Nature of Source
Records from Irish courts including:
Petty Sessions
Petty sessions were the lowest court in the justice system and heard minor civil and criminal offences such as drunkenness, theft and public disorder. They were presided over by magistrates and Justices of the Peace and had no jury. For more serious cases, a preliminary hearing took place with a view to sending the case to the Quarter Sessions or Assizes. The main Petty Session records consists of Petty Sessions Order Books. Names and address can also be found in separate dog licence registers held by the court. The Petty Sessions Ireland Act of 1851 sought to modernise the judicial process with the introduction of professionally trained and paid magistrates. The records are generally available from 1822 to 1924 with a very good survival rate.
Quarter Sessions and Assizes
Quarter Sessions were held four times a year and heard serious criminal cases such as theft, assault and rioting. Quarter Sessions were presided over by trained judges with a jury.
Assizes, known in Dublin as the Commission Court, were held twice a year and heard the most important and serious criminal and civil cases such as treason and murder which could carry the death penalty.
Following the Courts of Justice Act of 1924, District Courts replaced petty and quarter sessions and county courts in Ireland whilst in Northern Ireland the existing structure largely remained the same with magistrates courts continuing on from petty sessions.
Where Found
National Archives of Ireland
Pre-1924 Quarter Sessions, Petty Sessions, County Courts High and Court of Justice records. High Court files from 1926.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Resources for the six counties in Northern Ireland from around 1900 include: Petty Sessions Order Books, Grand Jury Presentments and Crown and Peace Courts records summarising each case and recording the sentence.
Period Covered
1810 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
- Date of order and name of the justice
- Name of the plaintiff and defendant
- Occupation and rank of both parties
- Address of plaintiff and defendant including parish and townland
- Cause of complaint with details of other court appearances by the defendant
- Names of witnesses for both parties
- Verdict details with fines and punishments if found guilty
Further References
- 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
Websites
www.nationalarchives.ie/article/guide-court-records-ireland-pre-1922 (National Archives of Ireland: Guide to Court Records in Ireland pre-1922: Quarter Sessions, Petty Sessions and County Courts)
www.nationalarchives.ie/article/guide-court-records-ireland-post-1922 (National Archives of Ireland: Guide to Court Records in Ireland post-1922)
www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/irish-petty-sessions.html (Irish-Genealogy-Toolkit: Irish Petty Sessions Court Registers)
www.courts.ie/history-law-ireland (Courts Service of Ireland: History of the Law in Ireland)
www.ancestornetwork.ie/great-insights-from-petty-sources-the-petty-session-court-records (Ancestor Network: Great Insights from Petty Sources: The Petty Session Court Records)
www.irishcentral.com/roots/complete-irish-petty-sessions-court-records-now-online (IrishCentral: Irish Petty Sessions Court Records)
www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com/article/in-praise-of-the-petty-sessions-registers (Irish Family History Centre: In praise of the Petty Sessions registers)
www.ancestornetwork.ie/grand-jury-presentments (Ancestor Network: Grand Jury Presentments. Records from the Grand Juries consisting of major landowners. The Juries were established in each county throughout Ireland and were forerunners of the modern County Councils. Expect to find records of payments for public works and staff as well as decisions on legal and other matters)
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.
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.
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.
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 Databases
- Ireland, Petty Sessions Court Registers. Search over 22 million records from the lowest courts in the country which dealt with the vast bulk of legal cases both civil and criminal. Expect to find details of victims and witnesses as well as those accused of a crime. The originals records are held at the National Archives of Ireland. See here for a list of current courts and date coverage.
- Ireland, Court Of Exchequer Bill Books 1627-1884. Explore a collection of records spanning over 250 years of legal proceedings.
- Ireland, Court Of Chancery Bill Books 1627-1884. Discover family disputes and more in this collection of 1.2 million equity court records spanning over 250 years of Irish legal history. Expect to find names and court proceedings dates and always check the digitised copy of the original document for extra detail.
- Irish Prison Registers 1790-1924. In 1822 there were 178 prisons in Ireland. These records cover 3,127,598 prisoners who spent time there. The dataset consists of digitised pages from prison registers held at the National Archives of Ireland. Registers for the remaining 6 counties are held at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast.
- Ireland, Dublin Metropolitan Police Prisoners Books 1905-1908 and 1911-1918. Search daily charge sheets and indexes of prisoners with details of the charge, sentence and date of sentence.
- Ireland, Petty Session Court Registers, 1818-1919. This collection includes details of petty session cases held in courts across Ireland. It includes details of over 23 million individuals involved in petty session hearings.
- Ireland, Court of Chancery Records, 1633-1851. This collection includes records relating to individuals involved in court proceedings. Surviving records consist mainly of bill books with some other records including an Index to Pleadings and records of Pleadings themselves.
- Ireland, Prison Registers, 1790-1924. This collection includes records detailed in prison registers from across Ireland covering four national convict prisons, 38 county prisons and 98 local jails.
- Ireland, Police Gazettes, 1861-1893. This collection contains printed publications including the ‘Hue and Cry’ used for communication among members of the police force in Ireland. It contains information on wanted criminals, crimes committed, criminals who had been apprehended, and missing persons.
FamilySearch
Ireland, Petty Sessions Court Registers, 1828-1912. This collection contains court records in Ireland from 1828-1912. Most small cases criminal and civil were handled by the Petty Sessions Court.
Kildare County Archives
Grand Jury Abstracts of Presentments and Query Books. Browse and search digitised printed books. From medieval times, the main function of the Grand Jury was the administration of justice. In the 18th and 19th centuries it took on more functions such as the provision of roads and public buildings and the running and maintaining of dispensaries, courts, fever hospitals, the county infirmary, and the county gaol. The books contain the names of many individuals.
Church of Ireland Representative Body Library
Watchbooks and Accounts books. Parish watch records covering St John in Dublin, 1724 to 1785. The records reveal crimes committed, the justice administered, the names of watchmen and constables and where they were stationed.
