Service Executive’s Civil Registration Service. Historic indexes and register pages are searchable online at Irish Genealogy.

See also
Civil Registration, Birth (Ireland)
Civil Registration, Marriage (Ireland)
Monumental Inscriptions (MIs) (Ireland)
Parish Registers – Baptisms, Marriages & Burials, & Other Records, Catholic (Ireland)
Parish Registers – Baptisms, Marriages & Burials, & Other Records, Church of Ireland (Ireland)
Parish Registers – Baptisms, Marriages & Burials, & Other Records, Methodists (Ireland)
Parish Registers – Baptisms, Marriages & Burials, & Other Records, Presbyterians (Ireland)
Parish Registers – Baptisms, Marriages & Burials, & Other Records, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) (Ireland)
Surname Origins and Distribution

Where Found

General Register Office Northern Ireland
The office is the central authority for civil registration for the six counties of Northern Ireland: Antrim, Armagh, Londonderry, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone. It has been responsible for the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in Northern Ireland since 1922. The records they hold date back to 1864 for births and deaths and 1845 for non-Catholic marriages (1864 for Catholic marriages) and cover the entire island of Ireland. It also holds records of Northern Island civil partnerships, stillbirths, the Adopted Children’s Register from 1931 as well as births and deaths at sea, British consulate births, marriage and deaths abroad and the World War II death indexes from 1939 to 1945. For guidance on using GRONI see the guide Research family history at the General Register Office. Birth, marriage and death certificates can be ordered online. All records from 1845 to date are available in the public search room in GRONI.
General Register Office Ireland
The GRO was established in 1845 and is the statutory body responsible for the civil registration of adoptions, civil partnerships, births, marriages and deaths in Ireland from 1922. They hold birth and death records from January 1, 1864, marriage records for non-Catholic marriages from April 1, 1845, and all marriages from January 1, 1864 and records of adoption from July 10, 1953. The office also holds registers of births and deaths at sea and at British Consuls as well as the register of Irish WWI and Boer War deaths. Online access to historic records is available through the Irish Genealogy website.

Period Covered

1864 – Onwards

Genealogical Value

Indexes

• Name of deceased.
• Name of registration district.
• Volume and page number.

Certificates

• Name, age, sex and occupation of deceased.
• Date and place of death.
• Cause of death.
• Informant of death.

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
• Caball, Kay. Finding your Ancestors in Kerry: Flyleaf Press, 2015
• 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. Discover Irish Land Records: Unlock the Past, 2015
• 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
• Scott, Jonathan. Tracing Your British and Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2016
• 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

The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Births, marriages and deaths in Scotland and Ireland. This guide contains advice on where and how to look for Scottish and Irish birth, marriage and death records. The majority of these records are with the respective general register office or national archive, though some are available online.
Irish Family History Centre
How to Search for Irish Birth, Death & Marriage Records. Learn more about sourcing records of births, deaths, and marriages in Ireland with useful historical information, free resources, and expert advice to help you piece together your Irish family history.
Irish Genealogy
Family Research 2016: Modules: Civil Records.
Irish Genealogy Toolkit
Ireland’s civil registration districts. How to identify your ancestor’s local district.
National Library of Ireland
Civil Registration Districts Map, 1845-1899. The map shows the civil registration districts, also known as poor law unions used for registering births, deaths, and marriages in Ireland.
John Grenham
Irish Ancestors. Guide to civil registration and registration districts with an Ireland-wide map of registration districts.
John Grenham
Irish Ancestors. State Registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths in Ireland. An explanation and location of civil registration records.
Timeline
Genealogy in Ireland. General Register Office Ireland.
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Start Your Research: Civil Records.
Irish Genealogical Research
History of Registration in Ireland.
ThoughtCo
Ireland Vital Records. Civil Registration, by Kimberly Powell.
From-Ireland.net
Research Help: Civil Records Explanation.
National Archives Guide
Researching Family History. Records of birth, marriage and death.
SWilson.Info
Searching Irish Civil BMD Records online. The article includes a description of how the registers and indexes are organised and the information contained in them. The site also has many free resources including Civil Registration Districts Map browsable by county and registration district; Townland Index and Database, 1851; Catholic Parishes and Civil Parish Links, 1837; Catholic Parishes and directories, 1848; Historic Maps; links to historic directories of Ireland.
nidirect
Research family history at the General Register Office NI (GRONI).
Dublin City Libraries
Dublin Graveyards Directory. The directory lists all graveyards in the Dublin area and gives information on the location, contact details, titles of published gravestone transcripts, links to on-line gravestone transcripts, location of surviving burial records and other information.

General 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.
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.
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.

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.

