The IGRS (Irish Genealogical Research Society) now has over 66,000 marriage records online. The index of early marriages is free to search. A quote from the website states:
With so many parishes in Ireland not having any register of marriages
before the 1840s, the database is fast becoming an invaluable tool in
identifying where and when ancestors tied-the-knot. It includes
references from a myriad of different sources: books, gravestones,
family bibles, deeds, wills, letters, court records, published journals,
newspapers, census transcripts and old age pensions forms, to name just
a few.
Sources drawn upon for this particular update include marriage
licence bonds from a number of diocese covering all or parts of counties
Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo,
Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow; and there are further references to
marriages from the Registry of Deeds.
I'm dancing for genealogy joy because I have Irish Catholic ancestors. Anyone else with Irish Catholic ancestors should likewise start rejoicing because all of Ireland's Catholic Church records are being digitized and going online!
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| Catholic Church |
The National Library of Ireland is to give free online access to its Catholic
Church records collection which date back to the 1700s. This will enable
millions of people around the world to trace their roots in Ireland.
Previously the only way to view these records was at the National Library in Kildare Street, in Dublin. Summer of 2015 is the hopeful date for these church records to be online.
My 2nd great grandparents Joseph McGinnis and his wife Fanny Downey will be first on my list of searches in the summer of 2015. What will your first search be?