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

Irish Genealogy
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Civil Records Indexes and Images. The index covers births from 1864 to 1925, marriages from 1845 to 1950 and deaths from 1871 to 1975. Please note non-Roman Catholic Marriages are recorded from 1845, Roman Catholic Marriages are recorded from 1864. Original register images cover births from 1864 to 1925, marriages from 1845 to 1950 and deaths from 1871 to 1975. Non-Roman Catholic Marriages are recorded from 1845, Roman Catholic Marriages are recorded from 1864.
General Register Office Northern Ireland.
Online access to civil records for births over 100 years old, marriages over 75 years old and deaths over 50 years old
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Early Irish Birth, Marriage & Death Indexes. The transcribed indexes cover the period 1660 to 1863 for the period before civil registration was fully implemented in Ireland in 1864. The sources used include newspaper announcements, Registry of Deeds in Dublin, Chancery Bill extracts, family bibles, military records, old age pension claims and many others.
FamilySearch
Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958. An index of Ireland civil registration including 1864-1958 births, 1845-1958 marriages, and 1864-1958 deaths, but excluding index records for Northern Ireland after its creation in 1922.
FamilySearch
Ireland, Civil Registration, 1845-1913. Index and images of Ireland civil registration including 1864-1913 births, 1845-1870 marriages, and 1864-1870 deaths. These are copies of the original documents and volumes held at the General Register Office and are referenced in the Ireland Civil Registration Indexes.
Ancestry
Ireland Birth, Marriage & Death: Search civil registration of births, marriages and death indexes extracted from the published indexes of registers. Datasets include:

• Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958
• Civil Registration Deaths Index, 1864-1958
• Civil Registration Marriages Index, 1845-1958
• Ireland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911
• Ireland, Select Marriages, 1619-1898
• Ireland, Select Deaths, 1864-1870
• UK and Ireland, Find a Grave Index, 1300s-Current
• Irish Records Extraction Database. This collection is the result of many years of research in Irish records compiled by Dr. Lyman Platt from over 120 unique sources. It contains records of births, marriages, deaths, burials, cemeteries, wills, immigration and census from as early as 1600 and as late as 1874
• Belfast, Northern Ireland, The Belfast Newsletter (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), 1738-1925.

Findmypast
Ireland, Northern Ireland Deaths 1980-2024.
Findmypast
Irish Deaths, 1864-1958.
Findmypast
Irish Newspaper Death & In Memoriam Notices. These death and in memoriam notices have been sourced from our collection of Irish newspapers and span the 19th and 20th centuries. Following the establishment of the Republic of Ireland in 1921, these records cover both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Findmypast
Ireland, Newspaper Death Notices. Search for your ancestors’ deaths in these newspaper notices published in three Irish newspapers.
Findmypast
Irish Newspaper Transcript Archive, Ffolliott Collection 1756-1850. Search this collection of Irish newspaper transcripts that were compiled by the celebrated Irish genealogist Rosemary ffolliott. Discover if your Irish ancestors had their birth, marriage or death announcement printed in a newspaper.
MyHeritage
Ireland Deaths, 1864-1958. This collection is a register of civil death records from all 32 counties of Ireland between the years 1864 and 1921, continuing for the Republic of Ireland until 1958.
Emerald Ancestors
Northern Ireland Ancestor Search. Search Northern Ireland civil registration indexes containing birth, marriage and death records; census records and church registers covering counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone
Ulster Historical Foundation
The Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1956, dedicated to those researching the history and genealogy of Ulster and its families. The site offers access to over 2 million searchable records including: Birth/Baptism Records, Counties Antrim and Down, c. 1660-1930; Irish Marriage Records, Counties Antrim and Down, c. 1660-1930; Irish Death/Burial Records, Counties Antrim and Down, c. 1660-1998.These records include information from all major Christian denominations.
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Smythe-Wood newspapers database. This collection of biographical notices was taken from Irish newspapers compiled by Alastair Smythe-Wood (1914-1997). Although the range of newspapers covers all of Ireland, the data tends to represent mainly the nine northern counties which form the province of Ulster.
RootsIreland
Irish Family History Foundation. The site offers a unique database of more than 23 million Irish records from 34 county genealogy centres on the island of Ireland. The main sources are Irish Catholic and other church records of baptisms, marriages and deaths. The site also features Civil Birth & Marriage Records, Census Records, Gravestone Inscriptions, Griffith’s Valuation for Ireland, Irish Ship Passenger Lists and Census Substitutes for Ireland.
From Ireland
Free Irish Genealogy. Search hundreds of thousands of free records, compiled by Dr. Jane Lyons, including: gravestone records, gravestone photographs, 1901 census records, 1911 census records, 1931 trade directory records, birth records, marriage records, death records, Lewis’ topographical records, Griffith’s valuation records.

CD Roms